Sanderson Education Hub

Ekk! We are hiring...again!

It's one thing to have a vision that you find inspiring, that keeps you up at night and gives you tingles in the pit of your stomach, but it's quite something else when families, local authorities, schools, charities and local organisations want to be part of that vision too.

And actually, it's not just a 'vision' anymore: Sanderson Education Hub CIC is now very much a beautiful, growing community of people excited by what we offer, something where integrity, equity, relationships and community run through every strand of what we do.

So if you are an adult that gets a fizzy feeling in your belly when you think of working with those aged 4-25, and your passion is sparked by the thought of doing so in a not-for-profit that is centred on curiosity and collaboration- we would love to hear from you!

Busy... but like, actual purposeful, get stuck in busy.

Wild North Workshop started today, and while it was planned with lots of possibilities, sometimes the real magic happens when young people lead with what they are interested in, and are allowed to be absorbed by something for as long (or little!) as they wish, trying different options, or sticking with the one thing that lights them up.

It's safe to say we'll need lots of 'before' photos so we don't take all the changes and progress for granted.

Wild North Workshop is our latest offer, quite simply because it was something we kept being asked for.

Sessions will be adapted to age/interests, so while some young people might want to create a take- home herb garden in a planter or work on an allotment, others may be looking to get to grips with joinery and meaningful 'heavy work', such as making a bench or putting up fencing.

It can be accessed as 1:1 or small group (by small, we usually mean 2-4), and it is open to those aged from 4 up to 25- of course not at the same time!

Sessions are low demand and led by interests, so while we have ideas around what might be covered, we are more interested in yours. They have been created for young people as an alternative provision, those educated with an EOTAS package or those home educating.

Sessions are based at the wonderful The Lighthouse Project and are currently available during the day midweek, though there may be the opportunity for evening sessions too.

If you are interested, pop us a message or email: [email protected]

Call out for help...

In order to make this incredible therapeutic space fully accessible, we need to install wide, shallow access steps. We are looking for:

*Railway sleepers/ suitable timber
*Support with installation

Do you know any local businesses or individuals who may be able to support us? Can you help by sharing this message?

The yurt is at the incredible The Lighthouse Project and will benefit young people and families who can access it through ourselves and the wonderful Family Mental Fitness North East.

Telling people they shouldn't really/ don't need to use us...

We do this quite a lot. Which probably seems a little bit odd.

As a CIC, we can put young people before profit EVERY time, because where we do make a profit, our legal structure means that it is reinvested back into young people anyway.❤️

It's about an honest dialogue, and putting the needs of the young person (and their carers) at the heart of any decision.

Of course, the decision belongs to the person enquiring, but here are some examples of why we might suggest they don't use us/ use us a much smaller amount than they enquired about...

We might tell them that if they are putting aside money for tuition, that money might be better put towards a Dyslexia or comprehensive SALT or OT assessment.

If the young person is in an educational setting, we might suggest that actually that setting legally needs to do more, and suggest a very small amount of advocacy instead of tuition.

We might be providing a young person with tuition to help them (for example) get a particular grade in their History GCSE, and as soon as they are there, we will instigate a conversation about it to see if they would like to continue, because they no longer 'need' that service. We want to empower them to decide if their time/ money would then best be spent elsewhere.

We sometimes tell people that instead of an hour a week of tuition, it would be much more effective if we showed them what to do with their young person and they do it themselves (we do this very often with younger learners, especially those that are neurodivergent).

We often tell people that instead of paying us £££ for advocacy, they can just pay £ for advocacy support and they can do it themselves, with direction at key points.

We might not have a specialist in a particular area, so instead of trying to 'patch' something together, we will signpost you to other options.

So if we say you shouldn't use us, should use us less than you thought, it IS personal, but for the very best of reasons.

The wonderful thing about being a partner of The Lighthouse Project is that you get to be part of a community with other wonderful CICs and charities, those like Family Mental Fitness North East .

This allowed some of our learners to take part in an exciting exploration of their identity through an award winning national exhibition celebrating inclusion - which is perfect, as it happens to be one of our core values too.❤️

Not only was this a fantastic creative process, but a wonderful opportunity to have their pieces displayed at a showcase at One Strawberry Lane.

Looking forward to seeing the final exhibition.