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Latest News

Holly Bear joins Fundraising Team at Hollybank! (January 2010)

Hollybank Trust has a new addition to their Fundraising Team – Holly Bear.

Holly Bear in action!!

Our new mascot will be attending a number of local events and infant schools over the coming months to help us raise awareness of the Trust's activities.

Head of Fundraising, Catherine Longley said: ‘We are delighted to welcome the new addition to the Team. She will help to raise awareness and hopefully encourage people to support the Trust. We are looking forward to seeing people’s reaction on Sunday, and hope that lots of people will visit the store and donate whatever they can’.

 

Patrick Stewart visits Hollybank! (December 2009)

Children at Holly Bank School were visited by a Hollywood actor last month!

Sailing.

Mirfield born actor Patrick Stewart, well known for his command of the Enterprise in Star Trek and more recently for his role of Claudius in Hamlet, has been working on a special project with the Hollybank Trust, and stopped by to meet the young people that he was helping.

Earlier this year, Patrick agreed to take part in a promotional film that will be used to raise funds for the Trust. Filming began with the help of Clare Morrow, a producer who worked for ITV and BBC for many years, and whose 16 year old daughter Mary is a pupil at Hollybank.

Then, in September with a carefully written script, Head of Fundraising Catherine Longley travelled to London to meet with Patrick and record the voiceover. To say thank you for his kind help, Catherine presented Patrick with a signed Huddersfield Town away shirt featuring the Hollybank logo, and some artwork that had been produced by the Hollybank Artists.

However, it didn’t end there as when Patrick was in the area working with Huddersfield University, he stopped by to say hello to some of the children he had been speaking about on the voiceover, and to complete filming for the DVD.

Lyn Pollard, Assistant Head Teacher at Holly Bank, said: ‘We were so excited when we found out that Patrick Stewart was going to visit Hollybank! He took time to talk to and play with the children, and really made them feel special. We would be delighted to welcome him back to the School anytime he is in the area.’

Head of Fundraising Catherine Longley said: ‘Hollybank Trust is such a special place and it is difficult to convey the extent of the work that we do. That’s why we wanted to put together a DVD which will show people exactly what we do, the special people we care for and why we desperately need their help to continue providing our services.’

‘It’s taken years to find a suitable time and project for Patrick to help us with, and I am delighted with the results of the DVD. His visit to the Trust was a really unexpected bonus, and he is welcome to come back any time.&’

Hollybank will be using the DVD to send to supporters and hope to visit as many organisations as possible to raise awareness of the work that we do. If you would like someone from Hollybank to visit your group, please contact Nicky Doyle, Community Fundraising Officer, on 01924 483923

 

Volvox Dinner (November 2009)

Sailing.

Hollybank Trust dined in style last week when one of their biggest supporters, Volvox Group Ltd, organised their annual dinner.

Volvox, based on Gelderd Road, Gildersome, are staunch supporters of the Trust and have organised an annual dinner for Hollybank for some 20 years, raising over £600,000 to date. The event, which took place at Headingley Stadium, brings together a wide range of Leeds based companies, many of whom support the fundraiser year after year, but this year they were joined by some extra special stars!

Kelvin Fletcher who plays Emmerdale’s Andy Sugden attended the dinner with some of his friends, including Danny Miller who plays Aaron Livesy in the soap, Hollyoaks actor Danny Tennant (Natty), and Leeds Rhinos players and brothers; Sam and Luke Burgess.

After watching Hollybank’s new DVD which features Mirfield born actor Patrick Stewart, Kelvin offered a tour of the Emmerdale set for auction, and raised £300.

The Trust were also joined by their new partners, Huddersfield Town. Town Chairman Dean Hoyle, Chief Executive Nigel Clibbens, Commercial Director Sean Jarvis, Operations Director Anne Hough, and Club Ambassador Andy Booth were among the guests at the dinner, and were kind enough to offer two tickets in the director’s box at the forthcoming Leeds United match. An important derby game for Town and United fans alike, raising £1,000.

Catherine Longley, Head of Fundraising at Hollybank said; ‘Once again, the event was such a great success! Volvox Group have been great supporters of the Trust over the years and we are delighted to have their committed support. They have raised over £600,000 for Hollybank now, which is such a tremendous figure!’

‘To see the support from both Huddersfield Town and Emmerdale was wonderful, and really helped to raise more money for Hollybank’.

The dinner raised an outstanding £25,000 which will be used to help build new homes for the children cared for by Hollybank Trust.

 

Triple whammy of local support for Hollybank! (November 2009)

Sailing.

Patrick Stewart OBE, who switched on Huddersfield’s Christmas lights on Thursday, also paid a special visit to Hollybank’s Roe Head site in Patrick’s home town of Mirfield. Patrick, well known for his command of the Enterprise in Star Trek and an acclaimed Shakespearean actor, has recently helped out by recording a voice over for the Trust’s new DVD which will help to promote their work and tells the story of how Hollybank can change the lives of children and young people with profound disabilities.

During the lights switch-on on Thursday evening, fundraisers from Hollybank were collecting shoppers’ loose change in the Kingsgate Centre with whom the Trust have a new partnership. Kingsgate Shopping Centre are delighted to partner the Hollybank Trust as their nominated Charity for 2010. The Centre Manager, Jonathan Hardy said, "We recognise the enormous amount of work which is required to generate support for this worthy cause and are proud to be associated with the team from the Trust. We are pleased to be able to offer our services to boost fundraising efforts throughout the year and look forward to forming a successful relationship with the Trust."

Fundraisers were joined by former Huddersfield Town striker and Club Ambassador, Andy Booth who helped with the collection and had his picture taken with fans. Hollybank Trust launched their partnership with Huddersfield Town at an exhibition at the Galpharm Stadium back in September, and Andy will be taking an active role in developing the relationship.

Cath Longley, Head of Fundraising at Hollybank Trust said: ‘Patrick has provided us with a really great voice over to showcase our work on a new DVD, and we were delighted to welcome him to Hollybank last week. We are building great partnerships with our local community, and it was great to see so many people supporting us at the Kingsgate Centre during the lights switch-on.’

‘Our partnership with Huddersfield Town is really flourishing and it is great that Andy Booth is providing us with such hands-on help!’

Rest Easy (September 2009)

We were delighted that Mr Mehmet Tiritoglu, Immediate Past Member of the Masons visited Rowan Court in September to donate a cheque for £1,000. These funds will buy Rowan Court some luxury garden furniture.

Presentation by Holme Valley Lodge Masons.

A donation was also received from the Holme Valley Lodge Masons of £5,000 to fund two specialised Hi-Lo beds for Rowan Court.

Cath Longley, Head of Fundraising said: ‘It is wonderful to receive such generous support from the Masons which makes a huge difference to the lives of those living within the Trust. It demonstrates a warm and caring community that the young people residing at Rowan Court are part of. Thank you.’

 

Joining forces with the Terriers! (September 2009)

Hollybank’s latest partnership kicked off with an art exhibition celebrating the abilities of our young adults at the Galpharm Stadium in September.

Huddersfield Town Football Club hosted the event at their ground and invited supporters of the Trust and Town to take a look at some of the artwork our adults produce, and the activities they are involved with through the Vision Project.

Art is a big influence in the Vision Project; our artists have produced several commissions for companies such as Hammonds LLP, Ridley & Hall Solicitors, and Leeds Metropolitan University. And now we are delighted that Huddersfield Town are displaying artwork within their stadium for visitors to buy.

The artists really enjoy working as part of a team to produce the artwork. Peter Morton said: “When people say ‘I like that painting’ I feel I have achieved something”.

The partnership with Town sees the Hollybank logo on the back of the players’ away shirts, and on every away shirt bought by fans. Former Huddersfield Town striker and Club Ambassador Andy Booth said: ‘The players will be proud to wear the emblem. It’s a fantastic thing.’

We are delighted to have such fantastic support from our local football club and look forward to the opportunities it will bring for both Hollybank and the Terriers.

 

Harleys roar in! (August 2009)

Harleys come to Hollybank!

Over 800 bikers roared across the Humber Bridge in a fundraising rally to support three charities, one of which was Hollybank Trust. A donation was made of £2,000 which is fantastic – Thank you!

 

Rowan Court Unveiled (July 2009)

Rowan Court.

Fifteen young adults moved into their new home at Holmfirth this summer following the handover by developers Conroy Brook.

The Holmfirth based company pulled out all the stops to make sure the three state of the art 5 bedded apartments were completed in time for our adults to enjoy summer days on the balconies overlooking the picturesque valley.

The new home provides 24 hour care for adults aged 19 to 30 within stylish apartments. Each apartment has a communal living area and kitchen diner with all mod cons, and 5 en-suite bedrooms.

It joins The Sycamores at South Kirby near Pontefract, as our newest homes. The Sycamores is the long awaited replacement for the Three Pips which suffered flood and fire damage in 2006. The adults living there are really pleased be to back under one roof again.

 

Holly Bank School & Children's Residential Care rated ‘Outstanding’

Holly Bank School underwent a joint Ofsted inspection on February 24th, 25th & 26th 2009, alongside that of the children's home. This is now called an ‘integrated’ inspection and it took place using new guidelines which are being piloted this term. The new system officially comes into place in September of this year.

Apparently we were the first organisation in the country to have the integrated inspection and we were given Grade 1, i.e. Outstanding for our education / school provision and Grade 1, Outstanding for our residential / care provision.

The school report is now published on the Ofsted web site but the children's home report is not available in the same way. If you would like to see a copy please contact us.

One extreme positive which emerged was that Ofsted acknowledged that some of the criteria by which they have to judge our provision is not appropriate, because our children cannot achieve in the same way as those in mainstream schools. As this was a pilot inspection, they will therefore request that some criteria are reviewed and alternatives introduced to better reflect the areas in which our learners are able to achieve. This seems like a major victory (if the recommendations are taken up), as well as the actual grade that we achieved.

We are really proud of our young people and staff and would like to thank everyone who was involved including parents who returned questionnaires, spoke to inspectors, etc. We think the reports really do reflect Holly Bank and would urge you to read them on the OFSTED web site and join in our celebrations! If you would like further details of the variety of services we offer, or would like to visit please contact: admin@hollybanktrust.com or call 01924 483926.

 

Holly Bank School becomes a Specialist SEN Physical and Sensory College

As of 1st September 2008 our school has been designated a specialist SEN school by the DCSF.

This means that:

 

The Vision Project

Sailing.

The new Vision Project which commences on 22nd September has been developed to enable our adult service users to access activities during the day/evening to replace college courses recently withdrawn by Learning Skills Council.

A showcase took place on the 25th June to give people an idea of what type of activities are going to be available from September. The service users then enrolled for the activities they wanted to participate in.

The many activities available include:

The majority of sessions will take place in the newly refurbished building which has been funded by a very generous donation.

 

Hollybank Launches Yorkshire's first iMUSE Technology Programme

The iMUSE programme uses interactive music, sound, visual and vibration stimulation to reduce participants' stress and anxiety levels, promoting a better quality of life. The iMUSE studio features Soundbeam, which allows Hollybank's profoundly disabled students to use an 'invisible keyboard' to compose both sounds and images using their own body movements, even the blink of an eye can be programmed to make the sound of a crashing cymbal. The studio also boasts Vibro-acoustic Therapy, where low frequency sine tones are used to stimulate and 'massage' the body from within.

The programme has been developed in consultation with Professor Phil Ellis of Sunderland University, a leading expert in the use of vibro-acoustic therapy.

The man responsible for bringing iMUSE to Hollybank, Stewart Geddes, has extensive knowledge and experience in providing art and arts training for the profoundly disabled community and has worked in the arts with people with special needs for 20 years. Stewart said, 'Empowering people to communicate in creative ways is the fundamental principal of the iMUSE project. We hope it will allow children, young people and adults who would otherwise have limited involvement in the arts to be seen as artists'.

 

Holly Bank School receives Hi-Tech accolade

ICT Mark award logo.

We are at the forefront of using information and communication technology, and that's official!

Following an extensive external assessment, Holly Bank School has been awarded the prestigious ICT Mark by Becta, the British Education Communications and Technology Agency, the government funded body responsible for promoting the use of ICT in Britain's schools and colleges.

The award recognises the school's success in developing the strategic use of ICT in both administration and across the curriculum and comes just a month after the school were awarded the Becta ICT Excellence Award.

Head Teacher Pam King said, 'We are delighted to be awarded the ITC Mark. It recognises our positive approach to ICT and the benefits it is bringing to our very special young people. We believe that ICT can be used in every aspect of learning and it ensures that our young people have the tools the need to participate and lead their lives to the full'.

Neil McLean, Executive Director for Educational Practice at Becta said, 'Holly Bank thoroughly deserve the accolade of the ICT Mark. They clearly demonstrate how important it is to take an holistic approach to using ICT in schools. Their investment in new technology has contributed to substantial improvements in learning'.

 

Becta Awards - We won!

ICT Excellence award winner 2006.

Hollybank are the proud winners of an ICT Excellence Award. The award, presented by Becta, the Government's lead partner in the strategic development and delivery of its e-strategy for the schools and the learning and skills sectors, recognises excellence in IT and was presented to Hollybank staff on 6 November 2008 at the International Convention Centre in Birmingham.

The ICT Excellence Awards were launched to reward schools across the UK approaching ICT in outstanding or innovative ways, benefiting their whole community, inside and outside the school building.

Here at Hollybank, we are passionate about ICT and pride ourselves as being at the cutting edge of technological advancements to assist those we care for. We work closely with organisations such as Leeds Metropolitan University, Boston University and Edinburgh University to develop these resources.

Steven Hughes, Chief Executive said 'Winning this award is brilliant. The technological advancements of the last ten years, coupled with our own philosophy of education, development and lifelong care have enabled us to create supportive, interactive environments from school to adulthood. The skills our children and young people develop enable them to have fun as well as make positive contributions to enrich their quality of life. We are all privileged to be able to celebrate their successes in winning this national award and intend to continue to improve and enhance the opportunities we offer'.

The Trust also received a cheque for £3,000 for ICT training and equipment, which will enable us to continue to provide high standards and opportunities for those we care for. Further details of the award, including a video of our team, may be found on the Becta web site (note: Adobe Flash plug-in required to view video online).

 

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