Petty Pool Trust turns debt into profit with help of Bibby Consulting & Support

Listen to the Petty Pool podcast A failing charity that was heavily in debt and about to be sold off has more than doubled its turnover to £1m and is now making a healthy profit with the help and advice of Bibby Consulting & Support, specialist in employment law and health and safety legislation. Eight years ago, the Petty Pool Trust charity – which runs a special college and outdoor centre for 16-25 year olds with moderate learning needs – appointed Peter Evans MBE as its chief executive. Based in Northwich, Cheshire, the trust was in the red and due to be handed over to another charity but since then Evans has moved it into the black and the college now gets 68 per cent of its students into full-time employment after two years compared to a national benchmark of 3 per cent. On top of that, Ofsted has given the college an outstanding grade 1 and the trust has obtained the Investors for People Gold standard, making it one of only 19 organisations in the north of England to achieve the award. Evans says that he couldn’t have achieved this staggering turnaround without the help of Bibby Consulting & Support. “When I came here in 2002 it was failing and in the red,” he says. “We were being disbanded and given away to another charity. But instead of selling, the trustees gave me the challenge to make the place profitable. “However, I found that following changes to the corporate manslaughter laws as chief executive I could be imprisoned for failing to comply with health and safety legislation. And this was an extremely difficult task because there were so many health and safety issues on site, including the fact that we had students 30 feet up on a zip wire whizzing along at 30 mph. I never really fancied going to jail so I called in Bibby Consulting & Support.” As well as health and safety advice, Bibby Consulting & Support helped Petty Pool to keep up to date with employment law and meet all its legal obligations. More importantly, however, by ensuring he is meeting every employee’s needs correctly, Evans has been able to improve people performance and turn compliance with employment law into a competitive advantage. Describing the service provided by Bibby Consulting & Support as “terrific”, Evans continues: “It just makes you sleep easier knowing there’s a 24 hour support helpline for you and your managers. We now have an annual inspection with a report showing if there’s anything that needs doing. It’s great to have that professional backing and to know that all your contracts are legal. And it isn’t expensive at all.” Petty Pool is unique in that its whole philosophy is to educate young people with moderate learning disabilities into employment. And it has just three years to get them job ready. As well as doing high wire work, Petty Pool college students go on courses on independent living, citizenship, gardening and forestry, recycling and conservation, business studies, and animal care. And the trust’s outdoor centre is used by hundreds of organisations, companies and schools. The site is extremely busy at virtually all times of the year so it is vital that all legal certifications are up to date. Evans says: “Even though there can be 200 people on site at any one time, Bibby has given me comfort and peace of mind with an extremely good value service.” Michael Slade, managing director of Bibby Consulting & Support, comments: “The safety of students and the safety of staff are massively important at Petty Pool but with changes in legislation it can be difficult to keep up. Students here go abseiling, orienteering, climbing or riding on a model railway. And if the trust was not up to date with regulations it would risk being shut down and Peter Evans could be liable to a custodial sentence. “For Peter we took away the headache of worrying about complying with all sorts of employment and health and safety laws and allowed the trust to concentrate on doing what it does best – improve the lives of young people with needs and make them ready for the world of work.” - ENDS - Images to support this release: click here

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