The Teacake Club gathered on Thursday 2 October 2025 at Sheffield Futures, Star House in Sheffield. The host, Emily Hawn from Opportunity Sheffield, extended a warm welcome to all attendees and thanked the hosts, Sheffield Futures.
You can see the full slideshow here:
Speakers
Opportunity Sheffield
John Powell – Partnership Manager
John Powell spoke about the new “one front door approach” for employment support through Opportunity Sheffield’s triage service.
The team has hired two new staff members, Isabelle and Sophie, to triage all correspondence via phone and e-mail, guiding participants through a short conversation to the most suitable service in the city.
To enhance this, Opportunity Sheffield is launching a survey to map all employment and skills activity across Sheffield. The goal is clear: identify service gaps and ensure the triage team can direct residents efficiently.
To take part, fill out the Sheffield Employment & Skills Programme Mapping 2025-26 Form
To refer someone for employment support, email: opportunity@sheffield.gov.uk
Youth Voice & Influence Service (Sheffield City Council)
Clare Holdsworth – Children and Young People’s Involvement Officer
Clare O’Neill – Children and Young People’s Advocate & Group Facilitator
Clare Holdsworth and Clare O’Neill from the Voice and Influence Service highlighted their award-winning work supporting care leavers. Following the creation of five new posts in 2022, the team has expanded its reach through an award-winning podcast, a film about community parenting, and support from HLM Architects.
Their main focus was the new ‘You’re Hired’ tool kit. Developed through extensive research, including focus groups with young people and professionals (DWP, Opportunity Sheffield & local employers), the tool is a game-based training kit designed to simulate employment barriers and coach employers on how to support employees.
It has been piloted and, following feedback and the continued support of HLM, it is set for an official launch in November (Care Leavers Month). The team is also supporting job readiness through breakfast networking meetings and a Job Club at Sharrow Community Forum every Monday (12pm –4pm). These projects underscore the vital need for support, as only 37% of care-experienced individuals are in work or training.
To find out more about the Voice and Influence service on the Sheff News website.
Education & Childcare Commissioning Service (Sheffield City Council)
Lisa Webster – Commissioning Officer
Lisa Webster presented on the promotion of childminding as a viable career.
With numbers in the city dropping from approximately 400 down to 170, and new childcare reforms forecasting increased demand for places for children aged two and under, the ambition is to drastically increase the number of childminders.
This growth is essential for supporting the 0–3 age group and providing crucial wrap-around and out-of-hours support. Analysis showed that a diverse audience, motivated by the desire for a rewarding, impactful and local career, are open to the role, despite perceived barriers like lack of qualifications or low pay.
Lisa outlined the two main routes for registration: directly with OFSTED or through a registered Childminding Agency.
There will be a childminder briefing session on 10 November 9.30am – 12.30am at First Start Family Hub in Firth Park. It will be in the Little Acorns room and parents can bring their small children if needed.
To register, fill out an Expression of Interest for childminder briefing sessions.
To find out more, visit the Becoming a registered childminder in Sheffield webpage.
Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales
Annie Gale – Strategic Employment Lead
Annie Gale introduced the Royal Foundation’s Homewards Project, a five-year plan set up by the Prince of Wales, with Sheffield selected as one of six trial locations.
Focused on Young People and Families, the project champions the “power of a job to change life” and uses data to shift the focus toward prevention of homelessness and sustained employment.
The initiative is looking for support from pioneering employers, business leaders, and employability partners to replicate the success of prison leavers model, which significantly raised employment rates for people facing barriers.
To find out more, visit the Homewards website.
Voluntary Action Sheffield
Paul Harvey – Volunteering & Partnerships Manager
Paul Harvey of Voluntary Action Sheffield (VAS) is leading on Action Area 3 of the city’s Strategic employment plan.
Paul spoke about the importance of a hyper local approach to employment support, and how empowering the VCS can effectively deliver this and benefit everyone.
Working collaboratively with Sheffield City Council and Sheffield’s VCFSE, he emphasised that Sheffield is paving the way to employment support for it’s residents with this strategic approach.
To find out more, read the Sheffield Employment and Skills Strategic Plan.
In Brief
Attendees had a chance to briefly promote services they work for and/or projects they are working on. Speakers in this quarter’s In Brief segment included:
Peter Slack from Opportunity Sheffield – Advised people with Access To Work support issues to contact: sheffieldsworking@sheffield.gov.uk
Mark Powell from Yes2Ventures – Call out for enterprise ideas for setting up Social Firms to support people with Learning Difficulties, Autism, or other employment barriers. Email: mark.powell@yes2ventures.org.uk
The meeting concluded with Christos Louca of Sheffield Futures thanking everyone for attending their venue. He highlighted the 30 years of work done by the charity to help young people feel well, have a voice, and access learning and employment.
He also referenced the continued support provided by Door 43 for health and wellbeing and other teams providing vital support such as IAG support in schools and employment support for care leavers of working age.
If you would like to offer a venue for a future Teacake Club meeting, please contact Ross Brown: ross.brown@sheffield.gov.uk
teacakeclub.org 