CACoT (Coastal Alliance Cooperative Trust)

https://www.cacot.co.uk/

The schools in Whitstable and Herne Bay have worked closely together for many years. The nature of these informal arrangements has varied during that time. In 2011 the Coastal Alliance was formed so named because:

• It was formed out of strong relationships between schools in Herne Bay and Whitstable;
• It was formed to advance common interests:
• It works for the mutual benefit of the schools and their young people.

In 2016 we formalised this arrangement to further improve our schools by forming CACoT (Coastal Alliance Co-operative Trust) with our schools either becoming Co-operative Trust schools, or partner schools. All schools in the Alliance were able to take up one of these two options. Three schools are now Foundation Trust schools, we needed at least one to do so in order to establish the Trust. Becoming a trust at this point in time allowed us to continue to develop our work together, while government policies on academisation in education were further clarified.

The formation of the Foundation Trust has secured our working partnership and would still provide a ready-made model if all schools become academies at some point in the future. However, we did not feel that pursuing academy status was right for all our schools at that point in time, though some were already academies.

The Umbrella Centre

The Umbrella Centre has taken the difficult decision to close its doors. The Umbrella Café and Hive will still be open and wonderfully someone has donated a far larger Community Fridge which will now be filled twice a week by FareShare. The café hope to continue to offer Pay It Forward for its regular clients, including the homeless. If you can encourage people to donate to its operating costs please do so athttps://theumbrellacafe.co.uk/donate/

Food Friends at the Centre is also looking for additional volunteers. If you know anyone who is able to cook an extra portion of food once a week and deliver it to the home of someone isolated, elderly or vulnerable please contact Anna at foodfriends@umbrellacentre.co.uk

5,000 postcards are going to be distributed to shops and community centres around town from tomorrow morning (see the photo). We want to encourage people to pick up a postcard and pop it through the door of anyone they fear might be in need, isolated or hungry.

Red Zebra will be launching their new volunteer forms tomorrow morning. From Monday they will be deploying staff and volunteers in their office on a shift pattern designed to prevent the service being closed if one or more staff members falls ill. Registered volunteers will start proactively calling members of the community to offer support early next week.

More details will be out tomorrow

Yours truly,

Councillor Chris Cornell

Whitstable Community Wardrobe

We are pleased to be a collection point again for the Whitstable Community Wardrobe. This has been set up by the local churches to recycle unwanted school uniforms and help lessen the financial burden on local families. All donations will be washed, ironed and available for families to collect anonymously at distribution points during the summer holidays.

If you have unwanted uniform you would like to donate, our community wardrobe bin can be found in reception. Please speak to Mrs Gower if you would like further information.

www.facebook.com/WhitstableWardrobe/