Starting Point

Starting Point aim to provide learning and development opportunities for all their staff, seeking to improve confidence, team cohesion and individual performance. This involves taking a community-centred approach to staff development where staff are encouraged to participate and share ideas on improving their organisation.

At Starting Point, we understand that investing in staff development and training opportunities benefits the organisation, the staff members, and those they work with in the community.

We provide regular, tailored opportunities for individual staff members, including level 3 award courses in community organising for four staff members this year, and teacher training courses for our digital skills tutors. This also involves paid coaching opportunities for some staff members, including fortnightly coaching for team leaders around management and confidence, all of which are provided by independent coaches.

The local community has benefited from our team members becoming more confident, independent and resilient. Our team members pass on their learning, such as around the 5 Ways to Wellbeing and we now have more trainers to facilitate digital programmes and Community Champions schemes. Our community organising team, who regularly engage with members of the community in our coffee shop, have increased their confidence and ability to engage with people from different backgrounds, listening to them and supporting them to create positive change.

As an organisation we are feedback-centred and place great importance on listening, especially staff feedback around development opportunities and needs. We have introduced wellness action plans for all staff to gauge how they are feeling physically and mentally, and to look at how staff learning and development can improve either or both of these. This approach has helped us maintain a low staff turnover and has allowed us to grow sustainably as a team.

Rachael Pritchard, a staff member at Starting Point said: “Starting Point provides many varied opportunities for me to develop myself personally and professionally. Regular access to courses (for example First Aid), awareness training (for example Dementia Friends) and team development meetings have provided me with tools and strategies to improve my knowledge and skills. All activities support me in my role and empower me to progress. Being a training provider, the importance of learning runs through everything we do.”