Published Tuesday 9 January 2018 at 15:32
Members of Creative Support’s Social Inclusion Service have participated in a healthy eating course called ‘Be the Chef’. Based at the Bank Top Neighbourhood Learning Centre, the course has been designed by Chris Truckle and Janice Horsley from the Council’s Positive Minds team with the support of the Council’s Wellbeing team. The course concluded in December with the group transporting vegetable chilli wraps to the Blackburn Rovers Indoor Centre to feed over one hundred footballers as the current Social Inclusion Football League (SIFL) season drew to a close.
Paul Hardman, Support Coordinator at Creative Support and Project Lead for the SIFL, said, “Once again we have teamed up with Positive Minds and the Wellbeing Service to enable our service users to learn new skills. Their style of delivery and the way they support our members is always reflected in the excellent feedback we receive and the new found confidence in course participants. With Pennine Lancashire officially being confirmed as one of 12 pilot areas chosen by Sport England to help people get physically active and improve their wellbeing and lifestyle choices, it is important that these strong partnerships are already in place.”
Chris Truckle, Positive Minds Coordinator/Tutor, said, “As part of our work to improve mental health and wellbeing in Blackburn and Darwen through Adult Learning courses it has been a real pleasure to develop a course which has given learners the chance to build practical skills and confidence around cooking healthily as well as the opportunity to enjoy making and giving something to others. The fact we have all been able to work in a genuine and collaborative manner has helped to enhance the learning experience for all involved.”
Paul Thompson, Wellbeing Service Manager, said, “Dione the Health Trainer had been working with Creative Support for a couple of months, when she discovered an area of need with the client group in terms of eating habits. Dione and Chris saw this as an opportunity to collaboratively deliver a programme that imparted the skills, knowledge and opportunity that the client group needed in order to lead a healthier lifestyle.”
To find out more adult adult learning courses in Blackburn with Darwen visit www.bwdlearning.org