BJF Group builds new safe space at Bovington Academy
The Bovington Academy ‘Listening Ear’ is a space where pupils can go to engage with an emotionally available adult, express themselves or simply relax and have some downtime during break times. It is crucial not only for the 70 per cent of children at Bovington Academy who are part of service families but also those whose parents are not in the military. For the children of service personnel, it is commonplace to move schools many times, even during primary school years, meaning that they may find resettling difficult. This, combined with the impact of their parent or parents being away from home and potentially deployed for long periods of time, means that
an extra level of pastoral care is often needed. This can also be hard for the friends of these children who have to cope with their friends leaving them when their families are relocated. When BJF Group heard about this project from the Garrison Welfare team, it was delighted, along with its supply chain partner O’Neill Construction, to offer the team’s time to complete the construction of a new, much improved space. Other contributors to the project provided monetary contributions as well as donations of materials and time and include Pinnacle Group, VIVO Defence Services, SSAFA, BFBS and Gavin Jones.
Lowry Stone, Head of Pastoral Care at Bovington Academy, said: “The new Listening Ear is an exciting project for us. “We’ve always dreamed of a space which acts as a place of safety away from the noise of the playground that offers our children somewhere to go and be quiet, where they will be listened to and where they can express themselves. “The Listening Ear allows us as a pastoral team to address the children’s worries because if we can do that, we can then help them learn.” The new space will open in September when the academic year starts. www.bjfgroup.co.uk
How your Christmas customer data can boost your 2024 sales
“It doesn’t need to scare you though – it’s your data and you can use it to market to those customers again for repeat sales or upsells.
Your sales ramp up at Christmas. You’re busy completing all your orders. You’re making sure all your customers are happy. You’re asking for reviews and user-generated content.
“They’ve bought from you once, so they might again – and reminding them that you are there is a good idea in what’s a very busy time of year. They might forget you in amongst all the gifts they are buying.
By the time Christmas comes, you’re ready for a festive tipple or treat because it’s been manic. But the work doesn’t end there, because now you have made all those wonderful sales, you need to make sure you get the value out of the customer data you have collected. And it’s perfectly legal under GDPR – as privacy expert Judith Andrews explains: “Since GDPR came in, businesses I speak to have been worried about using customer data – how much they use it, when
they can use it and what they can say to their customers. “Some clients have not used it at all, whilst one deleted everything – scared of the consequences of getting it wrong.
“As long as they have access to your privacy notice and it outlines what you will use their data for, then you are covered.” Judith is available for help and advice to ensure you are confident in collecting, storing and using your data, email: hello@businesstamer.co.uk
Members News
Gusbourne Harvest 2023 Across its Kent and Sussex sites, Gusbourne completed harvest 2023 on 10th October – and it’s the winemaker’s biggest crop to date. With phenomenal fruit – brought in under sunny skies – vintage 2023 is set to be superb, says Gusbourne. Their analysis of the grape bunches enabled the team to determine the perfect moment to begin picking, which this year was on 22nd September. Mary Bridges, Head Winemaker, says: “That spell of warm weather got the grapes into a great spot. We noticed amazing balance in the grapes when we tasted them off the vine: the sugar, the acid, the concentration of flavour, the structure and ripeness.” Aiming to hit this sweet spot with every bunch, the vineyard team used Mary’s data to dictate where to pick. This meant harvesting parcel by parcel, not vineyard by vineyard. The logistics were eyewatering, but “the team are incredibly experienced,” says Mary. Laura Rhys, Master Sommelier, has tasted both the fresh juice and some of the early ferments. “I’m feeling very positive about what I’ve tasted so far,” Laura says. “Across the different grape varieties, there’s already lovely expressiveness. I’ve just tasted the early ferments and they are delicious. I’m looking forward to blending – we’re going to see some very exciting wines.” They look forward to releasing this vintage in the years to come. In the meantime, you can visit their Kent vineyards to taste their current releases and to learn more about how they produce their award-winning, exclusively vintage wines. For more information, or to purchase any wines, visit gusbourne.com Thinking Business
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