Pure Innovations

Pure Innovations: Benefits of working for Pure

Thu, 28 May 2009 14:06:30 BST

Pure Innovations has a range of benefits for its staff, these include:

Core benefits

Competitive salaries with annual cost of living reviews
Holiday entitlement - minimum of 22 days pa. and 8 statutory days leave
Final salary pension scheme
Flexible working options
Lunch allowance (for some day services posts)
Voluntary benefits (e.g. inoculations against influenza)
Employee Assistance Programme
Catering facility at Sanderling Building

Extra Benefits

Opportunities for sponsorship towards relevant qualifications
Management development Programme
Personal development Programmes
Reimbursement of (relevant) professional subscription
Incentive Reward Scheme
Staff Christmas party
Annual Fun Day

Our Admin and Finance Team at last year's Team Building Fun Day

Pure Innovations: Vacancies

Tue, 12 May 2009 16:00:55 BST

We have a new service for Northamptonshire County Council.

For information about this please download:

Northamptonshire Supporting Information.

Advert

We currently have the following vacancies for Northamptonshire:-

Work Link Manager - Northamptonshire (part time, £31,110 pro-rata 18 hours)

In this new post you will set up and establish a brand new supported employment service for Northamptonshire, establishing a small team of four Employment Officers to deliver top quality services to exacting performance standards.

Covering Letter

Application Form

Equal Opportunites Form

Job Description

Person Specification

Employment Officer - Northamptonshire (£21,364)

To provide high quality support to clients and secure high quality employment and training opportunities with employers.

Covering Letter

Application Form

Equal Opportunites Form

Job Description

Person Specification

Other areas of our service:

Stockport:

Senior Day Service Officer - Stockport (£24,007 pro rata part time)

We are seeking change managers who can lead a team to achieve high performance using your knowledge, values and experience of working with people with learning, physical or sensory disabilities.

Covering Letter

Application Form

Equal Opportunites Form

Job Description

Person Specification

Applications should be returned by post to:

Lynn Bradley

HR Assistant

Pure Innovations Ltd

Sanderling Building

Bird Hall Lane

Cheadle Heath

Stockport

SK3 0RF

Alternatively they can be returned via email.

We have new vacancies arising regularly, make sure that you bookmark this site.

Pure Innovations: About Pure Innovations

Mon, 11 May 2009 12:39:42 BST

Pure Innovations Limited is a not-for-profit company. The Company is based in Stockport and works across the Greater Manchester region but has worked across the UK and Europe.

We have two main areas of work:

To support unemployed people who face major barriers and can not get support from mainstream agencies to move into employment; and
To manage the modernisation of old-style and traditional disability day centres on behalf of Local Authorities.

In addition, the Company runs associated businesses that enable genuine training or volunteering opportunities to help people on the way towards paid employment. These ventures bring in essential income to help the Company deliver its work and include a full-time radio station, Pure 107.8FM, a Museum and Conference Centre, environmental schemes and café bars.

Company Brochure

For more information on Pure Innovations you can download our company brochure.

Pure News

Download our newsletters containing news articles on our work. Editions available: October 2008; May 2009.

Pure Innovations: Free Hot Drink at Cafe Pure

Mon, 11 May 2009 12:22:49 BST

Download your Free Hot Drink Voucher for use in each of our Cafe Pure cafes here.

Choose from our freshly prepared sandwiches and salads, hot and cold snacks, or delicious bakery range and with each purchase of £5.00 you will receive a FREE Hot drink of Fairtrade coffee or tea.

For more information on our Cafes and their roles within the Community, go to our main page here.

See our advert which has been produced in Pure News and Stockport Public Information Guide here.

Don't forget to use your loyalty card. With each purchase of a hot drink, collect a stamp and after 9 drinks, your 10th is FREE. Collect your cards from each cafe.

Pure Innovations: Barking & Dagenham

Tue, 24 Feb 2009 15:39:28 GMT

Pure Innovations are proud to be working in the Barking and Dagenham area.

The contract with the London Borough of Barking & Dagenham commenced on 1st April 2008 and we are supporting people with a Learning Disability into paid employment.

We are currently supporting the following employers with clients in work:-

London Borough of Barking & Dagenham

Primary Care Trust

Bupa

Sainsbury's

Tesco

Poundland

Homebase

Coming Soon Launch / Celebration Event April 2009

All referrals must be made through the Community Learning Disability Team (CLDT) based at St George's, Dagenham

(Tel: 020 8227 5493)

Related Links and Contacts:

John Nutburn, Placement Team Manager

Tel: 0208 2159655 john.nutburn@pureinnovations.co.uk

Elvera Ballo, Employment Adviser

Tel: 0208 2159657 elvera.ballo@pureinnovations.co.uk

Georgina Cogman, Employment Adviser

Tel: 0208 2159660 georgina.cogman@pureinnovations.co.uk

Mark Phillips, Employment Adviser

Tel: 0208 2159661 mark.phillips@pureinnovations.co.uk

Julie Summers, Employment Adviser

Tel: 0208 2159659 julie.summers@pureinnovations.co.uk

Or write to us at:

42-48 Parsloes Avenue, Dagenham, Essex, RM9 5NU

Pure Innovations: Work Link

Tue, 24 Feb 2009 15:27:38 GMT

Work Link is Pure Innovations' supported employment service that assists and supports people facing significant barriers to accessing employment because of a disability or social disadvantage.

Work Link finds jobs that matches the needs and skills of people with those of the local labour market.

Pure Innovations currently supports people in a wide range of jobs such as Retail/Customer services, Admin and IT roles, Care Workers, Catering Assistants, Cleaners and Gardeners. Most Jobs are in the Stockport area although a contract with Manchester City Council and links with job centres means that we also support people throughout Greater Manchester.

Related Links and Contacts:

Amanda Noon, Work Link Manager

Tel: 0161 474 5900, Email: amanda.noon@pureinnovations.co.uk

Caroline Morgan, Senior Employment Officer

Tel: 0161 474 5931, Email: caroline.morgan@pureinnovations.co.uk

Sarah Sturmey, Work Link Manager

Tel: 0161 474 5900, Email: sarah.sturmey@pureinnovations.co.uk

Chris Barlow, Programmes Manager

Tel: 0161 474 5910, Email: chris.barlow@pureinnovations.co.uk

Rachel Roberts-Newton, Business Liaison Manager

Tel: 0161 474 5940, Email: rachel.roberts-newton@pureinnovations.co.uk

Louise Parrott-Bates, Director of Employment

Tel: 0161 474 5900, Email: louise.parrott-bates@pureinnovations.co.uk

Pure Innovations: New Work Link Contract

Tue, 24 Feb 2009 15:23:02 GMT

Pure secures new contract for Work Link for Northamptonshire County Council

We are pleased to announce that Northamptonshire County Council has commissioned Work Link to provide them with a new employment service for Learning Disability, Physical and/or Sensory Disability and Mental Health. Northamptonshire have also commissioned Work Link to provide them with a Transition Service for young people with disabilities, which will enable them to be supported on their transition from education and/or college into employment.

We are currently recruiting for a Manager and four Employment Officers, and actively searching for an office accommodation, where the team will be based (see Jobs@Pure for details).

The new service will commence in May/June 2009.

Doug Cresswell, Louise Parrot-Bates, Barbara Harris and Rachel Jones have recently spent time speaking to a number of other local authorities about Work Link and Day Services contracts. Watch this space for future news of Pure’s growth.

Pure Innovations: Charity Cheque Presentation

Tue, 24 Feb 2009 13:08:14 GMT

Our team of staff and service users working in Alkrington in Middleton, recently presented the Pennine Acute Trust at North Manchester General Hospital with a cheque for £1000

Mary Sunderland, the Volunteering Coordinator for the Pennine NHS Trust services, contacted Julia Townsend, Pure’s Manager in Alkrington after hearing about the VoCAT projects we operate in Middleton. Mary is responsible for increasing the number of volunteers who work in the four Trust hospitals and was keen to involve Pure.

It was decided that Pure Innovations would run a stall at the entrance to North Manchester General Hospital in Crumpsall, selling essential items that you may require if being admitted to hospital. This will provide a service that is currently not available in the hospital.

The project commenced in September and the donation to the Trust has been generated through the sale of the items which is proving to be successful as it is used by a wide range of visitors to the hospital including patients and staff. The donation will help support and enhance the Trust’s services and patient environment.

Julia Townsend from Pure Innovations says “We are delighted to have raised this money in such a short space of time. This project is another example of how our service users can participate as it provides a regular valued daytime activity for our service users to be involved in and integration into a local community.”

Jan Bolton, Charitable Fundraising Manager said, “The Pennine Acute Hospitals Charity are delighted to receive this donation from Pure Innovations following their regular fundraising in our main entrance at North Manchester General Hospital. The money will be used to enhance patient services at the hospital.”

Pure Innovations: National quality mark awarded from Matrix

Mon, 23 Feb 2009 13:46:35 GMT

NATIONAL QUALITY MARK EQUALS NATIONAL RECOGNITION FOR PURE INNOVATIONS LTD

Pure Innovations Ltd are delighted to have achieved accreditation against the nationally recognised quality mark – the matrix standards. matrix is an external quality framework for the delivery of information advice and guidance (IAG) in the field of learning and work.

We wanted to ensure that their clients and employees were receiving the best information, advice and guidance possible. The organisation decided that the matrix Standard, amongst other things, would help it to drive up quality to clients and customers and better promoting and publicising our services.

An assessor spent four days at Pure in December meeting with staff, clients, parents and carers, and individuals working for SMBC, as well as a number of employers.

During the assessment the assessor identified four key strengths in relation to the services delivered by Pure, which are:

Pure Innovations are exhaustive and comprehensive in establishing the best possible solutions for its clients.
Information resources disseminated to service uses are constantly quality checked to ensure they are in receipt of current and valid and appropriate information.
Clients can expect to receive personal levels of support that are without question unsurpassed.

Chris Barlow, Programmes Manager at Pure Innovations commented:

“We are particularly pleased with the outcome of this assessment which is the culmination of many months planning and preparation by managers and staff throughout Pure Innovations. The findings and comments made by the assessor highlight clearly our values, strengths and continuing commitment to providing high quality information, advice and guidance”.

The auditor quoted: “Pure Innovations staff competencies and their dedication to projects and individual needs, goes beyond expected levels and rightly, Pure Innovations as a valued and respected provider of services to a most needy group, who would otherwise be marginalised in society”.

Pure Innovations: Ofsted Inspection Results

Mon, 19 Jan 2009 12:47:33 GMT

Pure Innovations are the first supported employment service to be awarded an “outstanding” grade 1 by Ofsted Inspectors for the delivery of a Jobcentre plus WORKSTEP programme.

WORKSTEP is a government funded programme which provides support and training for people who have a disability or other disadvantage to find and sustain employment over 16 hours per week.

Pure Innovations manages three other sub-contractors based in Oldham Wigan and Bury as part of a consortium who also share this accolade. The consortium currently supports 156 people in paid employment.

Programmes manager Chris Barlow said “we are all extremely delighted and have worked hard to achieve this result. We are pleased that the support we provide to our customers has been officially recognised as being of the highest standard.”

To read the full report in Pdf format please click here

Pure Innovations: Ministerial Visit

Mon, 19 Jan 2009 12:38:21 GMT

Anne McGuire, Minister for Disabled People visited Pure Innovations with local MP Ann Coffey on Thursday 17th July to congratulate us on obtaining our Grade 1 Oustanding result in the Ofsted Inspection last December, which resulted in us being the only WORKSTEP provider in the UK to have achieved this result.

Anne McGuire met with Doug Cresswell and Louise Parrott Bates in Blackshaws Cafe in Stockport Marketplace. She then met with our client Frank Hodgkinson, Employment Officer Sarah Sturmey and Scott Manton of Staircase House. Frank is employed at Staircase House where he is a Warder. Frank enjoyed showing the Minister around the Heritage Museum.

For further details of our Workstep programme, please contact Programmes Manager Chris Barlow on chris.barlow@pureinnovations.co.uk

Pure Innovations: Grounds Maintenance in Schools

Mon, 19 Jan 2009 12:36:47 GMT

Our VoCAT Projects team have extended the work undertaken by our service in Rochdale and are now working with a number of local primary schools in the Stockport borough.

The VoCAT Stockport team are now working at local primary schools Adswood and Cheadle, helping teachers, pupils and the school community with essential tasks including maintenance of playgrounds, gardening, weeding and planting and anything else identified by the school.

These projects allow greater integration of our teams of volunteers into the community, combating social exclusion and providing our service users with essential skills.

This project is an extension of the projects already undertaken within the borough which include Park Wardens in a number of the area's parks, and assisting the Council's Care and Repair Team who manage the Borough's town centre car parks.

Pure Innovations: Financial Summary

Mon, 19 Jan 2009 12:14:50 GMT

Click to view a PDF copy of the company's Financial Statements for 2008-09 .

Set out below is a summary of the financial performance for the last three years. The figures include reporting for pension scheme charges under FRS17. All the adjustments made in the published financial statements under FRS17 have been aggregated together and are included within Staff Costs.

Income & Expenditure Period ended 31 March	2008£,000	2007£,000	2006(9Mos)£,000
Income	4,518	4,333	3,196
Staff Costs	2,897	2,939	2,528
Indirect Costs	1,041	944	504
Net Funds Movement	580	450	164

Pure Innovations: Pure Crew's Care and Repair Team

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 11:42:54 GMT

Pure Innovations team of volunteers Pure Crew have joined up with Stockport Council's Community Pride initiative to help clean and improve the town centre's car parks.

Each week, the team will work in areas surrounding the town centre's car parks undertaking tasks including laying tree bark, weeding, cutting back shrubbery, litter picking and other essential work.

This project is an extension to the other volunteering schemes that Pure Crew attend each week which includes Park Wardens, grounds maintenance, catering and marketing Pure 107.8 FM.

For more information on the work of Pure Crew and other volunteering activities please contact David Beech on 0161 474 5900.

Pure Innovations: National Care Leavers Week Reception

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 11:38:14 GMT

'Work In Progress'

To coincide with National Care Leavers Week, Pure Innovations hosted a Reception on Tuesday 28th October, 10 am - 12.30 pm at Cheshire Conference Centre, Edgeley Park, Stockport.

This inspiring Reception highlighted the achievements and successes of young people, their mentors and employers. Speakers include representatives from the local authority, NHS Trust, employers and care leavers.

The Reception was one of the largest events to be held in the region and individuals registered to attend included representatives from local authorities, employers and care providers from Lancashire, Merseyside, Cheshire and Greater Manchester.

The event was sponsored by the BBC and Stockport MBC and in association with Stockport NHS Trust.

For further information on the event please email: bdt@pureinnovations.co.uk or call Rachel Roberts Newton on 0161 474 5905/5902 or 07929 161110.

Pure Innovations: Cafe Bars

Tue, 7 Oct 2008 16:06:01 BST

Pure Innovations runs six Cafe Bars (branded Cafe Pure) located in some of the region's Heritage sites and Green Flag parks within the Stockport borough. These are operated as social enterprises on a not-for-profit basis as they offer unique opportunities for people who attend our services to volunteer to work at these premises, as well as providing customers with a range of freshly prepared hot and cold food and Fair Trade coffee and tea.

For more information about the Cafe Bars, including location and opening times, please visit the 'Cafe Bar' section on this site by clicking here.

If you'd like to see our Image Gallery of some of our Cafe Bars, click here.

Pure Innovations: Community Volunteering

Tue, 8 Apr 2008 15:29:16 BST

Pure Innovations' Care Services also offer people who attend the chance to get involved in community volunteering projects.

These projects are valuable to both the people who volunteer and the wider community as a whole. In general the projects take the form of either horticultural work - whether it's working in the Parks on the Park Wardens projects or working in communities with Garden Force, marketing Pure's full-time radio station, Pure 107.8 FM or serving the community in one of Pure's many cafe bars.

To find out more, click on the appropriate project:

Related Links and Contacts:

David Beech, Senior Day Service Officer

Tel: 0161 474 5569

Email: david.beech@pureinnovations.co.uk

Pure Innovations: Building Based Services

Tue, 8 Apr 2008 15:26:16 BST

Modernising day services means developing new experiences for people whilst at the same time maintaining and improving on the existing services. For those people who use Building-Based Day Service as a platform towards community and inclusiveness Pure Innovations work hard to make sure that people get a range of activities that offer some personal development or health benefit

What have we done that's so different?

We close down buildings when we have proved to the people who use them and their significant others that they are no longer needed. This means that people don't worry or grieve about the closure because they have already seen the benefits that the closure will bring and are genuinely looking forward to doing something better. Some examples:

We've closed down an Adult Training Centre which was set up to move people closer to the world of work we did this because it had no vocational role and really was just minding people rather than supporting people to learn new skills or experience challenging new things. Once people got real jobs they grew to recognise and value the difference!
We've closed down a Drop In Centre because it was grotty and isolated and there were plenty of nicer places to do lunch and coffee;
We've shut down three community links that were in fact isolating the people who attend them as they were in communities that had little to offer in terms of social interaction, leisure facilities or employment;
We've closed a Horticultural Unit that was really a segregated allotment at the back of a hospital because people found a plot in a real allotment and shared experiences with non disabled people;
We've closed a sheltered workshop where people 'earned' 20p an hour to pack nuts and bolts - a 'job' they shared with a local Prison!

You still offer a Building-Based service though - What's on offer for those people?

For those people who do not wish to access the volunteering projects or work, Pure Innovations provides a range of building based sessions to choose from. These sessions supplement peoples access to support workers who will help people get out and try things in the community as a result of their person centered plan.

We're always improving the service we offer, and are adding to the sessions all the time. Just some of the sessions that are currently available are listed below.

Click on the links to see photos of the sessions:

Information Technology,
Complimentary Therapies (including Aromatherapy, Reiki and Indian Head Massages),
Personal Development Planning,
Healthy Living Planning,
Recycling,
Ground Maintenance,
Art and lots more.

Related Links and Contacts:

Fiona Morrison, Day Service Manager - Building Based Care Services

Tel: 0161 474 5906

Email: fiona.morrison@pureinnovations.co.uk

Pure Innovations: Care Services

Tue, 8 Apr 2008 15:25:14 BST

Pure Innovations' Care Services is about supporting independence and reducing dependence. It is about people being able to work out how they would like their lives to be and Pure helping them to achieve their goals. We help people to look beyond traditional day services and take steps towards a fulfilling and active life.

We consistently exceed the guidelines set out in the Government paper 'Valuing People'

How are we different from other providers?

We have over 20 years' experience of developing groundbreaking ways of working with the most disabled and/or disadvantaged people in the community.

We look beyond the traditional services offered to vulnerable people and ask both ourselves and them how we can do better. Then we do it.

How do we do it?

Pure Innovations values people. We not only value the people who use our services and respect them as customers but we place great emphasis on bringing the right people into our company to work alongside our customers. You must be passionate, innovative and open to change to work at Pure.

We drive this proactive spirit throughout the company and strive to always include people in paid work, life long learning, meaningful community activities that will improve the lives of people who are socially excluded and their families.

What do we do?

At Pure Innovations we offer a variety of opportunities to get involved in the day to day community including some quite innovative volunteering projects.

Click on the links in the menu on the left to find out more about what's on offer.

Related Links and Contacts:

Fiona Morrison, Day Service Manager

Tel: 0161 474 5906

Email: fiona.morrison@pureinnovations.co.uk

Pure Innovations: Pure Radio Live Online

Tue, 8 Apr 2008 15:07:15 BST

Click Here to Listen to Pure Radio Live!

Pure Radio is now available live on-line. For more information about Pure Radio, Stockport's Community Radio Station, visit their website at www.pureradio.org.uk

Pure Innovations: Social Responsibility

Thu, 6 Mar 2008 16:13:49 GMT

We at Pure Innovations believe that we should be a company where people want to work and a large part of this is to help our staff to give something back to the local community.

As a result, each year Pure chooses a Charity of the Year. This year, we're supporting local charity St Ann's Hospice and all monies raised for the financial year of April 2008-April 2009 will go directly to the operating and running costs of the hospice.

St Ann's cares for thousands of patients with Life-threatening illnesses, while supporting their families and carers in Greater Manchester. As they only receive 35% funding from the NHS they depend on the generosity of the local community to raise £6 million a year to maintain the service free of charge to patients.

We will be highlighting forthcoming events on our website.

For more information go to the St Ann's Hospice website

Pure Innovations: Workstep

Thu, 6 Mar 2008 15:39:01 GMT

WORKSTEP is a national programme run by the Department of Work and Pensions and Jobcentre plus.

Pure Innovations Limited, in partnership with Jobcentre Plus, have a contract to deliver WORKSTEP across Greater Manchester. To help deliver WORKSTEP locally we have three sub-contractors in Oldham, Wigan, and Bury.

The programme recently been awarded an "outstanding" Grade 1 in the 2008 Ofsted Inspection.

Click on the following links to find out more:

Who is it for?
How can I access WORKSTEP?
What sort of support is provided by WORKSTEP?
What can I expect?

Related Links and Contacts:

Rachel Megram Disability Employment Advisor, Stockport Jobcentre, Heron House, Wellington Street, Stockport. SK1 BE

Tel: 0161 494 2006

(to find out more about Rachel Megram and how she works with Pure, click here).

Related links and contacts within Pure Innovations:

Lianne Hewer, Employment Officer, DEA Team

Tel: 0161 474 5938, Email: lianne.hewer@pureinnovations.co.uk

Catherine Hackney, Progression Officer

Tel: 0161 474 5929, Email: catherine.hackney@pureinnovations.co.uk

Chris Barlow, Programmes Manager

Tel 0161 474 5910, Email: chris.barlow@pureinnovations.co.uk

Louise Parrot-Bates, Director of Employment

Tel 0161 474 5740, Email: louise.parrot-bates@pureinnovations.co.uk

Pure Innovations: Mental Health

Thu, 6 Mar 2008 15:34:58 GMT

Set up in 1997, this scheme is designed to support people with enduring mental health problems to obtain suitable employment.

Referrals come via the Stockport Community Mental Health Team and Disability Employment Advisors within Stockport Job Centre enabling people to gain paid employment of more than 16 hours per week.

For clients open to the Community Mental Health Team, wishing to work under 16 hours per week, referrals can be made to the Support Time & Recovery Worker.

To find out more click on the following stories:

Related Links and Contacts:

Margaret Parker, Employment Officer

Tel: 0161 474 5920, Email: Margaret.parker@pureinnovations.co.uk

Pure Innovations: Volunteering

Thu, 6 Mar 2008 14:48:22 GMT

Have you got some spare time?

How would you like to give something back to your local community AND do something that would look great on your CV?

We’re currently looking for volunteers to drive people to their vocational placements, to help out in our day centres based around Stockport... or to support people working on projects in the community.

Don’t worry if you don’t have any experience …we’ll provide any training you need.

It’s a great opportunity to meet new friends and you’ll be supporting people with disabilities to be more independent.

If you’d like more information contact Fiona Morrison on 474 5900.

Pure Innovations: Cafes

Thu, 6 Mar 2008 12:57:59 GMT

As part of Pure Innovations' business portfolio, we run seven cafe bars and a full-time radio station. These are all run as commercial ventures raising money to reinvest back into the essential work that Pure Innovations undertakes.

The cafe bars serve a dual purpose; not only do they serve high quality food and fair trade drinks to paying customers, the cafes are also training venues in real commercial settings where people who attend day services can volunteer alongside trained catering staff.

For people who volunteer, the experience is invaluable as they not only learn about food hygiene, customer service and food preparation, but they also get the opportunity to interact with members of the public while doing a worthwhile job. For more information about the volunteering scheme, click here.

To find out more about the individual cafe bars we run, either click on the menu to the left, or any of the images below:

Blackshaw's

Stables

Lakeside

Vernon

Level 2

Cafe Pure Sanderling

Cafe Pure Brinnington

If you'd like to see a sample menu from one of our cafes, Stables Cafe, click here.

Related Links and Contacts:

Claire McIntyre, Catering Manager

Tel: 07929 162 259

Kaye Meadowcroft, Assistant Catering Manager

Tel: 07929 162 260