LEARNING WITH THE INTEGRATION TEAM
Our Integration Team runs over 10 English language classes every week.
Our qualified tutors cover speaking and listening, reading, writing, as well as the vocabulary, grammar and functional language needed for everyday life in the UK.
Our courses include:
- English for Work
- English Skills for Life
- English for Health
- Conversational English
- ESOL and Driving
Our Integration Team offers a safe and welcoming learning environment.
"I think that Ipswich Community Media changed my life. This is my 2nd family" -Eric, ESOL Learner
Many of our learners stay with us for years and then go on to volunteer in the classroom or become one of our award winning Community Champions.
Alongside our ESOL classes we can offer qualified Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG) around a range of issues you may be facing from settled status to housing to wellbeing support.
Our friendly team is mostly made up of migrants from a range of diverse backgrounds. Each member of our team is highly skilled and has extensive experience working with different communities.
We want to support individuals to overcome traditional barriers and fully integrate as members of their local communities. To this end we offer a range of activities including training, targeted activities, workshops and events.
South Street Kids is a safe place. I feel comfortable to be there. And I can prove it’s safe coz I was able to come out to you and felt safe I could do so. But even before then it was a place to learn new skills like singing and podcasting and to meet new friends. I’ve met new friends. It’s a good, safe place to be and I’m glad I’m a part of it
-South Street Kids Participant
SOUTH STREET KIDS
Free creative media, music, radio and art project
South Street Kids is an award-winning project, developed in 2015, providing free weekly sessions for young people, gaining skills, confidence and developing a strong voice in their community – reflecting the diverse communities that surround Westgate Ward, and Ipswich.
We organise trips, media training, workshops in film music, theatre, art and media - all designed to engage young people and ensure they feel a part of their town. South Street Kids is a project aimed at kids aged 7 – 12 years old, who live in and around Norwich Road.
South Street Kids focusses on young people who may otherwise miss out and enables them to fulfil their creative potential providing ‘creative conversations’ with young people, designed to help them talk about their experiences and challenges during difficult periods.
South Street Kids use creative activities to help support and develop resilience and positive mental health.
100% of our beneficiaries tell us they have been feeling connected to their community and closer to people since joining South Street Kids, ultimately increasing social links and ties.
Every Saturdays 11am – 12.30pm
Eastern Angles Centre, Ipswich, IP1 2LQ
Email: enquiries@outloudmusic.org
Thanks to generous funding by the National Lottery’s Reaching Communities Grant, South Street Kids is now a partnership project delivered by Out Loud Music alongside ICM, which is supported by funding from the Peoples’ Health Trust (See also Creative Club below)
Projects
NEW GEN
Free youth music project
"This is the group I always wished existed and now it actually does!" -Tia, New Gen Participant
For young people aged 13- 19 interested in: music tech, songwriting, performing, making beats and enhancing any musical abilities
New Gen was set up in 2019 to offer young people the opportunity to explore and develop skills in music production, radio, performance and more by bringing together like-minded young people to develop their talents outside their comfort zone.
Our experienced tutors use their local networks to bring in local musicians and offer pre-gig interviews at The Smokehouse (live music venue) with artists.
"Working with New Gen has given my daughter the confidence and inspiration to explore and build on her strengths in a safe environment where young peoples’ voices are heard and respected. My daughter has been given the tools to gain knowledge in a genre of music that is not typically explored at school and has since chosen to take Music at GCSE level"
-Alice, Parent
Every Wednesday 5pm-7pm
South Street Studios, Ipswich, IP1 3NU
Email: enquiries@outloudmusic.org
Thanks to generous funding by the National Lottery’s Reaching Communities Grant, New Gen is now a partnership project delivered by Out Loud Music alongside ICM.
WHAT OUR PROJECTS MEAN TO PARTICIPANTS
Learn more about some of our projects and hear what participants from Making Waves, New Gen, South Street Kids, and our ESOL projects have to say about their experiences.
MAKING WAVES
FREE Music Sessions
Making Waves is a weekly innovative music and media project for at-risk children and young people experiencing difficult challenges in their lives. Working one to one or in small groups we offer music and media sessions which create positive change and inspire young people to thrive.
Our unique programme promotes wellbeing and positive choices through developing creative, technical and vocational skills and opens pathways to mainstream opportunities in education, training, work experience and employment.
Music is a great tool for expression and allows young people to talk about the subjects they are normally excluded from and take ownership of their own futures.
The project also delivers vital pastoral support and care and offers participants the opportunity to be involved in the process of organising and delivering events.
For those young people who come to the programme from the youth offending service, our stats show:
The project has achieved an 85% success rate in keeping the young people referred from offending behaviour.
Outcomes from Making Waves showed that our intervention work at South Street led to a 75% positive progression rate for young people referred by Suffolk Youth Offending Service, and 85% demonstrated a reduction in the gravity of their offending and/or a reduction in the frequency of their offending.
For more info contact alicia@ipswichcm.org.uk
Thanks to match funding by the National Lottery’s Reaching Communities Grant, Making Waves is now a partnership project delivered by Out Loud Music alongside ICM, and match funded by Suffolk Police and Crime Commissioner.
MATERNITY PROJECT
Thanks to funding from our local NHS we are running a project for migrant women from the Westgate Ward area of Ipswich, aiming to increase connection, communication and engagement, while building trust in local maternity and health services.
The project delivers workshops in partnership with partner organisations and services, including:
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Conversational classes for pregnant women, those intend to become pregnant and young mums with toddlers
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Regular classes focussing on antenatal and perinatal issues and maternity services including classes in local schools particularly aimed at the local Roma community
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Roundtable discussions with key stakeholders
As part of the project we also run 'Maternity Mondays' drop-in sessions. They are a chance to have a chat about maternity and neonatal services, and for families of children up to 2 years to get friendly help and support during times of need.
To support the project we have also created a group of “Buddies” or supporters who work directly with the NHS and migrant women to increase their confidence and wellbeing in using health services.
For more information contact mpuchala@ipswichcm.org.uk
OTHER PROJECTS
In addition to our core projects we run termly and one-off projects dependent on need and funding. We have experienced practitioners who can deliver sessions in Dance, Music, Theatre, Radio and Media. ICM exists to make space for people to tell their own stories and make their own change. We think participants do this best when they’re working with artists who share their backgrounds, cultures and experiences.
Here are some of our other ad-hoc projects:
The Emulate Project
The Emulate Project is an Urban Campfire and pilot designed for boys and young men. The 8 week media and mentoring programme turns problems into positive opportunities to learn and grow together. Why emulate? To emulate someone is to feel inspired and a desire to become more like that person. This experience is motivational, gives direction in life and challenges us to develop. This project is about a shared journey that will inform where this project goes next. We will bring young men and positive local role models together to have conversations, share food, play games, build trust and make exciting plans!
Our core 7M themes will run through each session
MENTAL HEALTH exploring wellbeing and prevention
MASCULINITY exploring what it means to be a man
MEDIA & MUSIC exploring communication and creative expression
MOTIVATION exploring interests which engage and energise
MEANING exploring the important role of purpose in life
MENTORING exploring the power of positive role models
MASTERY exploring skill development and healthy habits
Learn how to ask questions, be courageous, have fun, share stories and much more. We will provide a welcoming space, refreshments, activities and a toolkit to bring out participants' potential. Those involved in the pilot will play a key role in co-creating projects which follow!
Hosted at South Street Studios
Weekly sessions - start tbc
For more information email bmiller@ipswichcm.org.uk
The Emulate Project is powered by MEN2B
RADIO GAINSBOROUGH
In collaboration with the local Gainsborough library, we offered a 10 week Radio and Leadership course for young people (aged 11-25) to learn radio skills, including how to use radio equipment, what broadcasting rules are, how to research and collect content and how to create a radio show. Through these newly learned leadership skills, the young people were able to deliver the next 10 week project to another group of young people. This project enabled Gainsborough Library to have the skills to create their own radio shows which were then aired on IO Radio.
SOUTH STREET MOVES
This 10-week dance and movement project was funded by Active Suffolk and we engaged 20 young people via referrals from St Matthews and Handford Hall Primary School. The project was designed to get young people moving and learning through their bodies again after a long lockdown in isolation. We met every Thursday at Eastern Angles Centre and learnt new routines in Street Dance and Physical Theatre with practitioner Helen Baggett (Associate Director of Gecko Theatre).
“I’ve loved South Street Moves. We get to learn new routines to really cool music and I’ve made new friends. I wish we could do more dancing.” -Sammy, South Street Moves Participant
UNACCOMPANIED ASYLUM SEEKING CHILDREN
Our Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC) projects work with young people to help them move away from things which have a negative impact on their lives and instead engage in positive diversionary activity.
Working with partner organisations and using innovative and engaging methods, we aim to boost self-esteem, interpersonal skills and provide pathways to opportunities. We do this by developing their ideas and voice through the use of different media whilst also constructively challenging their material and encouraging artistry and expression
SUFFOLK BLACK YOUTH COLLECTIVE
We offer structure and support to a local community group that formed after the Ipswich Black Lives Matter Protest. Following the murder of George Floyd more than a thousand people gathered in Christchurch Park in solidarity with the black community and the injustice they faced around the world. To many local black people, it was a surprise to see so much support in Suffolk and many young people used the open mic space to talk about this among many other things such as lack of opportunities in Ipswich, lack of understanding the young local black experience and lack of education in schools.
From hearing all these stories, ICM worked to gather these thoughts and feelings from local young black people and use our networks and projects to make positive change. The group continues to grow and support each other’s events, work issues and community opportunities.
YOUNG CARERS PROJECT
We offer monthly sessions for 14-18 year old carers and their siblings to learn radio, music and media skills in our state of the art facilities. The sessions are led by the young people and cover everything from presenting their own radio shows to making music. The programme helps build confidence and communications skills, while providing the young people with a voice and a platform to be heard. We offer one to one music sessions for children and young people who face exclusion from school and struggle in regular educational settings.
If you would like to discuss a project that you would like us to deliver then please contact: hello@ipswichcm.org.uk
Help us to continue our work by donating to our Christmas Appeal!
For one week only (28th Nov - 5th Dec) your donations will be DOUBLED through the Big Give.
"I used to basically go out every night and get in trouble, not come home, but thanks to [ICM] I’ve been putting my life back on track, been keeping out of trouble"
-Max, Making Waves
Stay up to date with all of the latest from ICM and get a 'behind the scenes' look into the work we do.
CREATIVE CLUB
Thanks to funding from the local Clinical Commissioning Group we ran an 8 week Radio and Wellbeing project in Handford Hall Primary with students in Year 6. Over the 8 weeks we worked in collaboration with mental health charity Suffolk Mind and students to create a podcast exploring the tools to promote positive mental health through games and exercises.
"Thank you for the wonderful opportunity you gave our year 6 children through Creative Club. I truly believe this will have made a lasting difference to them and they will make their transition to high school more confident, happy and with far greater well-being than they would have done otherwise. We will proudly display their work on our website and we look forward to the opportunity to work with you again." -Helen Caston, Deputy Headteacher Handford Hall Primary School
Following the success of the Creative Club Pilot Project we were lucky enough to secure funding from the Peoples’ Health Trust to continue the partnership at the school.
Creative Club also works in collaboration with Handford Hall school in the diverse and disadvantaged Maple Park community in Ipswich and strives to break down barriers to positive mental health wellbeing for young people living there. We use creative activities and music to overcome barriers and build community bonds, whilst supporting the young people to support themselves and each other. By modelling positive team behaviour and emotional intelligence we work with the school to provide these young people with a unique experience that builds self esteem and confidence, healthy decision making and strong community spirit.
For more information contact: helen@ipswichcm.org.uk
