At Northstar, we have developed a very successful jewellery business that is consistently building up a growing client base. Our jewellery is sold via various outlets, including: 

• The Maltings 

• Aln Valley Railway shop 

• Hepscott Park café 

The jewellery created is catered towards all ages and tastes, and the group are constantly looking at how to expand their range. 

Another successful venture Northstar has developed, is a printing and photography business. Clients are encouraged to take photographs of local views and places, and then develop the photographs which are mounted or reduced in size and put into keyrings and fridge magnets. 
 
The business can be bespoke, and the group have received a number of orders from local organisations. You can find these items in local outlets that include: 

• The Maltings 

• Aln Valley Railway shop 

• Hepscott Park café 

Northstar Print is becoming more popular and building up an extremely good customer base. 

Another successful venture Northstar has developed, is a printing and photography business. Clients are encouraged to take photographs of local views and places, and then develop the photographs which are mounted or reduced in size and put into keyrings and fridge magnets. 
 
The business can be bespoke, and the group have received a number of orders from local organisations. You can find these items in local outlets that include: 

• The Maltings 

• Aln Valley Railway shop 

• Hepscott Park café 

Northstar Print is becoming more popular and building up an extremely good customer base. 

• sensory sessions 

• physiotherapy and exercises 

• newsletter 

• Way up North 

• recycling with the Salvation Army 

• The Shindiggers drumming group 

• therapeutic music 

• pamper sessions 

• computer sessions 

• Northumberland Echo and the leading group 

The Northstar team consists of: 

• clerk 

• care workers 

• care supervisors 

• drivers 

• passenger assistants 

• assistant manager 

• service manager 

All staff are trained in statutory/mandatory courses, as required by the policies of Northumberland County Council. Each role has specific training in NVQ/QCF or the equivalent. 
 
At the Northstar Centre, we aim to facilitate a variety of social, educational, therapeutic and employment opportunities for each individual. Our aim is to enable clients to broaden their life experiences and individual choices, as well as encouraging them to be a part of the community that they live in, through using local facilities that are available. 
 
The Northstar Centre incorporates the service principles of privacy, dignity, respect, choice, independence and fulfilment. These are the basis in which we develop and implement our aims and objectives. 

Opening times

Charges

• 30 day care places
• large dining room
•  internet access
• garden area with seating and summerhouse
• craft room
• large common room with easy chairs, TV, DVD, Wii and pool table
• accessible toilet and wet room with hoists
• multi-sensory rooms fitted with specialist equipment
• music room
• life skills kitchen
• kitchen for artisan bread production

Individuals are supported to participate and contribute to their fullest ability, enjoying new experiences and learning new skills. 
 
Below is a list of activity sessions we offer: 

• Music therapy, communicating through music interaction and song. 

• Arts and craft sessions to explore creative talents. 

• Sound beam sessions that make use of interactive technology to assist individuals in their artistic expression. 

• Cookery life skills activities, encouraging cookery skill for daily life. 

• Gardening within the grounds of the centre. 

• Relaxation in sensory room. 

• New age curling. 

• Wii fit and armchair exercises. 

• Artisan bakery sessions producing bread to sell to individuals and local businesses. This activity provides an opportunity to work as part of a team, taking pride in the quality of things which are made, and aims to involve the services users in the wider business life of the community. 

Provide opportunities to develop new skills in association with the running of a craft bakery. This activity provides an opportunity to work as part of a team, taking pride in the quality of the things which are made, and aims to involve the clients in the wider business life of the community. 

Our team consists of: 

• service manager 

• assistant manager 

• care supervisors 

• care workers 

• admin staff 

• kitchen staff 

All staff members receive support via regular supervisions and an annual performance appraisal. Each staff member is given the training to enable them to provide a professional service. Staff members are required to have a minimum NVQ II in Health and Social Care, or equivalent, and are provided with up-to-date training in the following: 

• first aid 

• moving and transferring 

• protection of vulnerable adults 

• fire awareness 

• basic food hygiene 

• infection prevention and control 

• Personal Safety 

• equality and diversity 

Staff receive this training to ensure they understand and are sensitive and attentive to the needs of their clients, respecting the rights and diversity of each individual. 

Opening times

Address

Blyth Riverside Resource centre provides level access to all areas, with changing facilities, other adaptations, and equipment to assist in supporting individuals in their personal care needs.  

The service offers up to 30 day care places.   

The building comprises of: 

• large dining room  

• garden area  

• craft room  

• music room  

• large common room with easy chairs, TV, DVD and Wii  

• Accessible toilet and wet room with hoists  

• multi-sensory rooms fitted with specialist equipment  

• life skills kitchen  

• small common room with TV and DVD  

• allotment with large potting shed, polytunnels, running water and toilet  

• ceramic studio and workshops for soap and pottery activities 

Blyth Riverside Resource Centre offers a welcoming, relaxing environment that meets the needs of the individual by providing therapeutic, recreational, and work activities, each individual has their own weekly timetable, reflecting their interests and individuals are supported to participate and contribute to their fullest ability, enjoying new experiences and learning new skills. 
 
Below is a list of activity sessions we offer:  

• Individual and group music therapy, enabling the individual to explore their creative talents.  

• karaoke 

• cookery 

• gardening  

• arts and crafts  

• baking and cooking  

• group and team games 

• sensory relaxation   

• beauty group  

• Wii fit and armchair exercises  

• pottery and soap making activities  

Sensory Room, Magic Carpet & Eye Gaze 

Sensory Room  

Specifically designed to develop and stimulate a client's senses, through special lighting, music, and tactile objects.   

Magic Carpet  

Is an app-based interactive projection system that can be used by all ages and abilities. Participants simply move over the projected application to interact with the content. Play hundreds of games and interactive puzzles.   

Eye Gaze  

Used in conjunction with Magic Carpet, this can assist service users with limited physical movement to join in the fun and control the magic carpet with eye movements. 

Service users create vibrant handmade soaps and decorated Bone China mugs. 

The soap the service produces is made from the finest ingredients, formulated to be fragranced, mild, long lasting, and safe meeting all cosmetic product safety standards. 

The Fine Bone China mugs are decorated with high quality decals to create unique designs which are fired in the service kiln. 

Our team consists of: 

• service manager 

• assistant manager 

• care supervisors 

• care workers 

• admin staff 

• kitchen staff 

All staff members receive support via regular supervisions and an annual performance appraisal. Each staff member is given the training to enable them to provide a professional service. Staff members are required to have a minimum NVQ II in Health and Social Care, or equivalent, and are provided with up-to-date training in the following: 

• first aid 

• moving and transferring 

• protection of vulnerable adults 

• fire awareness 

• basic food hygiene 

• infection prevention and control 

• Personal Safety 

• equality and diversity 

Staff receive this training to ensure they understand and are sensitive and attentive to the needs of their clients, respecting the rights and diversity of each individual. 

Blyth Riverside Resource Centre
Coniston Road
Blyth Riverside Business Park
Blyth
Northumberland
NE24 4RQ

Opening times

• Monday - Thursday (9am - 4.30pm)
• Friday (9am - 4pm)

The Centre of Recycling Enterprise (CORE) was established in 2006 and is a social firm specialising in the recycling of furniture and electrical goods. The enterprise provides essential training, work experience and paid employment to service users and volunteers with different abilities. 

• Telephone: 01434 607509 

 
Other activities on offer include: 

• sensory room 

• well stocked art and craft room 

• horse riding at RDA Pegasus stables, Morpeth 

• swimming at Wentworth leisure centre 

• allotment and sensory garden 

• newsletter 

• karaoke and music sessions 

• leisure centre – rebound therapy and gym 

• ten pin bowling 

• personal presentation 

• cookery sessions 

• walking 

• Makaton sign language 

We also offer bespoke trips out into the community. 

All staff are trained in statutory/mandatory courses to Northumberland County Council policy. Each role has specific training in NVQ/QCF or equivalent for each post. Our team is made up of: 

• care supervisors 

• care workers 

• drivers 

• cooks 

• administrative staff 

We have three supported employment staff who are domestic assistants and work in our kitchen. 

Opening times

Over a number of years we have, developed a catering business called Pottergate Pantry. The pantry provides upwards of  40 meals per day for everyone at the centre and offers a wide range to choose from. The catering is divided between the main kitchen, where the savoury products are made, and the green kitchen, where all the cakes, biscuits and tray bakes are made. 
 
This initially began as a frozen food venture, but we now supply a number of outlets in the community including frozen meals, cakes and tray bakes, seasonal hampers and Christmas cakes which can all be purchased daily from the Pottergate centre. 
 
 
 
Tray bakes, cakes and biscuits are provided weekly to: 

• Aln Valley Railway 

• Cramlington and Wansbeck Hospital Shops 

• Blagdon farm Shop 

• Coffee cart at County Hall 

 During the Alnwick flower show, the pantry provided tea, coffee and biscuits from our pop-up cafe. 
 
Our kitchens are awarded five stars on the “scores on the doors”. 
 
Pottergate Pantry and the Potting Shed are part of the Made in Northumberland brand, which brings together all the businesses that are established in our Northumberland County Council learning disabilities day services. 

The Rhythm Stix are a group of drummers within the centre who have proven to be extremely popular. The group work extremely hard to produce a unique sound that has proven a hit with the public. They have taken part in workshops at other Day Centres and community venues within Northumberland, to both entertain and give others a chance to drum. 

Activities on offer 

• sensory sessions 

• sport sessions at the local leisure centreThe Potting Shed 

• Pottergate Pantry 

• leisure activities i magic mat and magic mirror, curling, inclusive aerobics activities 

• The Rhythm Stix – drumming 

• art  

• pamper sessions 

•  drama   

• Pottergate Fast forward forum group

The team consists of: 

• care supervisors 

• care workers 

• administrative staff 

• service manager 

• assistant manager 

All staff are trained in statutory/mandatory courses, as required by the policies of Northumberland County Council. Each role has specific training in NVQ/QCF or equivalent. At the Pottergate centre, we aim to facilitate a variety of social, educational, therapeutic and employment opportunities for each individual. Our aim is to enable clients to broaden their life experiences and individual choices. We aim to enable clients to be part of the community that they live in by using local facilities that are available, thus promoting inclusion. 
 
The Pottergate centre incorporates the service principles of privacy, dignity, respect, choice, independence and fulfilment. These principles are the basis on which we develop and implement our aims and objectives. 

Stephanie Stafford – service manager 
Email: Stephanie.Stafford@northumberland.gov.uk 
 
 
Lesley Rourke - assistant manager 
Email: Lesley.Rourke@northumberland.gov.uk 
Telephone: 01665 602181 
 
  

Opening times 

• Monday – Thursday (9am – 4.30pm) 

• Friday (9am – 4pm) 

Charges 

• transport - £1 per journey 

• meals – £2.50 per meal 

Hepscott Park HSU offers training and work experience in horticulture and related skills for adults with learning disabilities. Each day begins with a morning meeting  involving all service users and staff. This gives a chance for people to find out what has been happening within the unit and to get involved in planning the work to be done that day. 
 
People choose their own work and there is likely to be a wide range of horticultural related work available. The main focus of the unit is growing plants for sale to the public. Most sales take place onsite, although we also sell in other locations. 
 
The unit also makes its own compost from leaf mould, which avoids the use of peat. 
 
Vegetables are grown on an allotment scale and there are several landscaped areas that are planted and maintained, including a small amount of grass cutting. 
 
The available work will change depending on the time of year, the weather, the rate of plant sales and the needs/interests of those working that day. 

• 16 day care places per day. 

• Newly refurbished main building with excellent facilities. 

• Three large, heated cedar glass houses. 

• Three polytunnels and cold frames. 

• Allotment area. 

• Landscaped areas, including: 

  • The quiet garden 
  • The summerhouse garden 

  • The scented garden 

  • Wildlife pond 

• Signposted garden walk for public access. 

• Woodland area with wormery, composting and willow fencing. 

• Sheds for storage and workshops. 

• Horticultural tools and machinery. 

• People carrier and crew cab van for garden visits / contract grass cutting. 

• Large low loader trailer for carrying grass cutting machinery. 

• Large collection of plants for sale to the public – all grown from seed and cuttings. 

• Peaceful environment. 

• Adjacent to the Hepscott Park garden café. 

Potting shed: 

• seed sowing 

• taking cuttings 

• pricking out seedlings 

• washing pots 

• writing labels 

Greenhouses and polytunnels: 

• moving plants 

• watering plants 

• checking and maintaining plants 

Shop and sales: 

• serving customers 

• money handling / using cash register 

• re-stocking sales area 

• presentation 

Making compost: 

• piling dead leaves into compounds in the woods 

• building and maintaining compost heaps 

• sieving and riddling leaf mould 

• sterilising leaf mould 

• mixing leaf mould with sand and nutrients 

• barrowing potting compost to potting shed 

Growing vegetables: 

• soil preparation: digging, raking, preparing a seed bed 

• seed sowing outdoors, planting 

• hoeing, weeding 

• harvesting vegetables 

Looking after gardens: 

• grass cutting using a mower and strimmer 

• planting flowers 

• weeding flower beds 

Out and about: 

• visits to local gardens 

• visits to garden centres 

• annual holiday to visit gardens in other areas 

• sales at markets and other venues 

• annual cricket match 

• Email: Clive.Moon@northumberland.gov.uk
• currTelephone: 07990793453

• Email: brian.wilkinson@northumberland.gov.uk 
• Telephone: 07966326740

• Telephone: 01670 623911
• Email: hepscottparkhsu@northumberland.gov.uk 

• 10 day care places per day. 

• Well-appointed Old Laundry used as a base, with meeting room, kitchen and toilets and offices upstairs. 

• two heated glasshouses 

• Polytunnels 

• allotment area 

• Minsteracres gardens and planters – around the main house – which we help to maintain. 

• Minsteracres wider estate and woodland, with woodland trail 

• Large tool shed / workshop with large yard for log splitting. 

• horticultural tools and machinery 

• crew cab van for garden visits 

• large low loader trailer for carrying grass cutting machinery 

• collection of plants for sale to the public – all grown from seed and cuttings 

• peaceful environment 

• beautiful scenery 

• Tynedale horticultural service is in an elevated location, with views of the Simonside Hills to the north. 

Plant production 

• seed sowing in trays 

• taking cuttings 

• pricking out seedlings 

• potting plants 

• washing pots 

• writing labels 

Greenhouses and polytunnels 

• moving plants 

• watering plants 

• checking/maintaining plants 

• growing tomatoes, sweetcorn etc. 

Plant sales 

• sales – serving customers 

• sales – using cash register/handling money 

• sales at other community venues (Haltwhistle plant fair, Allendale fair) 

• re-stocking sales area/good presentation 

Growing vegetables 

• soil preparation: digging, raking, preparing a seed bed 

• seed sowing outdoors, planting 

• hoeing, weeding 

• harvesting vegetables 

Looking after gardens 

• grass cutting – using mower/strimmer 

• planting flowers 

• weeding flower beds 

Woodland work 

• cutting fallen timber 

• tree planting 

• trail building 

• log splitting 

• making kindling 

• chipping waste timber 

Making leaf mould 

• piling dead leaves into compounds 

• building and maintaining compost heaps 

• sieving and riddling leaf mould 

Out and about 

• visits to local gardens 

• visits to garden centres 

• annual holiday to visit gardens in other areas 

• sales at markets and other venues 

• annual cricket match 

• 18 day care places per day 

• purpose built, turf-roofed training building with excellent facilities 

• two polycarbonate greenhouses 

• three polytunnels 

• large potting shed 

• several acres of growing space for vegetables and soft fruit 

• stable building and paddocks with two horses 

• small ‘secret garden’ areas 

• horticultural tools and machinery 

• people carrier & crew cab van for garden visits/contract grass cutting 

• large low loader trailer for carrying grass cutting machinery 

• vegetables and plants for sale to the public – all grown without chemicals 

• peaceful environment 

• the unit is at the southern end of the Earth Balance site 

Potting shed 

• seed sowing 

• taking cuttings 

• pricking out seedlings 

• potting plants 

• washing pots 

• writing labels 

Greenhouses and polytunnels 

• moving plants 

• watering plants 

• checking and maintaining plants 

Field work 

• rotavating (using tractor) 

• soil preparation 

• seed sowing outdoors 

• harvesting vegetables 

• mowing and strimming 

Vegetable sales 

• weighing and bagging 

• serving customers 

• deliveries to retailers 

• money handling / using cash register 

• stalls and other venues 

Construction work 

• Building sheds on site: we have built a large wood store and two storage sheds. 

• Re-covering polytunnels 

• Re-surfacing paths 

Woodland work, cutting logs 

• Cutting dead timber in shelter belt and willow plantations 

• Cutting logs for use in wood burning stove 

Equine care 

• mucking out stables 

• exercising and moving between paddocks 

• maintaining paddocks 

• feeding and watering 

Willow and crafts 

• cutting willow 

• weaving willow 

• making Christmas wreaths 

Looking after gardens 

• Grass cutting using a mower and strimmer 

• planting flowers 

• weeding flower beds 

Out and about 

• visits to local gardens 

• visits to garden centres 

• annual holiday to visit garden centres in other areas 

• sales at markets and other venues 

• annual cricket match 

• contract grass cutting