Case Study - The Petty Pool Trust

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Based in Northwich, Cheshire, the Petty Pool Trust is now so successful that it gets 68 per cent of its students into full-time employment compared to a national benchmark of 3 per cent. Ofsted has judged the college as being of 'outstanding' grade 1 standard. Furthermore, the charity has also obtained the Investors in People Gold standard, making it one of only 19 organisations in the north of England to achieve the award.

Chief executive Peter Evans MBE, says he couldn’t have achieved this level of growth without the help of Bibby Consulting & Support.

Petty Pool is unique in the country in its approach to educating young people with learning disabilities and getting them into employment. And it has just three years to get them job ready. This involves students doing courses on independent living, citizenship, gardening and forestry, recycling and conservation, business studies, and animal care. And at the trust’s outdoor centre, which is also used by hundreds of organisations, companies and schools, students do abseiling, high wire work, orienteering, climbing, and riding on model railways. The site is extremely busy at virtually all times of the year so it is vital that legal certifications are up to date.

The Petty Pool Trust

As well as providing health and safety advice relating to these activities, Bibby Consulting & Support helped Petty Pool to keep up with employment law and satisfy all its legal obligations. By ensuring he is meeting every employees’ needs correctly, Evans has been able to maintain a high level of people performance and turn compliance with employment law into a competitive advantage.

Describing the service provided by Bibby Consulting & Support as “terrific”, Evans says: “It just makes you sleep easier, knowing there’s a 24 hour support helpline for you and your managers. It’s great to have that professional backing and to know that all your contracts are legal. And it isn’t expensive at all.”

He adds: “Even though there can be 200 people on site at any one time, Bibby has given me comfort and peace of mind with an extremely good value service.”

Michael Slade, managing director of Bibby Consulting & Support, comments: “The safety of students and the safety of staff are massively important at the trust but with changes in legislation it can be difficult to keep up. For Petty Pool we took away the headache of worrying about complying with all sorts of employment and health and safety laws and allowed the trust to concentrate on doing what it does best – improve the lives of young people with needs and make them ready for the world of work.”