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Helping young find a brighter tomorrow


TOMORROW’S People are giv- ing the people of ParkWood a fu- ture – today. Members of MAPS heard the charity was working with 18 families, giving them one to one support, encouraging training, volunteering and community in- volvement, geared towards in- creasing their employability. The group was also taking out-


reach work to families who could not attend meetings, and was now also working in Shep- way and Boughton Monchelsea. The “Working It Out” project


has been running in Maidstone for three years, and has sup- ported more than 80 young peo- ple to return to work, training or education. Since 2009, 48% of participants have got a job or training place, and 25% have taken up further education.


10 years of Park Wood Multi-Agency Partnership Schools show improvment


PARK Wood schools are leap- ing up the league tables since becoming academies. Cllr Gary Cooke, KCC cabi-


With Foundation Learning,


aimed at 16- to 19-year-olds, the group has hit its target every month for three years, with the exception of January this year, with an 80% success rate. Foundation Learning helps a


group of 12 young people for 16 weeks, with the aim of motivat- ing them into work, further edu- cation or training. Tomorrow’s People has been helping people in Maidstone for the past 20 years. Every month it finds six or seven people em- ployment and tries to encourage more “NEETS” (not in educa- tion, employment or training) to join them, gain confidence and learn new skills. To learn more about Tomor-


row’s People, contact maid- stone@tomorrows-people.co.uk or telephone 01622 761972 .


Detecting signs of mental illness VOLUNTEERS and unpaid workers who work with children, es- pecially teens, are being offered free training to help them diagnose mental health issues. There are 16 places available on the course, at Maidstone Skills Centre, Senacre, which has been put together with the help of the mental health charity MIND, aimed primarily at those who work with older children. Further details are available from Abi Jessop at KCC.


net member for education, said schools in the area were showing some of the greatest improvements in the whole of Kent and said: “They are doing a great job here in Park Wood.” The Meadows Children’s Centre started out working with 1,000 pre-school chil- dren, but is now dealing with more than 1,320, a meeting of MAPS heard. A wellbeing day for families


with children aged 0-5 is planned at the Beacon Church.


Numbers have increased at


Tree Tops Academy, formerly BellWood School, since it be- came an academy, and the school is shortly to undergo a full Ofsted inspection The school is working with


both parents and children to improve literacy and numer- acy and to teach the use of phonics to help with reading. Marie Betts, head of Holy Family School, said the school now had 177 pupils, half of whom were from the Park Wood area. She said there had been a marked increase in the num- ber of Muslim children joining the school.


Crime reduction ‘a great result’ CRIME figures continue to decline in ParkWood. From more than 100 reports of incidents a month last year, reported crimes were down to 60 in November – a “fantastic” result, according to MAPS chairman Mike FitzGerald. Of the 60 crimes, three were burglaries, four were reports of violence, 20 were reports of anti-social behaviour, two were related to vehicles and the other 30 were classed as “others”. Mr FitzGerald said: “To get the figure down to 60 – which is almost half – is fantastic, and a great reflection on all the work that is going on here. We need to thank the police and com- munity wardens for their work. This is a significant improve- ment. I hope it can be maintained. “This is a direct result of what the people in ParkWood have achieved and a reflection of all the work that goes on.”


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