Bandywood Families Project helping to give the people of Kingstanding a better chance in life
Saint Mark's Community Developments (SMCD) runs projects under two names, the Bandywood Families Project & Youth Gather. The overall aim of SMCD is to provide educational activities for the people living on mainly on the Bandywood Estate which is in the Kingstanding area of Birmingham.
The main activities are based around providing activities for pre-school children, such as play and stay activities.
Courses for parents around parenting skills, such as Triple P & more specialist areas such ADHD & sexual awareness.
Activities for young people between the ages of 5 & 15 through three weekly sessions, these are supplemented with extra sessions during school holidays.
Thirdly by providing provision for Adults. There is a weekly jobs club at the centre as well as a computer courses. In addition throughout the year a series of soft skill courses such as card making or cake decorating are provided. More specialist courses such as First Aid are run frequently to provide qualifications.
Why the community needs usWe aim to help young children start school with good social skills.
We aim to provide activities for school age children through our Youth Groups.
We aim to give parents better family skills.
We help them understand what ADHD or ASD is and how to cope.
We help adults with training and life skills.
We help with the Job searches, CV writing and applying for jobs online.
We aim to strengthen the local community.
Our impact on the communityChildren start school with better social skills, they settle in better and make progrss.
By being part of our Youth Activities they are less likely to get involved in crime.
For parents who are struggling with their children providing Parenting Skills courses they better understand their family and they all live a better life.
Upgrading skills and qualifications give people a better chance in the jobs market.
Small steps that can lead families to greater things.
