Harriet King

Muddy Puddles Nursery, YMCA Norfolk’s first childcare provision, was recently awarded a rating of ‘Good’ in their first Ofsted report – in which staff were praised for their ‘warm and engaging manner’ and ability to ‘deliver a broad curriculum.’

The 90-place nursery opened in April 2021, and quickly became popular among both parents and children. Kitted out with brand new equipment and based at YMCA Norfolk’s Aylsham Road Community Hub, Muddy Puddles now has a further 90+ children on its waitlist, set to join the nursery.

The Ofsted report highlighted how nursery children are well settled and demonstrate that they feel safe and secure in the care of staff. It noted how they are encouraged to be independent, quick to develop sensory skills and have access to a wide range of resources and exploratory play.

Staff also received positive feedback around their strong ability to promote children’s speech and language development, through introducing new vocabulary with plenty of repetition and demonstrating correct pronunciation.

Bethany Fox, Muddy Puddles Nursery Manager, commented on the report:

“We are so proud to have built up such a brilliant reputation in such a short space of time. Receiving a rating of ‘Good’ from Ofsted demonstrates the brilliant work of our childcare team, who all work extremely hard to provide top-quality care day in and day out.

“Throughout the report it is continuously highlighted how children feel safe and confident at Muddy Puddles, and that was the exact environment that we set out to achieve. We have grown so much in just two years of operating and have some really exciting plans for the future to further develop our services.”

The report also noted how staff supported children with special educational needs and/or disabilities well, identifying when children are in need of additional support and ‘work well with external professionals and parents to promote positive outcomes for all children.’

When parents were asked to comment on the nursery and its operations, they praised the range of creative and physical activities offered by the ‘lovely’ staff. They complimented the provision on its wide range of play materials and how their children enjoy using the on-site soft play, as well as how many children have mastered new skills during their time at Muddy Puddles, such as writing their name and learning to ride a bike.

Read the full Ofsted report here and find out more about Muddy Puddles Nursery via their website.

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Muddy Puddles Nursery is currently recruiting level 2 and level 3 nursery practitioners to join its childcare team. For further details and information on how to apply, please click here.

Image from left to right: Susie Knights, YMCA Norfolk Marketing and Fundraising Manager, John Lee, YMCA Norfolk CEO, Stephen Brooks, YMCA Norfolk Community Housing Officer, Mike Spalding, Norfolk Freemasons Communications Officer, Damien Woolston, YMCA Norfolk Community Housing Manager, Stephen Allen, Head of the Norfolk Freemasons.

YMCA Norfolk have successfully secured £60,000 in funding to deliver a 2-year positive activities and engagement programme to their Umbrella Housing clients, thanks to a grant from the Norfolk Freemasons.

The Umbrella project currently houses 26 vulnerable, single-parent families in Norwich and a further 3 families in Great Yarmouth. Funding will provide a dedicated Family Engagement Worker to deliver a range of support, activities and opportunities to ensure a brighter future for them and their children.

The project will be tailored to the young people’s strengths and aspirations, enabling them to address poor social mobility, parenting skills, improve physical, emotional and mental health, reduce loneliness and isolation and sustain independent living.  

The support on offer will include counselling, parenting skills, cooking workshops, financial literacy, life skills, creating peer support networks and much more over a period of up to two years. The aim is to get them into a position to be ready to pass the local authority assessment for placement into council accommodation, and give them the skills and tools they need to maintain independence and not go back into the ‘system’.

Many of these parents are care leavers themselves, and risk their own children following in their footsteps into the cycle of care. They are referred into YMCA accommodation by social services, are aged 16-25 themselves and all have young children.  

YMCA Norfolk have designed the programme using research with their intended beneficiaries, with research showing 90 per cent requested community based social and peer support groups, while 80 per cent requested practical support like budgeting and education and employment support. The project’s success will be measured on the number of families successfully avoiding children being taken into care, and instead successfully accessing social housing. 

John Lee, YMCA Norfolk CEO, said: 

“We’re very grateful to Norfolk Freemasons for their generous grant which will allow us to give support to single parent families that is designed to change the course of their lives. The aim is to get them into social housing, equipped with the skills they need to become independent – and we could not do this without the support of the Norfolk Freemasons.” 

The grant from Norfolk Freemasons comes through the Masonic Charitable Foundation, which is funded by Freemasons, their families and friends, from across England and Wales. 

Stephen Allen, head of the Norfolk Freemasons commented: 

“I’m very pleased we’ve been able to help YMCA Norfolk with their excellent project to help local one parent families. The parenting and financial skills on offer are potentially life-changing, giving them a chance of real independence, where the children can hope to take full advantage of their education and break the cycle of depravation that has blighted their parents’ lives.” 

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About the Masonic Charitable Foundation 

The Masonic Charitable Foundation (MCF) is one of the largest grant-making charities in the country. Funded entirely through the generosity of Freemasons and their families, the MCF awards millions of pounds each year to local and national charities that help vulnerable people, advance medical research and provide opportunities for young people. The MCF also helps to fund vital services such as hospices and air ambulances and regularly contributes to worldwide appeals for disaster relief.  In total, MCF support helps to improve the lives of thousands of people every year in England, Wales and internationally. As well as providing grants to charities, the MCF supports Freemasons and their families with a financial, health or family need. Visit www.mcf.org.uk 

For further information about the Masonic Charitable Foundation, please contact Guy Roberts, Press Officer (groberts@mcf.org.uk  |0203 146 3311) 

About YMCA Norfolk 

YMCA Norfolk is the longest standing youth charity in Norfolk, on a mission to transform young lives. They have been active in our community for over 165 years, providing services across five core areas of work: Accommodation, Family Work, Support and Advice, Health and Wellbeing and Training and Education. They house over 300 young people every year, aged 16-25, who would otherwise be homeless or living in a dangerous situation.  

For more information or any press queries please contact YMCA Norfolk’s senior marketing and fundraising officer, Harriet King, on harriet.king@ymcanorfolk.org 

YMCA Norfolk’s SOS Bus service in King’s Lynn has been praised by members of the public as a “life saver” to the local community, offering a much-needed alternative to calling emergency service units which are under mounting pressure.

The SOS Bus, commissioned and funded by the Integrated Care Board, operates every Friday and Saturday night from 9pm until late within the night-time economy of King’s Lynn town centre. 

A dedicated team of community engagement workers offers a wide variety of support and advice in partnership with local agencies, providing help to those in a crisis or in need of emergency assistance.

In the last year, the service has interacted with 24,562 people through offering food parcels, clothes and first aid as well as somewhere to seek advice around safe sex, drug and alcohol abuse, cost of living and mental health crisis situations. 

The SOS team have also de-escalated many pre-arrest situations, preventing local police from having to spend extra time and resource on arresting and charging those in a drunk and disorderly state. They also provide medical support and first aid to those with injured or unwell to avoid adding to NHS A&E pressures and wait-times. 

One service user commented: “I had my drink spiked on a Saturday night in a club in Kings Lynn, and the SOS Bus team assisted me outside the club for over 2 hours. I can’t thank them enough for the service you provided, – the team saved my life and for that I am truly grateful.” 

In the last year the service has not only seen a rise in the overall number of users accessing the SOS bus services but have also seen an increase in families and elderly people asking for clothing, warmth and food parcels. 

Kate-Kemp Small, YMCA Norfolk SOS Bus Project Lead, said:

“It’s becoming more and more evident how much charitable and community projects are needed to relieve pressures off emergency services and the NHS, and without services such as the SOS Bus, members of the public have admitted to us that they would have had to go days without eating, self-harmed or ended up in highly dangerous situations such as drink-driving.

“While we’re proud to have managed to support so many people in the last year, we’ve also first-hand witnessed how tough times are for many in the current climate.”

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The SOS Bus are currently recruiting for volunteers and would love to hear from committed, passionate individuals who are looking to make a difference in their local community. For further information, please email sosbus@ymcanorfolk.org 

With inflation at a 41-year high, young people across the UK continue to be one of the hardest hit demographics affected by the cost of living crisis and economic fall-out from COVID-19. 

YMCA Norfolk, the longest-standing youth charity in the county, were keen to reflect on the impact of the cost of living with their Norwich-based young people – many of whom suffer from long-term mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression and PTSD and therefore have limited capacity around gaining employment and earning a stable income.  

The charity houses over 240 young people (aged 16-25) in Norfolk each night, with 38 clients living at their Central Youth Accommodation at Norwich Bus Station, 40 clients living at My Place on Bethel Street and a further 48 across their Norwich Community Housing units. 

A number of clients are high-risk with complex needs and therefore have less opportunities to obtain full-time employment when they first enter YMCA Norfolk’s services. Many rely on government support such as universal credit to pay for everyday costs and essential items.. 

As reported in YMCA England and Wales recent research, ‘Generation Cut’, basic necessities are becoming unaffordable; items such as pasta have increased in price by 60%, with many anticipating that food prices will continue to rise. 

YMCA Norfolk spoke to their staff and young people to explore how this research translates on a local level, specifically how it has impacted those who were already struggling with a lack of financial resources prior to the spike in inflation. 

In a recent survey sent to YMCA Norfolk housing clients, 100% of participants said they had seen a rise in cost of food prices in the last 6 months, 90% said they had seen a rise in cost of personal items (toiletries, clothing etc.) and 70% said they had seen a rise in cost of transport (train and bus fayre). 

Commenting on the backlash on the increase in everyday living, one client commented: 

“I’ve been affected quite badly by the cost of living crisis. I find it really stressful not knowing if I’ll be able to afford food for the rest of the month, while constantly having to budget for food as prices continue to rise. 

“I get so stressed out and anxious some months that it makes me physically nauseous.”

Many housing clients also commented on how the increase in everyday payments has meant a decrease in their budget towards leisure activities, which has affected their mental health due to a lack of social interaction. 

One of our staff at My Place, commented: 

“Although our clients know they can come to us for their essential items, and we are fortunate to receive lots of donations from the local community, they often feel embarrassed about having to turn to us for the likes of food – which they feel they should be able to afford themselves. 

“We have sadly seen many young people reduce what they buy or some even miss a meal a day to be able to afford to eat for a whole month, because they would rather do this than deal with the embarrassment of asking for a food bank voucher. 

“They worry that asking for help for essentials is a sign that they cannot manage their money, and will therefore affect their move-on journey. Even though this isn’t the case, I can understand why they feel this way.”

Out of the YMCA Norfolk staff who participated in a similar survey, 100% said they’ve noticed an increase in anxiety among clients in the last 6 months since the rise in inflation, and 75% said they’ve noticed clients socialising less due to struggling to afford leisure activities. 

Ruth Vaughan, YMCA Norfolk Youth Coach, commented:

“The impact of inflation has a domino effect on our young people and causes a hard-to-break cycle: they feel stressed and anxious about the economic climate, which leads to a decrease in motivation, pushing them further away from being job-ready. 

“While we offer a range of budgeting and tenancy management courses, we can’t change the speed of inflation and the way it impacts our young people. We can only continue to work hard to educate them on managing their finances and encourage them to engage in positive activities, so they know that we’re here to support them through such challenging times.” 

YMCA Norfolk offers clients a range of training, education and employment programmes such as Life Ready – a youth-led activities programme overseen by a group of passionate youth coaches. Clients also have access to therapy, support workers and positive activities, providing a holistic support service and helping them to feel ready for independent living. 

John Lee, YMCA Norfolk CEO, commented: 

“We hear on a daily basis from the young people we support how increasingly hard it is for them. Whilst it always been difficult to be a young person at risk of homelessness, it has become exponentially harder over the last few years with increasing costs and cuts to support services. 

“The funding cuts to services make it harder to overcome barriers which are stopping young people achieving their goals. 

“We are lucky to benefit from great partnerships with Norfolk County Council and the District councils alongside other charities. Together our staff are working hard to make the difference where they can but as the quotes from our clients and staff in this report show, an increasing number of our young people are crisis point.”

YMCA Norfolk held their annual Sleep Easy fundraising event on Friday 10 March, where more than 40 supporters joined hundreds of people across the country in sleeping anywhere but their bed to raise awareness of the thousands of young people made homeless each year.

Participants joined a team from Ashton Legal – who sponsored the event, as well as Karen Vincent, chair of Norfolk County Council, and braved the cold for one night – sleeping in carboard boxes in the YMCA Community Hub car park on Aylsham Road, Norwich. 

Sleep Easy participant, Fiona Stuart – who is also the Chair of YMCA Norfolk and a partner at Ashton’s Legal, said:

“It was an absolute pleasure to share the Sleep Easy 2023 experience with so many like-minded people, coming together to raise awareness around youth homelessness.

“A night outside in a cardboard box, in -5 temperatures, really brought home the reality that so many of our youth face in this day and age.

“I would really encourage others to join YMCA Norfolk in the future and take part in Sleep Easy – collaborating with the charity to raise vital funds to those most in need.” 

Sleep Easy is one of the biggest fundraising events of the year, challenging people to experience homelessness for one night by camping out in unconventional places. All monies raised from the evening go towards delivering much-needed support for homeless young people every day in Norfolk.

John Lee, Chief Executive of YMCA Norfolk, also spent the night in a cardboard box in aid of the cause:

“It was a really cold night with temperatures reaching below freezing, however it has also been extremely rewarding for everyone who took part. It was amazing to see so many people come together to raise money and support young people in Norfolk. 

“We’re extremeley pleased to announce that we reached our fundraising goal of £10,000. The money will go towards bed spaces for homeless and vulnerable young people, offering them the chance to speak to trusted YMCA Norfolk professionals about reaching their life goals and aspirations. 

“I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who donated to the campaign, and we are extremely grateful to all of our participants who braved the cold and made Sleep Easy 2023 such an inspirational experience.”

To show your support to YMCA Norfolk’s Sleep Easy 2023 campaign, please donate here. 

YMCA Norfolk is calling on the Norfolk community to take on their Sleep Easy fundraising challenge – asking supporters to sleep rough for one night to raise vital funds and awareness for youth homelessness.

The charity is set to host Sleep Year 2023 on Friday 10 March at YMCA Norfolk’s Community Hub on Aylsham Road (Norwich), where fundraisers will leave to their warm beds for one night and sleep rough at the hub’s car park in make-shift cardboard boxes.  

The challenge is hosted in partnership with sponsors, Ashton’s Legal, who have also entered a team to take part in the event alongside a number of other Norfolk businesses. 

Stefan Mitham, Head of Marketing at Ashtons Legal, said: “At Ashtons Legal, our commitment to the community doesn’t stop when we leave the office at the end of each day. We believe It Is Important to contribute to life beyond work and improve the lives of those around us. We are proud of our commitment to the Sleep Easy challenge and some of our staff will experience first-hand the struggle our local young people face day to day”

“YMCA Norfolk do an amazing job with supporting our young people across the county and I hope we raise as much funds as possible so they can continue to make a difference.”

Sleep Easy is one of the charity’s biggest fundraising events of the year, and YMCA Norfolk will be joining YMCAs from across England and Wales in hosting the event, which first began in 2010. Since then, more than 7,000 fundraisers have slept rough across England in order to raise over vital funds for local YMCA services that assist young people in rebuilding their lives. 

Hannah, 18, is a YMCA Norfolk housing member whose life has been drastically transformed by the charity’s support and accommodation services after her extremely challenging upbringing:

Hannah was sadly groomed into a relationship with a much older man at just 13-years old, living with him and her mum in Wroxham, forced to have sexual relations underage. 

Hannah eventually managed to escape the relationship to live with her dad, but due to his alcohol addiction was kicked out of the family home 3 years later and made homeless at only 16-years-old.

At the time, Hannah could only afford to stay at a two-star hotel on Earlham Road, Norwich. After notifying a social worker of her situation, Hannah was referred to YMCA Norfolk for a housing assessment. The day she was assessed at YMCA Norfolk’s Central Youth Hostel (John Drake House), in March 2021, she moved into the property. 

Hannah said: “when I first moved into YMCA I felt really anxious, nervous and overwhelmed. Due to the trauma that I suffered throughout my childhood, I turned to drugs, drinking and partying.

Hannah spent the next few months engaging in positive activities such as gardening and cooking, and also learnt new skills through taking part in ‘Life Ready’ workshops (a training and education project ran by YMCA Norfolk).

“The support that Central gave me and the patience they showed me made me realise that there was more to life than what I had been through. When I moved into My Place, I was really excited and happy. I felt that I had grown up, and despite initial nerves, I have really flourished since living here,” Hannah added.

Hannah said her housing engagement worker, Justin, made her ‘feel at ease’ and ‘earnt her respect.’

“There have been times when it has all been too much for me: I have broken down and thought I could not get through it at all. But I learnt to confide in the staff at YMCA, who would lighten my mood through the challenging times. I now speak to my engagement worker daily about the case – to let out my frustrations instead of letting it all build up.

“With everything that has gone on in my life, I have learnt that stability is possible. Thanks to YMCA Norfolk, this is the first time in a long time that I have felt safe. They have made it possible for me to change my life around – I now have a different outlook, with better self-esteem and self-worth. I know that people care about me, and I can speak to YMCA staff without judgement,” Hannah added.

Hannah is one of hundreds of young people who would be living in an unsafe, vulnerable situation if it wasn’t for YMCA Norfolk’s intervention and support. 

The charity is aiming to raise up £10,000 from this year’s Sleep Easy, and funds will go towards transforming the lives of homeless and vulnerable young people across Norfolk, such as Hannah. 

Young people living at YMCA’s accommodation units are not only provided with a safe space to stay but also encouraged to engage in positive activities as well as counselling services, training, education, and skills-based support to move onto independent living when they’re ready to do so. 

John Lee, YMCA Norfolk CEO (who is taking part in Sleep Easy 2023), commented on the fundraising event:

“Sleep Easy is not only essential for raising much needed funds, but it also highlights the reality of youth homelessness and why no one should ever have to experience it. 

“We’re extremely grateful to all of our supporters, fundraisers and sponsors who have pledged to take part in Sleep Easy 2023 – community support is vital to all charitable operations, and we’re hoping to raise as much money this year as possible given the current climate.”  

To register and/or donate to YMCA Norfolk’s Sleep Easy event this year, please click here.