Tag Archives: Thomas Pocklington Trust

Sports and Social Activities Support Intern

October 17, 2022NewsGet set Progress, intern, Metro Blind Sport, RNIB, Sports and Social Activities Support Intern, Thomas Pocklington Trust, TPTSaul Wynne

Sports and Social Activities Support Intern

This post has a Genuine Occupational Requirement that the successful applicant be a person who is blind or partially sighted, in line with The Equality Act 2010

Join us at Metro Blind Sport

Thomas Pocklington Trust (TPT) and RNIB are collaborating with charities in the sight loss sector to create new opportunities for blind and partially sighted people to find employment through the Get Set Progress Internship programme. Metro Blind Sport is delighted to be offering an internship as part of the Get set Progress scheme.

Metro Blind Sport provide sporting and social activities for people who are blind or partially sighted across Greater London and the surrounding areas.

What are the benefits of a Get Set Progress internship for me?

As part of your 9 month internship you will gain the following:

obtain valuable work experience within the charity sector
Training opportunities
A mentor offering support, advice and guidance throughout
help deliver positive changes for people with sight loss

As part of the GSP Internship programme, you will also be enrolled onto the TPT Employment Programme, where you will gain employment support, guidance and advice from their Employment Team, skills obtainable are:

CV writing
Job searching
Cover letter and speculative letter writing
Application form writing
Interview techniques

Job description

Role: Sports and Social Activities Support Intern

Reporting to: Lucy Simper

Location: Split between the office space at the Pocklington Hub in Queens Square London, working from home and with travel across Greater London

Salary: Based on Living Wage Foundation rates,

Contract type: Fixed Term 9 months, full time 36 hours per week

Job purpose:

To provide administration and support to help develop the sports and social activities at Metro Blind Sport.

Key areas of responsibility

Supporting the development of core sporting and social activities and assisting in the administration and delivery of these activities.
Being a welcoming presence to newcomers, introducing them to the sport leads and ensure a ‘meet & greet’ at local stations is offered as appropriate.
Ensure information is distributed to members and significant others, including newsletters, website and social media updates.
Be a positive role model to maintain Metro’s long standing good reputation, ensuring the values and objectives of Metro are understood and respected by all stakeholders.
Promote health and safety at all events and carry out or update risk assessments where necessary.
Undertake any other duties as may reasonably be required from time to time. This will include attending the Metro AGM and assisting any members requiring it on the day.

Person specification

The successful applicant will possess the following skills:

Essential criteria

Communication
Punctuality
Initiative
Adaptability
Teamwork
Good standard of verbal and written English
A high attention to detail
Experience of using social media in a personal and/or a professional setting
An interest in the activities of Metro Blind Sport
Lived experience of sight loss

What to do next

Please send your CV together with a cover letter which includes details of experience you have in relation to the job description and person specification to tracie.tappenden@metroblindsport.org

Closing date: 31^st October 2022

New toolkit to help gyms make sport accessible!

January 10, 2022NewsGym, help gyms, leisure providers, make sport accessible!, New toolkit, New toolkit to help gyms make sport accessible!, Thomas Pocklington Trust, TPT, UK CoachingSaul Wynne

FREE training portal open to all leisure providers!

UK Coaching urges gyms and sports providers to make their facilities more accessible to visually impaired people and has just launched free training to show them how to do just that.

The new toolkit, Inclusive facilities: Supporting people with a visual impairment, created in partnership with Thomas Pocklington Trust, contains videos and resources leisure operators can use to train staff.

Kelly Rodrigues from UK Coaching said: “Small adjustments can make a huge difference for people with a visual impairment to access leisure facilities and sports and become more active. These can be as simple as a member of staff approaching a visually impaired person and introducing themselves.

“We are asking leisure operators to encourage all their staff – from the front desk to their personal trainers – to get engaged with this training programme and make sport accessible in their venues.”

Martin Symcox, Sports Development Lead at Thomas Pocklington Trust, said: “One of the greatest barriers to blind and partially sighted people participating in sport is confidence and we know disabled people are twice as likely to be inactive*, compared to non-disabled people.

“Knowing that a leisure or sport provider understands their needs, helps increase confidence and makes visually impaired people more likely to choose that place to do exercise.”

The toolkit is a free resource open to all leisure providers and contains:

What is a visual impairment?
What makes an accessible environment?
Guiding and communicating
The benefits of an accessible environment

Better Energise Leisure Centre in York has worked with visually impaired people and trained its team in how to make its facilities more inclusive.

Kelly, Energise Gym Instructor, said: “Prior to having the training, a visually impaired person coming into the centre, I probably would have been a little bit nervous about asking how they wanted to be supported. Fitness should be inclusive. We should be welcoming everybody, regardless of their ability.”

Sidney Tambin is severely sight impaired and regularly visits the gym, said: “If a venue is accessible it can really boost a visually impaired person’s self confidence.”

Martin added: “The changes to the environment and procedures are often simple and inexpensive to implement and could actually be of financial benefit as more visually impaired people choose that facility to spend their money. We will be looking for examples of good practice across the country and will be sharing these with the sight loss community. So, we urge operators to take a look at the toolkit and train their teams.”

Metro Blind Sports Social Networks

Get all the latest blind & partially sighted event information & news as soon as we do!

Metro Blind Sport: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn

Metro Blind Sport membership: more info or Join here

New Sight Loss Council Launched for London!

January 8, 2021Newsengagement, London Sight Loss Council, London Vision, New Sight Loss Council Launched for London!, self-advocacy, Thomas Pocklington TrustSaul Wynne

NEW SIGHT LOSS COUNCIL LAUNCHED FOR LONDON

London now has a Sight Loss Council to advocate the needs of blind and partially sighted people and influence positive change in the capital.

The announcement comes after the successful appointment of 14 members, all of whom are visually impaired themselves.

Facilitated by London Vision with funding from Thomas Pocklington Trust (TPT) and the Vision Foundation, it forms part of the national network of Sight Loss Councils established by TPT.

Cathy Low, CEO of London Vision, said: “The formation of a London Sight Loss Council has generated a lot of interest from applicants across the capital. Sight Loss Councils promote engagement and self-advocacy and can effect real change – as demonstrated already with Sight Loss Councils’ work across the country.

“The 14 members come from a range of locations and backgrounds across the capital. London is an incredibly diverse city and this diversity is reflected in our members to ensure a variety of views and experiences is represented.”

Members of the new London Sight Loss Council are:

Charmaine Ashpole
Davinder Kullar
Heran Thillainathan
Jonathon Arbo
Jurgen Donaldson
Lucy Williams
Mariza Jurgens
Martia Bevan
Rachel Bowden Waterson
Renu Walia
Selina Mills
Steven Rattray
Steve Reed
Vicky Blencowe

One of the new members of the council, Jurgen Donaldson, said: “Sight Loss Councils have been supporting the visually impaired community across the UK since 2016. I am excited to be part of launching this new London Sight Loss Council and to be part of improving the day-to-day lives of people in our community across this great city”.

The first LSLC meeting will take place virtually in January 2021 where members will establish key priority areas for focus, using their knowledge and lived experience.

Cathy added: “The London Sight Loss Council will complement the network of local sight loss organisations and strive to collaborate and form partnerships across the capital.”

For further information or images please contact: Rosalind Duignan-Pearson, London Vision, rosalind.duignan-pearson@londonvision.org 0203 761 3651 or 07974 578 637.

About Sight Loss Councils

London Sight Loss Council, led by blind and partially sighted volunteers, advocates the needs of blind and partially sighted people and influences positive change in the capital.

Facilitated by London Vision with funding from Thomas Pocklington Trust (TPT) and Vision Foundation, it forms part of the national network of Sight Loss Councils (SLC) established by TPT.

SLCs are currently operating in Birmingham, Black Country, Bristol, Gloucestershire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Tyne & Wear and Bedfordshire. Each SLC is made up of around 10-12 blind and partially sighted members who meet monthly to discuss accessibility issues and plan projects in their regions under the six priority themes of education, employment, technology, health and social care, transport, sport and leisure. Over the next year Thomas Pocklington Trust will be extending its SLCs across the country. www.sightlosscouncils.org.uk

About London Vision

Our vision is a society and capital city where blind and partially sighted people can participate fully.

Our mission is to make London more equal and inclusive so that people who are blind and partially sighted can advantage of all that the UK’s capital city has to offer.

www.londonvision.org

Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

About the Vision Foundation

The Vision Foundation transforms the lives of people facing or living with sight loss by funding projects that inform, empower and include.

Being blind or partially sighted shouldn’t mean you’re left out, isolated or held back. But too many people are. That’s why we amplify the voices of blind and partially sighted people, and inspire others to advocate and take action.

Our mission is to make London a shining example of a sight loss aware city.

www.visionfoundation.org.uk

TPT Launches New Coaching Offer!

November 21, 2020NewsFacing, New Coaching Offer, Redundancy, The Centre for Resolution, Thomas Pocklington Trust, TPTSaul Wynne

New professional coaching service for blind and partially sighted people

Original Post by pocklington-trust.org.uk

Blind and partially sighted people who are facing redundancy or have been made redundant can get support through a new professional coaching service launched by Thomas Pocklington Trust (TPT) and the Centre for Resolution.

Martin Sigsworth, Senior Employment Manager at TPT, said: “Citizens Advice research has revealed disabled people are at least twice as likely to face redundancy*. And the hard truth is that right now securing a job is likely to be even harder for blind and partially sighted people due to increased competition for fewer roles.”

View professional Coaching page on the Thomas Pocklington trusts page

The new professional coaching service, delivered by the Centre for Resolution, an established mediation and coaching company, will help people who have been made redundant work through what steps they need to take to secure their next role.

If you think coaching will help you to make a plan for your next career goals or want to figure out what those goals are, send an email to employment@pocklington-trust.org.uk and they can arrange an initial call to see if coaching is right for you.

Ryan Compton, Director of the Centre for Resolution, said: “As a visually impaired person myself, I know the challenges blind and partially sighted people face both securing employment and progressing in their careers. So, we are delighted to partner with TPT to provide this service specifically to visually impaired people.

“TPT is funding the service so it is free for blind and partially sighted people who need it. Our coaches will help them identify career goals, develop a strategy with action steps to reach those goals, and provide accountability to achieve them. The career coach will use proven listening and querying techniques to support them as they find their own answers to problems they are facing.”

Martin added: “We know that assistive technology allows blind and partially sighted people to perform roles in the workplace as well as their fully sighted colleagues. But many employers as still oblivious to this and ‘won’t take the chance’ with blind and partially sighted candidates. The new coaching service aims to try to level the playing field, to give people confidence and help them to find direction.”

The Centre for Resolution

The Centre for Resolution provides a range of services to individuals, families and organisations including civil, workplace, disability and family mediation, mediation skills and disability awareness training.

The aim of Centre for Resolution is to increase effective communication between colleagues and employers, family members and ex-partners, service providers and service users. It is a Disabled Confident employer and proud member of the College of Mediators.

www.centreforresolution.com

Sports and Social Activities Support Intern

Join us at Metro Blind Sport

What are the benefits of a Get Set Progress internship for me?

Job description

Job purpose:

FREE training portal open to all leisure providers!

The toolkit is a free resource open to all leisure providers and contains:

Metro Blind Sports Social Networks

Christmas Student Social – 19 December – 1 pm- 2.30 pm

The Centre for Resolution