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Northumberland, Co. Durham, Tyne and Wear June Newsletter

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Neil Steadman’s Online Distance Learning Case Study

Neil worked in the care sector for over 8

years before becoming unemployed for

approximately 6 months. His job coach

shared information about the Returneeship

course and enrolled onto the Walsall course

that started October 2019. Neil said “the

course was really fun and helped me im-

prove my outlook on getting help and focussed getting

back into employment.’ Everyone was so friendly and was

able to gain three new qualifications and new friendships

from completing the course. Following this course Neil

gained full time employment in February 2020 as a Care

Assistant at Alpha Care in Great Whurley. He is so pleased

to be back working in the care sector as it is so rewarding.

A couple of weeks ago James, the tutor from the Returneeship course gave me a call to

tell me about the current distance learning courses they are offering. I am working full

time doing different shifts however Release Potential have really worked around this

and adapted things so I have been able to work and fit in daily sessions in order for me

to gain more qualifications. At the beginning of the course Neil said “he found it a little

daunting, due to been new to the whole online platform. I had a few technical

difficulties, but these were resolved quickly with the support of my tutor. ‘The sessions

have been great and have been able to fit around my shifts. I think the Video Con-

ferencing technology is set up well and I think it will be positive. Thanks to this

modified way of learning, I have been able to gain my Level 2 Certificate in

Customer Service Skills.’

I am really pleased that my job centre job coach shared the information regarding the

Returneeship course last year, as this means I am now developing myself with further

qualifications with Release Potential currently on the Distance Learning course. I am

looking forward to starting the Level 2 Certificate Equality and Diversity next.

Walsall 92

Roll of Honour

June Chilli Plant Winners

Equality and Diversity Level 2 with James.

We had learners from Walsall, The Salvation

Army in Handsworth and North Tyneside all

working together.

Well done Barbara, Lyndsay, Antony, Winston,

Salinder and Neil!

IT User Skills Level 2 with James.

We had learners working together from Walsall and Crewe.

Well done Mark and Adrian!

Customer Service Level 2 with Graham.

We’ve had learners from Erdington, Sunderland, Huddersfield,

Birmingham and Blyth all working together.

Well done Anita, Denise, Wendy, Philip, Gary and Michael!

Equality and Diversity Level 2 with Neil.

We’ve had learners from Birmingham, Peterlee, Halifax, Blyth,

Hexham, South Tyneside and Grimsby all working together.

Well done Emily, Richard, Thomas, Jonathan, Ronald, Philip,

Crystal and Sean!

Congratulations for completing the course and winning a chilli plant, we

hope that you nurture this chilli plant and help ‘release its potential’ just

as you have released yours on the course! Well done to June’s winners:

Equality and Diversity Level 2: Lyndsay from Walsall

IT User Skills Level 2: Mark from Walsall

Customer Service Level 2: Wendy from Huddersfield

Equality and Diversity Level 2: Jonathan from Halifax

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Roll of Honour Mental Health Level 2 with Dáire.

We had learners from Dudley, Chelmsley

Wood, The Salvation Army, Pontefract, Ipswich

and South Tyneside all working together.

Well done Tracey, Christine, Izurary, Christina,

Mandy, Gareth and Fallone!

Customer Service Level 1 with Neil.

We had learners from Burnley, Halifax, Stafford, Redditch,

Barnsley, Cheltenham and Handsworth.

Well done Alex, Rebecca, Helen, Joanne, Margaret, Sharon

and Winston!

IT User Skills Level 2 with James .

We had learners from Newton Aycliffe, Stoke, Newcastle and

Walsall all working together.

Well done Caroline, Rondene, Darren, Amel, Lyndsey and

Salinder!

IT User Skills Level 1 with Graham .

We had learners from Newcastle and Birmingham working together.

Well done Mehboob, and Nevzet!

June Chilli Plant Winners

Congratulations for completing the course and winning a chilli plant, we hope that you nurture this

chilli plant and help ‘release its potential’ just as you have released yours on the course! Well done

to June’s winners:

Mental Health Level 2: Mandy from Ipswich

Customer Service Level 1: Joanne from Redditch and Helen Porter from Stafford

IT User Skills Level 2: Lyndsey from Walsall

IT User Skills Level 1: Nevzet from Birmingham

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Current Courses and Qualifications

Level 2 Certificate in Equality and Diversity

This qualification has been developed in order to address legislation, reinforcing the importance of equality and diversity within different contexts and ensuring that learners gain an understand-ing of the different issues affecting equality and diversity in today’s society, the community and the workplace. You will be allocated a designated tutor and support tutor who will work with you providing tutorials and one to one support. The Certificate in Equality and Diversity comprises of three units: Equality and diversity in society Equality and diversity in the community Equality and diversity in the workplace

Level 2 Certificate in Customer Service

This qualification has been designed for learners who want to work within a customer service role and who wish to develop knowledge and understanding about Customer Service at level 2. This qualification is for learners. You will be allocated a designated tutor and support tutor who will work with you providing tutorials and one to one support. The Certificate in Customer Service comprises of three units: Understanding the organisation Prepare to deliver excellent customer service Communication in the customer service role

Level 2 Certificate in IT User Skills

This qualification will help you to obtain IT user knowledge and skills. This qualification is rele-vant for those using IT or want to in the future, who are currently employed in IT support, or are looking to become more employable in this area. You will be allocated a designated tutor and support tutor who will work with you providing tutorials and one to one support. The certificate in IT User Skills comprises of the following units:

Improving productivity using IT

Presentation software

Using email

Word processing software

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If interested ring the office on 01661 843819 or Andrew on 07795 006870

Health and Wellbeing

Hitting The Reset Button

What's the one thing that can be done today to take control of your mindset? We all know that our mindset can vary day to day, life throws things at us and we either deal with them well or not so well. We tend to develop habits and reactions that are helpful, and help us to cope, or we develop habits and reactions that we think are helpful, but they might not be helpful at all. For example; have you ever been in a situation where someone cuts you up in a car and you automatically start hammering on the car horn, shouting, ranting and raving. Other situations may include dealing with kids, they tend to be one of the best patience and stress tests in life. Do you think we have a choice which emotions we choose to use in every situation? This is part of the field of emotional intelligence, the belief that we can choose our emotional reaction in any situation rather than let our emotions run wild. This is something that must be practised, understanding that's it is ok to make mistakes, we are only human. The key is not beating yourself up about it, refocus and practice using the Reset Button each time. The Reset Button This simple tool and strategy that we are going to look to introduce is called the reset button; All you need to do is each day is practise this extremely simple strategy, when we are faced with a situation where we would normally react with anger or frustration or gestures – we are now going to practice taking a 10-second reset. During the 10 seconds, all you have to do is stop, think and breath slowly for 10 seconds, focus on your inhales and exhales which should be more controlled and deeper than normal. Add another layer to this we can incorporate something called an Anchor. This is usually done by pressing the thumb into the top finger of the same hand and holding it there for the 10 seconds. This becomes another reminder when in these stressful situations that we can reset and that when we reset we can create choice. This overly simple tool can have a powerful impact when helping manage your emotions to take back control of your mindset.

By Dáire Fitzgerald

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The Lanky Chef Recipe

Pizza Time!

By Neil Correia

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A piping hot pizza with fresh tomatoes and mozzarella is wonderfully simple. Take your time with the dough, the waiting is very important. Dough Ingredients: 450g bread flour ½ tsp dry active yeast A good pinch of sugar 1 tbsp fine sea salt (try to avoid covering the yeast with this) 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil (good taste and stops it going so dry) 250ml lukewarm water (blood temperature is ideal) Topping Ingredients: Mozzarella Fresh Tomato Additional pizza toppings of your choice Place the flour and salt into a bowl and mix together, then add the oil into the bowl. Set aside. Pour the water into a bowl and mix in the yeast and sugar. Yeast works well when warm, so using luke-warm water speeds up the process. Too hot or cold can affect the yeast working. Sugar helps to feed the yeast. Leave for a few minutes until you see a reaction taking place. Mix the two bowls together by pouring the water mix over the flour mix. Now give the mixture a really good mixing together. If you have a dough hook/food mixer then use this. I generally just mix it with my hands as I don't have fancy kitchen gadgets. Do this for a good five minutes until the mixture feels a little tacky and elastic. You may need to add a touch more flour or water after a while, but do not rush to put more in right away, as the mix should come together slowly. Once mixed use your empty bowl and wipe a little oil around the inside of this to stop the dough sticking as it rises (proves). Cover the bowl (a shower cap works surprisingly well and can be reused) and place the dough into the bowl and leave in a warm place until it has risen. You are ideally looking for at least a 50% increase in size, but hopefully doubling in size. Once ready take out the bowl and give another knead. Don't worry about a technique as long as you are moving it and stretching it, you will be doing fine. Separate into two or three, cover and leave to rise once more. Your Dough is now ready! Flour a clean bench and stretch your dough to a size of your choosing. Get an oven hot to about 220°C and start adding your chosen toppings to your pizza (don't forget to put it on a baking tray or pizza stone before adding toppings). A jar of good tomato passata can be used as a base before adding cheese, tomatoes and fresh basil. Cook until the edges of the pizza have lightly browned and the toppings are cooked and enjoy with a leafy salad.

Job Vacancies

Northumberland

Day and Waking Nights Housing Concierge Conference and Banqueting Assistant

Home Group Limited Macdonald Hotels & Resorts

Staff Transport Driver Care Assistsnt

Careline Lifestyles Ltd Nursdoc

Co. Durham

Cleaning Operative Healthcare Assistant/Support Worker

MJF Facilities Management NHS England and NHS Improvement

Customer Service Advisor Sales Assistant

Halfords Savers

Tyne and Wear

Site Operative Care Support Assistant

SUEZ North East Autism Society

Customer Service Advisor Cleaning Operative

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Follow the link below to take you to our jobs vacancy page, which will

be updated weekly:

https://www.release-potential.co.uk/vacancies/

Use the bottom of the page to select your chosen area and to flick

through the job vacancies!

Support Helplines

Alcohol and Substance Misuse Support Service

TalktoFrank Tel: 0300 123 6600

Drug information Text: 82 111

Support and advice Email: send an email via

https://www.talktofrank.com/ the website

Healthy Eating Support

British Heart Foundation

Find out more about a balanced diet, eating fruit and vegetables,

looking for the right fats and cutting down on salt and alcohol!

Download an Eat Better Booklet here!

https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/support/healthy-living/healthy-eating

Smoking Support Service

NHS

NHS Smoking Helpline Support—0300 123 1044

NHS Smoke Free Website- https://www.nhs.uk/smokefree

NHS online chat tool via Facebook Messenger: Get instant support when

cravings strike!

Physical Activity Support

BBC Sport, Get Inspired

Information on many different sports and how you can get involved!

Find sports clubs and activities near you!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/get-inspired

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June Awareness Days

Release Potential are taking part in Joyful June! This has been

designed to get people taking positive action in their life throughout

this global crisis!

Find out what each day has in store at

https://www.release-potential.co.uk/latest-news/joyful-june/

June 21st

Global MIND Awareness Day

This is an occasion to

acknowledge the impact

that MIND has on people

around the world!

June 22nd

World Wellbeing Week

This week allows partici-

pants to promote an

overall awareness for the

wide-ranging aspects of

wellbeing

June 23rd

Public Service Day

To celebrate the

contribution to society

by the nation’s army of

public service workers

June 29th

Children’s Art Week

This week will take place

online and at home across

three weeks in June and

July. Each week will have a

theme

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