Shetland Home Company

[magnie ii]

did these jobs get advertised?

[brian.smith]

When I was at Shetland Home Co today I was only aware of one participant and two staff, the place seemed empty, mind you a lot of staff have just recently left!  I then popped over to the Garden and there was 3 staff and 1 participant.  Doesn't seem to be much in the way of placements and plenty of staff.  Last I heard that there are now 6 working in the main office with no placements - what are they all doing?

spending the grant they just got

[Mrs Miggins]

Ask how many long standing COPE employees have left in the past 3 years..

Answer.. Nearly all.

Yes, that sounds like a happy work place where folks enjoy their work.

... and the rest!!... What is it about this management that cant keep its staff?

[Ghostrider]

COPE is a charity, but it seems almost impossible to find out anything about them on the web, apart from the SCT site stating SCT Trustee James Smith (conflict of interest much), is also the Chairman of COPE.. They're also a Limited Company, so at least its possible to established who teh current company directors are. They're listed as; John Tait, John William Gear, Neil Martin Jamieson, Thomas Michael Simpson, Isabel Ann Johnson, Marlene Mona Sim, Rosalyn Kim Coutts.

 

http://companycheck.co.uk/company/SC186555/COPE-LTD/directors-secretaries

 

No offense to any of these folk, but what experience or credentials do they have for these positions, and who appointed them? Come to that, who are they, I can only recognise two names from that list.

 

Are these listed company directors also the charity trustees, or are those different different people entirely, making yet another tier of un-named people involved in this?

 

Regardless, its these "director" and "trustee" type figures who remain as shadows who hold the real power to change things, not the paid staff, but they are also the folk with whom the buck stops when things seem to be somewhat pear shaped, like they rather seem to be right now.

[Suffererof1crankymofo]

Well, its 10 months since COPE received £112,312.00 to "Provide up to 15 work placements" for people with disabilities and as far as I can ascertain there has not been so much as 1 place provided. I would be delighted if COPE could correct me on that point and tell me that several new placements have been provided. What I do know is that the old Scrapstore has been 're-furbished' and that the 'pet project' soap shop have had huge amounts of money splurged on them, and to what effect? This is Shetland where we are more impressed with what you do, rather than what you have.

 

But is it additional work placements?  The 15 placements could well be existing placements or the ability for 15 new people to attend their "business sessions".  This is funding from the government, not from the national lottery; the latter organisation won't fund ongoing positions last time I checked resulting in many charities keeping the same positions but inventing new job titles and 'new' projects simply to keep people in basically the same positions.  The actual full text does not refer to "work placements" but states:-

 

COPE Ltd

COPE Ltd provides employment and skill development opportunities for adults with disabilities through a variety of social businesses across Shetland, and provides around 120 skill development sessions and 43 supported business sessions every week for adults with disabilities. The organisation has 32 full-time staff, three part-time staff, one sessional worker and two volunteers.

The Enterprise Ready Fund award of £112,312 will enable COPE Ltd to provide an estimated 10 to 15 additional placements, while also providing opportunities for participants to move on to secure employment within other local businesses within the islands.

In addition, it will allow the business to make a number of improvements to its social enterprise premises, and allow for the recruitment of a temporary member of staff to formalise its skills and development opportunities and help it to achieve the PQCASSO award level three, a nationally recognised quality mark.

Ingrid Webb, COPE Ltd General Manager, said: “We are delighted that we have been awarded funding through the Enterprise Ready Fund, as it will assist us to fill long term plans in working towards sustainability and developing organisational excellence throughout our social enterprise.

“Funding will allow us to introduce improvements to the physical structures of our business units, whilst implementing quality frameworks for staff and participants. Most importantly the funding will allow COPE Ltd to provide formal recognition of its participant’s employment skill development and therefore assist individuals’ longer term employability prospects and within the local community.

“Being able to move ahead confidently with these improvements is key to underpinning COPE Ltd’s future and longer term sustainability. We are delighted to have been successful in attracting this funding to our company.”

For more information contact Sarah Jackson, Assistant Manager 01595696889.

[paulb]

as there are a number of you with concerns. start asking questions in your real names of cope. see what they have to say. shetlink really wont resolve your worries. none of us can raise it for you. but we can offer support and advice. on how to. im not taking a side on this issue as i dont know. it would be a real shame if it was not employing as many service users as possible.

    

[Silver_Birch]

I am  not worried! But would like people to be aware as to how council money is being in my opinion squandered on COPE, who after all are meant to be helping the most vulnerable people in our society to find employment within the local community, and as far as I can see that has failed.  I have not heard of one client moving into other employment. It was raised earlier on in this discussion as to who was keeping whom in a job. I think Meggies post makes that crystal clear.

[brian.smith]

COPE is a charity, but it seems almost impossible to find out anything about them on the web, apart from the SCT site stating SCT Trustee James Smith (conflict of interest much), is also the Chairman of COPE.. They're also a Limited Company, so at least its possible to established who teh current company directors are. They're listed as; John Tait, John William Gear, Neil Martin Jamieson, Thomas Michael Simpson, Isabel Ann Johnson, Marlene Mona Sim, Rosalyn Kim Coutts.

 

http://companycheck.co.uk/company/SC186555/COPE-LTD/directors-secretaries

 

No offense to any of these folk, but what experience or credentials do they have for these positions, and who appointed them? Come to that, who are they, I can only recognise two names from that list.

 

Are these listed company directors also the charity trustees, or are those different different people entirely, making yet another tier of un-named people involved in this?

 

Regardless, its these "director" and "trustee" type figures who remain as shadows who hold the real power to change things, not the paid staff, but they are also the folk with whom the buck stops when things seem to be somewhat pear shaped, like they rather seem to be right now.

you dont need trustees when it is a limited company with charitable status Ghostie but directors resposibilty will be similar to that of trustees

[Ghostrider]

^ I was working on that assumption until I got to the bit about James Smith being the Chairman, but he wasn't listed as a director. Which on the face of it at least suggests there's other folk involved in the  "board" than would at first appear from the linked Limited Company records.

[Ghostrider]

as there are a number of you with concerns. start asking questions in your real names of cope. see what they have to say. shetlink really wont resolve your worries. none of us can raise it for you. but we can offer support and advice. on how to. im not taking a side on this issue as i dont know. it would be a real shame if it was not employing as many service users as possible.

    

 

Aye, but, raising it on Shetlink gives the opportunity to find out if anyone reading Shetlink does know anything more and are willing to say so, or whether everyone is equally in the dark. It also gives a ballpark indication whether its an issue of reasonably widespread concern, or just of one or two folk.

 

Trouble with asking questions of COPE directly, a fragmented approach by individuals is easily ignored or fobbed off with so much waffle, if they were of mind to play it that way. A larger number all at once are more likely to make better progress. Its also questionable if any of the "on site" paid staff have a remit that obliges them to respond to public questions regarding management policy and decisions anyway. Such things are usually the forte of the office bearers of the organisation, and it needs to be established what the managing organisation is and who the post holders within it are before that avenue can be pursued, which again is where Shetlink can be helpful in pooling available knowledge of those willing to give it.

[paulb]

yes your correct.

[Fly-on-the-Wall]

Think you'll find that SCT Trustee James Smith is no longer the Chair of COPE Ltd, it's just a case of SCT not updating their website.

If my sources are correct then Neil Jamieson is the Chairman for COPE.

Interestingly the lovely Peter Malcolmson has been appointed a new Trustee for SCT - I assume he'll declare a conflict of interest when discussing future funding for COPE.

[paulb]

its like a spiders web of interconnections  council, trusts, health board,  habour trust. 

[Frances144]

Oh, what a tangled web we weave
When first we practise to deceive!

Edited March 27, 2015 by Frances144

[Sukibind]

 

Well, its 10 months since COPE received £112,312.00 to "Provide up to 15 work placements" for people with disabilities and as far as I can ascertain there has not been so much as 1 place provided. I would be delighted if COPE could correct me on that point and tell me that several new placements have been provided. What I do know is that the old Scrapstore has been 're-furbished' and that the 'pet project' soap shop have had huge amounts of money splurged on them, and to what effect? This is Shetland where we are more impressed with what you do, rather than what you have.

 

But is it additional work placements?  The 15 placements could well be existing placements or the ability for 15 new people to attend their "business sessions".  This is funding from the government, not from the national lottery; the latter organisation won't fund ongoing positions last time I checked resulting in many charities keeping the same positions but inventing new job titles and 'new' projects simply to keep people in basically the same positions.  The actual full text does not refer to "work placements" but states:-

 

COPE Ltd

COPE Ltd provides employment and skill development opportunities for adults with disabilities through a variety of social businesses across Shetland, and provides around 120 skill development sessions and 43 supported business sessions every week for adults with disabilities. The organisation has 32 full-time staff, three part-time staff, one sessional worker and two volunteers.

The Enterprise Ready Fund award of £112,312 will enable COPE Ltd to provide an estimated 10 to 15 additional placements, while also providing opportunities for participants to move on to secure employment within other local businesses within the islands.

In addition, it will allow the business to make a number of improvements to its social enterprise premises, and allow for the recruitment of a temporary member of staff to formalise its skills and development opportunities and help it to achieve the PQCASSO award level three, a nationally recognised quality mark.

Ingrid Webb, COPE Ltd General Manager, said: “We are delighted that we have been awarded funding through the Enterprise Ready Fund, as it will assist us to fill long term plans in working towards sustainability and developing organisational excellence throughout our social enterprise.

“Funding will allow us to introduce improvements to the physical structures of our business units, whilst implementing quality frameworks for staff and participants. Most importantly the funding will allow COPE Ltd to provide formal recognition of its participant’s employment skill development and therefore assist individuals’ longer term employability prospects and within the local community.

“Being able to move ahead confidently with these improvements is key to underpinning COPE Ltd’s future and longer term sustainability. We are delighted to have been successful in attracting this funding to our company.”

For more information contact Sarah Jackson, Assistant Manager 01595696889.

 

 

I used the words 'work placements' as that was what was said in the Press and Journal article.

 

https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/islands/shetland/5493/shetland-enterprise-gets-funding/

 

I have done a bit of checking and have found these comments. It seems clear that placement is refering to the person,  and sessions to the hours spent working. Which is what I have always thought too. I would hope that a charity wouldnt use clever phrasing to avoid providing 10 to 15 placements.

 

 

C.O.P.E. Ltd –Supported Employment placements

Provision of a supported employment service that offers placements and training opportunities to adults with

learning and/or physical disabilities.

 

http://www.shetland.gov.uk/community_care/documents/1415CurrentCommissions.pdf