The year marked a significant milestone for St John’s Foundation as we celebrated our 850th anniversary. As we come to the end of our incredible year, we wanted to reflect on this momentous occasion and some of the fantastic ways in which we marked it.
Our journey began in 1174, when Bishop Fitzjocelyn established St John’s to offer support to those facing poverty and chronic conditions. Over the centuries, our mission of helping the most vulnerable in our community has remained unwavering. However, despite our long history, the challenges of inequality and hardship persist, making our work as vital today as it was 850 years ago. Our anniversary has given us an opportunity to not only reflect on our past but to also celebrate our accomplishments and reaffirm our on-going commitment to building a fairer and more inclusive society.
Service of Celebration
On the 1st February, we held a Service of Celebration and were delighted to welcome Her Majesty The Queen to the city. The service was held in Bath Abbey, a fitting venue to honour our centuries-long legacy. Attendees included our beneficiaries, supporters, community members, all of the St John’s team, and our partners. Her Majesty’s attendance at the event made the occasion even more special, with children from local schools and members of the public lining the streets as Her Majesty approached the Abbey, after having enjoyed tea and cake with our almshouse residents.
With heart-warming performances from local children we support through our Best Start in Life Initiative, it was a wonderful opportunity to commemorate our legacy, bring together people from our community, and set the tone for a wonderful year of celebrations ahead.
Founders Day
In June, we proudly celebrated our 850th Founders Day, bringing together residents, trustees, and staff for a wonderful afternoon of entertainment, tea and fun. The day was filled with performances from our residents, and delicious catering provided by The Francis Hotel. The event is always a joyous occasion, but our 2024 celebration was particularly special. It allowed us to not only reflect on our history but also celebrate the vibrant community we have built over the years. We’re honoured to be a part of such a special occasion, where everyone could come together, share stories, and take time to reflect on what makes St John’s such a special place.
Historical Mice
In celebration of the anniversary, our almshouse resident, Joan Wilkinson, knitted 25 mice based on historical figures. The mice took 5 months to make, and feature notable figures throughout the 850 years of St John’s history, including the charity’s founder, Bishop Fitzjocelyn, Queen Victoria, and His Majesty King Charles and Her Majesty Queen Camilla. We were also pleased to offer Joan the opportunity to meet Her Majesty Queen Camilla, our charity Patron, over tea and cake before the Service of Celebration in February.
It’s truly an honour to learn about the hobbies of our residents, as well as the celebrate amazing talents of the people we support within the community. We look forward to sharing more of the incredible lives our residents live in the new year.
The Day the Alien Came
Another key highlight for us this celebration year was the creation of a children’s book, The Day the Alien Came. Alongside Bath-based children’s author Stewart Foster and illustrator Andrew Prescott, we worked with 192 pupils from seven local primary schools that we support in BaNES to create the one-of-a-kind book
The Day the Alien Came is a fun and heartwarming story that follows Jai, an alien whose spaceship crash lands in Bath. Emerging from the wreckage, Jai is greeted by local children who take him on an extraordinary adventure, discovering the wonders of Earth and the magic of friendship.
Catharine Brown, Interim CEO of St John’s, expressed how much this project means to us:
We are delighted to celebrate our 850th anniversary and mark this occasion by creating something that positively impacts our community and leaves a legacy for the future. Every child contributed something unique, turning this story into a whirlwind of imagination. We’re so proud to share their work with the world.”
The project was supported by generous sponsors including Almeda Facilities, The Curated Property Company, Evelyn Partners, and Thrings Solicitors, YTL Utilities UK, Cazenove Capital, Buro Happold, Carter Jonas and F&S Building Contractors. The book will also be archived in the British Library, celebrating the young authors’ work for generations.
The Day the Alien Came can be purchased for £8.99 from our website. All profits will provide books to the libraries of the schools we work with, to help nurture a love for reading, creativity and confidence in children for many generations to come.
SouthGate
We were pleased to make our mark on the city of Bath this year by becoming SouthGate shopping centre’s 2024 charity partner. Throughout the year, we’ve enjoyed a wonderful collaboration that has brought our community together and helped to raise awareness for St John’s.
In the summer, the team transformed SouthGate into a spectacular English garden, featuring tumbling floral arches on St Lawrence Street in a branded installation at the heart of the shopping centre. This winter, we showcased a giant Christmas themed penguin with a contactless donation point to raise funds for our Best Start in Life work.
Ray of Hope
Throughout the 850th year, we were proud to see our Ray of Hope campaign showcased in various locations around the city. We wanted to highlight to the people of Bath some of the deep-rooted inequalities present across Bath and North East Somerset. This initiative focused on the challenges some of our most under-served beneficiaries face and how St John’s is committed to supporting them and working towards a brighter future.
Throughout St John’s 850th anniversary year, we have taken the opportunity to celebrate our rich history and impact on the BaNES community. However, it has also served as a stark reminder of the challenges still faced by many in society and how much work remains to be done to keep changing lives for good. We look forward to embarking the next 850 years of positive change for our community.
Earlier this year, St John’s Foundation got in touch with Bath-based children’s author Stewart Foster to work with pupils from seven local schools to write a book. The result was The Day the Alien Came, pieced together from the imaginations of 192 pupils and brought to life with illustrations by Andrew Prescott.
But what was it like to be part of the writing process?
We spoke to some of the Year 6 pupils at Castle Primary School in Keynsham, whose writing is included in the book.
The pupils explained that they had two sessions with author Stewart Foster, who wove the children’s stories together into the fabric of one book. During these sessions, they discussed what could be happening to the alien, called Jai, at a given point in the story, and the pupils then each came up with their own ideas and wrote them down. After the sessions, Stewart would read every piece of pupil’s work and put them together to build the story.
Lydia Russell, 10, said: “I really enjoyed talking to Stewart, and it was fun being able to create our own alien and choose what he was like. For me, I was in a flow of writing and could have written more but we didn’t know the rest of the story, so it was a nice surprise when we saw the finished book. And it did make me feel good to see my writing in the book!”
Whilst she does not have her heart set on writing, Lydia added that she’s interested in drama and if she were to become a successful actor, she could use her skills to write an autobiography, with a book already under her belt.
Lydia’s classmate Cassie Hill, 10, was also very pleased to see her writing in print. She said: “I liked working on the book and was really surprised and happy to see that I was in there!”
The process was not all plain sailing. Ten-year-old William McGuinness-Brooks said that he spent half the time trying to develop his idea before he could set about writing it down, but he was chuffed to see his work included in the final product.
He said: “After I got my copy of the book, my uncle was asking me for a signature as a published author!”
The children each received their own copy of The Day The Alien Came, which they signed for each other, and they also all signed a copy for Stewart Foster as a keepsake.
The children created a story about an alien Jai, whose spaceship crash-lands in Bath with his ‘Grampy’. Emerging from the wreckage of his ship, Jai is greeted by local children who take him on an extraordinary adventure, discovering the wonders of Earth and the magic of friendship.
The book is now on sale, with profits going to help stock the libraries at the participating schools, which include St Martin’s Garden Primary School, St Michael’s Junior Church School, Twerton Infant School and Nursery, St Keyna Primary School, Roundhill Primary School, Castle Primary School, and St Mary’s Church of England Primary School. Together, these schools serve 40% of the region’s most under-served children.
The Day The Alien Came can be purchased for £8.99 here, Mr B’s Emporium and The Oldfield Park Bookshop. A copy will also go to the British Library so that the young authors’ work can be enjoyed for years to come.
The project was part of marking St John’s milestone 850th year and ties in with an important pillar of our work. Since February 2020, St John’s Foundation has been committed to lowering the educational attainment gap for Key Stage 2 children living in BaNES through our Best Start in Life initiative (formerly known as the Foundation Fund). We are working to improve the outcomes for the region’s most under-served children and have a range of initiatives and partnerships in place to support in reading, writing and maths, in addition to emotional and behavioural guidance so that every child under 12 has the opportunity to grow up a healthy, happy and educated member of the community.
Read more about this work here
In recent years, UK residents have faced the negative effects of a sharp increase in food prices. Food price inflation hit close to a 45-year high in 2023, which has since left people feeling worried about affording basic necessities.
The Covid-19 pandemic, while a crisis, amplified the need for collaborative efforts among organisations. It certainly made the food poverty landscape worse, but it has helped to lay strong foundations for ongoing partnerships to reduce the severity of the issues.
Research commissioned by Sheffield University explained that in January 2021, 7.1% of adults in Bath and North East Somerset (BaNES) experienced hunger, 11.2% struggled to access food, and 15.6% worried about insufficient food. The research states hunger is defined as having skipped food for a whole day or more or indicating hunger but not eating due to not being able to afford or get access to food. Struggle is defined as looking for help to access food, skipping or shrinking a meal or giving a reason to not having enough food. In response, key organisations have stepped in to create a collaborative strategy to tackle the issues.
Since 2020, Milly Carmichael has been coordinating and championing the work to address food insecurity by working closely with St John’s Foundation and the BaNES Fair Food Alliance as a Health Improvement Officer in the Public Health team, focusing on food insecurity. Due to the current situation, Milly’s role, funded by St John’s, aims to maintain the momentum of the work and continue efforts to increase community resilience by reducing the need for crisis-level support through greater preventative measures.
The BaNES Fair Food Alliance, chaired by Public Health Consultant Amy McCullough, serves as the steering group for addressing food insecurity in the region. It includes key stakeholders such as councillors, affordable food providers, key local organisations, and teams involved in welfare, housing, education and financial wellbeing. The group meets quarterly to reflect on progress and guide the direction of the work.
The Alliance is structured to ensure there is a coordinated effort through three operational groups. The Affordable Food Network, brings together community provision around affordable, accessible food. This includes food banks, food clubs, community kitchens, cafés and fridges. The Income Maximisation Group brings together local organisations concerned with welfare support, benefits, employability, and financial wellbeing. The purpose is to improve mutual understanding and collaborative work across that sector to ensure the routes to financial support are clear. The third area of work is ‘Hear My Voice’ which refers to our intention to always include local people affected by food insecurity in the work of the Alliance. It is based in a collaboration with researchers from the University of Bath and builds on their qualitative research findings which inform our direction and priorities.
To gain insight into the experience of BaNES residents, the Council send a Voicebox Survey to residents annually. The results show that between 2020 and now, moderate to severe food insecurity, which means often or sometimes not having enough to eat, has risen from 2% to 5%. Mild food insecurity, meaning the individual has enough food but not always what they want, has sharply increased from 11% to 26%. In addition to this concerning reality, one in six people say they are worried about being able to afford food, triggering daily stress and pressure that can significantly impact people’s wellbeing.
To better understand the living experience of food insecurity for people in BaNES, there is a strong partnership with University of Bath researchers. Research into the experience of living with food insecurity, including specific studies with older adults, has provided valuable data to inform our work. This partnership supports the work of the Alliance by improving local insight, building the integrity of the evidence base, and creating an engaging prompt for improving support provision across our communities.
The BaNES Fair Food Alliance is also part of the national Feeding Britain network, which now has over 100 similar alliance members across the country. They offer both practical support and guidance to help those alliances set up and flourish, and lobby at the national government level for policy and legislative change which is beyond the remit of local authorities to achieve alone. They also share good practices from around the network. This has included the innovative BaNES Crop Drop project which distributes surplus allotment produce to affordable food projects across BaNES.
The long-term goal of the BaNES Fair Food Alliance is to reduce the need for crisis intervention by embedding preventative approaches. This involves community and network-building that bolsters community confidence and resilience. The concept of ‘food ladders’ such as Sustainable Food Places, is integral to this approach; recognising that different experiences of food insecurity need different yet integrated models of support in every community.
Household food insecurity will be with us as long as the wider drivers of inequality, inflation, and food system pressures persist. Guided by BaNES residents’ experience, the Fair Food Alliance will continue to shape the BaNES action plan to meet local needs and contribute to regional and national work to eradicate the need for crisis support.
Find out more about BaNES Fair Food Alliance here.
The picturesque City of Bath and its surrounding area has an outer perception of affluence, however, two areas in Bath and North East Somerset rank within the most deprived of the whole country, making financial wellbeing a real concern for individuals and families living in these areas.
While some residents are beginning to see their ‘real’ wages grow after two tough years of living in an economic crisis, for many money continues to remain extremely tight. Many people in our community are experiencing real financial hardship and are struggling to cover the cost of essential items for themselves and their family.
The latest Strategic Evidence Base report for BaNES, published in March 2024, suggests that the cost-of-living crisis continues to have an impact locally. It estimates that 4,000 people in the region, including 1,500 children, fell into absolute poverty in 2022/23 and that 12% of households are experiencing fuel poverty, meaning they cannot afford to heat their homes in the colder months.
What is the Crisis Programme?
At St John’s Foundation, alongside our support of children and older adults in the community, our third key area of work is supporting people who have reached a point of crisis in their lives, and this is exactly what our Crisis Programme is designed to do.
Every year, hundreds of people apply for one-off financial aid to, for example, buy a fridge, or a bed; to pay an unmanageable utility bill; or to contribute to a one-off cost, such as a funeral. The range of applications from families and individuals is extensive and the impact of receiving funding when in crisis can be profound.
Last year, we assisted in a variety of impactful ways including providing funding to help a victim of serious domestic violence move on with their life, the purchase of a new television for a man with social anxiety and learning difficulties, counselling for a stressed mum with an autistic son, a range of funding to complete car repairs and the provision of funding for essential items for a young foster parent and baby.
Throughout 2023, we provided financial aid to 332 applicants and awarded a total of £203,000 to these individuals and families who needed support. These applicants included 170 individuals, 115 families with children under the age of 12, and the remaining 47 were families with older children or couples without dependents, all living within the B&NES region.
What do we expect this year?
In response to the cost-of-living crisis, since 2021 the government has provided and repeatedly extended funding to Local Authorities as part of its Household Support Fund. The Fund, which BaNES Council has distributed on a discretionary basis, is there to help residents manage rising costs such as utility bills, food and essential items, with significant cross over on the support offered by St John’s. This temporary funding stream has contributed to keeping the number of applications to St John’s Crisis Programme below the level seen before the pandemic.
However, there is uncertainty around whether the Household Support Fund will continue past September 2024. If it does not get continued, we would anticipate an increase in demand for our Crisis Programme in the autumn, particularly as we move into the winter months, when fuel poverty will once again be more keenly felt.
How can BaNES residents apply for financial aid?
The Crisis Programme aims to help residents cover the most essential needs, such as furniture, white goods, counselling and debt support, for example. The Programme also offers basic skills training to people who are not able to access training or education opportunities, to help them on the road to securing stable employment and pull themselves out of crisis.
The way the Programme works is through referral system from a long list of charities in the region that St John’s has partnered with. The list of partner charities can be found here. These referral charities submit an application and, where successful, the process of awarding funding is carried out quickly. Where a case is particularly urgent, a decision can be reached within hours.
After a successful application, the referring charity will be notified and arrangements are made to provide the support. To be eligible to apply, the individual or family must be living in the BaNES region with a monthly disposable income of less than £250 for a household with no dependent children, or £275 for a household with up to two dependent children, or £300 for a household with three or more dependent children.
Becky Tutton from the Crisis Programme team said “Often, pride prevents people from applying for funding from the programme, or they assume it’s not relevant to them. Sometimes, they think that because they work full-time or receive other support, they won’t qualify. We encourage everyone to contact us. We might be able to help, and if not, we can direct you to another service that can.”
If you would like more information about the Crisis Programme or to find out whether you are eligible to apply, or to talk about your situation ahead of an application, please call 01225 486400, or email grants@stjohnsbath.org.uk.
In June, St John’s Foundation’s Lynn Toman, Head of the Good Living Service, and Age UK’s Bath and North East Somerset CEO, Simon Allen, teamed up to deliver a seminar at The Business Exchange South West Charity Expo about building an age-friendly community through the Ageing Well Network.
The Ageing Well Network consists of a number of charities, businesses, public sector organisations and community groups across the region and aims, through a two-year programme, to make Bath and North East Somerset a place where people aged over 55 can continue to thrive and live happy, independent lives.
Here we share the crux of our seminar and discuss the power of collaboration, why it’s important to create age-friendly communities, and what still needs to be done to ensure everyone in the region can be involved and prosperous in our community as we age.
What is an age-friendly community?
An age-friendly community is a place, described by the World Health Organisation (WHO), where people are able to age well and continue to grow personally, have access to and are included in the community, and continue to lead healthy and independent lives. As people age, they face risks of loneliness, health and financial difficulties, which can limit their ability to participate fully in society. This can be prevented by making the community age-friendly.
WHO’s programme for building an age-friendly community is formulated on eight pillars. These centre around:
- The importance of having access to outdoor spaces.
- People feeling valued in their community and having the opportunity to connect with others.
- Having an accessible and affordable transport system, including enough accessible parking spaces
- Ensuring older adults’ homes are safe, affordable and close to necessary amenities.
- Access to activities and social groups to prevent isolation.
- Having sufficient opportunities to gain employment or secure a voluntary role if desired.
- Making sure people can access health and social care services and making systems age friendly.
- The importance of updating older adults on community events and activities through forums.
These eight pillars cover nearly every aspect of a person’s quality of life and are areas everyone should focus on to keep their community engaged and supportive. For older adults, ensuring these needs are met means they can continue to have the same quality of life and remain engaged and active in their community.
Ageing Well in BaNES
In order to make BaNES an age-friendly community where older adults can thrive, St John’s Foundation and Age UK are jointly funding a two-year Ageing Well Programme and developing a scheme, alongside the other members of the Ageing Well Network, to improve older adults’ access to community, support, and expression within our region.
The Network is undertaking extensive research to understand the specific issues that people in our community are facing so that they can respond to present needs and identify potential opportunities in the future.
Throughout the Programme, the Network will measure the impact that each new initiative has on the wellbeing of people in BaNES. The team will then be able to improve and adjust as necessary to ensure their work is truly addressing the issues that require improvement. A forum is also being established so that the voices of the people the Programme aims to support can have a say in its direction and implementation.
One of the areas being tackled at the moment focuses on changing connotations about older people through imagery. For example, instead of using images of older hands, the Network is advocating for inclusive imagery that presents this diverse age category for who they truly are. Another priority is transport, particularly for rural communities, to ensure people can easily and affordably access the activities and amenities they need.
Discussion with attendees at the South West Charity Expo seminar broached issues we might face in the future, including the rising pension age, which could cause financial hardship if a person’s health begins to decline or they have multiple dependents, and the importance of discussing end of life care to ensure our wants and needs are met.
Next steps for Ageing Well in BaNES
We are all part of the wonderful and diverse BaNES community, and we are working to make sure that we can all still feel a part of it as we grow older. The Ageing Well Programme will address many of the pressing issues within the region and we hope, together, to make BaNES a completely age-friendly community.
This year, we’ll be launching the Bath and North East Somerset’s Older People’s Forum to give older adults a collective voice and an opportunity to hear about community projects. Once it is up and running, we invite you to join us! We also strongly encourage everyone over the age of 55 to complete our Ageing Well Survey, and if you have a question, comment or idea for the Ageing Well Network, you can get in touch at 01225 466 135 or email ageingwell@ageukbanes.co.uk.
Language is a powerful tool that shapes our thoughts, interactions, and society as a whole. However, language can also become a barrier when it carries biases that exclude or marginalise certain groups of people. At St John’s Foundation, we are committed to creating inclusive communities where everyone feels valued and respected.
What is Language Bias?
Language bias occurs when words, phrases, or expressions reflect negative attitudes towards certain groups of people. It often involves stereotyping of gender, race, age, disability or other characteristics that make individuals who they are. It can touch on exclusion as specific terms can make certain groups feel invisible, or demeaning language can belittle individuals based on their identity. Consistent use of these terms can lead to people feeling isolated.
The word ‘disadvantaged’ is a common place phrase and one which most people can understand and use in various contexts. However, we believe that when referring to inequality across our community, nothing should be commonplace and language should be used with the care and understanding with which we would all wish to have our problems approached. In the past, we used the word disadvantaged, much like others in the charity sector, to describe people who had faced adversity in one way or another. The active change followed a speech from philanthropist, Olivia Taylor, who spoke candidly about the effects of being labelled in an incredibly moving video. Since watching it, we have made the conscious decision to move toward using the term ‘under-served’ to describe those who we can help as a charity.
When it comes to children in schools, labels are often used to categorise behaviour and ability. Even in early years settings, labels such as ‘gifted’ or ‘under-achieving’ or even ‘naughty’ can be used which can make parents worry and children of primary school age stand out as somebody different. Some might think ‘gifted’ is a positive label to have, but it can lead to multiple connotations and perceptions, such as a child being from a wealthy family for example. It can also put pressure on children to feel like they need to consistently succeed.
On the other hand, there is often an assumption that children from a low socioeconomic background will be under-achieving and all of those in lower-ability groups will be ‘badly behaved’. Grouping children by these labels can exacerbate issues that are associated with labels and can impact their wellbeing.
As mentioned in an article by Children and Young People Now, once a child has been labelled, it often sticks with them and follows them through the school from teacher to teacher. It can impact their confidence, self-esteem and general wellbeing, influencing their education and their development as an individual.
We also avoid negative labels for our almshouse residents. The residents’ ages range from 65 to over a hundred and our priority is to support them to live a happy, independent life. By calling them ‘elderly’ or ‘old people’ much like society does, we immediately put them into a category where they may be perceived as less independent and incapable of doing things they enjoy. Instead, we use the term ‘older adults’ to describe our almshouse residents and it certainly suits their vibrant, activity packed lives.
At St John’s Foundation, we believe that everyone has a role to play in reducing language bias and there are a number of things we can do to tackle it together. It’s important to educate ourselves and others about the impact language bias can have. It’s also essential to remember that nobody is perfect and we should all be actively reflecting on our own language use to ensure we respect all individuals.
Language is a powerful tool for creating inclusive communities where everyone, no matter what their age, feels like they can thrive. By being mindful of language bias and actively working to eliminate it, we can ensure that everyone feels respected and valued. At St John’s Foundation, our work within the local community is driven by our mission to affect change in the lives of those who are marred by stark disparities, inequality, and inequity in their daily lives.
The Good Living Service at St John’s Foundation could not operate without the dedication and care of its Good Living Advisors. To capture the work the Good Living team does behind the scenes, we sat down with Fern to talk about their role.
Fern joined St John’s Foundation seven years ago as an Independent Living Assistant supporting those, living within our Alms-community who needed care. However, after realising that the team could have a broader impact on the wellbeing of residents as well as older adults in the wider Bath and North East Somerset community, St John’s established the Good Living Service in July 2021.
Fern, along with a team of six other Good Living Advisors, support 100 St John’s residents, as well as providing guidance and care to all older adults who use St John’s services
Fern has numerous responsibilities as a Good Living Advisor, but one of the most impactful elements of the role is the work carried out in admissions. Good Living Advisors support the admission process for those looking for accommodation and this includes carrying our assessments.
“When I go out on assessments, seeing the disparity of wealth within the community really drives home the need for good quality affordable accommodation in BaNES for older adults. Often these assessments take place in accommodation that is not suited to older adults’ needs, whether that be a risk to their health, a lack of accessible amenities, or an absence of community. Our service endeavours to meet those needs, whilst supporting independence.
“On a more uplifting note, one of the most amazing things about working as a Good Living Advisor is how welcoming everyone is. I’m non-binary, and the amount of support and love I have received from our residents is so heart-warming. We provided Equality Diversity and Inclusion training on request from our residents, who wanted to understand the experiences of the LGBTQI+ community better. Being able to build these relationships is so valuable, and it really does feel like being part of an extended family.”
Another part of the role of Good Living Advisors is the provision of activities. Activities are a core part of St John’s delivery for older adults living in the almshouses and the wider community, providing essential opportunities for socialisation, movement and nutrition. Some of the most popular activities include ballet, yoga, cook and eat, and art classes, some of which have multiple sessions to meet demand. All the activities can be adapted for people’s individual needs and many are provided by external tutors.
There are also resident-specific activities, such as Cosy Cooks, in which Lauren, another Good Living Advisor at St John’s, creates a homecooked meal for the residents which is eaten in a communal setting, offering opportunities for connection, as well as a nutritious meal. In 2023, the classes saw more than seven thousand attendances and a total of 71 activities were run.
Fern says: “Isolation is one of the greatest challenges older adults face, impacting life expectancy and health in a really profound way. With a growing older adult community and increasing austerity there appears more impact on essential services, such as transport, increasing isolation , so it’s really important to tackle this. The activities we run help bring people together and are easily accessible from the city centre or near the RUH, so lots of people can get involved.
“Another aspect people often don’t think about when talking about problems older adults are facing, is nutrition. It’s vital to be able to have good food, but for a lot of older adults, this can be really difficult as they either never had the opportunity to learn how to cook or have lost that ability. This is exacerbated by the cost-of-living crisis which is making it harder to access healthy food or create a hearty homecooked meal.
“Our Cook and Eat classes, Cosy Cooks and other communal food activities, like cheese and wine nights and Christmas dinners, help meet both socialisation and nutritional needs. And it’s always so lovely to gather for a meal together! It really helps to build relationships between people.”
Another key part of a Good Living Advisor’s role is signposting people to relevant services. St John’s works with multiple partners to tackle issues affecting individuals, and Fern helps residents and people in the community to find the right people to help them.
Fern says: “Understanding which agencies to engage with to resolve the challenges someone is facing is one of the best ways to ensure they are getting the support they need. Some of our partners include Age UK and Citizen’s Advice, both of which are extremely helpful for older adults who need assistance, particularly financial assistance. Knowing what benefits and support you are entitled to, and then advocating for yourself or finding someone to advocate for you, means you are more likely to get the the full benefits you are entitled to.
“It’s also important to find ways to increase independence, especially as you grow older. Many of our activities have an element of this, especially our fitness activities like Pilates which can help people keep their bodies and minds healthy. Another really useful partnership is with Tech Connect who run a Connecting Generations workshop for us. During these sessions, we can help people with any tech support they may need, whether that’s teaching them how to use a particular app or helping them organise their computer files.”
Working as a Good Living Advisor lets Fern be part of a team that helps change the lives of many people in a profoundly positive way. Fern is also excited to be helping us with the planning and preparations for our Founder’s Day, a little later in the year. At this event we will celebrate the people that have supported the BaNES community for the past 850 years by having a party with our almshouse residents in the St John’s Foundation courtyard. We’re extremely grateful to be able to work with Fern and the entire Good Living team everyday and be inspired by the creativity and thoughtfulness of their work as we continue to tackle the issues faced by older people in BaNES.
At St John’s Foundation, one of our core missions is to support adults over 55 in leading happy, healthy, and independent lives while still accessing opportunities as they age. According to the 2023 State of Ageing Report by Ageing Better, 21 million people in England are aged over 50, comprising two-fifths of the population. As we begin to see more people living longer, we have also seen how ageism is increasingly preventing older adults from receiving the support they need while limiting their opportunities and independence.
Ageism is defined by WHO as ‘stereotypes (how we think), prejudice (how we feel), and discrimination (how we act) directed towards people on the basis of their age’. A language-based study across 20 English-speaking countries, published in 2020, found that the UK is the most ageist of the surveyed countries, with 55% of respondents agreeing that the UK is ageist. We believe that if people had the right knowledge, then ageism could be tackled and changed.
This form of discrimination can manifest in numerous ways. Institutional ageism is characterised by policies, practices and social norms that are common and rarely questioned. Ageing is also associated with disease and disability, leading to potentially more discrimination within healthcare as older adults’ needs are not fully met.
Ageism can also show up in individual interactions, known as interpersonal discrimination, which can be exacerbated by people only spending time with people of theirr age group in ‘silos of engagement’. Interpersonal discrimination can occur, for example, when a younger candidate is hired for a role when the older candidate might be better qualified but has fewer years left in the job market or might be considered to be the wrong ‘cultural fit’ for the organisation because of their age. Many people over the age of 50 are struggling to find or return to work following the pandemic, which is impacting their economic wellbeing by limiting their income and opportunities to build their pension.
Finally, self-directed ageism influences how individuals view themselves as they age. These attitudes are prolific in the beauty industry, where ‘anti-aging’ products are advertised as preventing the appearance of aging. Self-directed ageism can also discourage individuals from taking part in particular activities or trying something new because they believe they are ‘too old’ to take part or succeed among younger people.
Ageism can have numerous negative impacts on older adults, but one of the most significant problems that we witness is the increase in isolation. Being separated from a community can cause great harm to older adults, who may need more assistance in their day to day lives but struggle to access transport or support services. The way we communicate has also changed, with technology playing a large role in our everyday lives, but the rapid advances in tech have left many behind, and some older adults now struggle to stay in touch with their families and close friends. We work with Connecting Generations, a group of Bath Spa University students who visit St John’s weekly to support not just our residents, but all older adults who need help with their technology devices. This support is invaluable as it helps older adults connect with their loved ones online, alleviating feelings of isolation.
The loss of freedom, independence and community can cause significant harm to the health of older adults, with those that feel isolated, living, on average, seven years less than those who are not, according to a BBC podcast. Isolation also means it is harder for older adults to reach out for help, which becomes more necessary as people age, when they become less physically fit and more prone to illness.
At St John’s, we are working towards making the ageing process a positive experience by ensuring older adults can maintain their independence and take advantage of the many opportunities being older has to offer. To tackle some of the problems that arise from ageism, we established our Good Living Service in 2021, which provides help and guidance to older adults in our community.
In an effort to create an age friendly community in BaNES, we have teamed up with Age UK Bath, supported by 3SG, to launch Aging Well Banes which aims as part of the project to encourage older people to speak about the issues that are important to them and their communities. Through our work, we hope to make BaNES more age-friendly by challenging the stereotypes that exist about older adults so that they can live more comfortable, independent, and opportunity-filled lives.
On Tuesday 18 June at 1-4pm, we are hosting an Age Friendly event at St John’s Courtyard to launch our new Ageing Well Survey. We welcome over 55s in the region to join us in celebrating life as we grow older and participate in our crucial work to achieve Age Friendly status for Bath and North East Somerset.
Last year, St John’s Foundation teamed up with Bath-based housing association group, Curo, to launch a furnished tenancy scheme in the Bath and North East Somerset region.
Living in poverty can have devastating effects on a person’s wellbeing and mental health. To paint the picture, 4,000 people in BaNES, of whom 1,500 are children, were defined as living in absolute poverty in 2022. As these numbers continue to increase, it becomes ever more important to investigate the wider impact of this.
The furnished tenancy pilot scheme, named ‘Cosy Start’ was initiated to address the pressing issue of furniture poverty among individuals moving into new homes without adequate furnishings or cooking equipment. The pilot scheme received funding from St John’s Foundation and Fusion 21, amounting to £40,000.
The scheme aimed to help those at greatest risk of furniture destitution such as refugees, care leavers, resettled homeless people and those fleeing domestic abuse. When looking at furniture insecurity, those at most risk are working-age families, single mothers, those with a disability and Universal Credit claimants.
As part of the collaboration, Curo have furnished 16 houses so far in the region. The funding covered essential items such as furniture and carpets, white goods, and a welcome pack comprising a kettle, toaster, crockery, saucepans and bedding.
Prior to implementation, Curo gathered feedback from 150 customers through a survey. The results revealed significant demand, with 69% expressing that they would benefit from the scheme. Additionally, 51% admitted to incurring debt while purchasing essential items, while 79% spent time in their homes trying to get by without the essentials to live. Alarmingly, 34% reported having no furniture at all upon moving in.
Feedback from customers also highlighted the need for more focus on this area. One respondent said that this support was particularly important for those fleeing domestic violence, because moving from a property where you have everything to nothing risks the fleeing parent returning to their abuser for the security of their family having a bed.
Another response said:
“When I moved into my flat I had no furniture or white goods. I had to rely on catalogues to purchase all my furniture and white goods which took me a period of four years to pay off. Having furniture, especially white goods, when moving into the property is essential. It’s just as essential as having gas and electric and food.”
A year on from the scheme’s launch, all 16 households remain in their tenancies without any known issues, indicating the overall success and stability it has achieved for participants. Rent arrears among the pilot participants stand at 0% which drastically contrasts with the 18% average among new Universal Credit tenancies, highlighting the scheme’s positive impact on financial stability.
In addition to the financial stability participants have reached, the scheme has seen significant social benefits too. Customer feedback indicated high satisfaction, with a 4.6/5 rating and a strong case for recommendations for the scheme.
Reflecting on the life changing scheme, a pilot participant said:
“The items I have received have given me a sense of freedom and increased independence because we’re able to function normally and are less dependent on others. I worry less about money now as a result of the items I have received because I can store food for longer, I don’t have to use the laundrette and I don’t have as many takeaways.”
In light of the extremely positive results, Curo plans to extend the initiative, with additional funding support from St John’s Foundation. The collaboration will help to further alleviate furniture poverty while contributing to social and financial sustainability in society.
Embarking on a long-term vision to make a real and enduring difference to communities is a daunting prospect. Strategies require continual assessment of progress and adjustment along the way in order to be attained.
At St John’s Foundation we are now four years into our ambitious strategy to significantly reduce the academic attainment gap at Key Stage 2 in Bath and North East Somerset through a broad range of initiatives supported by our Best Start in Life initiative (formally known as the Foundation Fund). We have been measuring the progress and impact of our programmes and are now beginning to see real, positive results.
In this article, we throw a spotlight on our work in Early Years settings to support speech and language development so that children in our community are ready to learn when they start school. Our Language for Life programme has seen such positive early results that it is already due to be extended and rolled out at more settings. In fact, our latest impact report, carried out independently, has indicated that the programme is having a systemic impact on the settings it is supporting.
What is Language for Life and why does it matter?
There is significant academic inequality in the region, with BaNES ranking fifth worst in the country for its attainment gap at Key Stage 2. This gap is defined as the difference in academic achievement between students in receipt of pupil premium and those who are not.
St John’s work to level the playing field and reduce this gap which is complex and extends beyond the classroom. The issues that can lead to academic inequalities often begin well before school, which is why our work encompasses projects from pre-birth all the way to secondary school.
Good communication skills strengthen a child’s ability to learn and help them manage their emotions and behaviour. However, under-served children often arrive at school with lower speech and language ability causing them to fall behind, which can have a long-lasting impact on learning.
Through training, the Language for Life (LfL) programme equips Early Years practitioners with the tools they need to identify and support pre-schoolers that are not at the expected language level for their age. Where needed, children are referred to specialists. For those requiring a lower level of support, staff are able to put measures in place to help these children reach their expected level as quickly as possible.
The programme has been running at 23 settings across Bath and North East Somerset (BaNES) and began in the 2021/2022 academic year. Children are screened at the beginning and end of the academic year, and periodically where needed, using a Wellcomm Toolkit which places them in a red, amber or green zone, with those in the red zone requiring specialist support, amber needing some help and green requiring no further support.
At the start of the 2021/2022 academic year, 84 per cent of children assessed at participating settings were identified as needing extra support, including the majority of children in receipt of early years pupil premium (EYPP). By the end of the 2022/2023 year, this figure reduced to just 29 per cent. This dramatic improvement will have a real impact on how these pre-schoolers begin their formal education.
A key success of the programme is that the children in the amber zone, who do not qualify for specialist support, do not fall between the cracks and are identified as needing some additional support, and are receiving it.
What impact is LfL having?
Feedback in our latest impact report strongly suggests that children are increasingly being identified earlier and more accurately with their speech and language needs and that, over time, the proportion of children who are reaching the expected language level for their age by the time they go to school is increasing.
For those children identified as needing specialist support, the number of referrals has increased by 160 per cent over the past two years, suggesting that these children are increasingly receiving the greater level of support they need.
Even for the 29 per cent who had not reached the expected language level by the end of the last academic year, this forms part of the handover process from pre-school to Reception so that their teacher can put necessary arrangements in place from the beginning and prevent them from falling behind.
What’s next for LfL?
With such positive results, we have taken the decision to double the number of Early Years settings benefitting from the LfL programme and on a longer-term basis. This broadening and extending of the programme will also allow time for these practices to become fully embedded at participating settings, so that the traditionally high turnover of staff at Early Years setting does not affect the programme’s ongoing impact.
Whilst there is much more work to be done to level the academic playing field in the region, these early interventions at 23 of our Early Years settings are making a real difference to the children in need of support and positively influencing how they begin their school journey.
