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Our amazing Five Lamps Senior Home Care Assistant, Chris Baxter, is one of the faces for the government ‘Made with Care’ recruitment campaign!

The Made with Care campaign highlights the opportunities for careers in care and the emotional rewards that it brings. This is an annual campaign, running until March 2023. Made with Care is a recruitment campaign launched across England to encourage people to join the adult social care workforce to help others live a happy, healthy, and fulfilling life.

It demonstrates the amazing work that care workers do, celebrating the way they empower people they care for, and shining a light on the emotional reward of the role. There is a strong emphasis on the importance of personal qualities, alongside opportunities to grow professionally through new skills and qualifications.

The campaign will appear across video-on-demand platforms such as ITV Hub, Sky Go and All4; radio and digital audio channels such as Spotify; and social media and digital channels like Facebook and Instagram. Advertisements are also being displayed on buses, bus stops, trains, billboards, and electronic screens.

If you see Chris on any of these advertisements, please take a picture and tweet us at @Five_Lamps and use the #MadeWithCare.

We asked Chris why he loves working for Five Lamps Home Care team and he told us, “Five lamps is a great place to work. Everyone cares not just about the clients we look after, but each other. We are all one big family.”

Chris shared why he loves pursuing a fulfilling career in this sector, “Adult social care is so important there just aren’t enough people to cover everyone who needs our care at the later stages of life. The stories and experiences our clients share are just truly amazing.

To have a rewarding career in adult social care you must really care in your heart. Seeing our clients smile when you walk into their homes and enjoying a chat and a cup of tea makes their day. It warms my heart knowing that for just a few minutes they have forgotten about being lonely and they feel like they are a part of the world again- not forgotten.”

See what you can make possible with a career in care. If you are interested in beginning a career in care with Five Lamps, visit our vacancies page or click here to complete a Home Care application form.

Five Lamps as a Registered Charity is proud to support #TrusteesWeek from 7^th to 11^th November. We have a small but strong Board of Trustees; five individuals bringing a range of skills and experiences with one common objective to change and improve lives; to make people matter. Trustees play a vital role in ensuring charities have a clear plan for the future, a vision for what they want the charity to achieve.  From this, we are able to attract resources and funding and ensure we  can deliver products and services that reflect the social, financial and economic issues individuals, families and communities are experiencing. As a Charity we are not for profit; we do not make profit. Any surplus we make is put straight back into the charity to deliver more against our vision. Our Trustees are volunteers; our current and former Trustees have given up their valuable time and shared their skills and knowledge to ensure Five Lamps has made a high difference to people’s lives for the last 35 years and will continue to into the future.

We will shortly be looking to strengthen our Board with some more Trustees and will specifically be looking for individuals with experience in one or more of the following:

• Charity Sector and fundraising – either as an experienced Trustee or a current / former senior leader working in a charity
• Finance & Accounting including Audit & Assurance
• Health & Social Care
• Community : with experience of the local Teesside area and the challenges communities are facing.

We are also looking to appoint a new Chair of our Finance & Risk Committee.

If you are interesting in becoming a Five Lamps Trustee please click here to register your interest and we will be in touch. In the meantime, why not find out more by reading or watching these useful 5 minute guides for Charity Trustees.

Save Money on your heating bills with the ‘Money Saver Boiler Challenge’

A massive £1 billion could be saved on UK energy bills if 10 million people turned their boilers down to 60 degrees or less. As well as helping save money, it would also help save the planet as it would reduce the carbon emissions by 1.7 million tonnes.

Click here to find out more and join more than 82,000 households that have already done this to reduce their monthly heating costs.

Five Lamps is supporting this campaign because almost 3 in every 4 households are already in or heading into fuel poverty in the next 3 months. Fuel poverty means spending more than 10% of your net income on fuel. As a charity we:

• Provide almost 4000 hours of care each week to support older people to live independently in their homes. Older people are more at risk to fuel poverty and the effects of living in a cold home. If you want to find out more about our home care service or you are a service user struggling with your bills, click here to contact us.

• Support individuals and families to access affordable loans where they need credit and can’t get this through mainstream banking. We are seeing more and more people not being able to get a loan because of affordability. Affordability is based on how much income you have left each week or month. Reducing heating costs can free up money or help you cope with the higher fuel costs. If you have a pre-payment meter it means your money will go further; if you are thinking of switching to a pre-payment meter, remember it costs you more than if you pay by direct debit. If you need a loan click here to find out about our Conduit Loans.

 Updated 27^th October 2022

Five Lamps recognised at Queens Garden Party

On Wednesday 25th May 2022, two year later than originally planned, four Five Lamps colleagues attended the prestigious Queens Garden Party at Buckingham palace.

The Five Lamps organisation received the invitation in recognition of its extensive charity work with young people particularly through our purpose built youth facility, The Youthy, in Thornaby plus for its 35 year track record of delivering social, financial and economic inclusion including youth employment, small business starts up, delivering a home care service and supporting people in financial hardship or excluded from main stream banking to access affordable loans.

Darren Iveson, Youth Inclusion Manager said

‘It was an absolute honour for Five Lamps to be given recognition for our great work in supporting young people and delivering activities from our youth service for the last 20 years. Spending the day with great company, soaking up the atmosphere and being with other charities and organisations who have also been given recognition; the experience of attending Buckingham palace was incredible.‘

Lauren Riddle, the Charity’s HR Adviser was invited to represent Five Lamps due to her journey and first-hand experience; having first attended The Youthy 13 year ago, she went onto volunteer, the obtained a role of Receptionist and with support has worked her way up to become our HR expert. This was Laurens first trip to London and said,

‘It was a surreal experience to be invited to attend the Garden Party at Buckingham Palace, the whole day was perfect, and I was extremely proud to be there as part of Five Lamp and being recognised for the fantastic community work we do.’

Lisa Pickard, Group Chief Executive, who also attended, stated

‘I am always proud of the work we do and the difference we make to people’s lives and within local communities. Receiving the invitation and recognition was a real honour but taking colleagues who put their heart and soul into what we do, made it extra special. Be parting of their excitement and pride and sharing this with thousands of others, made the experience all the more meaningful and memorable.‘

As Nichola Storr, Head of Business Development and Assurance, who also attended said

‘I felt incredibly proud to represent Five Lamps. We do amazing work, and this was just the cherry on the top of the cake.’

For more information on the Five Lamps Organisation visit www.fivelamps.org.uk or contact us on info@fivelamps.org.uk

Thursday 17th March 2022 sees the launch of the very first national day of remembrance and reflection for Adult Social Care workforce, and everyone involved in delivering care and support. Five Lamps Organisation is celebrating this day to recognise the brilliant services and support provided by our home care colleagues.

On 17th March 2020 eight Five Lamps Home Care assistants delivered 50 hours of care. Today, two years later, we have 37 carers out and about providing 212 hours of care to local people. Since the Covid-19 pandemic started, Five Lamps Homecare has provided more than 200,000 hours of vital care and support to people living in their homes. Ranging from dispensing regular medications; to helping people get out of bed, bathed, and dressed every day as well as helping them back to bed on an evening; to ensuring they have a warm meal through and helping with basic household chores.

Lisa Pickard, Group Chief Executive said:

‘I am exceptionally proud of our Five Lamps home care colleagues and the way they responded to the Covid pandemic, how they made personal sacrifices and importantly how they ensured we were able to provide the highest level of care and support throughout the most challenging times. We know that for many of our services users, their carer was often the only person they would see, especially during lockdown or if they were isolating’

During the pandemic, as well as providing the home care services across Thornaby, Ingleby Barwick and Yarm, Five Lamps also extended our ‘Home from Hospital’ scheme, supporting people to leave North Tees Hospital and return safely to their home with someone on hand to help them. At a time when our local NHS services were under immense pressure, this helped free up beds for those needing urgent care and reduced the risk and stress for those able to return home.

‘I was in a lot of distress and felt alone and isolated. Megan was kind, compassionate and very helpful. She made me feel relaxed and much happier. She began the process of referrals to various agencies and reassured me that help was available’

[Home from Hospital client]

In June 2021 a Care Quality Commission inspection awarded us an overall grade of ‘Good’ praising our new internal training facility and in September 2021 when a private care provider in Billingham ceased trading, we stepped in employing 11 of their former staff and provided the social care and support for 18 families.

‘I can’t thank the Billingham Homecare Team enough for the amazing job they do taking care of my dad’
[Maria Blades]

As a Stockton based charity operating for more than 35 years, Five Lamps has always had the interests of local people at heart. Five Lamps Homecare started in September 2016 as a pilot with support from Stockton Borough Council delivering 40 hours of adult social care pre week. We are now delivering more than 2500 hours per week and have plans to expand this further across Teesside and North Yorkshire both for households receiving financial support from the local authority or NHS continuous health care. We are also increasing the support we can provide to those households who are not eligible for financial support but are struggling to access the quality home care they need and deserve.

Our focus on home care and home from hospital services is each and every day because we know they make a difference to people’s lives; not only those who receive the care and support, but their families who have peace of mind that their loved ones are being cared for by a professional team of locally employed, passionate and caring people.

‘ We are very pleased with the care that Con receives from your carers & cannot speak highly enough of their care & commitment especially during the pandemic. We particularly enjoy their sense of humour & thoroughly enjoy the banter that we have with them.’

[Barbara & Con]

Lisa also went onto say ‘Having a Social Care Day of Remembrance and Reflection is a day to pause, say thank you and recognise the invaluable service provided by many individuals and organisations across the country. Our Five Lamps Home Care team and the wonderful carers make such a difference to peoples lives. Providing care is what they do. Going the extra mile, helping prevent isolation and loneliness and being an extension of the friends and family network is what they do day in day out.’

Helping people stay in their homes longer and reducing pressure on our vital NHS services is critical. Ensuring local people get a high quality reliable service which is affordable and meets their needs and employing local people is why Five Lamps invests in and is committed to providing home care services and support.

For more information please contact Five Lamps home care office on 01642 753517 or email homecare@fivelamps.org.uk.

Five Lamps Home Care, which provides personal care and support to residents in Stockton-on-Tees is celebrating after being rated as ‘Good’ in its second Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection and also winning The Care Innovator Award at the North East Regional Great British Care Awards.

The CQC rating was awarded following a recent inspection. Five Lamps were awarded a ‘Good’ rating in all 5 key areas of the inspection: safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led.

In their report, Inspectors recognised that people using the service felt safe and were happy with the care they received, and people were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives. Five Lamps Home Care staff promoted people’s independence and respected their rights, privacy and dignity. One person told Inspectors “It’s very good care, I feel safe and all the carers are very nice”

Staff Inspectors spoke to were happy in their job. One member of staff told the Inspectors, “I absolutely love my job. You get to know people and when you know you’ve made a difference to someone’s life and you’ve made them happy it’s so rewarding.”

Inspectors recognised the challenges Five Lamps had overcome in delivering community care services during the Covid-19 pandemic, commenting in the inspection report that additional guidance and training in infection prevention and control had been provided. Five Lamps ensured staff were supplied with enough PPE to undertake their work safely and could access regular testing.

The Inspectors praised Five Lamps’ approach to employee wellbeing, including the introduction of a 24-hour employee assistance scheme who was brought in at the start of the pandemic in recognition of the additional support care staff would need. The report also highlighted that Five Lamps had invested in emotional wellbeing training recently for all staff.

Five Lamps were also thrilled to win The Care Innovator Award at the North East Regional Great British Care Awards ceremony held in Newcastle on Tuesday 20 July 2021. Judges for the awards commented on how Five Lamps had shown great creativity through the pandemic and exceptional support to both customers and staff. As a regional winner of the 2020 Great British Care Awards in the North East, Five Lamps are through to the National Finals which take place in September 2021.

Nicola Garrett, Director of Corporate Services at Five Lamps said “The recent CQC rating is a powerful endorsement of the commitment and dedication of Five Lamps caring staff team who work incredibly hard to deliver safe and person-centred care.

I am so proud of our Home Care team who regular go above and beyond to support our customers; they have worked tirelessly throughout the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic and really deserve this brilliant recognition from the CQC.

Being crowned winners of the Care Innovator award is fantastic achievement as this showcases how Five Lamps adapted during the pandemic to provide additional support to our customers and staff. We secured donations of additional PPE items and funding to provide our staff with electric bikes. We also ensured our customers were supported with food hampers when they were isolating and also worked with other local voluntary organisations to provide events such as afternoon tea at Parkside Court Extra Care Scheme”

Five Lamps have been delivering community services for over 30 years and developed its home care service in December 2016 in partnership with Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council. Since then, the service has grown to deliver around 2,000 hours of weekly care; supporting people with personal care, helping them to get dressed, washed and eat, cleaning and shopping. The service also helps with social engagement and wellbeing and is the care provider at Parkside Court Extra-Care Scheme.

Five Lamps are recruiting care staff to be part of our growing team. If you would like to work for a service has an overall ‘Good’ CQC rating and you have a caring nature and attitude, we want to hear from you! Full training and induction will be provided. Please send your CV to homecare@fivelamps.org.uk.

Adrian was referred to the Pandemic Crisis Project by Little Sprouts in Thornaby. At the time, Adrian was shielding and was awaiting a covid-19 test due to having some symptoms. Unable to leave his home, Adrian required some support with getting shopping and having his prescription collected.

Staff spoke to Adrian on the phone and explained he was currently shielding due to a number of health issues and was hoping to receive some support with shopping whilst he awaited his covid-19 home testing kit. Staff offered Adrian a one-off voucher for ASDA for his shopping, which he was very grateful for and arranged a time to collect Adrian’s shopping list and carry out his food shop.

A day was arranged for staff to carry out the shop. Once the shopping was done it was placed on Adrian’s doorstep and staff moved away to a safe distance for Adrian to bring in his shopping. Staff also wore full PPE in order to keep themselves and Adrian safe whilst he awaited his covid-19 test. Adrian was so grateful for the help and could not thank the staff enough.

Since carrying out Adrian’s shopping his covid-19 test came back negative which was a huge relief for Adrian. However, Adrian was still shielding and although the government guidelines changed which encouraged those who were shielding to leave their homes during none busy periods of the day, Adrian still felt like he could not quite make the bus journey to the pharmacy to collect his prescription. Staff reassured Adrian that he did not need to worry as they would be able to do this for Adrian until he felt he felt more confident to carry this out himself.

Every week staff collect and deliver Adrian’s weekly prescription and chat to Adrian from a safe distance to see how he is doing and making sure he is well. Staff look forward to their chats with Adrian each week and enjoy listening to his goals and aims for the future.

Adrian has collected his prescription a few times independently when having a doctor’s appointment. However still feels a little uneasy using public transport as he has said he often gets off the bus early and walks the rest of his journey if the bus becomes too crowded. Staff continue to work with Adrian and support him in any way which he needs.

Staff spoke to Adrian about his experience accessing the Five Lamps services;

The service the Five Lamps have provided me during the pandemic and the time I have been shielding is excellent. They have been collecting my medication for me on a weekly basis and any grocery shopping if I need any. This eased the worries of having to organise having to collect my medication and shop. Being a stressful person, I was able to relax more and spend my time better. Home study, cooking, radio, art, online scrabble, reading and relaxation. From the onset I was introduced to Hannah who became my worker and I immediately looked forward to her visits every week however short they have been.

Hannah was thoughtful and we kept in regular contact by telephone to see if there were any changes to my prescription or if I needed any shopping. I was also introduced to several other members of the Five Lamps team though unfortunately I can only remember Megan’s name. Though I do remember their faces! Each of whom was equally caring and thoughtful as Hannah. Which gave me a feeling of being valued.

I would like to say thank you for the Asda voucher and the Christmas hamper you gave me. I hope to use the Five Lamps in the future for money management skills, finding voluntary work and going back to school.

I also would like to say thank you to Little Sprouts for directing me to the Five Lamps when I was at a low end and both have played a part in my health improving during the pandemic.
Thank you Five Lamps.

To find out more about the Pandemic Crisis Support Project, please contact Megan Stevens or Hannah Hammond.

The National Lottery Community Fund has awarded Five Lamps £28,000 to deliver services to the most vulnerable in the Stockton-on-Tees local authority area. The project will run for the next six months with a possible extension.

Our staff are supporting individuals in Stockton on Tees who are shielding or self-isolating with daily telephone calls to help reduce social isolation and help them with food shopping, picking up medication, and sorting any immediate problems out for them such as contact with energy companies that will reduce their level of anxiety. Sometimes a friendly voice is all people will need to hear, for others they may be too scared to venture out to the local supermarket.

We are also providing each service user two packages worth £30 each; one with store cupboard essentials and one a cleaning bundle (donated from the Vinci Foundation and the National Lottery Community Fund) to help keep their homes free from infection and reduce the stress and anxiety of trying to finds these products when the supply is limited in supermarkets.

Nichola Storr Quality Manager said,

“We were thrilled to receive this funding and support both our vulnerable members of the community and also people often living on their own who are self-isolating. Our telephone support service is vital at a time when our service users may have no contact at all with anyone from the local community.”

If you or anyone you know could benefit from this service please call Megan Stevens on 07591 951210 or email meganstevens@fivelamps.org.uk

We are also currently recruiting a staff member to work on this project as a Home from Hospital Support Worker. Please click here to access our vacancies page if you are interested in applying for this position.

Five Lamps supports financially vulnerable households who are excluded from mainstream banking by providing affordable personal loans and financial inclusion activities.

In the next 3 years, we are set to lend at least £23m to more than 40,000 households and deliver an estimated £9.2m social impact. This is still a drop in the ocean. High cost and pay day lenders issue £3 billion of loans every year.

Our mission is simple – to support people out of and importantly prevent families falling into the high cost credit trap. We do this through our Conduit Loans, our financial inclusion services & our people. We want to do more.

We have the ambition and capacity to scale up. We now need an exceptional leader who shares our passion and has the energy and determination to make this happen. We want to hear from you if you:

☑Have a commercial mindset with lending experience
☑Share our values and have a strong sense of social purpose
☑Have excellent leadership skills that will build confidence with our investors and partners and will inspire, engage, and lead our people
☑ Want to work with a forward-thinking organisation that really cares about its colleagues and customers
☑ Want to make a real difference & change peoples lives

Click here to find out more & apply for this exciting opportunity