Press releases

26/10/06      Professionalism recognised in Black Business Awards

24/10/06      Red Kite Learning awarded Green Mark for environmental practices

24/07/06      Innovative regeneration project celebrates success

15/12/05      Red Kite Learning gets Ministerial seal of approval

Press release

26 October 2006

Professionalism recognised in Black Business Awards

Southwark Works and their partner organisations, including Red Kite Learning have been recognised for their professional contribution at this year's Black Business Awards.

The awards ceremony, held on Saturday 14 October at the London Hilton, was organised by the Black Business Initiative (BBI), and 15 awards were handed out to shining examples of professionalism and commitment.

The award, for professional contribution, was collected by Red Kite Learning's employment adviser, Fay Brown.

Fay Brown said: "I'm extremely pleased that Southwark Works and Red Kite Learning have won this award, as it recognises our commitment to helping people who want to work, but can't due to obstacles such as substance misuse, a criminal record, ill health, disability, language difficulties or because they can't find or afford childcare. The award pays tribute to our clients."

BBI held the event for the third year running, and awards included those for entrepreneur of the year, global enterprise, entertainment, fashion and youth enterprise.

The night attracted people from around the UK and abroad, including business owners, celebrities and representatives from the Nigerian, Jamaican, Indian and South African Embassies.

Sunny Lambe, founder and executive director of BBI said: "This is about recognising the contributions black businesses make, promoting diversity and social cohesion, and empowering people."

"Southwark Works were nominated for their work in promoting economic empowerment in Southwark. Without the individual and joint efforts of their employees and their associate organisations, such as Red Kite Learning, there would have been no result to celebrate."

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Photo

Images of Fay Brown with Tim Cambell (the first winner of The Apprentice TV show, Series One) are available on request.

Notes for editors

1. Southwark Works provide free, friendly, confidential and professional advice, support and training to help people into employment. For more information email info@southwarkworks.org.uk

2. Red Kite Learning hosts the Drug Intervention Programme (DIP) aspect of Southwark Works. The programme offers support to clients who are rehabilitating from drug and alcohol misuse and who may have a history of offending. Clients are referred through the Probation Service, Drugs Intervention Programme and Jobcentre Plus as part of their rehabilitation.

3. Red Kite Learning is a registered charity with more than 18 years experience of managing and delivering employment, training and guidance programmes to socially excluded groups, including the long-term unemployed, BME groups, substance misuers and ex-offenders. For more information visit www.rkl.org.uk, call 0207 378 9400 or email: info@rkl.org.uk

4. The Black Business Awards is an annual gala event that is organised by the Black Business Initiative (BBI). BBI aims to promote sustain and reward entrepreneurship and other civic contributions among the Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities. Internationally renowned comedian Gina Yashere will host the event and there will be a special guest appearance from Tim Cambell, the first winner of the BBCs The Apprentice. http://www.bbinitative.com/

For further information please contact:

Michelle Lukins
News Officer
Tel: 020 7378 5419
Email: michelle@rkl.org.uk

Press release

25 October 2006

Red Kite Learning awarded Green Mark for environmental practices

Red Kite Learning has been honoured for its commitment to minimising its environmental impact by receiving the Green Mark level 1 award.

The award is part of a scheme set up by the London Environment Centre to encourage small to medium sized enterprises to demonstrate their ongoing commitment to environmental improvement.

Since the scheme's inception in 2003, Red Kite Learning is one of only 10 charities to have successfully achieved the Green Mark award at level 1.

The award shows Red Kite Learning is committed to delivering its services in an environmentally sustainable manner. The charity is implementing good practice in the following areas: environmental policy, purchasing, resource and energy use, waste management, staff involvement and legal compliance.

Having achieved level 1, Red Kite Learning will continue working to improve its environmental management system in order to achieve level 2.

Brendan Tarring, chief executive at Red Kite Learning said: "We are delighted to have earned the Green Mark. Our environmental policy was prompted by our staff and is driven by their desire to contribute to sustainability.

"Red Kite Learning has worked hard over the last 6 months to implement our environmental policy recognising that in our day-to-day operations we inevitably impact on the environment and want to minimise the potentially harmful effects of such activity wherever and whenever possible.

"We are now looking forward to working even harder to achieve the Green Mark at level 2 and to promote its benefits to our partners."

Steven Ngan, Green Mark assessor said: "Red Kite have proved their commitment to the environment by responding effectively to the challenge of meeting the environmental good practice requirements necessary to achieve the Green Mark award at level 1."

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Notes for editors

1. Red Kite Learning is a registered charity with more than 18 years experience of managing and delivering employment, training and guidance programmes to socially excluded groups, including the long-term unemployed, BME groups, substance misuers and ex-offenders. For more information visit http://www.rkl.org.uk/, call 0207 378 9400 or email: info@rkl.org.uk

2. Green Mark is a practical environmental tool that enables businesses to make real and ongoing environmental improvements. On meeting certain levels of good practice companies can receive the Green Mark award. Successful companies can opt to progress through environmental sustainability and environmental management system routes. The system was created by the London Environment Centre, part of London Metropolitan University. http://www.green-mark.co.uk/

For further information please contact:

Michelle Lukins
News Officer
Tel: 020 7378 5419
Email: michelle@rkl.org.uk

Press release

24 July 2006

into has created a real buzz in London's thriving Elephant and Castle area by engaging local people and communities in the use of connective technologies and media channels for improving citizenship, personal development, learning and jobs.

A multimedia showcase with interviews from those involved can be viewed along with an independent evaluation report that highlights the success, innovation and good practice achieved.

All wards within Elephant and Castle are within the 10% most deprived in England and Wales. 50% of households live in council housing and only 61.78% of the local population are employed. However, there are 1,600 active voluntary and community projects and more than 100 languages spoken across Southwark. The Elephant and Castle is undergoing large-scale redevelopment and there are ambitious plans for changing perceptions of what the area is all about. In this context, Southwark presents a unique opportunity for harnessing diversity, skills and investment.

into is a partnership programme that has been funded by the local Regeneration Partnership and now draws on a range of support to create opportunities for local people.

After 3 years of operation, into celebrates it's achievements following an independent evaluation carried out from April to June 2006.

The evaluation states:

'into is a distinct and important example of community networking, training and advice work in the context of a regeneration programme. The innovation at into is geared to the apparent and expressed needs of their community. This is exemplified by the extent to which current technologies are applied in order to stimulate interest, develop skills and raise the self-esteem of communities in the regeneration area.' Evaluation of the into partnership programme, Summary, page iv (pdf p8)

into is an interesting partnership model, delivering community information and communication technology (ICT), media, information, advice and guidance, training and support services to residents and community organisations.

The evaluation also states that:

'During the course of the project, into has developed an impressive range of partnerships and it is clear that many of the referral agencies depend upon the availability of the programme to progress their clients.'
Evaluation of the into partnership programme, Summary, page iii (pdf p7).

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Notes for editors

1. into, is a partnership of Red Kite Learning, Brixton Online and Media Citizens.

2. The into programme resulted from research commissioned by the Elephant and Castle Regeneration Partnership and undertaken by Arthur Andersen that identified the need for a Community Information Exchange service. Red Kite Learning and Brixton Online delivered a pilot project with Elephant Links and subsequently went on to successfully tender for an extended programme re-branded as into in September 2004.

3. The partnership has been required to gain match funding and has been successful in gaining funds from Learning and Skills Council (LSC), Neighbourhood Renewal Fund (NRF), New Deal for Communities (NDC), London South Bank University, National Institute for Adult and Continuing Education (NIACE) and European Social Fund (ESF), jointly with London Development Agency (LDA).

'Service users are achieving:

• jobs, both full and part-time
• business start-ups
• qualifications
• new skills
• participation in social and cultural activities
• opportunities to access and share information'

Evaluation of the into partnership programme, Summary, page ii (pdf p6),

4. 'The report provides comprehensive details of the outcomes of each individual strand of the into programme.

Overall, it should be noted that:

• 783 clients registered for training
• 267 clients gained a qualification
• 394 clients completed non-accredited training
• 122 clients remain on training programmes
• 839 clients were provided with advice and guidance
• 680 clients achieved outcomes through advice and guidance – this includes employment, training, Further Education, work experience and others.'

Evaluation of the into partnership programme, Summary, page v (pdf p9).

5. The Elephant and Castle Regeneration Partnership established 43 projects designed to support communities in Elephant and Castle, ahead of the major physical redevelopment of the area.

6. Statistics on household and employment sourced from the Census 2001 data collected by the Office for National Statistics.

7. The four wards that make up the Elephant and Castle area are Cathedrals, Chaucer, East Walworth, Newington.

8. Employment has been classed as economically active. Economic activity questions are only asked of people aged 16 – 74.

Visitor information
into centre
5-13 Trinity Street
London
SE1 1DB
Opening hours: 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday (not including public holidays).
General enquiries:
T: 020 7378 5440
E: info@into.org.uk
How to get here:
By Underground: Borough, Elephant and Castle, London Bridge.
Train: Elephant and Castle, London Bridge.
Bus: 21, 35, 40, 133 from Borough High Street.
Bike: Bikes can be locked outside Trinity Street (at your own risk).
Car: NCP car park near Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre.
Branding guidelines: into is written in small case and bold.
W: www.into.org.uk
Multimedia player: http://www.intomedia.org.uk/CMS/index.php?pid=1259
Please note: You will need Flash Player 7 to view the multimedia player.

For press information, photos and logos please contact:
Shveta Shah (not for publication)
Red Kite Learning
T: 020 7378 5421
E: shveta@rkl.org.uk <

Press release

15 December 2005

Red Kite Learning, Southwark, was visited by Education Secretary Ruth Kelly and Home Secretary Charles Clarke on December 15th when it played host to the unveiling of new plans to improve education and training for offenders.

Ms Kelly and Mr Clarke were joined by Work and Pensions Secretary John Hutton, as well as Sir Digby Jones, director general of the CBI, who said that employers were increasingly willing to employ ex-offenders who wish to work and contribute to society.

The Green Paper's key proposals include a stronger focus on jobs, with more relevant skills training, designed by and responding to employers' needs; a new 'contract' for offenders, with incentives for participation; and a 'campus model for offenders to ensure continuity of education from prisons into the community.

The VIPs spent an hour at Red Kite Learning's Trinity Street offices, where they spoke with ex-offenders, other learners and members of staff about their experiences and achievements.

Ms Kelly explained she had decided to launch the Green Paper at Red Kite Learning - which helps ex-offenders into work - because it exemplified the positive work that can be done to help people change their lives for the better.

She said: "Red Kite Learning is a really good example of the support that ex-offenders can get, which is good for them, good for employers and hugely important for society."

Red Kite Learning's chief executive Brendan Tarring was delighted to welcome the Ministers and said he hoped the Green Paper would encourage employers to consider giving ex-offenders a chance.

"We hope that more employers will be willing to give our clients a fair crack of the whip – hopefully they'll be able to see that these are valuable individuals with skills who can contribute to firms' productivity in the long-term," he said.

"I would like employers to pick up the phone and call us to discuss how we can work with them to provide a fair and constructive solution to the obstacles faced by ex-offenders – this is all about employers taking a wider view about how they can fill the vacancies they might have within their companies."

Mr Tarring added that he was seeking to forge closer links with other organisations to create more joined up working between agencies offering different kinds of support services in London.

"People have housing problems, money problems, and so we would like to identify partner organisations that we can work with to provide a full set of support services that can get people from where we find them and into work as quickly as possible," Mr Tarring said.

A film of the Ministerial visit was produced on the day, which features interviews with some of Red Kite Learning's clients and staff is available to view at http://www.intomedia.org.uk/CMS/index.php?pid=1167.

Andy Morris, an ex-substance misuser, recently gained employment as an office administrator after help from Red Kite Learning advisors. He was referred to Red Kite Learning by Southwark Drug Intervention.

He said: "Red Kite Learning has made a huge difference to my life. Through them I have managed to sustain employment - hopefully that will continue in the long-term.

"Now I can achieve a lot of the goals that I had set in the past, but which I had failed to do because of my time in prison.

"Perhaps I'm searching for utopia, but now I think that there's much more to life than jail."

Lisa Davies, currently on a drug treatment and testing order, was referred to Red Kite Learning by a probation support officer from Croydon. Lisa, who has a love of acting, has been helped by Red Kite Learning to join a theatre company and continues to access support to address her employment and training goals.

She said: "Getting involved with Red Kite Learning has changed my life around completely - I'm getting an education and I'm going to college.

"In the future I think that I would like to work giving advice to young children - there's a lot of drugs around in the world today."

Patrick Davis, currently being supervised by the Probation Service, was referred to Red Kite Learning through its work with the Hackney Drug Intervention Programme. He has been trained by Red Kite Learning as a peer mentor and wishes to work as a drugs counsellor.

He said: "I got involved with Red Kite Learning since about June of 2005 whilst I was in rehab. Had I not got involved with Red Kite Learning, I think I would have found myself in a situation where I could've fallen backwards".

"I enjoy what I am doing today, I have a purpose - Red Kite Learning can help a lot of other people, too."

Lizzy Lay, Red Kite Learning Project Manager, responsible for managing and supervising outreach work that delivers specialist education, training and employment projects with a range of agencies such as Hackney Drug Action Team, Addiction and Southwark Alliance.

"We wish to work more closely with employers so that we can provide a better job matching service. We always encourage our clients to sell their skills and hope that employers will look at those skills rather than their convictions – then they will see them as valuable members of the workforce."

Fay Brown, Red Kite Learning advisor, works with people referred through Southwark Drug Intervention Programme.

"Some of the people I work with have been using substances for 30 years and have never used a computer. I make contact with those people as part of their rehabilitation. I help them to get on to courses, prepare CVs, and I help them with training – lots of people go to do carpentry or plumbing, and I've even helped someone get on to a stonemason course."

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Links to further information:

• Film of the ministerial visit
• Notes for editors
• Please click on the thumbnails below to see full size images: