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2022-23 was a big year for us and we’re proud to mark it by sharing just some of the many incredible stories and achievements of people from across the Together Trust.
For over 150 years, we’ve been championing and caring for people with disabilities, autism and complex health needs and providing life-changing care and support to looked-after children and care-experienced people.
Today, we’re one of the North West’s leading disability, education and care charities. We help children, adults, parents and carers by delivering individual care, support and education to thousands of people and their families each year.
Over the last year, we’ve grown our services, supported more people, and our help reached even more families. Thank you for all the care, support, donations, and volunteering hours that make our work possible. We hope you enjoy exploring our (first ever) digital annual review.
We are the Together Trust
To champion the rights, needs and ambitions of the people we support – they are at the heart of everything we do. We stand by them and we work together for change.
Our mission
Our vision
A society where people thrive because they are valued within their communities.
What we do
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Residential homes
Whether that’s a place to call your own, somewhere to rest and recharge or get stability and support. We’re proud to offer warm and nurturing homes for children and young people. We help them grow their independence and shape their own story - all while regaining a sense of belonging.
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Specialist learning environments
We support children and young people from age 5 all the way to 25 with individual learning plans.
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Foster care
We’ve been growing our foster family for over 25 years. If you’ve got a passion for helping young people succeed, you could be a Together Trust foster carer.
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Family support
We’ve helped a lot of families over the years, and we know that every family is different. Our support includes Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) mediation services and autism sleep clinics.
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Community support
We put our services at the heart of local communities, whether that’s helping adults to live independently or creating spaces for young people to learn, work and play.
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Therapy and specialist support
Our experienced multi-disciplinary team offers a wide range of therapy and training programmes to professionals, bespoke input for children and young people in a variety of settings, and universal advice for the wider community in which they live and learn. We can provide assessments, 1:1 and group therapy, programmes of support, and written reports.
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Campaigning
We work alongside the people we support to create change and make sure their voice is heard.
What we’ve achieved
received support from our clinical services
1908
people accessed our mediation services
620
in mental health difficulties in children undertaking play therapy
42% drop
of children in our Sleep Tight Trafford program reported an improved amount of sleep
90%
"Absolutely brilliant service. It's the personal touch and experience I have loved. We are not just a number."
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"Absolutely brilliant service. It's the personal touch and experience I have loved. We are not just a number." 〰️
Winner
NASS Breaking Barriers Award
Inscape House School
58
100+
GCSE or equivalent qualifications achieved
graduating students
Lil is a registered manager at Ventnor Road, one of our residential homes in Stockport that supports children and young people who display challenging behaviours.
Having worked at the Together Trust for over three decades, she knows just what it takes to make a difference in the lives of the young people we support…
“I first started working at the Together Trust in 1993 as a bank worker in one of the residential homes. I grew up in one of the Together Trust’s homes myself and was recommended the job by one of the women who used to care for me. Thirty years later and I’m still here!”
“The Trust has been great at helping me to train and gain qualifications over the years, and I’ve moved up to where I am now as a registered manager. I’ve worked at many of the Trust’s residential homes - it’s estimated I’ve cared for over 200 children in my time!
I’ve had a couple of more office-based jobs, working as a social worker in our fostering service for two and a half years, but I’ve always been drawn back to residential roles where I can work directly with the children we support and make a difference to. I’m passionate about how young people are cared for, making a difference, and supporting them to achieve their goals.
Some people I’ve encountered in life have the opinion that children who are looked after will never be able to do certain things. I completely disagree with that way of thinking. I’ve seen countless success stories over my 30 years; as long as you have ambition for the people you care for, you can give them the same opportunities that children who are not in care get. “
“It’s not always the easiest of jobs but seeing the difference in some of the young people when they leave our care and can move into independent living or a long-term placement is so rewarding.”
When a gap in weekend provision for younger children was identified in the Stockport area, the Together Trust Saturday Club was born.
Hosted at the Newbridge Centre in Stockport, where the Together Trust has run adult services for many years, the weekly club offers young people aged 5-17 with complex needs a space outside of school to come and take part in activities they choose. It also provides weekend respite; a service often otherwise not available for families.
Shana and Debbie, who both work at the Saturday Club, share with us the difference the club has made to the young people who attend…
Shana: “Because of the variety of needs of the young people at the Club, we often have a lot of different activities. It all depends on what is right for their needs and ultimately what they would like to do. That could be sensory activities, baking, tie-dye, trips to go shopping or to the farm, and so on. We let the young people decide to help build their independence, but we also help them develop their skills.”
“Everyone who has come to Saturday Club has made so much progress. One young man couldn’t eat around anyone but now sits with everyone and wolfs his lunch down! Another girl was initially upset at being away from her family, but is now really happy and engaged here.”
Debbie: “I’ve been here since the club started a couple of years ago, and you really do get to know the young people here. All the staff here love working at the club. We adore the young people and I think that shows - there’s a really nice atmosphere.”
“Some parents are apprehensive when their child first comes, but as soon as they see that we are somewhere safe and that their children are happy, they love it! It also gives them a chance to spend time and do activities with their other children in a way that may not have been possible otherwise, so it is a really positive club for the young people and their families.”
Zena Eaton, Lead Tutor at Bridge College, shares more:
“Students have been reflecting on what’s important to them and how they can help make a difference in the wider world.
We’ve been looking at different issues that our students are passionate about, such as caring for the environment, where students organised and participated in litter-picking drives around the college grounds, Manchester College, and local community parks.
Another project the students chose was supporting homeless charities in Greater Manchester. Students chose to help Centre Point, which supports homeless young people.
Students from Bridge College have been taking part in ‘Bridge Gives Back’; a new programme where students work with the local community and our Campaigns team.
They worked with staff to create a business plan and successfully pitched to Assistant Principal Jonah their idea: creating care packages, fundraised through the school’s tuck shop. Since then, the students have run the Bridge Tuck Shop every Friday and have raised over £250 to create care packages for Centre Point!
We’re so proud of how engaged and thoughtful our students are. Next year, we’re continuing our work with the Campaigns Team where we’re helping the campaign to make train stations accessible for students and the public alike.”
This year the students spoke with local campaigner Nathanial Yates, who inspired our students by sharing how he has managed to secure funding for his local station, Reddish North. Bridge College’s local train station, Ashburys Station, has 111 steps to tackle – making it inaccessible for many travellers with disabilities to access.
“Our students are planning to meet with Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, too, during his visit to Bridge College this October. They’ll have the opportunity to express why accessibility is important to them and share how they’ve been making a difference in their community.”
Bridge Gives Back is excited to take on this next phase of their journey of campaigning and continuing to make a difference!
Paul is a former student at Inscape House School whose story inspires our students and makes our staff proud.
When he was a student at Inscape House School, Paul was the very first young person to work in our campus-based venue, InCafé. He told us how he gained valuable skills and work experience that helped him in his first job:
“The café helped me improve my communication skills, to greet customers and ask what they would like from the café,” shares Paul.
“I went to mainstream College after leaving Inscape House School and worked hard at Bury College. I became an independent traveller and met my first girlfriend there.”
“I then got a work placement at the Toby Carvery as a kitchen porter. After six months, they offered paid work! I have worked there for two and a half years and made work friends, learned communication skills, social skills and management expectations. Working also helped me to save up for my own electric bike.”
Paul credits his independence and confidence now to the skills that he developed at Inscape House:
“I learnt lots of new skills at Inscape House School like science, working at InCafé, and independent living.
I had travel training at Inscape for three years and I now travel independently to my workplace using my bike, but I can also use the bus or tram. I know where to get on and off the bus and I am responsible for arriving on time for work.
I’ve not let my learning disability stop me from doing what I want to do with my life, to get along with my friendships and independent living skills at home.”
“Some of what Paul said is very inspiring, and it reminds me of how well I’m doing in my own life. I never knew such big things could happen to people like me.”
Our incredible volunteers have been involved in all of our service areas and most support areas over the past year. In addition to the time contributed by our trustees and governors, they donated 3,003 hours to our services and 950 hours to our events. Our volunteer team helped with:
Our volunteers
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Researching evidence gaps to help us champion the rights of the people we support.
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Supporting our Youth Club members to have fun and advising parents at our SENDIASS service.
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Taking photographs of clothing for us to sell and raise money online.
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Supporting our students with their studies, from literacy to music, horticulture to graphic design and catering. Helping with the upkeep of our forest school area at Inscape House and welcoming visitors to Bridge College.
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Creating sleep service materials to help children and families have a restful night.
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Providing enrichment activities and creating sensory gardens.
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Helping us share information through writing articles, proofreading, and editing our podcasts.
Hear from some of our amazing volunteers
Holly volunteered at our youth club in Stockport, supporting children with autism. “The aim of the club is to help and support those who are struggling to make friends, and to help them build their confidence,” shares Holly.
One of Holly’s fondest memories of the youth club is her first time volunteering there: “One of the members was very nervous at the beginning, but at the end of the evening he ran over to his mum and said he couldn’t wait to come back again next week.”
Holly would recommend volunteering to anyone, especially those unsure of what they want to do career-wise. “It’s a good way to start, and you get a real feel for what it’s about.”
Holly, Youth Club Volunteer
“I’m with a very friendly, welcoming team. From day one, they’ve just made me feel involved.”
But beyond that, Ruth is motivated by the feeling of giving back to her community and the children within it.
“It’s given me a sense of fulfilment. I’m proud of what I do.”
Ruth, Sleep Service Volunteer
Our thanks go to all these dedicated helpers for their sterling work during the year.
Our supporters
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John Lewis made it their mission to provide a Christmas to remember for the children in our residential homes. Staff and children were treated to a free-of-charge trip to Santa’s Grotto and lunch in the John Lewis café in the run-up to Christmas, and every child received a £25 gift card to spend online or in store. Volunteers from John Lewis very kindly decorated Christmas trees in each of our homes, and one home was even treated to a mini makeover!
“The makeover made such a difference to the home and the young people. The design team at John Lewis were very meticulous in getting it right, so much so that at one point I felt like I was having a session with Laurence Llewelyn- Bowen! They called me to get pictures of the room as it was, and asked for measurements including the bay window. In all we received new cushions, made-to-measure curtains, throws, decorative storage boxes, baskets, a rug, two new lamps, a foot-stool, and a coffee table. We were truly spoilt and the colours just brought it all together. They came and fitted it all too, which was lovely and made it a bright and relaxing room for the young people.” - Penny Meah, Registered Manager at Pendlebury
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UDP are another fantastic example of the variety of ways you can support the Together Trust. From raising over £4,000 at their golf day last year to volunteering at our events, UDP have done it all! Over the Christmas period, UDP staff very kindly donated a range of beautiful toys to our gift appeal, and these were distributed to the children and young people we support. At Halloween our residential services were even (trick or) treated to some spooky pumpkin balloon displays from the UDP offices.
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As a team, Pearce Lodge decided to walk the Edale Skyline in September of last year to raise funds for their garden. The staff wanted to make it more sensory-focused for the residents they support, who enjoy spending lots of time in the garden. The staff knew that having different ‘zones’ within the garden was a priority, and so fundraising for the space helped them to provide a chill-out zone, a sensory zone, and a play zone!
Ways to support
Our 50:50 lottery is a fantastic way to support the Together Trust while being in with a chance of winning something for yourself too! You can sign up from as little as £3 a month with 50% of the lottery pot being given out as prize money and 50% going back into our services.
Sign up to the lottery
We know money is tight at the moment so why not support the Together Trust while also grabbing yourself a bargain or two? The Together Trust sell a wide variety of new and second hand items online via our Depop and Vinted shops.
We’re also registered with easyfundraising – this platform donates a percentage of your transaction when you’re shopping online without it costing you a penny extra.
Shop online
The Together Trust accepts a variety of different items; we recycle these in exchange for cash donations to our charity, raising vital funds and keeping items out of landfill. The items we accept include clothes, soft toys, jewellery and watches (including damaged or broken items), postage stamps, old/foreign currency, and tech items. If you’re not sure whether the item(s) you have can be recycled with us, just drop us an email at fundraising@togethertrust.org.uk
Recycle with us
Nominate us
Whether you work for a company that nominates a charity of the year or are a member of a group that does fundraising events, we’d love to hear from you! We can support you every step of the way to get the most out of your fundraising partnership with us.
Whether you’re buying a ticket to attend one of our events, sponsoring, providing goods or services, or volunteering on the day, your support is crucial! For a full list of our upcoming events, visit our website.
Attend our events
Our campaigning impact
355
teenagers heard from about what they want their care to look like
500+
letters facilitated to object ticket office closures
30+
organisations collaborated with to write joint open letters to Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Minister of Children and Families
5
government consultations responded to
1,012
new sign-ups to our campaigning newsletter
Future plans
Our workforce and the people we support are shaping our plans.
We are focusing on four key goals:
Delivering high quality, person-centred support to meet the life-long changing needs of people and families.
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Partnering with and empowering the people we support to influence our work.
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Growing to meet changing needs - including maximising fundraising opportunities.
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Caring for and listening to our flexible, talented and diverse workforce.
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Giles Gaddum
Chair of the Board of Trustees
Mark Lee
Chief Executive
