About Us
Innovate Trust
In the early 1960’s students at Cardiff University realised that people with learning disabilities should be given every opportunity to live more independently in the community. These students embraced the challenge and set up the very first model of supported living in Cardiff. They planned their lectures around supporting 5 patients from the institutional Ely hospital and liaised with a number of dedicated and forward thinking social workers to change the philosophy of support. These innovative few were the pioneers of this fundamental shift and have since been heralded as the forerunners of the accepted model which is now in place throughout the whole of the UK.
Cardiff University Social Services (CUSS) was created as a charity soon afterwards and in 2003 we changed our name to Innovate Trust to reflect the diverse work and support we carry out across Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan.
Having expanded our service provision over the intervening years we are proud to be recognised as a dynamic, innovative, high quality support provider reaching a whole range of vulnerable people with varying disabilities
Our philosophy remains strong and we support wholeheartedly the belief that everyone has the right to live normal patterns of living within the community.
Parkview Cafe
Parkview Café is set in the thriving community of Canton opposite the popular 'Victoria Park'.
We prepare all of our food from fresh ingredients, and we try to use local suppliers wherever possible. We recycle as much of our waste as we can, and we encourage the use of sustainable transport wherever practical.
Park View was set up with European Social Funding and has recently received further support from the Big Lottery for its development into a sustainable social enterprise.
Training Opportunities
Parkview is a busy café, with a continual stream of customers throughout the day, that peaks over the lunch period. In this sense it offers an ideal work experience scenario for people who are approaching the stage of applying for paid employment positions in the open labour market. The café has a good reputation to maintain which requires confident and skilled people to operate.
Vocational skills can be honed at the café, and abilities around customer care, food hygiene and preparation, responding to orders and strong team working skills are further developed and tested in this real work environment.
Each trainee is appointed a mentor who works with them to design a bespoke personal development plan incorporating their identified training needs and career aspirations. Training placements are flexible but are designed to be time limited with a clearly identified progression route. This process is supported so that, post- training, the mentor will support the client into the next stage of their development, whether this be Supported Employment, Volunteering or Further Education. Our placements aim to be holistic in their approach with mentors also assisting individuals to overcome other obstacles that they face in accessing employment (for example transport issues/domestic arrangements/benefit advice).
Positive Outcomes
- Improved Confidence/Self Esteem
- Raised Aspirations
- Recognition of abilities within community setting
- Qualifications
- New skills
- Work Experience and Reference
- Team working
- Communication
- Making new friends/accessing new networks
- Support in to next phase of career development
- Continual mentoring
- Empowering opportunities for clients to train up new trainees and to be involved in participation group
Appropriate For
- People with learning disabilities
- People with mental health problems
- People with mild learning difficulties or undiagnosed issues
- People who are reaching the point of being ready to find a job but need work experience
Further Information
Tel: 029 20 231966parkviewcafe@hotmail.com