The BCT Phoenix Programme

“The phoenix is a mystical creature that signifies re-birth and new beginnings. This epitomises everything that this programme aims to do.

To give opportunity where people believe that there is none

Turning negative past experiences into a positive tool for the future.

Belief that even from the direst of circumstances people can rise up and be re-born.

To not only exist and function but to achieve great things.”

Paul Burgum 2011

Working with People!

The Phoenix Programme: Is designed to work with a cross section of people of all ages. Paul Burgum feels

that having experienced many of the problems that some of the most ‘at risk’ young people and adults go through, his point of reference comes from a similar place. This is backed up by the formal experience of Clare Henderson.

Provides a comprehensive framework that is adaptable to a wide range of people, of varying ages and needs.

Will utilise BCT’s skills in creating opportunities and problem solving using exciting methods that make learning enjoyable.

Ensures that learning processes are always based around a need to learn specific skills, rather than for learning for learning’s sake.

Works in a forum style environment with all members being equally important. We look to actively find each person’s strengths and weaknesses.

Works with the belief that everybody has a talent or skill and getting the opportunity to find it, is often the only problem

Will utilise all of BCT Aspire’s resources including its restaurant and music venue, live events. It will epitomise everything that the company is and does.

Experiences“I have learned through my personal experiences that quite often life can be hard and you sometimes think that you cannot move forward. But I have gradually realised that the many negatives that life throws at you can also become strengths in their own right. Many people have gone through terrible things and have found a way to not only get through it, but then gone on to achieve great things. “ Paul Burgum 2011

“Working within health education and social care over the past twenty years, has given me the experience of working with children, young people, adults and seeing first-hand the issues people face. Many of these come from feelings of worthlessness and being undervalued leading them to believe that they cannot achieve in life. This programme aims to change this. “ Clare Henderson 2011

Social OutcomesThe Phoenix Programme will improve skills and impact upon participants personal development in the following ways:

Employment opportunities

Social skills

Budgeting skills

Enterprise skills,

Life Skills,

Raising Aspirations

Improved long-term mental & physical health

Success in Life

The Course will look at all of the following areas and how they play apart in our wider success in life:

Long Term Impact

Reduced risk of homelessness

Reduced risk of offending

Raising Employment Opportunities & Employability

Long-term wellbeing

Increased long-term income

Increased social mobility

Forming Ideas

Throughout the programme BCT staff will facilitate and support the forming of ideas that the group wish to take forward, these maybe in the following areas:

Creating a business Creating self-employment opportunities Developing employment related skills & confidence Developing work experience opportunities Community Projects Charitable Fundraising Projects Positive social activity for themselves and the community

The Programme

The programme will not have a fixed end date, but will have fixed evaluation periods where the group will reflect and also celebrate their achievements.

It will also give the company the opportunity to continually evolve the programme from the experience gained.

SpeakersThe programme will also work closely with BCT’s many contacts, inviting speakers to come in and work with the group on specific areas. The speakers will come from across the board encompassing:

Sportspeople

Businesspeople

Politicians

Inspirational Individuals from all walks of life.

Teacher’s & Lecturers from different levels of education & learning

These same speakers will play a part on offering further opportunities through their own organisations and companies. BCT Aspire already has agreements for work placements with companies such as:

Taylor Wimpey, W.A. Browne

Alongside this BCT is able to offer its own opportunities through it’s fast growing catering and events business.

Case Studies

The programme will use case studies of role models named by the participants. This comes from an understanding that everybody’s point of reference is different. We will research the role models and link this into the programme, providing information on each role models journey to success and quite often the hard, difficult times involved. Examples of role models given so far include:

Dave Mustaine – Heavy metal guitarist and musician Ville Valle – Finnish Musician

We believe it is massively important that the views come from the participants and not ourselves. We believe that this is quite often a stumbling block within learning. We intend to each course to bespoken to the group and the pre-course questionnaires will give us the relevant information.

The Phoenix Programme, BCT Aspire & Paul Burgum

The phoenix programme is a programme that has been personally written by BCT Aspire founder & managing director Paul Burgum.

Based around many of the areas that Paul has himself found difficulty with and then found ways to overcome them.

Paul has suffered with depression, anxiety disorder and underwent diagnosis for Bi-Polar disorder as well as having difficulties with Alcohol from the age of twelve.

“I have spent a life time trying to hide my problems and running away from them. In the end I crashed my own hard drive. I learned to realise that mental health is not something to be taken for granted and further still that the word mental health is not only a negative one. I know I have many problems, but they also at times give me a different perspective on life and problems. Gaining support for my problems began to teach me that with most problems there is always ways you can if not solve the problem to find away around the problem or gain support from people who can help you solve the problem. No one really achieves anything on their own and this is the case with Phoenix. It is about building support networks and giving people the confidence to come out of their own comfort zone more often. For the early part of my life alongside my brothers I managed to hide some many problems that we came across, I feel it has given me a real empathy for people and also a belief that we can get through just about anything with the right support at the right timeWhat doesn’t kill you makes you stronger“

BCT’s Aspirations

BCT Aspire has simple aims which are simply to raise aspirations of the people that it comes across.

Dreams are so important, we want to build on dreams and allow people to look forward and not backwards.

Going for a Walk As part of Paul’s own battles with his own problem he

found a novel way to confront some of his demons. In the last two years Paul has walked the length of the United Kingdom from Portsmouth in the south, to the Orkney Islands in the north. To make the task tougher still Paul did not take any money and had to rely on human kindness to complete the trips.

Paul learned many lessons on the trip and as part of the programme Paul will be sharing video clips, footage from the walks to back up the lengths he has gone to personally to succeed.

On The Job Learning

Participants do not learn anything that hasn’t come from a real need to find those skills. Every programme will develop it very own project, with its own finances.

The programme will promote “out of box thinking” allowing people to tap into their own hidden skills and have been quite often knocked out of people.

BCT Aspire has a learning culture at its core when everyone has the right to learn everything. This is regardless of what has gone before in someone’s life.

Programme Delivery

The programme will be delivered from BCT’s head office based at the Synthonia Club as well as utilising the rooms at the club. It will also visit a wide range of venues to link in with the programme.

The company will look to use all of its own business activities and premises for the good of the programme. This will include separate volunteer, work experience and possible employment opportunities within the company.

It will be once weekly with the company hoping to foster a social group from the programme that cross’s all divides and social groups.

The delivery will be led by Paul Burgum (BCT Managing Director) and Clare Henderson (BCT Operations Director) both with extensive experience and passion for both the programme and the area of work.

The programme will look to develop peer mentors to further assist in the programme delivery, further giving a sense of ownership.

How it WorksThe programme will have two parts which fit seamlessly together for the benefit of every individual.

Group Learning – This will be the bulk of the programme aiming to build team work and confidence. It will also help develop social skills both with the group and with people in the wider world. (REF Course Framework)

Personal Learning – The programme will also set time aside for 1 to 1 sessions took by either Paul Burgum or Clare Henderson, looking to work on the individual needs of the person. We will also develop a personal development diary to help the individual journey and see how far they have come. (REF Course Individual Learning)

Young PeopleAims & Objectives:

With the young people we are looking to strengthen the reasons for working hard in education. Aiming to give real practical reasons for learning the skills offered at school, rather than just for the sake of learning. It will also give opportunities for those people who find formal learning difficult.

The course will focus heavily on improving social skills and developing relationships with not only their peers, but also inter generationally.

AdultsAims & Objectives: The programme will look to work on many levels with

meaningful employment a prime driver of the programme. This could be through employment or through developing self-employment opportunities themselves.

It will also again give reason for engaging or re-engaging with further education and gaining formal qualifications.

As with young people the programme will look to breakdown social barriers and stigmas by engaging with a diverse group of people, from all backgrounds.

The course also looks to breakdown stigma relating to Mental Health, explaining that Mental Health is also a positive and something that can be improved.

Post Project

To further build upon the success of this course we will continue to support individuals that we feel we are able to help to make further progress, not just in relation to the programme, but all other aspects of their lives.

BCT does have strong local employment and training links and this is something that will be a long term goal of the programme.

We will also look to see if we can assist with other recreational activities, through the information we have gathered from working with the individuals. We will look to use our existing links to recreational opportunities in Music, Sport and the Creatives.

Each programme that is run will also evolve its own project, business or event and each of these could become sustainable in their own right.

BCT see no reason why the course cannot be the beginning of a community in its own right with course graduates supporting each other and developing a positive social scene. This is something that BCT can support through its regular events and activities.

Official Supporters Liz Hanley – Stockton Borough Council Adult Service Commissioner, PCT & NHS

Simon Stobbart – Dean of computing University of Teesside (supported the programme with the donation of 20 computers) Dean of

Melanie Maitland – Head teacher, Lowfell Primary School Wickham, Gateshead

Jim Brown – Sherpa Business Consultancy

Jane Turner – Dean of Business, Northumbria University

John Spedding – Deputy Governor, Kirklevington Grange Prison

Mark Easby – Managing Director, Better Brands

Michael Harty – Production Director, Taylor Wimpey Construction

Steve O Gara – Executive Headteacher, Pathways School, Grangetown

Neil Green – Radio Tees Presenter (Wants to follow individual journeys on air)

Mat McAdams – Managing Director, W.A Browne

Mike Greener – Next Steps

Virginia McCallum – Stockton Borough Council Youth Service

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