The PASTEL Community Interest Company has been actively supporting disadvantaged people - living in a rural area - with personal development, life and employability skills training, since 2005. It is a social enterprise, founded by parent / carers and managed by volunteers. We are committed to improving the life choices for our service users - to prevent social isolation, and help them move towards independence and lead fulfilling lives by playing a positive role in their communities (especially with respect to volunteering and employment). PASTEL aims to raise their aspirations and attainment.

PASTEL started by addressing the wants and needs of young adults with learning disabilities, aged 14-25. It was felt that they suffered a triple-whammy – their impairment, the attitude of others and finally their rural environment with its lack of amenities. We are a small social enterprise, operating in a disadvantaged and, somewhat isolated, rural community, centred around Saxmundham.

The award-winning PASTEL is run by volunteers. There are no employees.

The 7-strong volunteer management committee, including the 3 directors, comprises a mix of parent / carers and professionals, drawn from the local community. In addition, there are a further 5 volunteers supporting the fun transition training workshops, comprising a mix of peer mentors and tutors. The combined team put in over 1,000 volunteer hours a year. From time to time, other specialists are contracted in, as the programme requires eg additional tutor / assessors.

Following PASTEL's history of achievements and recent exciting developments involving moving the office and workshops to the Fromus Centre in Saxmundham, we wish to become more inclusive and incorporate a broader range of disadvantaged and vulnerable adults living in rural East Suffolk . Ultimately, PASTEL aims to reduce isolation and support more disadvantaged people to become active citizens. This includes creating IT-skilled volunteers for local community groups and making for a more self-supporting and cohesive rural community.

We aim for three levels of impact:

Impact 1 (Individual): Reduction in social exclusion of disadvantaged people with the creation of fun learning activities, encouraging them to make new friends and become active citizens.

Impact 2 (Family): Parent / Carers and other family members experience valuable respite.

Impact 3 (The Community: The general public are educated through participation in public events, new volunteers are generated and there is a move towards a more inclusive and coherent community.

PASTEL has developed Saturday weekend transition training workshops (10.30am - 3.30pm) - on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of every month throughout the year - to deliver key personal development and life skills. This training is embedded in such activities as drama, shadow puppetry, dance, ball games, music, food hygiene and preparation, film making, digital photography, ceramics and other fun indoor and outdoor activities. These take place in a safe and friendly environment at the Fromus Centre, Saxmundham. PASTEL also produces local public performances and events to build the confidence and self-esteem of clients and to demonstrate their skills and potential to the general public eg Hip Hop Theatre, running an Italian lunch time Restaurant and taking part in Arts Festivals. PASTEL provides not only “hands-on” learning through active participation in discussions, role play and projects but also provides opportunities to develop assertiveness and self advocacy.

The needs and wishes of clients are placed at the heart of service design as well as service delivery. All PASTEL clients become regular particpants in the PASTEL Client Panel and, through action learning, help shape the continuous programme of improvements. They are a key and integral part of PASTEL's decision-making.

In the past 12 months PASTEL has worked in partnership with the Long Shop Museum,, the Richmond Foundation. the Saxmundham & District Rotary Club and the Suffolk Discrimination Law Service.

Parent / Carers and potential clients can apply to us direct, although we've also had referrals from Job CentrePlus, Social Care, Connexions, schools, colleges and other enterprises. For further information, please click here, or for venue details please click here.

‘Transition' is the time in a young adult's life when they go from being a teenager to an adult, from leaving school or college to engaging fully with the local community where they live. Young adults with learning disabilities – like all young people – have dreams about how they want to live their lives once they become an adult. But they don't always get the right support and the same opportunities to make choices about their lives and fulfil their dreams. This can be especially true if they live in a rural area. PASTEL is working to change that in rural East Suffolk, so disabled young people have a better ‘transition' into adulthood.

PASTEL is a recognised Open College Network training centre able to deliver nationally-recognised accreditations to clients, in the form of Entry Level, Level 1 & Level 2 certificates and awards. The programmes are devised with and delivered by professional tutors and are sustained throughout the year. PASTEL focusses on clients developing skills, which can be transferred into other aspects of their lives eg building their self-esteem and confidence and gaining skills in communicating, decision making and team work.

This website was last updated on Sunday January 21st, 2012

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