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Ay Up Duck Project Final Project / 01

AY UP DUCK SCHOOL HOLIDAY ACTIVITIES PROGRAMMEFINAL REPORT OF SUMMER 2018 WITH ADDITIONAL INFOGRAPHIC REPORTS FOR OCTOBER 2018 AND JANUARY 2019


CONTENTS

WHAT IS AY UP DUCK? 02

PARTNERS 03

ACTIVITIES 05

OUR FINDINGS 06

EVENT NUMBERS 06

UNIQUE VENUE ATTENDEES 08

MEAL NUMBERS AND COST 09

SOCIAL MEDIA NUMBERS 10

SOCIAL MEDIA COMMENTS AND REVIEWS 11

PROJECT JOURNAL 12

PARENT/CHILDREN COMMENTS 14

FEEDBACK 15

OBSERVATIONS AND ISSUES 17

VENUE AND COMMUNITY GROUP MEETING NOTES 19

PROJECT INFOGRAPHIC REPORTS 22


The focus of the Ay Up Duck Project was to identify and support those families who had little or no access to free holiday activities or healthy food throughout the school summer holidays. By building relationships with schools and community groups within the Stoke-on-Trent area we were able to provide a range of free support including the delivery of sports, vocational activities and training in addition to providing healthy meal for those attending the events. The Ay Up Duck events were delivered within community environments using schools, churches and community centres.

By helping existing groups develop what they were able to offer at their venues, or by identifying new venues through collaborating with our local communities, we have developed a wide range of partnerships with suppliers, event providers (both local and nationally), and venues to enable us to increase the provision over the course of the summer which increased the number of venues, activity and support to those families who most needed it.

The term ‘Ay Up Duck’ is a friendly greeting used in Stoke-on-Trent and adopted for the name of the school holiday activities programme in Stoke-on-Trent led by the Port Vale Foundation partnered with Synectics Solutions.

WHAT IS AY UP DUCK?

Port Vale Foundation Trust

(https://www.port-vale.co.uk/news/port-vale-foundation/)

The Ay Up Duck project was led by the Port Vale Foundation Trust partnered with Synectics Solutions. The Port Vale Foundation Trust provided coaches and course leaders for the sports activities at many of the venues but also contributed to the coordination of the project across the city and in bringing a variety of community groups, schools and other organisations together.

Synectics Solutions

(https://www.synectics-solutions.com)

Synectic Solutions, an award-winning software solutions company located adjacent to Port Vale Football Club, provided course leaders at many of the events primarily for the art and craft courses and have also contributed with catering, social media and website management for the Ay Up Duck project. In addition, Carol Shanahan, Managing Director of Synectics Solutions sits on the boards of the Port Vale Foundation Trust and Opportunity Area Stoke-on-Trent (DfE), was a voice for the Ay Up Duck project and was able to secure funding as well as political support for the project.

Tesco

(https://www.tescoplc.com)

Tesco Community Champions for the Stoke-on-Trent area donated food and drink at a number of the community events and cooked fresh meals for the families in attendance and catering for other venues at the same time. Staff from the Port Vale Foundation then transport the freshly cooked food to the required venues across the city. Tesco Community Champions were pivotal to the success of the project as its continued growth throughout the city.


PARTNERS

City Catering

(https://www.citycatering.org.uk/)

As part of Stoke-on-Trent City Council. City Catering also catered at a number of venues over the summer holidays. They are experienced in providing school standard meals which makes them the ideal fit for the school venues in particular.

Makro

(https://www.makro.co.uk/)

Makro Stoke supported the project by making numerous donations of food and providing us with utensils and packaging to enable us to more easily transport food across the venues but also to allow the families to take home the surplus food at the end of the sessions.

Freshways Wholesale Foods

In addition to the huge amount of food donated by Tesco, Freshways were able to supply fresh meat, and in particular halal, to accommodate the needs of local Muslim families.

StreetGames

(https://www.streetgames.org/)

Street Games provided a number of coaches to the venues for various sports and activities which included football, dodgeball, boxercise, fitness and exercise, and badminton. They also provided a lot of the equipment used for the sports activities and supervised each session.

Engage Communities

(https://engagecommunities.org/)

Engage communities are an organisation that specialise in empowering and developing socially excluded and disadvantaged members of the community. Their work in schools and community groups in supporting the project and families has helped us to strengthen the trust between the various groups.

Stoke City Community Trust

(https://www.stokecityfc.com/community)

Collaborating with Stoke City Community Trust, they also supplied coaches to some of the events and supervised families and children during sports sessions and also helped with general organisation during the day.

Netbiz

(https://www.netbizgroup.co.uk/)

Netbiz are a web design, development and online marketing agency who donated the design and built a content managed website, along with hosting it and adding an SSL certificate, to support the Ay Up Duck project. Social Media has proven to be the most appropriate and positive way of engaging with children and their families to make our project a success.

Purple Cow

(https://purplecowtraining.co.uk/)

With a number of families engaging at the venues we felt the need to offer those involved the chance to participate in condensed courses that would give them some basic life skills and training. Purple Cow provided these courses and gave all participants certificates upon completion with a huge number of venues requesting their services.



ACTIVITIES

The activities that the Ay Up Duck project has delivered were focused around fitness, fun, teamwork, creativity, education, social skills and confidence building. Families and children taking part in the events learnt some very valuable skills, formed new friendships and bonds, and became more confident to carry through to the new school term.

Although we offered a varied programme throughout the summer (21 different activities) we felt that more arts and crafts were needed at all venues, and the reason for this was that the parents feedback indicated that the quieter activities gave them the opportunity to engage and interact with their children, which was an area some parents struggled with. Parents and children guided the themed weeks encouraging them to create an Ay Up Duck banner to depict their sessions.

The table to the right demonstrates the activities at our events and the percentage of engagement for each activity.

Marketing

To ensure that families and communities across the area have as much awareness of the Ay Up Duck project as possible, social media pages on Twitter and Facebook were created, and a dedicated website.

Facebook Page: facebook.com/AyUpDuckProject/

Twitter Page: twitter.com/AyDuck

Website: ay-up.org/

Radio

Signal 1 Radio station were commissioned to run some of our marketing, including an awareness and advertising campaign for the project. The project was mentioned at least 3 times a day on their station, and in addition they shared our social media posts letting the public know which events were taking place each day.

Activity

Number of venues the

activity took place at

Percentage of engagement

Football 21 78%

Boxercise 18 67%

Badminton 3 29%

Dodgeball 16 64%

Arts and Crafts 14 77%

Cricket 19 72%

Running 21 76%

Gymnastics 6 23%

Fitness 21 81%

Table Football 16 31%

Hula Hoops 21 20%

Basic Food Hygiene 6 67%

Basic First Aid 6 69%

The Perfect Selfie 2 53%

Floor Board Games 2 31%

Basketball 11 47%

Circus Skills 1 100%

Tri-Golf 3 65%

Curling 3 67%

Dance 2 43%


OUR FINDINGS

Event Numbers

Day Children Adults Total

Monday 112 21 133

Tuesday 79 36 115

Wednesday 89 39 128

Thursday 152 31 183

Friday 101 75 176

Week 533 202 735


Monday 123 37 133

Tuesday 143 35 115

Wednesday 139 57 128

Thursday 132 51 183

Friday 193 37 230

Week 730 217 947


Monday 186 84 270

Tuesday 240 76 316


Thursday 148 56 204

Friday 222 62 284

Week 911 337 1248


Monday 103 36 139

Tuesday 79 31 168


Thursday 155 67 222

Friday 89 27 116

Week 590 222 870


Monday 156 52 208

Tuesday 133 29 162


Thursday 122 52 174

Friday 198 59 257

Week 767 259 1026


Monday 10 1 11

Tuesday 136 37 173


Thursday 50 26 76

Friday 200 46 246

Week 531 176 707

Week 1

Week 3

Week 5

Week 2

Week 4

Week 6


Week 1 Week 2 Week 3

Children Adults Children Adults Children Adults

533 202 648 222 730 217

Total Total Total

735 870 (18.37% increase on wk 1)

947 (8.9% increase on wk 2)

Week 4 Week 5 Week 6

Children Adults Children Adults Children Adults

767 259 911 337 531 176

Total Total Total

1026 (8.3% increase on wk 3)

1248 (21.6% increase on wk 4) 707

These figures demonstrate the rate of growth week on week, as the project gained momentum through advertising, social media and word of mouth.

Weeks 1-2

• Highest number of children in a day from 152 to 164

• Highest turnout of attendees in a single day from 183 to 225

• Total number of children in a week from 533 to 648

Week 3

• Highest number of children in a day (193)

• Highest turnout of attendees in a single day (230)

• Total number of children in a week (730)

• Total number of adults in a week (217)

• New record weekly total of 947

We estimate that the unofficial total for week 3 was above the 1000 mark, as a number of meals were provided to a couple of other projects at various times throughout the week.

Week 4






Week 5






Week 6

As this week was a bank holiday week, we only had a single event on the Monday, which would have impacted numbers.

It is also worth noting that a few events had finished prior to the last week.

Summary


Unique Venue Attendees1309

460The following table shows exactly how many unique individuals attended each of the Ay Up Duck events over the holidays. The grand total of 1769 is split between 1309 children and 460 adults.

Children Adults Total

The Yard, Meir 176 85 261

St Michael’s Church 124 69 193

Salvation Army, Kidgrove 115 76 191

Bentilee Neighbourhood 146 NA 146

St Stephen’s Church 83 56 139

Middleport Park 71 33 104

St Peter’s CofE Academy 74 23 97

ST6 HUB 51 26 77

Broadway Church 62 10 72

Longton Central Hall 38 19 57

Families2 gether 47 9 56

Bethel Church 33 11 44

Burslem Scout Hut 35 8 43

Forest Park Primary 33 8 41

YMCA 29 9 38

Glebe Academy 38 NA 38

School Trips 33 4 37

Goms Mill RA 31 5 36

Wesley Hall Church 27 4 31

Clarice Cliff Primary 25 NA 25

Keele University 24 NA 24

All Saints Church 14 5 19

Totals 1309 460 1769

children

adults


Meal Numbers and Cost

• Total of 5926 meals served during the holidays.

• 1309 children

• 460 adults

• £6,474.50 food cost

The costings below indicate Tesco donated £300 towards the summer, however, this is not a true reflection of their support and endeavour to ensure the project was successful. Tesco provided food donations that equated to over £700, plus the further £300 donation and a staggering 592 hours in community champion staff support. These hours consisted of food collection, preparation, cooking, meal transportation and engagement with children and families.

NumbersC

ITY

CA

TER

ING

Provided

2385 meals

At a cost of

£5,485.50

Which is an average of

£2.30 per meal

For

St Peter’s AcademyGlebe Academy

Clarice Cliff PrimaryST6 Hub

Goms Mill Residents AssociationMiddleport Park

Keele University Sports ClubSchool Trip

TESC

O

Provided

2245 meals

£300 donation

582 hourscommunity support

Discounted food items

£25 emergency supplies

For

Forest Park Primary SchoolSt Michael’s Church

Salvation ArmyBroadway Church

Wesley Hall Methodist ChurchBentilee Neighbourhood Centre

Burslem Scout HutPortland Street Project

Lou Macari Centre

VE

NU

ES

PR

OV

IDE

DFO

OD

1296 meals

At a cost of

£664

Provided, prepared and cooked on site

By

Longton Central HallYMCA

The YardSt Stephen’s Church

Bethel ChurchAll Saints Church

School Trips


Social Media Numbers

‘Impressions’ indicate the reach of posts through the Facebook page. This records the number of times posts have appeared in an individual’s Facebook newsfeed.

‘Likes’ refer to how many individuals have engaged with our Facebook page to follow our official posts and events.

The Ay Up Duck Facebook page peaked at 345 likes and is continuing to grow. The individuals who ‘Like’ the page are those most likely to advocate Ay Up Duck, usually through sharing Ay Up Duck Posts and increasing the reach, which appears to be the case here.

Impressions

Likes

Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Total

20,037 4,090 33,929 28,358 20,634 8,468 115,516

Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Total

149 86 39 34 20 17 345

345Facebook likes

100

200

300

400

28 03 09 15 21 27SepJul

30 05 11 17 23 29 0226Aug

07 13 19 25 31 04

Total Page Likes: 345 Total Page Likes


Social Media Comments and Reviews

Examples of reviews left on the Facebook page, rating Ay Up Duck as 5*/5*

Fantastic group of individuals working together to improve our community. Well done Becky and all partners who’ve suported. An amazing Initiative.

Fantastic work, well done everyone.

I went with my 2 kids and nephew also my friend and her 2 boys, we had a lovely time. My son and nephew enjoyed playing football, my daughter and her friends enjoyed doing craft. They also had hot food and a pudding also a drink which was a lovely touch. Would definitely recommend and will be going back soon. Highly recommend.

Excited and grateful for all you have done this 6 weeks for us all so thanks guys.

The one’s we have been to have been fab, thank you all for your hard work.

Superheroes you guys... absolutely fabulous... well done.

No words are enough to say how proud you should all be. Thank you.

Fantastic work, well done everyone.

Just wanted to say a massive thank you for all your hard work over the holidays at Ay Up Broadway Methodist Church. My 2 kids have enjoyed every minute. My boy is 11 and my girl is 6, I find it difficult to find places that cater activities that they both will enjoy. Great that this included a meal too, I’ve never seen them eat so much, lol. Brilliant, free event much needed and appreciated by local families who struggle over the school holidays! Thanks again. Hope you do this again in the future!

What a brilliant way of helping out our families who struggle so much to feed and entertain their children during the school holidays.

There have also been a number of positive comments and feedback on the Facebook page with some examples:

Sadie Haynes Fiona Keeling

Sarah Wood

Becky Marston

Mark N Heather Pike

Audrey Steele

Clair Holland

Joan Mountford

Rachel Bentley

Tina Mendolia


Project Journal

• The Tesco team have been pivotal throughout the summer holidays by donating, cooking and serving hot meals at a number of venues. They also responded well to additional requests and dietary requirements to ensure that no one went without a healthy meal.

• Assessing the numbers to cook for each day was often testing, on one occasion there was a surplus of food at St.Michael’s Church, Chell, so we contacted My Community Matters and were able to supply 40 meals for their Portland Street and homeless projects. Thereafter we continued to support their project throughout the summer holiday period.

• The training courses provided by Purple Cow, proved to be a huge success. At participating venues, over 60% of children and families attended the courses. This showed that families were keen to engage in the courses we provided, and we continued to offer them.

• At Clarice Cliff school, two children outside saw what we were doing and asked to come in. The business manager at the school knew them so allowed them in and then contacted their parents to confirm they were happy for them to be there. The benefit of having school staff present ensures that all regulatory and safeguarding issues are addresses and having personal knowledge of the families was valuable.

• Some schools, such as St Maria Goretti and St Augustine’s, did not have sufficient facilities to hold sessions on their own school premises, so we offered to support them by providing some trips to enable the children to have at least some holiday experiences. The first was a trip to Tru Ninja (https://www.truninja.co.uk/) and Hanley Park, which was very well received. Transport to and from was provided by the school which made access far easier for attendees. The second trip was to Tubing (https://www.stokeskicentre.co.uk/tubing) at the ski

slopes. Some of the children had never been on an outing and some not even to Hanley, a few short miles from their homes, which shows the desperate need to continue this type of provision. The final trip was to Port Vale Football club where the children were in and around the stadium and tool pat in sports and activities throughout the day.

• We noted that the School events tended to be more structured than the community events which works well and ensures that more children engage in the activities continuously. The community events tend to be less structured meaning children can hop in and out of sessions and move around at their own pace. However, some children who are low in confidence or shy may end up not taking part unless encouraged. The Community events should therefore include both structured and less structured activities to cater for everyone.

• Forest Park School – This venue offers a secure and safe environment for children and families throughout the 6 week break. Many of these families do not let their children outside as the area is located in a busy cross-city transport route, so without our Ay Up Duck programme in their local school would have spent much of the holidays indoors. The ethnic diversity of this school community means that the continued social engagement with other families and children is critical for these children to maintain their English language and continued learning over the summer holidays. Families in this area also confirmed that they would be willing to part-fund family and child only outings in the future.

over

of children and families attending the sessions participated

in the courses

60%


• In addition to Port Vale players making an occasional appearance, presenters from local radio station, Signal 1 also joined events to help advertise the Ay Up Duck project and to help spread awareness across the Stoke area.

• We helped to support the Portland Inn project with food provision. This is a project that is being led by My Community Matters to support each other and improve a particularly disadvantaged area where they live.

• The Yard, Meir, provided anecdotal evidence that the families and children attending have close relationships, knowing each other from within the community. Not only did a group of families attend every session, they also became advocates, spreading awareness of Ay Up Duck to their friends via word of mouth, resulting in a stable and increasing turnout. This also applied to all our events as the relationships and trust built.

• Lillian Dodd (Lord Mayor) attended a number of sessions, and promised to help to enrich the project further by having local councillors engage with the project and provide funding where possible.

• We signposted a number of groups to the CIF (Community Investment Fund) and Stacy Sharman (Stoke-on-Trent Council) visited some venues where she saw potential opportunities for the council to support the project.

• We were contacted by the Citizens Advice Bureau regarding the possibility of them attending our sessions to signpost families to potential extra benefits they may be eligible for. We asked each group individually whether they would be interested, and the bureau’s attendance was decided by each group.

• At one school-based session, a mother and her 4 children attended, one of whom goes to the school. She came a little later (30 mins) and asked if she could come in.

She didn’t want any pictures to be taken as she didn’t want her husband to know they attended. This highlights the need for sensitivity and trust in Ay Up Duck as well as partners for the attendees of the events, due to the chance that some parents may view attending as a blow to their pride. We do expect however that after the first time a parent with that fear attends an event, they will quickly understand and appreciate that the events aren’t focused on poverty or hunger, but the messaging and community is based on trust, fun, social engagement and working together.

• We still had some sessions overlapping with other providers. This is unavoidable and difficult to map accurately due to the late confirmation for funding throughout the various organisations.

• Academics from Keele University attended on two separate days to observe the project. They are also going to help us to evaluate project to underpin any further funding applications. They were impressed by the encouragement and the diversity within the project to ensure we were attentive to each venue’s particular needs and requirements.

• The best way to ensure this becomes sustainable on a national scale is to use the Tesco template for other supermarkets and everyone to work together. This also applies to the funding and criteria from each. If we can get all the funding criteria and the supermarkets on the same page, we can make this more sustainable.

also joined events to help advertise the

Ay Up Duck project

Signal 1

Project Journal


Parent/Children Comments

• We spoke to two parents at a High School session who couldn’t speak highly enough of the events. They specifically pointed out the benefits of children starting high school with friends made during the Ay Up Duck events. The structure at the events was praised, and it had been brilliant to see children “coming out of their shells” during the sports and activities and definitely becoming more confident. They also praised the high standard of the food at the events (gave a special mention to the cheese pie on the Monday), and said that they’d be happy to speak to us or future research.

• A parent at a Church event told us of the desperate need for support for her children with autism. The environment at the session gave her children the chance to interact with other children that were younger than hers, and her children felt more comfortable because of this. She wanted to know about everything else we were doing as she thinks it is brilliant and of huge benefit because of the consistency it provided for her children.

• Talking about one community event, one parent left a Facebook comment which said “had a great time again thanks n glad the sports ppl understand with mj n his ADHD”. She’d mentioned at the time that her child who suffers with ADHD and can usually face many difficulties as a result and who can struggle in school, had a brilliant time and had remained engaged throughout due to how well the sports coaches looked after him.

• The Headteacher and Teachers in attendance of the school trips thanked those concerned for the unbelievable experiences the children have had the opportunity to participate in. Some of the children would not leave their homes during the summer period and have built life long memories. One of our main objectives was that children looked back with fond and happy memories from their time engaging with our project and we feel comfortable that we have achieved this.

Some of the children would not leave their homes and have built

life long memories


Feedback

Lovely friendly helpful volunteers and staff.

Parent 7The scheme is a brilliant thing in the holidays and all the kids have enjoyed it so far. My kids have done the CPR and food hygiene on the scheme too.

Parent 1

We don’t need the food support so much, but the actual safe place and activities are the reason we attend. I don’t let my children play outside on the street as it’s a dangerous area, so for us we can come and relax and my children can be outside and active.

Parent 3I can be myself and everyone is kind to me and help me to try and be good as I have ADHD.

Parent 9

I can’t thank Port Vale enough for what they have done for my son who has learning difficulties. Jake has been fantastic, and my son has really come out of his shell and now wants to follow in Jakes footsteps and become a port vale football coach.

Parent 4

I think it’s really good that they are doing these activities as people struggle to find things to do in the school holidays.

Parent 10

Thank you for having us and making us welcome.

Parent 6The children enjoyed every session we attended and were keen to come again.

Parent 13

This has been amazing, my daughter starts in September, and already feels at home.

Parent 2All the children have been happy and they have had somewhere to come in the holidays.

Parent 8

Thank you for making me and my kids welcome and happy all the time.

Parent 5

Thank you for making me and my kids welcome happy all the time.

Parent 11

Good choice of activities and somebody on hand to assist and the food has been fabulous.

Parent 12

The children enjoyed every session we

attended and were keen to come again


Best school holidays ever. I had somewhere SAFE to go. I had lots of fun and made new friends. The food was ace as well. I would have just been in the house all holiday.

It’s a great opportunity to stay in contact with our families.

Can we have more days?!

It’s a fantastic idea for our children as many families struggle financially during the summer holiday.

I loved it!

For the vulnerable children their return to school has been much smoother as they have received regular contact with our staff through the holiday club.

Perfect activities for me and my brothers. Good dinner. I really have enjoyed myself during this holiday and would like this every holidays.

Current Student

Staff Member 1

Child 1

Staff Member 2

Child 2

Staff Member 3

Child 3

School Head teachers/support worker comments

We don’t need the food support so much, but the actual safe place and activities are the reason we attend. I don’t let my children play outside on the street as it’s a dangerous area, so for us we can come and relax and my children be outside and active.

This is great, can’t believe it is free – the food is fantastic – learnt something new (First aid course)

Parent 3

Other passing comments

Mum 3 children – not from the school, said ”It has been a God send to us and my children. My husband left me on the first day of the holidays with no money and the 3 children.” She came nearly every day. She also said “It has helped me keep my mind occupied, the children had somewhere FREE to play, managed to save money as the family, had a meal every day, and also took left over food. Could not be more grateful.”

Family

This is great, can’t believeit is free!


Observations and issues

FoodAll the food that was sourced and provided was of a very high standard although there were variations between the different food providers and cost also varied. Complaints were minimal and generally around the source of food provided rather than the cooked meal – for example one parent questioned whether minced meat had been used instead of soya mince in a vegetarian meal and was satisfied when the empty plant-based packaging for soya mince was presented to them.

Following the pilot holiday programmes during Easter and the May half term breaks we had made the decision to make all our meals vegetarian. Despite this, one school requested we provided a meat option using Halal meat from a local supplier but this made the provision of a meal more complicated.

Plan of action

Going forward, we propose to deliver a set meal drawn from a pre-determined menu. This will assist in the planning and procurement of food supplies for the meals provided within the community venues and led by our Tesco Community champions. For School supplied meals (City Catering) we will consult with the schools.

Sports and enrichment activities

Despite a good range of activities available to the Ay Up Duck programme, children and their parents wanted even more variety, but there were some limitations such as sports coaches skills set, the weather conditions and availability of equipment. We noted a particular gap at venues where we did not offer arts and crafts or other enrichment activities in comparison to venues where we did have some provision.

Plan of action

In future, we have agreed that by providing a broader range of sports activities will help to keep the children interested, try new things, encourage team work and confidence building. We will also aim to provide a range of arts and crafts at every venue to encourage quieter, reflective activities that also offers quality time for parents to participate with their children. Other enrichment activities will complement this provision.

Collecting data and feedbackWe recognised the need to record and collect data but due to staff capacity and not really being too sure what we needed to collect made it more difficult at the end of the project to analyse the findings as we did not have sufficient in-depth data. We distributed our feedback form to parents and children but only received a disappointing number of returns and not every venue was happy about us collecting data.

Plan of action

We now recognise that we need specialist help to support the data collection of the Ay Up Duck programme, including qualitative and quantitative data (surveys, interviews and feedback sessions), and to ensure that all the venues and providers understand the benefits of collecting data to construct a sound evidence base for future or further funding, directing resources, raising awareness and providing a political voice for change.


Social media and website Once the branding for the Ay Up Duck programme had been confirmed we made a slightly delayed start on creating a social media presence and we started to generate positive attention on our Facebook and Twitter Feeds. Comments made on Social Media also contributed to the data collection.

Signal 1 Radio helped us to raise the profile of the project and direct traffic to our social media sites. However, despite the project paying for marketing through this route , we were not convinced that it represented good value for money or generated increased numbers at the Ay Up Duck venues.

Plan of action

With a strong social media presence, we will encourage the Community Groups and Schools to promote the Ay Up Duck programme.

Funding

Funding from three different sources supported the Ay Up Duck programme, each stipulating what the money could be spent on. The delay in receiving money from the funders created some frustration with the providers.

Plan of action

Ensure that relationships between the funders, the organisation and the providers are clearly communicated in advance. We will also look at strategies to enable us to maximise the funding, and to continue to look for funding opportunities.

School presence at sessionsThere was a direct correlation of positive action between those schools who had school staff present and those schools that just gave us access to their premises. Head Teachers, Teachers, Family Liaison Officers, Business Managers and Safeguarding Officers played a pivotal role in engaging with the families.

Plan of action

All School venues will be asked to provide at least minimal presence at each of the Ay Up Duck events, and asked to commit to supporting the project.


Venue and Community group meeting notes

We organised a post-project meeting with as many individuals as we could from each community group or school to obtain feedback for future holiday periods.

St Peter’s CofE Academy

Arts and crafts were certainly needed at St Peter’s. Although they provided some of their own craft activities, the offer was not as varied as other sessions. It would have been lovely for children and families to create something that they could take home to give them a sense of achievement and we will do this in future. The sports activities and coaches in particular were absolutely superb, as was the food which was all hot, vegetarian and provided by City Catering.

The school told us that they identified a huge change in behaviour from children towards the end of term time, when the holidays are approaching. They also see a rise in contact with the safeguarding team, with pupils visiting them and discussing life outside school, which supports the view that these children see the school as a safe haven, offering these children and their families stability. It was noted that the project gave children and parents the opportunity to sit down as a family at a table together, something that many families do not have the option to do at home. The opportunity for families to come into the schools also gave parents, who had previously seen the school as an intimidating environment due to their own experiences, the chance to see that schools had changed. The parents came to realise that there is nothing wrong with coming to schools for these sessions and there is absolutely no stigma. This has a knock on effect on attendance at parent’s evenings etc, which encourages engagement in a positive manner. We committed to providing a Christmas meal for families at the school who may not be able to provide one for themselves during the festive season.

Glebe Academy Primary School

The Head at Glebe attended the meeting and could not speak highly enough of the project

and its impact on some of her children. They commended the quality of the food, which was provided by City Catering, and commented that the sports and coaches were excellent. The school would like the option to host arts and craft sessions as not all of the children enjoyed sport. The school has seen children that attended our session now engaging in after school activity clubs, something that they did not do prior. Children at the school have become recognisably more confident, but the school is going to collate some hard data and look for pattern changes with their children.

St Peter’s and Glebe discussed whether they could partner and then engage with other schools around their location to support each other and work with pupils on their transition. Other points of discussion included the possibility of using high school pupils as young leaders and that this would provide those pupils with experience to add to their CVs, and using the Children’s University to support and accredit activities.

The Head spoke of an instance involving a child being beaten up outside the school. The child was from a different school, but once the Head had brought him inside and cleaned him up the only call that the child would allow her to make was to his school, not his parents or the police. This highlights the safe and secure place schools are to some pupils.

Forest Park Primary School

The school’s feedback highlighted the trust required to engage families with what was being offered. Numbers could easily double and triple if the project had more time to be advertised and pitched slightly differently. Their families generally have no disposable income, so the project would be of huge benefit to them in the long term. The family liaison officer spoke about the need to educate families about why it is important to engage with other families, groups, sports, activities, and religions.


The task of changing the mentalities of families at this school far outweighs that of other schools. This is due to the amount of different religions, nationalities and asylum seeking families as well as the number of disadvantaged families in the area. The liaison officer suggested using a role model from within their community to offer sessions during the programme to promote engagement, gain trust and build relationships. The officer also fed back that families need to understand that their children have to enjoy things other than what they are used to in order to expand their life experiences.

It was identified that more arts and crafts were required to engage with parents as well as pupils. We will work alongside the Portland Street Project to identify a Community Champion who can help promote both projects.

Children and parents absolutely loved the food and gave great feedback about the dedication of the Tesco team. The one issue with food was when the families requested curry but did not enjoy it when it was provided. This was due to the differences between their homemade, traditional and authentic curry compared to the ‘British version’ made by Tesco.

Salvation Army

The sports and activities that we provided here increased the numbers at what was already a well attended venue. They spoke highly of the coaches and physical activities, despite the limited space, although there was a desire for more craft-based activities. The sessions did build parents’ confidence and helped them engage better with their own children. The Salvation Army group knows families in need and has particularly strong relationships with the families they engage with. They are keen to extend the sessions across the other Salvation Army centres in Stoke-on-Trent.

St Maria Goretti / St Augustine’s / Our Lady and St Benedict’s Primary School Trips

The feedback from these schools was that the trip opportunities enhanced the confidence, self-belief and life experiences of their children.

The children they engaged with tended to be nocturnal at home, spending all night on their computers and most of the day in the house sleeping. During the project, the children were excited to attend the sessions and thoroughly enjoyed all aspects including the food. The only issue with the food was on the final trip. The children were served vegetarian spaghetti bolognaise, from City Catering, which they did not eat. This is because they were not used to eating meals like that, as most would be eating processed snack foods at home. The staff bought sandwiches for the children instead.

The trips were only available to a small number of children, so the schools targeted particular children for the trips. Any other families the schools felt required support were signposted to our other events. Some of these families engaged with a nearby church session, despite being of a different religion, and this highlights first the need to support families, and second that there is no barrier or stigma attached to the project and venues. We also discussed the possibility of using the nearest high school, Discovery, as a potential venue for their children during future holidays, as well as other local primary schools, due to facilities available at those locations.

St Stephen’s Church

All the feedback from St Stephen’s was positive. The community group here is already well established, providing a range of support to the local community and has extremely strong relationships with families, so much so that a number of parents often donate funds towards the church. The sports and activities we provided further increased numbers at an already well attended venue. We also provided training courses to some attendees, which were very well received. Although we were able to support the venue with food, the group provided much of their own thanks to funding from the local councillor. The church was pleased to be able to provide healthy, nutritious meals, including a vegetarian option, to children who they knew did not always have access to healthy food at home.


Families from the local school were signposted to the sessions held at St Stephen’s, so the project is helping to build new relationships within the community, which will support even more families going forward.

The groups said that the SPACE scheme had greatly reduced anti-social behaviour in the area. They also claimed that our project had aided this reduction. We will therefore look to partner with SPACE next year.

Tesco and Tesco Community Champions

The Tesco Community Champions provided the majority of the meals for our sessions, which meant that they were able to engage with and build their own relationships with the families and children that attended. In doing so, they witnessed first-hand the difficulties some families face during the holidays, but also recognised the importance of strong relationships within communities. The Tesco Community Champions believed that the atmosphere was more vibrant when the weather was good, which is understandable, but also recognised the buzz when the children and families could see food being prepared or when courses were provided. The buzz was more noticeable during well-attended events.

To aid our feedback and data collection, we asked the Tesco team to relay any conversational feedback they heard, as well as anything they witnessed throughout the project.

Statement 1:

“When visiting parents to collect uniform, we were told of children being ‘put out’ at 8am and being told not to return home until 5pm, with no food or money. If it hadn’t been for the neighbours and friends these children would not have been fed.”

Statement 2:

“We have been put into Sanction (community group) as my partner who has left has started work. I haven’t eaten for 2 days to ensure that my children can eat, this free food and the activities has been a life saver for me. Monday they even gave us food to take home, these made sure my three children ate.”

Statement 3:

“We don’t know how you’ve managed to feed so many people, but you are community heroes in our eyes. My kids have eaten everything you have served.”

Statement 4:

“Miss (child in tears) can you please come home with us so you can cook at mine as my dad cannot cook, my belly has been warm and nice with your food.”

Statement 5:

“If this food was not available, I would hate to think what would have happened over the holidays. I have 4 kids and feeding one is expensive but my lot, well at least their bellies are full from lunch so they can have beans on toast for tea.”

Statement 6:

“Our school recently took some families to a nearby woodland, a mere 2 miles away. The parents had no idea the small area even existed but are now contacting the school to arrange another trip to nearby forests as well as taking their children to the more local woodland areas out of school time.”

Ay Up Duck Project Final Project / 01Ay Up Duck Project Final Project / 22

21Venues supported

the project

AY UP Summer Report

6 WEEKS1008 Hours60,480 Minutes

153Events hosted across

Stoke-on-Trent

1769Unique Attendees

460 Adults / 1309 Children

5,926Meals Provided

46/54%Female / Male Split (Children)

Supported by

72Volunteers 20

Activities

Attendees ranged from

0-83years of age

3 training courses, delivered 9 times to

416children and adults



17Venues supported

the project

AY UP October Half Term Report

1 WEEK168 Hours10,080 Minutes604,800 Seconds


Stoke-on-Trent

860Unique Attendees


1,117Meals Provided


Supported by

42Volunteers 17

Activities


0-74years of age

5 training courses, delivered 8 times to

223children and adults



5 Venues supported

the project

AY UP New Year Report

2 DAYS48 Hours2,880 Minutes172,800 Seconds


Stoke-on-Trent

146Unique Attendees


231Total Meals Provided


Supported by

19Volunteers 10

Activities


0-68years of age

Including

37Take Home Meals


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