News

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.

Touched by the current homelessness crisis, a selfless group of young people in Kibble’s Safe Centre and care staff stepped up to raise the incredible sum of over £3000 to help end homelessness in Scotland.

This amazing contribution has been raised for Sleep in the Park, a mass sleep-out event, and five year strategy by Social Bite which aims to eradicate homelessness in Scotland for good. Through a range of fundraising events and activities led by young people in the Safe Centre and across campus, the young people’s amazing spirit and drive to make a difference to those less fortunate, has shown no bounds. Young People at Kibble continue to demonstrate their compassion for supporting others facing situations more difficult than themselves.

Perhaps the most notable of all of the fundraising efforts was the Safe Centre sleep out which took place on Wednesday 29 December. A group of young people, and care staff slept out all night in freezing conditions in the quadrangle of the building. The event raised a huge sum of money and despite the cold, young people were entertained with a talk by The Homeless World Cup and Carlton Athletic, who also held a football match against young people and staff. The evening saw young people sit around a camp fire, toasting marshmallows and playing guitar as they helped raise vital funds. While the young people couldn’t take part in the mass sleep out for Sleep in the Park, this enabled them to experience a taste of the cold temperatures that homeless people endure each night.

In addition to the sleep out, fundraising efforts included ‘The Big Breakfast Roll Shop’ which served 600 hungry staff a delicious breakfast to set them up for the day. Young people in the Safe Centre took charge of the busy kitchen to manage the orders and prepare the food. Next up was the staff Race Night on Saturday 4 November where staff, friends and families donned their glad rags and rummaged deep into their pockets to support fundraising efforts in a fun, albeit competitive evening!

In the run up to Christmas, young people organised a Christmas Fayre selling a range of homemade arts and crafts, and delicious home baking to Kibble staff. The senior managers and Board were also treated to an evening of fine dining in the Safe Centre as young people and staff set up an extravagant pop-up restaurant to rival all Michelin starred establishments, under the watchful eye of Donald Munro – Executive Chef at Kibble. Young people helped prepare a delicious 3-course dinner, provided silver service and even entertained their dinner guests with songs and musical performances. Other activities included a ‘welly walk’ where primary children at Kibble’s Garnock Lodge Primary school did a muddy sponsored walk around Castle Semple County Park, and a silent auction for Kibble staff.

Sinclair Soutar, Executive Director of Secure Care, said:

“When we set the ambitious fundraising target of £3000, we knew it was going to be tough but we didn’t just meet it, we smashed it! This is testament to the incredible young people who continue to amaze and inspire us with their generosity and commitment to supporting those in worse situations than themselves. We’re so proud of what they have achieved and hope the money will help contribute to helping the lives of those living on the streets.”

Two young people from North (residential care house) are selflessly giving up their Christmas night and heading out to deliver essential items and some festive cheer to homeless people across Glasgow and Paisley.

The two boys, alongside child and youth care worker Craig Martin, launched an appeal at the beginning of the month that encouraged Kibble staff to donate items that will be packed into shoe boxes and gifted to homeless people on Christmas night. The boys asked staff to bring in warm items such as hats and gloves, snacks like cereal bars and chocolates, and toiletries.

The boys have been sorting through the donated items and packing them into shoe boxes. Thanks to a massive response from Kibble staff, the youngsters have been able to make up 15 male and 15 female shoe boxes which have been wrapped in festive Christmas paper with support from the admin team. The boys have also been able to fill large bags with food donations, various toiletries and other items that will be handed out in addition to the shoe boxes on Christmas night.

The young people wanted to spend their Christmas doing something meaningful and helping those who are less fortunate, and so the shoe box appeal idea was born. After they enjoy their Christmas dinner on Monday, the two boys, along with Craig, will head out to Paisley and Glasgow to deliver the filled and wrapped shoe boxes to people sleeping rough throughout the city.

The team are extremely proud of these young people for getting involved in such a worthwhile appeal, and for collecting an incredible number of essential items for homeless people bracing the cold weather this Christmas. Jim Crawford, executive director of Kibble’s residential services said:

“The young people involved in the shoe box appeal are a credit to Kibble. Giving is not just about making a donation. It’s about making a difference. Merry Christmas to all who need support at this time.”

On Sunday 10 December, a group of young people, care staff and their families donned familiar red suits, white fluffy beards and a pair of trainers to race through Glasgow’s streets, all in the name of charity.

The enthusiastic Kibble team braced sub-zero temperatures at Glasgow’s 2017 Santa Dash, joining 8500 other runners to race through Glasgow’s frost-covered streets. This is the fifth year that a team from Kibble has taken part and is a great opportunity for young people and staff to get together, have fun and raise vital funds for a worthwhile cause. This year’s chosen charity was the Beatson – an incredible charity that supports cancer patients and their families. The fundraising efforts were led by a group of dedicated young people from Uist (residential care house) who raised almost £900. They were joined on the day by young people across the campus to take part in the festive race.

The team are extremely proud of the hard work and commitment of the young people in raising such a phenomenal amount that will help provide vital care and support to those affected by cancer. The young people are planning to visit the Beatson facility in the coming days to personally hand over the check  and find out more about the great work that the charity do.

The infamous Santa Dash, which sees Glasgow’s streets come alive with thousands of energetic Santa’s racing their way through the scenic 5km route, has been running since 2006.

Claire Lunday, Depute Head Teacher of Kibble’s Safe Centre said:

“This was another great event that the young people and care team loved being a part of. It’s quite a surreal experience being surrounded by thousands of other Santa’s, but there’s no better way to get in the festive spirit while supporting charity. We couldn’t be prouder of the fundraising efforts of the young people and are already talking about next year’s event!”