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| Chalvey Grove Children's Centre |
This has been a busy year (April 2015 - March 2016) for our outreach work which has focused on helping people to reduce home energy costs in Berkshire. The majority of education and advice work has been targeted to low-income families, with talks also given to frontline workers who support low income families, and community groups.
Berkshire Community Foundation (BCF) Family Home Energy and Education Project
Funding received from BCF enabled Helen Dean, Project Co-ordinator, to run 15 drop in sessions in Children’s Centres across Berkshire. Helen was able to advise 114 families on how to reduce their home energy costs.
Ten of the fifteen sessions were run in Slough, which has the highest index of multiple deprivation in Berkshire. In addition, 23 frontline workers at the Children’s Centres were also briefed on how they could advise and signpost their clients. They stated that they would expect to pass on this advice to 395 families over the next six months, and staff that were trained estimated that over 40% of their clients were fuel poor. Helen was able to give a talk to an English lesson at one of the Slough Children’s Centres, and since then has been asked to give talks to a further 6 English lessons for parents.
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| Britwell Mother & Baby Group, Slough |
CCB are very grateful to SPEPT for funding a year’s project starting in September 2015, to carry out 54 drop in sessions at Children’s Centres across Berkshire. From September to the end of March Helen has run a total of 40 sessions, either 1:1 consultations at a drop in sessions or a talk to a group of parents at a mother and baby group or an English lesson. This has allowed 349 families access to a valuable advice.
There have been new partnerships formed with WEA (Workers Education Association), Slough Lifelong Learning, and Slough Health Visitors.
Evaluation forms completed by families after they receive a 1:1 consultation, or a group talk indicate that 83% said that they would look for a better deal on their energy.
Front-line workers at Children Centre’s have also been briefed by Helen. Julie Harris, a Family Support Worker stated that some of her families had economy seven heating, and struggled with using it, and the cost of it. Helen was able to provide her with a handout on how to use Economy Seven heating properly. Julie was able to pass this on to many families and in particular to one of the mothers she was supporting. As a consequence, this mother no longer needed to top up her heating using electric fires in the evening, and was able to save money on her electricity bills.
Big Energy Saving Network (BESN)
CCB was granted funding from BESN for the first time this year allowing Helen to advise 101 individuals and train 55 Health Visitors in Slough and Wokingham. The talks to Health Visitors were very well received, as a comment on an evaluation sheet shows - “Excellent advice, very useful for staff awareness” Sarah Parsons, Head of Slough Children’s Services.
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| Charlotte, pictured with her children |
Energy Best Deal
CCB carried out 10 Energy Best Deal sessions which comprise of talks on reducing home energy costs, switching supplier, insulating your home, claiming benefits that you are entitled to, and top tips for reducing energy use at home. Five talks were given to front-line workers, advising them of ways they can advise and signpost the families they support in reducing their home energy costs. This included talks to staff and volunteers of The Better Care Project which provides support to older people after they have been in hospital. Five talks were also given to community groups.
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