Annual Report 2020
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NEW ERA ENTERPRISES ANNUAL REPORT JAN 2020 – MARCH 2021 NEW ERA ENTERPRISES (E. LANCS) LTD 62-64 Yorkshire Street Burnley Company no. 3286650 Page | 1 Emotional, Family Health and Engagement Hub Nursery Wellbeing Hub Hub Page | 2 Page | 3 Contents Welcome from our Chairperson Ann Marie ..................................................................... 3 New Era - Inspiring, transforming and connecting communities one life at a time ................ 5 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 5 Emotional Health & Wellbeing ....................................................................................... 7 Case Studies.......................................................................................................................... 9 Achievements .....................................................................................................................10 Thank you to the funders/partners that make this work possible! ...................................12 Family Support ............................................................................................................ 14 Case studies ........................................................................................................................16 Achievements .....................................................................................................................17 Thank you to the funders/partners that make this work possible! ...................................18 Engagement Activity .................................................................................................... 20 Case Studies........................................................................................................................22 Achievements .....................................................................................................................23 Thank you to the funders/partners that make this work possible! ...................................24 Nursery ....................................................................................................................... 26 Case study ..........................................................................................................................28 Achievements ....................................................................................................................29 Page | 4 Thank you to the funders/partners that make this work possible… ..................................30 Board .......................................................................................................................... 31 Members ..................................................................................................................... 32 Case Study/Quote ..............................................................................................................32 Volunteers ................................................................................................................... 33 Networks and Affiliations ............................................................................................. 33 Page | 5 Welcome from our Chairperson Ann Marie Well, what a year… New Era’s strategy for 2020 was rethought almost overnight as the Covid pandemic hit and the country went into lockdown. The last 15 months have been challenging, exciting, rewarding and thought provoking for everyone within New Era. As a Cooperative Social Enterprise New Era has always taken pride in finding innovative ways to identify and address individuals and families’ needs within our community. This year we have had to be responsive, extra adaptable, and extremely flexible. At the start of the pandemic, we had to worked alongside our contractors/partners/funders to review and adapt the services we had agreed to provide. We have been delighted with the flexibility they afforded us which allowed us to respond and meet the additional challenges presented by COVID-19. In March 2020 New Era had just submitted a three-year National Lottery project, however, in April the National Lottery informed us that all imminent funding would be reallocated as COVID-19 response fund. Our second, rapidly written application secured funding which allowed us to provide our response. So, after the first lockdown we went out and about with our very visible purple gazebo, popping up in our 5 local parks to reconnect with communities in Burnley, listening to and identifying the challenges people had faced during this unprecedented time. Our staff, board, members, and volunteers have worked throughout the Pandemic to ensure that the support for our community has continued. We had to change and adapt our delivery by: • Utilising what was emerging (now everyday) technology to provide online virtual coffee mornings for people suffering from isolation and loneliness, • Increasing our support for families and individuals around emotional health and well-being due to the stress and anxiety that Covid-19 had thrust upon them. Page | 6 Our wonderful Nursery has been open for most of the pandemic and the staff have worked tirelessly to support our children and their families. They have done this by: • Providing doorstep welfare checks in the initial lockdown to check how everyone was coping, • Relocating and reorganising the nursery environment to ensure the nursery remained Covid secure, • Adopting procedures and practice when working with the children through what has been an everchanging landscape throughout the pandemic. In April, the nursery received the exciting news they had secured Children in Need funding for a Chitter Chatter Club project, the aim of which was to inspire and develop children’s language and communication skills. Well done to everyone for all your creative problem-solving ideas and getting the Chitter Chatter club going virtually! New Era has been tested and challenged over the last 12 months. To ensure we stay accessible to people in the community, we have moved our ICT platforms and now have the added capabilities of supporting the community in a virtual world. We also redesigned our website to make it accessible to all and had an internal restructure to future proof the company. This last 15 months have flown by, and we have received much feedback from the community about the work we have delivered I would like to thank all staff, members, and volunteers as they continue to rise to the challenge of these unprecedented times inspiring, transforming and connecting communities one life at a time. Keep up the fantastic work. Anne Marie, New Era Enterprises Chairperson Page | 7 New Era - Inspiring, transforming and connecting communities one life at a time Introduction This annual report will cover the last 15-months, January 2020 to March 2021 as we have taken the decision to bring our annual report in line with our financial year accounts which run from April to March. Well, who would have thought when we made this decision that the last 15 months would incorporate a Pandemic! As an organisation we have been tested like never before, having to be innovative, flexible, adaptable, and accessible in ways which we had never previously dreamt of. We have learnt new ways of working virtually in groups and one to one, (purchasing additional software, learning and develop new skills) socially distanced and with many additional risk assessments, health, and safety practices to adhere to. Our new skills have been shared with our staff, board, members, volunteers, and participants. During the past 15 months we have worked with specialists to develop and future proof the business, which has led to reviewing and revisiting our core values, an internal restructure and re-branding while ensuring New Era’s ethos remains at the centre of its delivery. Over the last 15 months we have worked tirelessly with our existing contractors and funders to ensure we remain on target and funders receive all the outputs and outcomes they require. We have strengthened our relationships with existing and new organisations. In June 2020 we were extremely privileged to secured three years funding from the Henry Smith Trust, providing core funding to ensure our services are available to the community we serve. During the pandemic New Era secured Covid-19 funding from the National Lottery and Lancashire - COVID 19 Community Support Fund to support our communities with the ongoing impact that the pandemic has/had on individuals and families. Our nursery and its’ staff have been frontline workers throughout, providing education, learning and support for the children and their families. The nursery was successful in securing three years funding from Children in Need in June 2020 to provide a “Chitter Chatter Club”, to support children’s speech and language. The staff had to be creative and with the support of Children in Need they moved the group temporarily to a virtual platform, providing invaluable support to children who need additional support with their language skills. As an organisation we have never been as busy supporting families and individuals with the unforeseen issues that have affected everyone during the pandemic. Families who have had to deal with unemployment, debt, isolation, and the uncertainty of what the future may hold. We have seen first-hand, the unprecedented effects of the pandemic on all age groups across the community. The need for emotional health and wellbeing has increased by over 100% for both adults,