The company’s activities provide creative art and textile activities in the North East, with a focus on positive and rewarding experiences, including improved health and wellbeing, reducing social isolation, confidence and employability or life skills. This is contiguous with supporting creative achievements and challenging long held beliefs to turn negative past experiences into positive. Positive practices and achievements in regular supported group creative activities can often impact more widely across a participant's future life. We support our communities by providing resources for use during, and after projects. We keep in touch with participants in person, by telephone or using moderated private social media groups, which are moderated by experienced volunteers. These groups facilitate sharing and mutual support, which is crucial to ensuring a positive experience over the longer term. Successfully awarded a Sunderland City Council contract to start end of August 2021, a 2 year contract across 3 ward areas within Sunderland. Having been successful at delivering a 10-week beginner course and have therefore been awarded a progression course, based on feedback from existing learners. This has now been approved and is currently being delivered.ESF (LA6) with Gateshead Council - completion with a high success rate for 2020 we applied and gained a new funding contract for Round 1 in South Tyneside and Sunderland. We were successful with Round 1 and received a further contract for Round 2 in August 2021.Project achievements includes a positive social impact by in person delivery, social media communications and recorded IAG.Our reviews from participants speak for themselves and clearly demonstrate a major impact in their mental health and wellbeing having engaged in our projects, learnt new skills, met new friends, gained confidence and improved self-esteem.

The company’s stakeholders are our venues as well as North East residents, for this particular year Sunderland and South Tyneside, who wished to explore their creativity and improve skills and mental health in a positive group environment. It also includes local suppliers, volunteers, project participants and the community that has engaged with us via social media and digital channels. This year we have provided high quality classroom learning opportunities, which resulted in increased confidence to try, then sustain activities and explore and maintain new social contacts. It has also resulted in a change in our curriculum offering a progression course to those who have completed the beginner course with us.We conducted research among our project participants to identify future types of projects they would be keen for us to provide. The feedback has led us to increase our focus on encouraging sustainable practices with upcycling, recycling, repurposing, saving waste textiles from landfill, seeking out slow fashion and promulgating longevity of use of resources.We have established positive community relationships with other stakeholders enhancing our offer to other venues and volunteering our own time and resources to support these venues, for example Grindon Community Church Project. This has resulted in being invited to participate and contribute to their user group forum, helping to raise awareness of our organisation and what we have to offer. Another new venue, The Forage Community Project in Washington have invited us to assist with writing funding applications and procuring new activities to be offered within the centre. One of the participants from this particular venue has set up a ‘cottage industry’ based on the skills we have taught her to support the venue in raising funds.Building Blocks Day Centre in Washington is a new stakeholder we are using to offer our Sunderland contract, they have raised our profile by supporting us, promoting us and inviting us to offer other courses.

Directors' salaries 11,793

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