Kibble Admin

YOUNG people from Renfrewshire and Glasgow have taken to the track to show that having special needs is no barrier to go-karting. Over 50 kids and volunteers from the SAMs Club took part in a Grand Prix at The Experience in Hillington Park, with specially trained staff and adapted karts allowing as many people as possible to participate.

SAMs Club was formed in 2012 to help provide support, care and respite to families in Glasgow and the surrounding local areas. The group now has 90 members, some with additional needs, and volunteers help organise regular activities where everyone can participate.

Based in Hillington Park, The Experience is Scotland’s only electric go-karting venue and offers a unique Accessible Karting Programme. Specially designed tandems, side-by-side karts, hand controls and a fully accessible arena allows people who would otherwise be excluded from go-karting the chance to experience the thrill of motor sport.

Cara O’Donnell, Co-Founder of SAMs Club, said:

“Our volunteers work hard all year round to fundraise and organise activities, so it was great to have such a big turnout for today. Sometimes it can be difficult to arrange something where all of the group can take part, but we have been able to take advantage of the facilities on offer.

“This is the first time that many of the young people will have tried go-karting, and judging by the smiles on their faces, I’m sure they’ll be back.”

The Experience is owned and operated by the social enterprise Kibble Group. Chief Executive of Kibble Group, Jim Gillespie, said:

“I am delighted that we have been able to welcome SAMs Club to The Experience and I hope that they enjoyed their visit. Our Accessible Karting programme has been hugely successful with over 2000 sessions of discounted karting delivered in the past 3 years.

“If any person or group thinks that they would be eligible for our Accessible Karting programme, I would urge them to get in touch so that they too can enjoy the excitement of go-karting.”

MEMBERS of the Scottish Commonwealth Cycling Team prepared for the upcoming Commonwealth Games with a get together at The Experience, Hillington Park. The elite athletes had a team meeting and dinner to discuss strategy, tactics and medal expectations before they are due to fly out to the Gold Coast in Australia later this month.

The Experience is a go-karting and leisure arena owned by the social enterprise Kibble Group. The venue also hosts the Refuel Cafe where the Scotland Team Chef and Kibble’s Executive Chef joined forces to prepare dinner. The Scotland Team Chef, Stewart Jarvie, will travel to Australia for the duration of the competition and will be responsible for ensuring that the athletes have the best possible diet that will give them the edge.

Hopes are high for Team Scotland with high profile names such as John Archibald, Callum Skinner, Mark Stewart, Katie Archibald, Louise Haston and Eileen Roe tipped for medals. After dinner, the cyclists posed for pictures with refurbished bikes that are resold as part of another Kibble Group social enterprise, KibbleWorks.

Chief Executive of Kibble Group, Jim Gillespie said:

“It was great to welcome the Scottish Commonwealth Cycling Team to The Experience. The team members were kind enough to support our own efforts to get as many people as possible cycling and were very interested to hear about KibbleWorks making cycling affordable.

“I want to wish them the best of luck in Australia and want them to know the Kibble Group will be supporting their efforts to bring back gold.”

A ground-breaking documentary that explores the link between childhood stress and lifelong ill health has been screened at Kibble. Over 50 social workers, teachers and carers from across Renfrewshire gathered at the Paisley campus for a viewing of the film ‘Resilience: The Biology of Stress and the Science of Hope’. The film has already gathered international attention by highlighting the relationship between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and lower life expectancy.

Following the screening, a panel discussion was held with speakers from the Educational Psychology Services at Renfrewshire and Inverclyde Councils, and Dan Johnson from Kibble’s Specialist Intervention Service. Questions from the audience ranged from how to prevent trauma in childhood, the link between physical and mental wellbeing, and whether organisations are doing enough to support further research.

Speaking after the film showing, Dan Johnson, Senior Forensic Psychologist at Kibble said:

“At Kibble we are always exploring new ideas. We want to build a body of evidence that informs the services we deliver and ultimately improve outcomes for young people in our care.

“This screening has allowed us to look at theories around childhood experiences with as wide an audience as possible. My thanks go to Renfrewshire Council and Educational Psychologist team who licenced the film for showing.”

Chief Executive of Kibble Group Jim Gillespie said:

“This film screening has been highly anticipated and has had a powerful impact on those who managed to see it. I want to thank the team at Kibble who helped organise this event and for our colleagues at Renfrewshire and Inverclyde Council for being involved.

“Kibble as an organisation continues to work with other partners in education and social care to better understand how we can achieve the best outcomes for the young people in our care. This event is an important reminder of the importance of taking this approach.”

The documentary focuses on the research of epidemiologists Dr Robert Anda and Dr Vincent Felitti. They find that certain risk factors, such as growing up around physical, sexual or substance abuse, have a strong correlation with major health problems in adulthood.

The film is directed by Daniel Redford, son of the famous Oscar winning Director Robert Redford. First shown at the Sundance Film Festival, it has received rave reviews from both members of the public and those working in child and youth care.

Young people from Paisley and Renfrewshire have been seeing for themselves the benefits of becoming an apprentice with one of the biggest engineering companies in the world. LAGTA Bosch (part of the Robert BOSCH Group) hosted a tour of their Service Training Base at Eurocentral as part of Scottish Apprenticeship Week 2018 and to showcase the potential of learning and earning.

Those participating in the visit are from the YES Programme, an employability scheme run by Kibble Group designed to help young people who are furthest from the jobs market. Young people are given extra support and training, work experience and qualifications to enter mainstream employment.

Scottish Apprenticeship Week is the nationwide campaign aimed at encouraging more employers to take on apprentices. This year’s campaign theme is ‘Apprenticeships are the Business’ and is highlighting the success of apprentices who have chosen work-based learning to get qualified to develop their careers.

Jim Gillespie, Chief Executive of Kibble Group, said:

“Statistics show the damage that youth unemployment can have on someone’s life chances. This is one of the reasons that the Kibble Group has invested heavily in providing training and employment opportunities for young people in Paisley and Renfrewshire. We look forward to working closely with Bosch in the future to identify more ways for young people to access apprenticeships.”

Martine McCreadie, Employer Liaison Officer for the YES Programme, said:

“I want to thank Bosch for their help in organising this visit from the YES Programme. There have already been a few young people who have been inspired to apply for apprenticeships on the back of this visit.”

Billy White, Operations Manager at Bosch, said:

“We are always delighted to forge new partnerships with other organisations and we know the staff at Kibble certainly make a difference to the lives of young people. If we can help with this goal we certainly will be happy to do so whenever possible and hopefully this will include some of the young people involved ending-up with apprenticeships in engineering or automotive.”

Young people at Kibble have been taking part in events this week to mark the world’s biggest celebration of children and young people with care experience. Care Day 2018 saw young people participate in art projects, a ceilidh and even have the chance to question the First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon.

Who Cares? Scotland hosted an event on Kibble’s campus that saw young people decorate a large canvass. They were also asked to highlight what they find positive about being in care and what opportunities they have been given.

On Friday, a young person from Kibble attended a special ‘Question Time’ with Nicola Sturgeon at the House for an Art Lover in Glasgow. Members of the audience were made up of those with experience in care from across the country and were given the opportunity to question the First Minister about what needs to be done to improve experiences of the care system.

Chief Executive of Kibble Group, Jim Gillespie, said:

“We were delighted to support the events marking Care Day 2018. We know that being in care can be a turbulent time for young people but we also want them to know that by providing a nurturing environment with opportunities, they can go on to flourish.

“Everyone in our care has a different story to tell and their achievements deserve to be celebrated not just on Care Day, but every day.”

Scotland Excel, the national procurement body for Scotland’s local authorities, has shortlisted Kibble for an Innovation award as part of their Supplier Excellence Awards programme. The recognition is thanks to Kibble’s new approach to the National Residential Care Framework involving all 32 of Scotland’s local authorities.

The Scotland Excel Supplier Excellence Awards recognise the innovation and excellence of suppliers who go the extra mile to deliver tangible benefits to members of Scotland Excel and support the delivery of key public services. The winners will be revealed at a prestigious awards ceremony and dinner on 20 February 2018 at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Glasgow.

Jim Carle, Executive Director for Early Years Residential Services at Kibble, said:

“It is a huge privilege to be shortlisted in the ‘Innovation’ category. We work very hard to design services that work for our local authority partners whilst providing high quality and excellence.

“Our approach means that we can achieve the best outcomes for the young people in our care and efficiency for the public purse.”

Julie Welsh, Director of Scotland Excel, said:

“As the only awards programme in Scotland which values the role and achievements of suppliers in public procurement, our awards are totally unique.”

An exhibition that uses photography to represent people’s experiences recovering from alcohol problems has opened in the centre of Glasgow this week (24^th January, 2018). PhotoVoice is an arts project that has been working with people from across Glasgow and Paisley whose lives have been impacted by addiction. The exhibition is being held in Good, a shop within Buchanan Galleries run by Kibble Group, providing charities and social enterprises free space to retail in the city centre.

Participants looked at the impact that alcohol has had on their community as their subject, with the resulting photography making up the public display. Each work is accompanied by a ‘spoken word’ piece that helps explain the significance of the picture. Many of the exhibitors chose to focus on the positive experiences created through recovery and going alcohol free.

AFFIT is a charity that operates in Glasgow. It aims to help people socialise at Alcohol Free Functions (AFFIT). They have helped organise PhotoVoice in partnership with Alcohol Focus Scotland, North West Glasgow Recovery Communities, the Renfrewshire and Glasgow City Alcohol and Drug Partnerships, and the Network Service Renfrewshire, with support from Edinburgh University.

Brian McCarthy, AFFIT Co-ordinator, said:

“The culture of alcohol in our society means that often it can be very difficult for people to socialise in an alcohol free environment. We organise a range of events that are welcoming to all the community and the pictures on display show the impact that having alcohol free events can have.

“When people think about addiction and recovery, they often think of the negative stories about relapse or drug deaths. These pictures focus on some of the positives of recovery, showing that people’s lives can get better.

“My favourite picture shows a group of men laughing at a comedy night we held. There is raw emotion and happiness from guys, some of whom thought that they might never get better.”

Chief Executive of the Kibble Group, Jim Gillespie, said:

“Kibble is delighted to support the work of AFFIT and the other groups involved with this project. Good offers the perfect space for showcasing their work to a captive audience. We hope visitors to Good can learn more about the journey that many people face on the road to recovery.

“The pictures that are on display are inspiring and I would recommend that shoppers, if they have the time, drop in and see this powerful exhibition.”

The PhotoVoice exhibition is taking place within Good in Buchanan Galleries, Glasgow until 27th January 2018.   As well as the featured photographs, we will also have a variety of organisations onsite throughout the week to share information on their services and recovery goals.