Scotswood Area Strategy

SCOTSWOOD

AREA STRATEGY

Scotswood Community Diner

New Café, New Start!

After a wait of 20 months Scotswood residents have finally got a new community café. Opening in March, Scotswood Diner will sit alongside a new crèche and training facility. It’s been refurbished by three local SEEDS trainee construction workers - Ted, Keith and Steve – under supervision from Bob ‘the Builder’ Caroll. Their placement here is now coming to an end, with the completion of the café. Congratulations to all three on successfully passing their course and gaining a construction skills qualification!

Scotswood Diner will initially open Mon – Thurs, with Fridays being reserved for community group use or training and learning sessions. It’ll serve as an information point for courses, employment and training and local events, as well as a drop-in for parents and children.

After months of operating a temporary snack bar in the Pink Palace the café staff are looking forward to offering more choice in their new premises. Hot and cold food will be available to eat in or take-away every day – from sandwiches to daily meal deals, healthy options to traditional dishes.

The re-vamped café will hopefully signal the start of some general temporary improvements to the area around the shops. Residents are keen to give the area a much needed ‘boost’ and many people feel that it’s time to start taking action themselves, rather than wait for regeneration plans to materialise. Post Office, chemist staff, and those working at the doctor’s surgery are supportive of ideas that include the Community Space (opposite Pink Palace) – a place for families and children to meet and play outside - , hanging baskets and planting boxes outside shops, pavement seating and ‘street events’.

For now though, Scotswood Diner is a welcome addition to the community, giving local residents a place to meet, eat, access information and free internet and attend free courses and special interest sessions. The new crèche is being developed by local parents and crèche sessions will soon be organised by local mams Emma Burrows and Caroline Winter who are setting up their own business. Weekly drop-in sessions at the café are free and open to everyone.

These will start on March 2^nd and include:

DROP-IN

Mondays	Learning Links Information and Guidance: a one to one advice service that can help you look at what you’re good at and what you want to do. Newcastle Futures: Help with finding jobs, training and education.
Tuesdays	Parent/Toddler Group: Run by local parents from Scotswood and Benwell. All with pre-school children welcome.
Wednesdays	Healthy living/stop smoking sessions
Thursdays	Child health drop-in: advice and information if you’ve got any worries about your children’s health; run by a mid-wife and family support worker.

A new programme of courses will also start on Monday 2^nd March. Sessions will initially be held at the Pink Palace before moving over to the training room above Scotswood Diner in late March/April; free crèche places are available for most courses. Due to high demand, most courses are already full, but it’s worth getting your name down, as they’ll be repeated on a regular basis. The courses are free and won’t affect your benefits and most come with the added bonus of free tea and coffee, free lunch, or vouchers towards a meal of your choice!

COURSES

Mondays	Nurturing Programme: hints and tips on parenting and how to deal with your child’s behaviour.
Tuesdays	Horticulture/gardening (places available): grow your own plants/veg at the allotment or at home and/or do a qualification. (with Scotswood Natural Community Garden or Newcastle College)
Wednesdays	IT: a beginners’ OCN qualification in I.T – covering areas such as internet, document writing, e-mail, producing spreadsheets.
Thursdays	(5^th,12^th,19^thmarch): Food Safety and Hygiene. Level 2 qualification.
Fridays	Freedom Programme. An informal, awareness raising course for women who have experienced domestic violence. (places available)
Monday 9^th March	Anger Management: designed to help you manage your own and your children’s anger.
Wednesday 25^th-Fri 27^th March	Personal Effectiveness: find out what sort of person you are, what makes you tick, and make plans for the future.

From April there’ll also be courses in literacy and numeracy (basic skills qualifications) as well as cv writing, interview skills and work skills sessions. New art and craft courses and business start up advice are also being planned for the near future. There are also some ideas for a taster day street party event at Scotswood Diner during the Easter break… keep your eyes peeled for news of this nearer the time.

Further Information

More detailed information about what’s on offer will be at the Pink Palace towards the end of this month. Pop in any time and ask for Valerie, Karen or Dave or call Tel 274 2429.

From March, Scotswood Diner’s the place to go for up to date information and advice – and of course, to enjoy the company of the lovely Gwen, Janice and Wendy!