Autumn 2019 Newsletter

Welcome to a new year at Hope English School!

September has gone by in a flash and we have settled back into the rhythm of Hope English life. We have started up several new classes and have welcomed three new members of staff into our team (as well as saying goodbye to others)

Our Classes This Term

We now run a total of three classes for the Snowdrop Project, a lower and higher level English class as well as our more informal conversation class.

We have started a conversation club at the Refugee Council. This allows students to benefit from informal conversational practice with local people. By doing this they not only build confidence but also learn more about life and work in the UK.

Through funding secured last year we have been able to restart much needed classes in Doncaster. After assessing the needs of the area through conversations with other frontline organisations we decided to launch a basic literacy course. For many of our students speaking and listening is far easier than reading and writing. For students who never had the opportunity to learn to read and write in their own language, learning to read and write in a second language is a huge challenge! This course aims to equip learners with basic literacy skills needed for life in the UK.

Our final class is funded by Bassetlaw District Council and is specifically for the Syrian Refugees who have been resettled in the local area. This is a small but precious group who have made huge progress since we started teaching them over a year ago.

Goodbye Christie, Julien and Yasmin!

We were very sad to say goodbye to our fabulous fundraising volunteers Christie and Yasmin as well as our volunteer spreadsheet whizz Julien.

We thank you so much for your hard work and wish all of you the best for your futures!

New Staff at Hope English School!

We are delighted to have welcomed Jane, Luz and Liz into the Hope English family!

As well as teaching, Jane is our class co-ordinator which involves organising the delivery of classes across the Sheffield City Region, as well as liaising with clients and supporting teachers and volunteers.

Luz and Liz have both taken on teaching roles. Liz has previously volunteered with us, but has now stepped up to teach.

We wish them all good luck in their new roles and are so pleased to have them as part of the team.

Could you give regularly to support our work?

We rely on fundraising to provide our students with the resources they need to achieve. Whether that's childcare to allow them to concentrate or a folder to help keep everything organised.
We are inviting all our supporters to think about becoming regular givers. If this is something you would be interested in finding out more about please get in touch with Katy or head over to our website for more information.

“Communitea Party” raises more than £100!

Our Communitea Party, held at the end of last term, was a great success. We enjoyed great cake and community with supporters, staff and students. We raised £106.81 which will be used directly to support our students.

Thank you to all who came, baked for and supported this event!

Huge congratulations to our directors Anna and Katy (along with Katy's husband Pete) who ran the Sheffield 10k to raise money for our partners Snowdrop Project!

We are well on our way to becoming a registered charity, this means we will be able to receive gift aid on donations (and will hopefully be able to claim gift aid on past donations too!)

Meet The Team!

Katy Sturdey - Director

In our second of our ‘Meet the Team’ series we chat to one of the two Hope English School (HES) directors Katy! Katy manages to combine being a primary school teacher, mum of two and director in and organised yet effortless fashion! She keeps our finances in order with her excellent spreadsheets and her huge heart for the students runs through everything she does.

Read on to find out more about Katy…

How did you first get involved in HES?

Jen Gladwell (who founded HES) was a mum friend of mine in the school playground and I thought what she was doing was amazing. I began to support her, volunteering one afternoon a week (making volunteer fliers etc at her kitchen table etc) while my daughter was at nursery. I felt passionate about the vision of HES and wanted to be more useful and involved so once both children were at school I went back to Uni in the evenings to sit my CELTA qualification. I then began teaching ESOL classes with HES and this has gradually evolved to my current role as one of the directors.

What specifically does your role involve?

As a small company, my role is very varied which I love (from emptying the bins to strategic meetings organised by clients such as the Refugee Council with local representatives from sectors such as local council, NHS and school services). However, my primary role is managing our finances. This includes invoices, accounts, banking, payroll etc, it doesn’t sound that exciting, but I love it as it is so different from my other day job as a primary school teacher and challenges me to learn new skills.

What do you like most about working for HES?

 I spend a day a week in our office with the other lovely staff and volunteers. It’s amazing being part of a team with such a passion for the people we work with. I love it when we hear that a student has been for a job interview or has applied for a course at college – what we are doing is making a difference to people’s lives in Sheffield and beyond. I also have to admit that my other great joy is a well working Excel spreadsheet!

What else do you do with the rest of your week when you are not working for HES?

What I enjoy most is hanging out with my kids and husband - playing games, being out in the garden, eating pancakes at cafes and getting out in the countryside. A normal week begins on a Monday and Tuesday with my enthusiastic class of 9-10 year olds, then 2 days working for HES, then a day being ‘house mum’ doing all the family jobs. At weekends we love getting outdoors for walks, cycles and picnics together or with family and friends. I feel so lucky to have such a varied and interesting week.

Have you always lived in Sheffield, if not what brought you here?

No, I grew up on the North East coast and moved to Sheffield as a student. I studied Geography and then went on to work as a Park Ranger for several years in several stunning locations ranging from the West Coast of Scotland to the moors and coast of Devon. After a period travelling around the world, I returned to Sheffield, trained as a teacher, got married and settled here. We love Sheffield – the people, the city and the Peak District.

Tell us an interesting fact about yourself?

 I am most happy sitting in a tent in a grassy (or muddy) field with no toilet watching the wildlife and contemplating which mountain to climb next (This is a testament to Sheffield as it surprises me that I live in a city and I love it so much)!

Meet The Team!

Christie Kelsey - Fundraising Volunteer

In the first of our ‘Meet The Team’ series we are chatting to our fabulous fundraising volunteer Christie! As well as working on her Masters, she finds the time to research into and apply for (often successfully!) fundraising grants which help with the running costs of Hope English School and make a huge difference to the work we are able to do.

Christie is currently part of the Postgraduate Advantage Scheme, which is a 100 hour internship for postgraduate students at the University of Sheffield, to help them gain practical work experience and enhance their CV. It’s funded by the university so that students can get experience working in areas that usually don’t have the funds to take on interns, such as the charity/community sector. 

Christie in India with some of her students

Read on as we get Christie to answer a few questions to find out a bit more about her…

How did you first get involved in Hope English School?

 I first got in touch with HES to look at maybe doing some teaching, I had done a few projects with the British Council (Thailand, France, India) when I was at university and did my CELTA in early 2017 and then spent 18 months working in an English School in Auckland.

I met Katy at the Volunteering fair at Sheffield University, and Anna got in touch to ask if I’d be interested in Research and Fundraising as they had no teaching roles - and here I am now!

What specifically does your role involve?

I research potential trusts and funding bodies, find ones whose criteria we match, then write applications. I work closely with Anna on these to identify what we need funding for, and where we can get this from, e.g. resources for teachers/office, core costs for the day-to-day running of HES, and for putting on classes. 

 I have also moved onto researching the need in Sheffield and surrounding areas, researching the asylum/refugee process and issues, looking for data about the importance of ESOL and refugees. I also look for other ESOL providers in the area, looking for gaps and where the need is for us! 

I am also looking at how we can measure and evaluate the impact and outcomes of our work. 

What do you like most about working for HES? 

It gives me a break from the library! It’s a bit of light relief from reading about war and terrorism and bad things in the world. 

I really enjoyed teaching but it is nice to approach ESOL from a different direction. 

HES is a small group of some really lovely people and I enjoy working with them. I have learnt a lot since I started and it has given me a lot of ideas about the direction I want to go in once I finish my studies. It is also a great feeling when the hard work that goes into writing a grant application pays off and it gets accepted! 

It’s nice to know that I’m making a difference.

What else do you do with the rest of your week when you are not working for HES?

I’m doing a Masters at University of Sheffield (International Public and Political Communication) so most of my time is spent in the library… 

Have you always lived in Sheffield, if not what brought you here?

No! I grew up in Birmingham, and studied for my undergrad degree in Leeds (which included a year in France and a summer teaching in Thailand). I then spent time in India teaching and then moved to New Zealand for two years. I came to Sheffield to start my Masters in 2018.

Tell us an interesting fact about yourself?

I’d worked in 5 different countries by the time I was 22! 

Spring 2019 Newsletter

2019 AT HOPE ENGLISH SCHOOL

We ended 2018 after a really busy Autumn term. We were teaching 10 classes per week (our highest ever!) and a total of 55 students passed through our courses.  
2019 has already got off to a great start as we have had our first ever grant application approved! 
Due to current funding changes we are teaching fewer classes, and as a result are able to really reflect on and consolidate our work.  Having a bit more time enables Katy and Anna to concentrate on growing Hope English School in a sustainable way and also gives them the time to apply for charitable status.

GOOD NEWS KEEPS COMING...

We are delighted to share with you some of our "Good News Stories" from the last few months...

One of the women who was a student with us last year is now volunteering as a teaching assistant in one of our lower level classes. As well as gaining valuable work experience she is able to help us out by acting as an interpreter.  She was such a dedicated and hardworking student, we are sure she is going to be fantastic in her new role as assistant!

Another of our lovely students started in our classes way back in 2016 and has been coming ever since. Sadly due to her legal status, despite completing the course she was unable to sit her exam.  We have recently found out that her legal status has changed now and as a result she has now been assigned a student liaison officer who will help her to not only get on a more advanced English course but will also support her to apply for a vocational course at Sheffield college! This ambitious lady is such a great example of how hard our students work and how learning English allows them to start to change their own circumstances, we are so proud of her!

Anna bumped into another of our ex-students on the tram and couldn't believe the transformation in her since the last time they met.  This lady has now got a job and was positively glowing as she made her way to work! She was a committed and dedicated student and as a result we were able to provide her with a great reference for her new employer. 

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT…

We have recently received some generous one off donations from our supporters!
Some of the money has been used to buy games and supplies to help support some of our learners in the conversation club we run at the Snowdrop Project, an organisation who provide long term support to survivors of human trafficking.
Would you be interested in supporting Hope English School financially? Visit the GIVE section of our website and see what your money could be used for!

GRANT APPLICATION APPROVED!

Our fabulous fundraising volunteer Christie has been very busy applying to various organisations for grants to help us in funding Hope English School. We are delighted to reveal that she had her first successful application and we have been awarded £1900 for resources to help us run our classes more easily! We are looking forward to purchasing our own printer and some lovely new stationary and workbooks for our students, amongst many other things.

SUPPORT US BY BUYING OUR RECIPE BOOK!

Did you know that our book ‘Recipes of Hope’ is still available to buy on our website or from:

Proost

Good Taste - The Sheffield Fair Trade Shop

Oxfam (In Broomhill)

New Roots 

The Cathedral Gift Shop

Thank You all so much for your ongoing support of Hope English School, we are so grateful for all the ways you help us to provide education and hope to so many refugees, asylum seekers and vulnerable migrants. It really does make a huge difference!