Austin House will be a part of ISA58 which is an independent corporation of Bethel City Church, Stoke-on-Trent.

Bethel City Church is working in partnership with a variety of organisations to work towards the aims set out by the Government in the Every Child Matters National Framework to reduce poverty following the five ECM Outcomes of:

• Be healthy

• Staying safe

• Enjoy and achieve

• Positive contribution and

• Achieve economic well-being

Austin House Mission Statement

Empowering young people who are educationally marginalised to be inspired to be all that they can be through preventative educational programmes, reducing isolation and reducing those not in education, employment or training.

The overall purpose of the Austin House as a project within Isa58 is to empower young people who are educationally marginalized to be inspired to be all that they can be through preventative educational programmes, reducing isolation and reducing those not in education, employment or training.

Isa58 - Austin House will provide a variety of services which include:

• Provision of facilities to engage with young people who have been or are at risk of exclusion from mainstream services. This includes sporting equipment and facilities, computer suit, audio / visual suit, training rooms and small groups and interview rooms.

• Young people will be provided with formal education and alternative vocational and life skills training following 6 day exclusion from mainstream school. This education and training will be bespoke based on the individual needs and requirements of the young person in their educational development and supporting their re-engagement with mainstream education ensuring improvement in attainment. The training received will be accredited through Open Collage Network which has been agreed in principle. Mentor Support Workers will provide holistic training, life skills and emotional support reducing barriers to social inclusion enabling positive engagement with the community.

• Close working relationship will be enhanced with the schools within Cluster areas to prevent exclusion and self exclusion. The Mentor Support Workers will engage with young people at risk of exclusion to identify issues which could result in exclusion and provide packages of support and establish relational assessment of their educational needs.

• The centre will look to work with young people who are socially excluded, not in employment, training or education (NEET) and / or excluded from mainstream education.

• Bridging and mentoring with the young people and the school to re-engage excluded children and young people back into formal education.

• Prevention of potential conflict across schools in exclusion of young people

• Young people will be given life skills training and provided with support and advice on broader health based issues such as through clinic in a box, sexual health, healthy eating, smoking cessation and substance misuse. Close working relationships will be developed with the Primary Care Trust, Health promotion and additional health based agencies such as the DAT.

• Short courses will be offered at the centre which will, not only provide formal and informal education for the individual, but will also give the young person credits. These will provide an educational foundation upon which the young person can progress either into apprenticeship, employment or further training.

• The training sessions will be delivered through partnerships with approved learning providers such as Stoke College, College in the Community, YMCA and WEA and through developing accredited training through, for example, the Open College Network. Support for the development of Community enterprises will be given by other appropriate organisations based within West Midlands. The advice and guidance sessions will be delivered in partnership with the Connexions, ‘Signpost to Success’ and the Jobcentre Plus service. Specialist sessions on topics such as ‘starting a new business’ will involve the appropriate providers i.e. Business Initiative. Open College Network has expression in principle agreement to the partnership, conversations are undergoing with SoT College, Juniper Training and Connexions.

• It will provide training and additional ‘job broking’ services to community members in identified wards of deprivation that would not otherwise be provided locally. These services will focus upon increasing the long term employability of local individuals by improving their basic and key skills. Information and advice on vocational training and future work prospects will be readily available, along with options of vocational tasters and work preparation sessions all with easy access to childcare within one setting.

• The project will target the advice and guidance services, vocational training, skill developments and employment support particularly with young people who are looking to train or enter the workforce for the first time.

Austin House will provide:

• Training rooms within a high quality safe environment where individuals can feel confident and comfortable about their development and future prospects. New equipment and materials for training and development will be provided allowing the delivery of basic skills, key skills and ICT along with specific skills training in areas such as sexual health, drugs and alcohol and citizenship as well as introductory sessions or tasters to a variety of vocational areas designed to match the changing local economic profile.

• The centre will also create innovative opportunities developing several community based social enterprises enabling work readiness and self-employment potential all within a supportive and friendly environment through provision of IT / media suits, interview and small meeting rooms, physical activity spaces to support the raising of confidence, aspirations, physical exercise, teamwork and leadership skills.

• Emergency accommodation for, primarily, 16 to 19 year olds during times of transition where they are deemed to be homeless. This will comprise of a 20 bed supported accommodation unit providing short term accommodation whist supporting reintegration into family home or appropriate community housing. The unit will provide 24hour support / care for residents and packages of emotional, mental, physical and spiritual support and resettlement advice / support.

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