Flos The Place in the Park Meet Eat Work Play Learn People, Place - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Flo’s – The Place in the Park

Meet Eat Work Play Learn

People, Place and Participation Ltd. Community Benefit Society Number: 7713 info@flosoxford.org.uk www.flosoxford.org.uk

Last year we said we have been incubating . This year we have been hatching ……..

Flo’s – The Place in the Park

Flo’s is becoming a vibrant Community Hub, risen phoenix like from a decommissioned children’s centre building. An example of

• Collective action – owned by the community for the community
• Cooperative principles in action – membership, council, board, lean

and flat management structure

• Supporting a local economy which serves the community

Board

• Elected Directors
• Accountable to members

COUNCIL

• Flo’s Council
• Appointed

representatives and community ’stakeholder voice’ – advisory to staff and directors

WORKING PARTIES

• Nursery Parents Council
• Communications Group
• Ad hoc working parties

around cafe, Refill, pavilion, HR, finance

STAFF TEAMS

• Staff team, volunteers
• Actively engaged through

Board and Council

Governance Structure

Co –Centre Manager .6fte

• Facilities, Finance, HR,

Business development

Nursery Nursery Manager full time

• Team of 4 – 6 nursery staff
• Responsible for quality and

business, inclusion

Co-Centre Manger .6fte

• Communication and

community engagement

• Volunteers, business

development

Professional support

• Strategic development

support .4 fte

• ad hoc

accountancy/legal/technical

• Administrative (.5 fte)

Management Structure

Flo’s offer – first 10 months

• Café Open 7 days a week
• Nursery full (56 children) and with a waiting list
• Community midwives see approximately 50 new or

expectant mothers per week

• 45 volunteers engaged in gardening, running shop,

events, etc

• 23 events for the community
• 106 different groups and organization use our space

The Refill Shop 12.30 – 5.00 Wed & Sat

• Affordable food and cleaning

products

• good for you and your family,
• good for the environment and

good for the local economy. You can support us by

• Using the shop!
• Gift some of your time to help run

the shop

Flo’s Nature Nursery

• 56 families in the nursery including Government funded places
• Seasons, life cycles, growing food, festivals from around the world,

expeditions to the City Farm and park and rearing ducks!

Bowling Pavilion

• 6 months license to occupy – bringing it back into service
• renting, pop ups, events
• Partnership with Premier Tennis over the refreshment kiosk

Bowling Pavilion next steps

• Consultation over the future with the community -
• Work with City Council going forward for long term plans.

Flo’s people – outcomes and benefits

• Some of the groups using Flo’s this first year have engaged some of

the most vulnerable and isolated people in the community:

• Mama Meet, Fill Your Cup First, Women of the World Antenatal

group, Saplings, Motherkind Café, Board Games, Childminders weekly meet up, Autie but Nice, Restore, OPPALS, La Leche League, Hope Vineyard, FASS,

Different stories

• A new parent facing hardship

gets donations of baby clothes, breastfeeding support from the midwives & can use the phone to unlock her gas meter.

• A hardworking local young

couple get high-quality affordable childcare ….and a great local alternative to chain coffee shops!

Photos here

Dif ifferent Stories

• A recovering mental-health

client from our neighbours at Restore gets to broaden his work experience and social contacts through helping in the garden, alongside work experience volunteers

• A group of Asian mothers

attend a peer group to develop co- counselling skills.

Different Stories

 local grandmother caring for

toddler twins has somewhere to come and sit and chat to others and a safe space for play any day

• f the week.

 An 86-year-old finds a place to

meet with peers – and start a board games group!

Photos here

In their own words

“All people are welcome, no age, no difference in this centre and all is done for feeling good. It is the light of Florence Park” Amel “I bring my laptop and sit working in the cafe, have meetings with others and

• ften buy lunch. As a professional with no fixed workspace, this allows me to

reduce potential social isolation which can come sometimes with working at

• home. Eva goes to the nature nursery at Flo's, which she totally loves “ Mim

“When you have kids your life changes – you don’t meet up with your mates so much and I also work nights so finding a place where I can be with my twins when I have care of them during the day is a life-saver.” Alex

Current challenges

• From Local Campaign Group to sustainable Governance - recruiting

new trustees

• Financial pressures – rent becomes payable to County Council this
• year. Repairs, maintenance and utilities are higher than expected.
• Our own ambition and enthusiasm: There are many improvements

we would like to make and many things we would like to do but we are stretched and take one step at a time!

• Dual Landlord arrangements makes it more complicated to plan

developments and rents are higher.

• Our planned shift to new Café provider or taking café in house will

have significant transition costs and new challenges

Plans for Flo’s growth and development

• Café to come ‘in house’?
• Expanding the Refill Shop
• Developing the bowling pavilion
• Improving the environment – accessibility, aesthetics, efficiency,
• Developing the Community Spaces and inclusivity – accessibility,

comfort and conviviality

From Incubation to Hatching to Nurturing

Flo’s needs time to grow into its identity and find its feet - and you can us to survive and thrive!

Duckling photos here

Be part of it- how you can get involved with Flo’s

Tell someone about Flo’s Consider applying for a role on Flo’s Trustee board Stay in touch Make a donation – every contribution helps keep Flo’s open to all Volunteer with us Join the Refill Shop team Rent our space and host your next party, meeting or talk at Flo’s Help to run a parent support group or meet up

Finance Text and Graphics

Financial report