News and stories | Together Trust

The Together Trust leaves its mark on Manchester building where it all began

21 July 2021 - 10:15am

A new plaque was unveiled by Cllr Tommy Judge, the present Lord Mayor of Manchester, on Tuesday, marking the Together Trust’s very first home on Quay Street thanks to funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Photo of three children and young people on a colourful background

Together Trust's joint submission to the Committee on the Rights of the Child

15 July 2021 - 5:15pm

We are proud to be a member of Family for every Child, an international alliance of organisations that unite their skills and knowledge to achieve change for children and families worldwide.

Consultation response - Introducing national standards for independent and semi-independent provision

15 July 2021 - 1:15pm

Together Trust's response to the government's consultation on introducing national standards for independent and semi-independent provision for looked-after children and care leavers aged 16 and 17.

Question raised in Parliament

15 July 2021 - 12:15pm

At the end of June, Jill Sheldrake (Service Director), Amanda Hampson (Head of Community and Personalisation), Rick Vogan (Head of Clinical Services) and Ali Gunn (Communications and Campaigns Manager) met with Cheadle MP Mary Robinson in June to discuss the integration of health and social care.

New leadership at Bridge College

15 July 2021 - 11:00am

Sara Bayley,
Head of Service at Bridge College

I’m very excited to become part of #TeamBridge.

A term of sporting events at Bridge College

14 July 2021 - 4:15pm

Virtual Boccia

The virtual Boccia tournament was organised by Boccia England and AOC Sport. If you’re unaware, Boccia (pronounced bot-cha) is a Paralympic sport with no Olympic equivalent and is similar to bowls. Read more about Boccia England here: https://www.bocciaengland.org.uk/what-is-boccia This year more than 5,400 students from over 140 schools and colleges took part.

Local volunteers help care leavers to share their experiences

2 July 2021 - 1:30pm

Thanks to the National Lottery's Heritage Fund's generous funding, our charity has been opening up its rich history to the local community. Most recently, the charity, which supports over 2,000 children and adults each year, has been working with local volunteers on an oral histories project.

Jakeb: Pride month and the LGBTQ+ care experienced community

25 June 2021 - 4:15pm

As we come to the end of pride month Jakeb shares his reflections on LGBTQ+ young people in the care system.

I'm going to talk about being LGBTQ+ and being a care experienced person and growing up in the care system.

The Making of Us

23 June 2021 - 11:45am

The Turnpike in Leigh launched, a development programme for artists to engage and collaborate with organisations in Wigan, Stockport and Salford. The project is made possible with funding from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority.

Nutrition and Hydration Week, 14 - 18 June

21 June 2021 - 12:30pm

Students helped to design activities for the week and led on how to involve their fellow students. They also decided that there would be a theme for each day.

Menu Monday:

Students were asked what their wish list menu would look like for either a meal or a day. A piece of fruit, a bottle of water and/or healthy breakfast were supplied to all staff and students.

Taste Test Tuesday:

A selection of smoothies/snacks/drinks was provided, and students tried to guess the ingredients. Students also participated in a taste quiz.

Water Wednesday:

Film brief - 150th evaluation

18 June 2021 - 8:45am

Thanks to funding as part of our Heritage Lottery Funded project ‘The Ever Open Door – 150 years of the Together Trust’, we are looking to produce a film that will document the main outcomes of the project and sit alongside our evaluation report.

Care Review case for change - our response

17 June 2021 - 11:30am

There has already been great analysis of where the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care case for change has got it right and where it has missed the mark, particularly on the issue of unregulated accommodation.

Positive feedback for our Mediation and Disagreement Resolution Services

15 June 2021 - 11:30am

Our specialist mediation and disagreement resolution service brings different parties together to work towards a positive outcome. We run an impartial service offering factual and unbiased information. We create neutral spaces where everyone feels heard and supported. We champion every young person’s voice, making sure their needs and ambitions are at the heart of the conversation.

A team member from Booths holding a collection bucket next to another sat on an exercise bike

Booths team raise over £1000 for local young people in care

15 June 2021 - 10:45am

The team from Booths in Hale Barns recently took part in the Captain Tom 100 challenge raising money for the fostering service at the Together Trust and the young people it supports.

A scanned copy of Together Trust's annual report from 1905

The power of understanding your own history

4 June 2021 - 4:00pm

Our identity and sense of belonging are tied up in the memories of our childhood but for children in care, their records are often the only thing they have to piece together their life story.

At the Together Trust, we have a substantial archive of records dating right back to 1870 because our founders recognised the significance of keeping records for the young people they cared for. It is part of our DNA to ensure that our care records help people understand their childhood.

Jakeb: My thoughts on unregulated accommodation

2 June 2021 - 4:00pm

The new legislation that will come into effect in September will mean around 6000 children will be placed in accommodation without any care. This is highly problematic for many reasons. Firstly, many young people in the care system have experienced abuse and, or neglect.

A robot waving with a person waving back at it

Bridge College’s big award win

17 May 2021 - 3:45pm

We are proud to announce that we have won a Natspec award for our innovative work in specialist education at Bridge college for introducing robots into the curriculum.

Our Bridge college won the Innovative use of technology award for our ongoing work we’re doing with LuxAI and Association of Colleges.

Join the Together Trust’s virtual walking tour 2021

14 May 2021 - 1:00pm

Are you interested in finding out how and where we started writing our history? The charity's very first care homes, adult services and what inspired our modern-day values?

In the wake of Mental Health Awareness Week 2021, 10-16 May, the Together Trust would like to welcome you to sign up for our virtual walking tour to explore the charity's 150-year-long history while staying healthy and active.

Parents don’t stop caring at 16, so why does the government?

12 May 2021 - 2:15pm

Children in care that live in unregulated accommodation are only entitled to support, not care. They are expected to fend for themselves with just a few hours of adult support a week. Unregulated accommodation can be a flat, bedsit, hostel or a caravan. At any one time, around 6,000 children aged 16 and 17, looked after by local authorities live in unregulated accommodation. These are children of compulsory education and training age that the local authority has parental responsibility for.

#9WordsForCare

12 May 2021 - 11:30am

Boris Johnson promised after his election in 2019 that he had a plan to ‘fix social care once and for all’. Two years on and we are still waiting.

Yesterday in the Queen’s Speech, the future of social care was pinned down to 9 tiny words - ‘Proposals on social care reform will be brought forward'. Those nine words gave us a familiar sinking feeling.

We feel that there is so much more to be said about social care reform so we're joining the National Care Forum's #9WordsForCare campaign and we want to hear from you.