There are many Sixth Form Colleges and School Sixth Forms and other providers across Greater Manchester. We have included a list who are to the best of our knowledge still taking starts and in closer proximity to Oldham, Rochdale and Tameside where we provide the careers service. It is worth checking with other providers and sixth forms if you are interested in them to be sure.
Positive Steps Career Guidance Advisers are available to support you over the summer, on results day and after your results days.
We know this has been a difficult year. Your career guidance adviser or one of the team will be able to help you and support you by offering impartial and independent advice.
Read more: 2021 leavers Support from Positive Steps Careers Guidance Service
The COVID-19 pandemic presented huge challenges for Positive Steps.
Over two weeks in March, we moved quickly, efficiently and strategically to remote working. This was achieved while maintaining client support, partnership communication, business continuity and employee well-being.
We are now planning for the transition back into the new, post Covid-19 ways of working, ensuring staff and clients safety whilst maintaining service delivery quality, quantity and achieving positive outcomes for our clients.
Interestingly, our staff and clients have reported that remote working has many benefits so not everything will be going back to the old, old-ways of working, we will learn from our experiences during lockdown.
However, there are areas of our work where remote working isn’t enough, these are predominantly face to face service delivery, where clients don’t have good access to ICT, where confidentiality is required and for the most vulnerable of our clients.
This plan provides guidelines on how we will return to a new-normal way of working; however, these dates will be constantly under review and may change dependent upon local or national guidelines.
• Stage 1 - Moving out of full lockdown (1st June 20 – 1st September 20)
• Stage 2 - Working alongside Covid-19 (1st June 20 – 1st June 21)
• Stage 3 - The New Normal (1st June 20 - onwards)
Note that all stages start on 1st June 20, this is to recognise that these stages will not be discrete from one another, and there will be significant ‘blurring’ between timescales and phases, and that multiple phases are likely to be operational at once.
We will:
• not put our staff or clients at unnecessary risk
• provide adequate and appropriate PPE
• remain true to our company vision and values
• learn from and be informed by experiences during lockdown
• continue working from home for everyone who can, as long as is advised
• uphold advised social distancing measures wherever we work
• be informed by local and national guidance
• work with our partners to develop strategy and deliver operational services
• prioritise safeguarding and public protection work
• risk assess any face to face work before it is undertaken
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Date by/on |
Activity undertaken |
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Monday 1st June 2020 |
All staff will continue working from home |
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Remote working wherever possible where this can be effective. Face-to-Face contact will increase for vulnerable and at risk clients. (doorstep visits/ individual contacts at social distance etc) PPE must be used or any contact where social distancing cannot be guaranteed. |
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Monday 29th June 2020 |
Sexual Health Clinics open in Medtia Place – for appointments only |
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Monday 6th July 2020 |
Appointment only services restart in Medtia Place (all service areas) Social distancing measures will be in place. |
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Monday 3rd August 2020 |
Front of house fully opens including drop-in services alongside appointments. Social distancing measures will be in place. |
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Limited staff return to First Floor Offices, planned to ensure safe practice and where social distancing can be achieved. (front line staff for appointments and Duty Officer) |
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The Senior Management Team will each work from the office base for 1-day a week on a rota. |
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The Service Leads will each work from the office base for 1-day a week on a rota. |
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Partners return to their offices in Medtia Place |
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Tuesday 1st September 2020 |
Meeting Rooms open |
You will see from the table above the timeframe we expect to resume normal working practice. It is important to note that this will be a gradual process over the next 12 months closely following local and national guidance and ensuring health and safety measures are in place.
The plan for return will be needs-based and each step forward will be risk assessed and signed off by the Senior Management Team before activity commences. During Stage 1 all staff that can work from home will continue to do so. The focus for Medtia Place will be on providing a safe environment to deliver our targeted work with our most vulnerable clients. We have included in our plans to ensure management availability when the building is open.
The guiding principles are the same wherever staff are based. Direct delivery in any venue will require risk assessment and agreement by Senior Management before the work commences. This includes direct delivery work from any venue including, for example, schools, children centres, health centres or other partner premises.
Office based activity in Rochdale and Tameside offices will follow the same timetable, however, as Tameside is a partnership venue it will have to be considered alongside the plans for Tameside LA staff to resume office based activity.
All service delivery will follow social distancing guidelines and use PPE as instructed and provided by Positive Steps. Details will be regularly updated, and the current guidelines will be followed. There will be a management presence for specified times as agreed to support service delivery.
Sexual health clinics will open first, this will be an appointment only service, followed by wider delivery from across our services on an appointment only basis, this will be for:
• One to One appointments where risk and/or safeguarding issues are a concern; for people unable to access appropriate ICT in order to engage fully; where confidentiality is required and can’t be facilitated via digital or home based appointments; where it’s important for accurate assessment to be undertaken
• Small group activity where risk and/or safeguarding issues are a concern; where confidentiality is required and can’t be facilitated via digital or home based appointments; where it’s important for accurate assessment to see the client and/or associated children
From Monday 3rd August the centre will open for advertised hours for both appointments and drop-in support. The reception will open, and adequate staff will be working in the building to respond to ‘drop-in’ clients and support the appointment based activity. This will be agreed with Operational Mangers, Service Leads and overseen and authorised by Senior Management. All other staff will continue to work from home in order to safely operate distancing measures in the building.
Service Leads and Directors will return to office based working on a one-day-a-week basis in order to ensure a Senior Management presence in the building and monitor that safe distancing measures are in place during this time.
We will be looking to open meeting rooms and allow for more office based activity, numbers will be limited, and priority will always be for service delivery staff.
This is potentially a rapidly changing situation so detailed plans will continue to be prepared and updated with more information provided nearer the time.
Steph Bolshaw
Chief Executive
We have a variety of Online Speakers funded by Barclays that your clients can access this July so please get in touch with our Employment & Skills Team This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Sessions are aimed at all clients so if they are seeking a career change, knowledge of a sector or socially excluded get in touch.
Read more: July 2021 - The Speakers Lounge: Information. Inspiration
In line with government advice, we are now working in a more flexible way to provide our usual support to the community. We understand this is a worrying time, but we are on hand to support you and your family in these rapidly changing and difficult times.
Based on the current guidance we are aiming to maintain our services using different methods, and as the situation evolves, we will be communicating with you all future updates.
Looking after the wellbeing of our staff, volunteers and service users is paramount to us, so in line with the national guidance around social distancing and self-isolation, we have taken the following actions.
Despite these measure, we are still here for you.
How to Contact Us
Telephone, text and video chat support is available to all service users.
Please contact your allocated support worker on their usual phone number or email.
If you are unsure of contact details please get in touch on one of our helplines below.
| Service | Area | Telephone | Email Address |
| Career Guidance | Oldham | 0161 621 9300 | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. |
| Rochdale | 0800 195 8528 | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | |
| Tameside | 0800 484 0407 | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | |
| Early Help | 0161 621 9412 | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | |
| Missing from Home | 0161 621 9551 | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | |
| Young Carers | 0161 621 9400 | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | |
| Youth Justice | 0161 621 9500 | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | |
| Switchboard | 0161 621 9400 | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. |
We have also launched a YouTube channel that will host a selection of helpful video content, we have our usual Facebook and Twitter pages available and our new live chat facility here on our website. Click the purple circle on the bottom right of any of our pages and you connect instantly with an advisor during the day
Please keep checking our news page and social media channels for updated information, as we are continuously looking at innovative ways of supporting you using technology.
We are incredibly grateful to everyone for your patience and understanding, and will be updating you as the situation changes over the coming weeks.
To learn about how we might use your information view our privacy notice here
Positive Steps, Medtia Place, 80 Union Street, Oldham, OL1 1DJ
| Tel: 0161 621 9400 | Fax: 0161 621 9401
Positive Steps is a trading name of Positive Steps Oldham. A company limited by guarantee and registered in England with company number 2563094. Registered Charity Number: 1017247
