Avocet House
Turnstone House
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At the beginning of September several of the adults and young people set off on a mission to complete a 1km assault course in the woods. After a practice run it got competitive with everyone racing against each other!
Despite the effort required, everyone had a fun, muddy, action-packed day with hopes to return to conquer the high ropes next time………
The second on-site camping festival was held at Turnstone House this year. All the young people and five adults successfully pitched their own tents (and kept them fantastically neat!), then camped out for three days, wearing the specially designed festival merchandise!
A larger event had been planned for this year and was to include live bands, but due to the current situation the adults had to be a bit more creative. Activities included a drumming workshop, badminton, football, a ‘kidnap’ team challenge and a magic workshop.
As you would expect, there was plenty of cooking on the camp fire! Everyone joined in with all the activities and helped with any tasks required, resulting in a great, fun time for everyone involved!
One of our young people started off-road driving lessons in February with an instructor from Pro-Driver Training. He attended four lessons before the Coronavirus outbreak, and has completed a number of manoeuvres such as using a roundabout, parallel parking and bay parking. His instructor has said he is a natural, and has offered to continue his driving lessons on the roads after his seventeenth birthday.
He completed practice theory and hazard perception tests last year as part of the SES Life Skills programme, and recently has been revising and taking more practice theory tests in preparation for taking the real thing.
He will soon be seventeen and is really keen to pass his driving test and get himself a car.
Gardening lessons began in early spring 2019 and a raised bed was built to hold all the herbs, salad and vegetables to be grown in addition to the ‘allotment area’ for fruit and squash plants. Due to the success of producing and selling the crops to staff, the group raised £40 profit, which is to be used for them to go on a day out (gardening related!).
By the end of January 2020 a poly tunnel was ready to use, all plants were grown from seed and each young person had their own bed within the poly tunnel to plan and work on. The team decided to produce compost from waste materials and have since collected old food, peelings, fallen leaves, egg shells etc.
After much hard work and excellent crops they decided to create a vegetable stall at the Turnstone House gate. This has been made, painted and decorated by the whole gardening team.
Along with all the tasty fruit and vegetables, ten pots of grape jam were made and decorated with home-made labels. Not surprisingly our first sales came on day one!
Well done the gardeners!
In September 2019, three young people from Turnstone House were able to take part in an experience that took each individual outside of their comfort zones. They were joined by two young people from Avocet House to participate in the first joint land-based residential trip between the two homes.
The trip took them to Llangollen in Wales for four days of activities that would include them making an ascent of Mt.Snowdon. Despite being something that none of them had previously aspired to do, they coped well with the physical and mental challenge that it brought. They worked brilliantly together as a team and, with support from the adults and mountain leader, broke through their barriers and successfully make it to the top. All felt a great sense of achievement once conquered and celebrated with a drink of hot chocolate at the summit.
They all felt that the trip was a great success and were able to reflect on how this might help them to overcome future barriers in their lives, whatever they may be. Once the aching muscles and stiff limbs had gone away they next day, they unanimously put forward to undertake climbing Ben Nevis!
Fantastic views on the long ascent to the summit of Mt. Snowdon.
The new staff team commenced duties on September 3rd and spent an intensive four week induction period prior to the first young people arriving.
An essential part of this training was delivered by six young people from Avocet House who visited Turnstone House to help train the new team through a ‘Question Time’ session.
Adults from Turnstone House had prepared an extensive range of questions to help support their understanding by listeneing to the viewpoint of the young people. The questions included, “What makes Avocet House feel like home?” and “What qualities do adults need to have?”
The adults spent over an hour quizzing the young people, who demonstrated exemplary manners and behaviour. They offered an insight into their lives that surpassed the adults expectations, and their honesty reflected how secure they felt.
Following the sessions, adults commented on the maturity of the young people and how they were a credit to Avocet House and themselves. They hoped that the future young people at Turnstone House developed into similar role models.
In addition individual boys from Avocet House spent an enjoyable time with adults from Turnstone House acting as if they were living in the new house and developing activities, ideas and feedback during the final week of induction.
This new community is now beginning to thrive in the beautiful former Georgian Rectory and the brand new ‘state of the art’ Learning Centre.
With four young people already in place there are still spaces left!
One of the young ladies placed with us went for a preliminary audition and is looking forward to hearing whether or not she will be called back. She certainly has talent in both singing and songwriting so watch this space for further developments as there are plans for her to be the lead singer in a new concept band backed by talented young musicians from Avocet House!
Three boys from Avocet House attempting to travel to Hollandin September, with a trained crew on the sailing boat “Duet” from Harwich.Due to extremely difficult weather conditions in the North Sea, the boat attempted to change course and make landfall in France, however, even this proved impossible and eventually they had to return to the East Coast of England!
One youngster gained his Competent Crew certificate, whilst the two others gained certificates for learning basic sailing skills. All three certainly gained their “sealegs”!
As part of a ‘thank you’ letter one boy wrote,”Even though I had many sleepless nights and there were massive waves I still had a really good time. Although the sea was rough I was not seasick. I learned no man can sail alone and although I found it tough at times I gritted my teeth and fought through until the end.”
After returning the boys did a presentation for representatives from both The Norfolk Boat (including the Chairman) and the CIRDAN Trust.
Last term Ben and Norman went back in time to experience life in wartime Norwich. Based at the old corner shop and The Bridewell Museum in Norwich, the boys spent a day experiencing air raid drills, rationing, dealing with evacuees, military drill, fire watching and singing war time songs to keep up spirits.
In costume, and working with a historian from Norwich Museums Service, this was a great opportunity to gain a better understanding of how the people of Norwich were affected by the war, and what it must have been like to have lived through those times.
The day was arranged to launch the upcoming World War 2 Battlefields trip later this year, and is part of wider WW2 history programme the boys will take part in this year.
