third year as the Chairman.
Contribution to the Trust During a 27 year military career as well as civilian roles in the local finance industry, I have actively supported various community support projects around the world in South America and North Africa so I understand the nature of "charitable giving" and the non-profit sector. Both of the projects I worked on involved children and the need for a proper infrastructure around education, secure learning and play environment, and social interaction. CPT is very close to my heart and I want to see it succeed and be the number one nursery and playcare provider in Jersey. It’s not without its challenges but that’s also part of the challenge! The non-profit sector is very different to the commercial sector and it takes time to get around the differences. I hope I bring some commercial value to CPT without tainting its charitable purpose. In addition the board is carefully selected on their ability to provide tangible value, based on personal and life experiences. It is very important for me that the board engages in debate, fields opinions and discusses all aspects of CPT properly at our monthly board meetings. Centre Point is a medium size business employing around 70 staff with over £1m of annual turnover so running it on a volunteer basis takes time and commitment (as well as my day job.) I have a constant dialogue with the CPT leadership and have always asked for advice on various matters. There is never a dull day at Centre Point!
Most rewarding aspects One of my first duties as Chairman was to promote Jane to CEO (it was clear that she was running the show anyway.) – It’s pleasing to see her grow into the role of CEO over the last few years and I am comfortable that CPT is in good hands. Another initiative I instigated was a full staff offsite event in the first year of my tenure. This was appreciated by all the staff who had not met the trustees up to that point, and we now do this on an annual basis. It’s very important to me that the board is visible to the staff , parents and children and that we all work together as a team; not forgetting the focus and purpose of CPT in the community. For me personal reward comes with seeing my own enthusiasm filter down via the leadership teams as we work together on various initiatives. I enjoy the challenge of running a medium business and also the interaction with the board, staff and the children. I also enjoy watching the staff develop in their own careers and the feedback we get from parents across all our sites, which is very complimentary.
staff to design and scope out their new facility.
The stand-out achievements We took a long hard look at the finances and decided to acquire our own minibuses as opposed to outsourcing the service. This year the JKGT show raised the profile of CPT tremendously and also gave the Jersey public an opportunity to see the talent Jersey has to offer. We have renovated the Green Street nursery, and also installed a brand new facility for the nursery garden, as well as the stage and lighting for the 4-7 years garden. More recently we set up a Child Contact Centre for separated families and we are establishing a brand new playground for the older children to be completed shortly. The staff we employ are highly qualified and very focused on childcare and practice which is important since we are charged with looking after Jersey’s young people - so it’s very important to me that we get it right. I am very proud of the board members who dedicate their time and effort on an unpaid volunteer basis to support Jane and the team at CPT with their guidance, skill, life experiences, candour and honesty.
“These achievements, amongst many others in 2014, serve as a reminder to me and all of the Centre Point
staff of the importance of the work that we do, and of the services that we provide to our community
From my own perspective I understand that it’s a competitive market we work in and we need to work hard to maintain our leadership position in nursery and playcare. I believe that we have the right model to maintain that. We have great premises, high grade qualified staff and the kids consistently want to come back year on year! We make every effort to give our kids the best experience when they come to us, and we also listen to what they want, rather than telling them what we think they want – this was very apparent in the new playground when the kids set up a committee and worked with our
The greatest challenges for 2015 and beyond CPT provides a great service to Jersey's young people but we struggle on cash flow and the ability to raise ample reserves, so things that require capital “spend” have to wait until our reserves go up or we are lucky with charitable donations and general support. I would like CPT to grow with new locations over time and also to widen the service offering into the community. We are already working with many agencies right now, such as NSPCC, Families in Crisis, the States of Jersey, The Bridge, to name a few. I would like to expand that further by providing services to the youth of the Island by looking at youth clubs and drop in centres for older children. I don’t see CPT standing still and it’s important for me to see measured growth for our organisation over the next few years. I would like to think that we could become a Channel Islands venture at some point, possibly with a footprint in Guernsey.
Who knows! 20/20 Finance & Investment Page 93 ”
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