We are supportingGreat Yarmouth College with their Apprenticeship Fair on Friday 25 November.
Do you have apprenticeship opportunities in your business? Why not take a free stand at this upcoming fair.
Places are limited. Book your stand by emailing elinor.goodhead@norfolkchamber.co.uk
Christmas may have passed but Barnham Broom are bringing it back this March. Everyone loves a Christmas party, full of glitz, glamour and festive spirit, but many missed the opportunity to celebrate in December due to covid.
That’s why, on Friday 18th March, Barnham Broom will be hosting their ‘It’s not Christmas, Christmas party’, with plenty of fizz, delicious dishes and music from their resident DJ. It’s the perfect opportunity to get dressed up and make new memories.
So, for those that did miss out last year on the turkey and the tinsel, want to get together again to socialise or are just Christmas fanatics, join Barnham Broom for a party night not to remember!
Make the experience extra special and combine their Christmas party with an overnight stay, relax in one of their rooms, unwind with a Spa treatment, enjoy a game of golf and make use of their leisure facilities.
To book call 01603 759393 or email events@barnham-broom.co.uk
You can find more information here: www.barnham-broom.co.uk/whats-on/
Barnham Broom is a resort near Norwich, Norfolk. Overlooking 300 acres of beautiful countryside and the River Yare Valley, the venue features a luxury four-star hotel, spa, leisure centre, two golf courses, award-winning Brasserie restaurant, Sports Bar and conference room. It is a popular choice for weddings and events. Visit www.barnham-broom.co.uk to find out more
Family friendly rights
“An Employment Bill was announced in 2019 and is expected to be passed in 2022. This includes the introduction of statutory neonatal leave and pay for parents of babies requiring neonatal care, and the extension of the redundancy protection period for employees on maternity leave to up to six months after they return to work.
The government has also confirmed the introduction of carer’s leave as a new statutory right. This will entitle employees with caring responsibilities to take up to one week of unpaid leave per year from day one.”
Third party harassment
“Changes to harassment laws are expected in 2022, including an extension to the time period employees have for raising tribunal claims and enhanced protection against harassment from third parties, such as clients, customers and members of the public. Training for employees will need to be updated on this point, as will organisational policies.”
Read more here: https://bit.ly/3GO2pa7
Do you need advice on these issues? Get in touch: sarah@ignitepeoplesolutions.co.uk
The scent of the sea, the wind in our hair, the sun on our backs… July 2015 found the JMS team dreaming of luxury, transatlantic cruises. And how could we do otherwise, when working with Imagine Cruising?
After we made their previous TV commercial in 2013, we were more than happy to welcome back top specialist travel agency Accord and their client Imagine Cruising.
We wanted this campaign to capture the way it might feel to leave home knowing you were heading off on a heavenly cruise. It all began with a casting day and a photographic shoot in central London, to select the couple who would be ‘setting sail’. Meanwhile, we got to work designing and building the stylish living room/hallway set, from scratch, in our studio. The shoot day arrived, as did the models, who were filmed ‘going away’ from their specially-constructed ‘home’. And that was it. None of us had to take one step outside of the UK – our editing team worked their usual magic and blended the studio shoot with beautiful shots of the cruise ships and stock shots of their romantic destinations.
Once we’d added the perfect music track and a silky voice-over … well, see it for yourself on ITV and C4 from 7th September 2015 – it’s guaranteed to have you reaching for your passport!
JMS – See the whole world, from our studio!
This article first appeared in the Norwich Evening News ‘School Focus’ by Penny Cottee on Saturday 12 February 2022.
A group of students from Norwich High School for Girls has helped pupils from nearby Parkside School to create artwork which was put on display as part of the high school’s public exhibition at the Forum in Norwich.
The independent day school’s annual Winter Arts Festival exhibition, including work from the Parkside School, ran from February 7 to 9.
Norwich High School for Girls has been working with The Parkside School, which is a specialist communication and interaction school, for the past five years.
A group attends once a week as part of the Lower Six community-based enrichment programme, and works with children with complex needs to express themselves through art.
For the girls, meeting the Parkside school children provides them with a rewarding learning experience.
“It has been a genuine pleasure to see the artwork that the children have managed to accomplish and to have helped them along the way,” said student Shadan Damnesh. “Having particularly enjoyed talking with the children, I now feel significantly more confident in my communication skills to different audiences, and as a prospective medical student, this experience has motivated me to help out further in any ways that I can.”
Fellow pupil Abi Smith added: “I thoroughly enjoyed helping with this project, it has been very inspiring for me to see how creative the group is and how interested in the project they are. I loved seeing how proud they were of the finished outcome, and I think it turned out amazingly.”
For this year’s annual Winter Arts Festival exhibition, students have been producing artwork based on the artist and designer, Christopher Marley, who uses natural artefacts as his medium of expression, to enjoy mark making techniques using a variety of materials.
Prior to the project with The Parkside School, Norwich High School for Girls also worked with Harford Manor and The Clare School, which are also schools for pupils with complex needs.
The value of collaboration
Sarah Taylor, Head of Art at Norwich High School for Girls, said, “We really value the ongoing relationship we have with The Parkside School and the opportunity it gives us to help the children produce final pieces they can see in a public place. The children we are working with at Parkside are 12 years of age and it gives them a real sense of pride to see their work on display. The quality of the pieces is fantastic, and we were really impressed with the exhibition.”
Jenny Ross-Nevin, from The Parkside School, said, “Norwich High School for Girls students shared their art skills generously with Shark Class at The Parkside School over a period of several Monday afternoon sessions. Sharks really looked forward to working with the girls, chatting with them and learning some exciting mark making techniques. This collaborative effort, which involved a lot of preparation on the part of the High School girls and some very expressive mark making from the Sharks, really enriched the Parkside children’s experience of art in action.”
Assistant Head – Enrichment at Norwich High School for Girls, Owain Hall added: “Enrichment encompasses so much of what we do at Norwich High School for Girls, and we certainly offer stretch, challenge and fun beyond the classroom. Our enrichment programme helps enable students to unlock their potential and develop in confident and resilience, equipping them with the skills and values required in our changing society.”
The Norwich High School for Girls Winter Arts Festival 2022 encompassed various events between 4 to 11 February which were open to the public, including two concerts and “The Great Outdoors” art exhibition at the Forum. There was a finale celebration at the Norwich Playhouse. the full write up from the festival can be seen here.
The company provides a range of engineering services from coded welding, CNC milling & turning, precision sheet metal work, precision turned components, conveyor system’s, plus much more, providing specialist services to both onshore and offshore industries. Our uniqueness is the range of services we provide as a one stop shop.
Students studying for accountancy qualifications at the Colchester Institute were given a free career advice session from Pure.
Craig Cordle, accountancy recruiter at Pure’s Ipswich office, delivered the session to 35 Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) students. The event, held on 19 May, was organised to help ensure the students understood how they could make maximum use of their qualifications and to give them an overview of the region’s current financial job market.
The students were also given advice on how they could stand out against other candidates when competing for job roles. Topics discussed included CV structure and content, interview preparation, interview skills and what to expect from potential personality profiling or psychometric tests.
Craig Cordle said: “Accountancy and financial services are two of Pure’s key specialisms and we are keen to help develop and support the region’s up-and-coming talent in these areas. As the saying goes, you never get a second chance to make a first impression. Drawing on more than a decade of experience in placing accountancy candidates, both in house and in public practice, we were able to provide some top tips on how to make a winning first impression when competing for jobs in this sector.”
Your brand is more than your name, we know this.
It’s your energy, personality, values, and more personality! It’s a way to connect and build a relationship with your customers on a more deep and meaningful level and create a connection that goes beyond your logo.
People want to buy from brands with heart and soul – they want to know who they’re investing in and that you are invested in them.
It’s a busy online marketplace and we have just seconds to capture customers’ attention.
If you’re happy squirrelling away on a laptop, working 1-2-1 with a client in your therapy room, or practising your scales in your studio, your customers want to see you doing what you do best!
What do you think?
I want you to fall in love with marketing your business, and the first step to getting there is images that highlight your unique personality, experience and expertise so that you can proudly market why you do, what you do and how you do it, with fresh confidence!
So say goodbye to digging through old holiday snaps for your LinkedIn profile, and using stock photos on your website.
Not convinced you need new business images? Here’s what some people had to say:
“Working with Rob has transformed my business. I hired Rob based on the many recommendations I had received from friends and the photography he provided was first class. The images have significantly enhanced the quality of my website and social media content. The service was professional, creative and just what I was looking for. I can 100% recommend Rob to anyone looking to improve their business profile.” Matt Fever – Personal Trainer
“Rob is a wonderful person to work with, and the result has always been beyond expectations.” Henriette De Vrijer – Violin Teacher
Ready to book something in? Let’s create photos that are uniquely you, uniquely your brand, and ready to show your business off to the world!
We know there are people in the city who need access to digital devices but do not have the finances to buy their own kit. We also know that there are lots of businesses that have portable IT equipment which is coming to the end of its professional time, but could still have a life in the community. So we want to bring together an old kit no longer needed for business, refurbish it, and get it out to people who can use it, whilst also building skills in the city. At the moment we are calling this the “Norwich Digital Refurbishment Project” until we can think of a better name.
Late last year we produced a feasibility study which recommended some models of digital refurbishment and distribution that could work for the city (it was co-funded by Norwich Good Economy Commission and you can see it as the last item here Digital Inclusion and Innovation — Norwich Good Economy Commission), and we are now piloting these ideas with our community partners – Voluntary Norfolk and the Shoebox Community Hub. We are going to evaluate success with a new framework blending skills development, digital inclusion, social value, and waste. But we need your help to make the pilot successful and determine whether this could be a long-term project. Can your organisations help us with:
The donation of mobile devices (laptops, tablets and/or accessories): if your business has some devices that can be donated over the next couple of months, then we would love to hear from you! We are starting small as we pilot, so it may be that you have a couple orofalf a dozen laptops, either way, we would love to know. You give them to us in working order, unlocked and wiped clean of your data, and we will do any extra things needed to get them roadworthy.
Some professional volunteers with IT expertise: for the long-term future of the project we need to upskill volunteers to get them feeling confident with the refurbishment and fixing of IT equipment. We would love to run workshops where corporate volunteers can share some of their knowledge to upskill the community. So can you show the volunteers how to factory reset devices, how to change hard drives, or install new operating systems, for example…? Any skills exchange around the refurbishing of devices is really helpful.
Our piloting period is from now and ends March 2022, which isn’t long to test some of these ideas! Of course, we are looking to engage with businesses that can get involved quickly, but also those who can commit to engagement further down the line. This will let us know whether there is an appetite for this work to continue past a pilot stage.
If you think you can help and would like to get on board or have any questions, then please contact Laura Wigby, Digital Inclusion Project Coordinator, Norwich City Council on laurawigby@norwich.gov.uk.
DRIVE is a business mentoring and capital grant funding support programme for small or medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Norfolk or Suffolk that want to invest in a new project, which can assist with growth & expansion plans.
We have 12 hours of free business mentoring available for applicants to discuss the project and business plans with one of our Business Mentors.
Once an applicant has finished the mentoring, they can write and submit a grant application for up to 40% of a project’s total costs – capped at £30,000.
What can an applicant use DRIVE for?
DRIVE’s mentoring sessions are tailored to a business’s specific needs, so if you’re somebody who has never written a business plan before or you’ve written several, our team can help.
DRIVE Business Mentors can assist with everything from marketing to risk assessments to competitive analysis, but ultimately, they exist to help you to design and perfect a realistic project plan that could potentially be awarded funding.
DRIVE can only support capital investment projects – items that go on to a business’s asset register – so, we can support projects that mainly involve equipment purchases, technology upgrades & innovation, expansion plans, and tourist attractions. This is not a definite list.
Who can apply?
The DRIVE Team reviews every enquiry on a case-by-case basis because we know some businesses aren’t always straightforward in terms of structure or identification.
Most eligible applicants have something to do with: manufacturing, engineering, accommodation, and private sports facilities. However, email driveteam@norfolk.gov.uk for a personal assessment.
We cannot support all businesses due to regulations set by our funding provider, the European Regional Development Fund. We cannot assist those primarily involved with cafes, restaurants, bars, pubs, agriculture, horticulture, primary processing, health care, and accredited training.
Examples of successful applicants
“We’d hugely recommend working with DRIVE; it’s been a game changer for our new start up in its infancy and we’re enormously grateful for the experienced support we received throughout the process too.”
“I would definitely recommend DRIVE to anyone else for several reasons: the application is pretty straightforward, the mentoring shined a light on our strengths and weaknesses as a business, and the funding available is hugely attractive.”
Any red tape?
Additional information
No expenditure can be incurred prior to signing a grant offer letter.
DRIVE Contacts
Email: driveteam@norfolk.gov.uk
Website: www.driveforbusiness.co.uk
Phone: 01603 222643
Twitter: @norfolkforbiz
Bleat Creative is thrilled to announce two exciting additions to the team: Simon Griffith as Account Director and Lydia Moll as Junior Account Executive.
Simon Griffith: Account Director
Simon Griffith brings over a decade of experience in marketing, merchandise management, and agency leadership to his new role at Bleat Creative. With a career spanning both client-side roles and agency positions, Simon has cultivated a deep understanding of marketing strategy, SEO, apparel design, and client relationship management. His wealth of knowledge will strengthen Bleat Creative’s client services department, which he will now lead.
“We’ve been headhunting Simon for the past two months, and we’re delighted he chose to join us. Simon’s experience and innovative thinking are a perfect fit for our agency. We’re excited to grow together and expand the services we offer to our clients with his leadership.”
Scott McKay, Founder of Bleat Creative
Simon’s impressive career journey, including delivering creative and strategic solutions for high-profile clients and brands. His arrival signals a new chapter of growth and client-focused excellence for Bleat Creative.
Lydia Moll: Junior Account Executive
Lydia Moll joins the team as Junior Account Executive following a successful two-month internship. A recent graduate of the University of Chichester with a degree in Drama, Lydia has quickly proven herself as an invaluable member of the Bleat Creative team. During her internship, she made a significant impact, including leading the successful casting process for an upcoming TV commercial.
“In a short time, Lydia has become an integral part of our team. Her enthusiasm, creativity, and drive have already made a positive impact, and we’re committed to supporting her as she develops her career with us.”
Scott McKay, Founder of Bleat Creative
Lydia will work closely with both Simon and Scott to support the agency’s growing client base and ensure seamless service delivery.
These new appointments reflect Bleat Creative’s commitment to investing in top talent and delivering exceptional results for our clients. The team looks forward to an exciting future with Simon and Lydia onboard.
Due to the severe weather warning for today, Friday 18 February, and the expected impact of Storm Eunice, there are a number of precautionary changes being made to train services across our network tomorrow.
Network Rail is putting speed restrictions in place across the network because of the forecast severity of the storm and we are reducing the frequency of our train services. Those services that are running will be subject to longer journey times, because of the speed restrictions. Further disruption may be caused by trees or other objects being blown onto tracks or overhead lines or other damage caused by the storm – which could also lead to short notice cancellations or delays.
Rail passengers are therefore being advised to only travel if their journey is essential.
The planned service patterns for tomorrow, including two route closures and some train frequency reductions as follows :
Service suspensions
There will be no service on the Ipswich to Lowestoft (East Suffolk) line and the Marks Tey to Sudbury line owing to the risk of falling trees. These routes have suffered similar problems in the past and, because of the rural location of these lines, it can take longer for Network Rail staff to rescue passengers from stranded trains if trees do fall. It is therefore safer to close these lines and keep passengers safe.
Half hourly service
Hourly service
Two hourly (once every two hours)
In the event of any additional service disruption we will do our best to provide a rail replacement bus service, but it is likely to be limited and subject to disruption on the roads due to storm damage.
Customers who have booked tickets for travel on Friday 18 February can use them on another day. Customers can choose to rearrange their travel plans fee free, which can be done where they bought them.
We are contacting any customers who have booked passenger assistance on affected services. They can also call Greater Anglia to check or rearrange their journey by calling 0800 028 2878 (free from a landline), text type 18001 0800 028 2878 or call from a mobile phone on 0345 6007245.
We hope that services will be back to normal on Saturday, but clearly if there has been significant damage it may be that there some ongoing effects on some services. We therefore advise everyone to check before they travel.
In partnership with colleagues at Network Rail, we will be doing all we can to minimise the adverse effects of Storm Eunice on train services and on the journeys of those customers who do need to travel, but it is forecast to cause significant disruption, so we have put in place the plans outlined for tomorrow in the interests of providing the most realistic, practical service and keeping everyone safe.