NewRoots Workshop

This feedback came to us by way of a handwritten card from the parent.

These comments really capture that our provision at New Roots is achieving what we set out to do for young people.

We are always delighted to hear what a positive difference it makes for young people, when they find an environment in which they can thrive.

This week we were able to bring together Vistry volunteers and our young people, to work together on the construction of an outdoor learning shelter for Alphington Primary School.

Huge shout out to both the volunteers AND our young people for the huge amounts of effort that they put in. The day ran brilliantly!

Working alongside the volunteers was also a great opportunity for our young people to meet new people and gain construction work experience, working alongside industry professionals

A great community project!

Just a little update to our move post from April...

We're delighted to be fully settled into our workshop's new location, generously provided by Vistry Group.

From the new site, we have been continuing to deliver construction based alternative provision to young people from Exeter, East Devon and further afield.

We have also been continuing the great community work with our young people, delivering projects to local schools. More on those soon!

This week we received the following message from the parent of a young person (YP) that has made great progress with us in the workshop.

During this very busy week, which included taking our young people out onto a live work experience project at an primary school, we were delighted to receive this feedback from of our referrers!

Happy Friday Everyone! Have a great bank holiday weekend!

This parental feedback comes from the Mum of a young person that has thrived whilst attending New Roots Workshop!.

Our instructors are continually impressed with his concentration and effort levels, as he prepares himself for a college course in September, it's great to hear from his family how much his progress is appreciated.

As we get this half term underway, it was great to receive this feedback from a local authority referrer on our work with a young person that started with us in March.

She has shown a real commitment to improving her skills base and is working well towards achieving her CSCS Green Card soon!

New Roots have moved!

We are delighted to announce that Vistry have very generously constructed a brand new training facility in Exeter.

We can continue delivering vocational based training on an even bigger scale, thanks to the social value commitments of Vistry Group.

Vistry staff, their sub-contractors and the New Roots team have used the Easter break to transport our facilities to a new purpose built plot, adjacent to one of their latest developments!

I was talking to a local lad yesterday and he told me he wanted to be a content creator when he leaves school. I nearly fell over. We have thousands of youngsters who think they can make a living by dancing in front of a phone or talking about their breakfast. Meanwhile, we have a massive shortage of brickies, sparks, and plumbers. You cannot build a country on likes and followers. We need people who can actually do a day's graft and produce something physical. It feels like we are losing our work ethic to a digital pipe dream.

The modern world makes it look like being an influencer is easy money and fame. But common sense tells us that a skilled trade is a job for life. When the internet fads change and the apps disappear, a man who can build a wall or fix a roof will always be in demand. We should be encouraging our kids to take pride in manual labor and real skills. There is more dignity in a day of hard work on a building site than there is in seeking attention from strangers online. We need to stop valuing fame over function before our infrastructure crumbles.

Should we be steering our youth back towards apprenticeships and manual trades? Or is the digital world the only place left to make a living?

👍 Drop a YES if we need to prioritize real trades over social media careers.
❤️ Drop a NO if you think being an influencer is a valid modern career. 🇬🇧

We've had some great feedback from our young people this half term!

This comment delighted and amused the team!!

We are almost ready to start building the most ambitious New Roots construction yet!

We first built a scale model, we then built the roof section at our workshop. With a few tweaks and some problem solving along the way we did it!

At nearly 6m wide it will have a cap on top to form a chimney, benches around the inside and a fire pit in the middle.

We've had to dissemble it, then number each component so that we can reassemble it again at the wonderful Primary School, where the pupils there will benefit from their new all weather, outdoor learning facility.

All made possible by the generosity of the Devon County Places To Go Fund.

Why have we built this?
- This project forms part of our work experience programme, helping young people develop the skills they're going to need in the workplace.
- Projects such as this give our young people the chance to use and show off their newly developed abilities by building something that benefits the local community.

It'll soon be finished, watch this space!