Sheltered Housing Scheme Gardening event 26th May 2010

‘Plant a Pot’

Ankermoor Court

Suggested by the ‘Senior’s United’ working group and led by the Tenant Participation Team and Caretaking Services at Tamworth Borough Council.

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Sheltered Housing Gardening event – ‘Plant a Pot’ at Ankermoor Court May 2010 Contents Page 3 Seniors United working group Page 3 Letter to tenants / Independent Living Managers Page 4 Responses from pre-questionnaire sent to residents Page 4 How and why was an event chosen for Ankermoor Court? Page 5 Communications and Action Plan Page 6 Request sent to staff, partners and Councillors encouraging

partnership working on the day. Page 6 Partnership meeting with caretaking team Page 6 Risk assessments Page 7 Leaflet sent to tenants Page 7 The event itself Page 8 Photographs taken during and after the ‘Plant a Pot’ event Page 9 Post questionnaire responses after the event Page 9 Winner of the ‘Plant a Pot’ competition Page 10 Was it worth it and will we be doing another one? Page 10 Thank you Page 11 -12 Appendices Page 13 Further contact / information

Never done any gardening before and I have really enjoyed it. Encouraged to all to go in the garden and do something we can all appreciate. Maura Bridges, resident of Ankermoor Court

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Seniors United working group Seniors United is a group of Sheltered Scheme residents who get together on the 3rd Wednesday of every month to discuss housing issues relevant to sheltered accommodation. At a recent meeting there was a suggestion from a resident that we should consider a gardening event at the sheltered schemes and after discussion with the caretaking team at Tamworth Borough Council we decided to run a Sheltered Housing gardening event between the months of March – May 2010 to tidy up the communal garden areas (where applicable). After further discussions with the group it was suggested that the event leaned more towards a ‘Plant a Pot’ event as sheltered housing tenants have varying degrees of mobility difficulties. The pots could be planted inside or outside of the schemes and within easy reach of the individuals taking part to allow participation by all. It was agreed that a letter should be sent to all sheltered housing residents to inform and encourage residents of the forthcoming event. Letter to tenants / Independent Living Managers A letter was sent to every sheltered housing scheme resident to advise them of the proposed event and included a request to complete an enclosed pr-event questionnaire. Tenants were advised that anyone could become involved in a way that suits them. Residents may wish to assist outside in the gardens, plant a pot with flowers or even make a hanging basket. They were not required to make a commitment to help and could change their mind at a later date if their circumstances changed. A letter was also sent to the Independent Living Managers to advise them of the proposed event. It was requested that they hand delivered the letters and encouraged the completion of the pr-event questionnaire.

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Responses from pre-questionnaire sent to residents 370 tenants were requested to complete a pre-questionnaire to see whether they would like a gardening event at their sheltered housing scheme. The tenant participation scheme received 75 (20%) replies

41 (55%) of respondents said that they would like a one day gardening event at their scheme.

11 (14.6%) of respondents were from Ankermoor Court and 9 (12%) resided at Cheatle Court sheltered housing schemes. It was later decided by the Senior’s United to pilot a gardening scheme at Ankermoor Court.

How and why was an event chosen for Ankermoor Court?

Sheltered Housing Schemes

02468

1012

Ankermoor C

ourt

Annandale

Bright Crescent

Magnolia

Cheatle Court

Edwa

rd Court

Masefield Drive

Oakendale

Thom

as Hardy Court

Wincrest House

Schemes

No. of responses

The above sheltered schemes were the ones that responded positively to having a gardening event at their schemes. Wincrest House has now been decommissioned and demolished so this was later taken off the list. The top 3 schemes that were put forward for an event are;-

1. Ankermoor Court 2. Cheatle Court 3. Edward Court

Would you like to have a one day event

at your sheltered scheme?

41

27

11 2Yes

No

Not sure

No response

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Communications and Action Plan

Action / communication Completion Additional notes

Write to all tenants /residents residing in sheltered housing schemes across Tamworth Borough Council.

05.11.2009 A pre-questionnaire sent to monitor interest in an event taking place.

Request partnership working from the caretaking team.

December 2009

Work out costs for plants, pots and compost for the event.

£200 To be fully inclusive of everything connected to the event.

Discuss the event and costing with the Senior’s United group who put forward the original idea.

£200 Inclusive of raffle prizes and refreshments on the day.

Meet with caretaking team leader to complete risk assessments and to consider any health and safety issues that could arise on the day.

January 2010

Agree on a date between March and May 2010

Request support from local Councillors

March 2010 Request that they judge the best pot /hanging basket.

Produce leaflet and obtain quotes from printing local printing companies.

April 2010 Graphics team produced and printed leaflets in house at Tamworth Borough Council.

Purchase raffle prizes £40

Send out poster and A5 leaflets to each tenant to encourage participation.

May 2010

Pilot one scheme for the event 26 May 2010 1 - 4 pm

This was agreed by the Senior’s United group who put forward the original idea. Ankermoor Court from responses received.

“This was one of the first projects I have been involved with since joining this scheme. There has been really good support from all the residents. I feel very proud of the participation and social interaction of tenants. It’s what we needed to bring people together.” Jeanette Lambert, independent living manager.

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Request sent to staff, partners and Councillors encouraging partnership working on the day. Councillors were invited to attend the gardening event and it was requested that they judged the pots and hanging baskets that the tenants had planted. Partnership meeting with caretaking team A meeting was held between the tenant participation team and the caretaking team to consider what could be achieved on the day. It was decided that the following would be actioned;

• Tenants would be encouraged to plant a pot or a hanging basket.

• Flowers, pots, hanging baskets and compost would be provided by the tenant participation team.

• Support would be given by the caretaking team in assisting tenants and clearing weeds from pathways. Shrubs would be trimmed back where necessary.

• No large work would be carried out at this small event, for example, hedges or trees.

Risk assessments A risk assessment and health and safety concerns were discussed between the caretaking team leader and the tenant participation team.

“It was much nicer and livelier than I expected.” Joan Bolton “It was a very nice day

and it made a change from sitting in the flat all by myself.” Reg. Coombes

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Leaflet sent to tenants

The event itself The event went ahead on Wednesday 26th May 2010. The event was very successful with 14 tenants, Councillors and family members of tenants in attendance. On the day each tenant was issued with a raffle ticket and entered into the free prize draw to win a £10 garden centre voucher. Everyone was encouraged to plant a pot or hanging basket of their choice with the assistance of the caretaking and tenant participation teams. These were later judged on the day by 3 Councillor’s who were in attendance to support the event. (Councillors Mary Oates, Ken Norchi and Peter Seekings)

“Nan always loved her gardening. She is 80 years old and her family have done her garden. This has helped her go outside and enjoy what she loves. It was good to see her so happy with everyone else.” Sarah Cartwright.

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Photographs taken during and after the ‘Plant a Pot’ event

“It was a nice change. I enjoyed doing the hanging baskets. It encouraged everyone to work together.” Rose Hemmings

“Not been outside for 2 years. Nicest garden I’ve ever seen. I should have been out before.”

Margie Gordon.

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Post questionnaire responses after the event 100% of respondents stated that they are very satisfied with the completed sheltered housing scheme gardening event that they were involved in. 100% of respondents stated that they are either very satisfied or fairly satisfied with how they were kept informed about the project. 100% of respondents stated that they are either very satisfied or fairly satisfied that their views were taken into account during the planning of the project. Tenants were asked what they felt the key benefits of the project are. The following responses were noted;-

• 100% of respondents stated that it ‘Encouraged a group of residents to work together on a project’.

• 85.7% of respondents stated that it ‘Promoted a positive image of Sheltered Schemes in Tamworth’.

• 78.5% of respondents stated that it ‘Encouraged local community action amongst tenants and residents’.

• 100% of respondents stated ‘Everyone had a chance to participate in a way that suited them’.

The following comments were made in relation to the key benefits of the event other than the ones noted above;-

• “I’m not a gardener & have never planted a tub before, I really enjoyed it and it gave me a bit more confidence”.

• “Very good getting together”.

• “Happy with plant pot result”.

• “For the occasion everything went well including a lovely day to remember”.

• Caretakers did a very helpful job. Well done, thank you”. Winner of the ‘Plant a Pot’ competition

Mrs Rose Hemmings and Councillor Mary Oates

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Was it worth it and will we be doing another one? The event was very successful and was a pilot for other sheltered schemes. Thank you The tenant participation team would like to say a special thank you to all involved in making the event a success: To all the wonderful tenants and their families who were involved in making the event successful and a real pleasure to work alongside. Jeanette Lambert, Independent Living Manager, at Ankermoor Court was an excellent support both before the event, encouraging participation, and on the day. The caretaking team: Stuart, Tony and their team leader, Trevor for all their hard work and dedication to the event. Councillors: Mary Oates, Ken Norchi and peter Seekings. Thank you for judging the ‘plant a pot or hanging basket competition.

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Appendices The following graphs highlight the responses collected from 75 tenants across the sheltered housing schemes:

8 (10.6%) of respondents rated the standard of the communal garden areas at their sheltered housing scheme as excellent 24 (32%) as good and 21 (28%) a poor standard. 20 (26.6%) of respondents left no comment surrounding the

current standard of the communal garden areas at their sheltered housing scheme.

Other comments received relevant to this question are as follows;-

• “Don’t have much spare time. If I was free on the day I would come along.”

• “Just tidy garden please. Residents too old.”

29 (38.6%) of respondents stated that they would like the gardening event to take place in the morning. 34 (45.3%) of respondents stated that they would like the gardening event to take place in the afternoon.

How would you rate the current standard of the

communal garden areas at your sheltered

scheme?

8

24

21

20Excellent

Good

Poor

No comment

05

10152025

No. of

responses

Assis

ting o

n the da

y

Planting yo

ur ow

n pot

Refreshme

nts

Responses

What would encourage you to come along to the

gardening project?

What time of day do you think the gardening

project should be held?

29

34

Morning

Afternoon

12

When would you prefer that we hold the

gardening project?

32

2

26 Weekday

Weekend

No preference

20 (26.6%) of respondents stated that yes they would be interested in coming along to the gardening project. 35 (46.6%) of respondents stated that no they would not be interested in coming along to the gardening project 18 (24%) stated that they

were not sure whether they wanted to come along to a gardening event.

15 (20%) stated that they would like to get involved and help out with the gardening project. 39 (52%) stated that they would not like to get involved and help out with the gardening project.

13 (17.3%) stated that they were not sure whether they would like to get involved and help out with the gardening project.

How would you like to be involved?

4

13

14

12Helping to promote the

event

Coming along as a

spectator

Planting a pot with

flowers/ seeds

Helping out on the day

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

No. of

responses

Yes No Not sure

Responses

Would you be interested in coming along to the

gardening project?

0

10

20

30

40

Number of

responses

Yes No Not sure

Responses

Would you like to get involved and help out with

the gardening project?

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Further contact / information If you would like a copy of this document then please contact the tenant participation team on:

Telephone: 01827 709448 Freephone: 0800 183 0454

Tenant Participation Team Tamworth Borough Council

Marmion House Lichfield Street Tamworth Staffordshire B79 7BZ