We are extremely proud to announce that Knowsley Family and Community Education learner Lisa Davies has won the Entrepreneurs award at the Knowsley education awards!
The Entrepreneur’s Award recognises a pupil or team who are trailblazers and introduce new ideas. Lisa was passionate about developing a bereavement service for children who have lost someone close under the age of 5, a project close to her heart.
Lisa enrolled on a business start-up course at Knowsley FACE and used her new skills and knowledge to develop a business plan and secure £20,000 of funding from the National Lottery.
We asked Lisa about her journey and how she found working with us at Knowsley FACE –
- How did you hear about the course?
I saw the course in an online advert. I had a phone call with Vicky to discuss what I was thinking of doing. I wasn’t sure whether to choose between Counselling and the business startup course. Vicky advised that the business course would be better as I could set up my business and then do the counselling course. I’m so glad I did it that way. I will be joining the counselling course in September.
- What made you pick this course/qualification?
Due to my personal experience of losing my husband suddenly when our daughter was only 2 and not having anywhere to get support for my daughter as she was too young. I wanted to set up my own business as a counselling service to support families who had children under the age of 5 who had lost a close member of the family (parent, sibling, grandparent) I had already registered the business, Anthony Davies Bereavement, in August 2024 but I didn’t know how to move forward and what needed doing. I needed the support of someone to guide me in what needed doing first.
- What has your learning enabled you to do?
This course has brought my business to life. All I had done before I started this course was register it and set up social media accounts. As I progressed on the course, it gave me the confidence to go forward with it. I wasn’t sure how I wanted the business to run, but I feel like this course, and Carla, the tutor, has given me the confidence to know what to do next. When I’m stuck Carla helps me to look at the alternatives to select what is right for me. For example, I had only thought about setting up as a charity. Carla helped me to develop my ideas to have different arms to the business i.e. as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) and a private business.
- What did you enjoy most about the programme?
The content of the course has been great and now that I’m writing my business plan, I know what I’m doing. I’ve learnt about different ways to run a business. I thought I was only going to set up a charity, but this course made me realise we needed 2 sides – a business side and a charity side.
The other learners are great too. It’s a good way of triggering other ideas when we discuss our thoughts together as a group. Not only have I worked out how to run my business, but I’ve also been able to see what I want to get from my business. When I set up it was only going to be small, maybe a couple of days a month. But doing this course has made me realise I can do it full time in the future.
- What barriers previously prevented you from engaging in learning? What support helped you overcome your barriers?
The course being offered online has been a huge help. When I first started the course, I was working full time and not getting home until late, so I wouldn’t have been able to attend if it was a face-to-face class. Carla is very understanding too. Due to my circumstances, my daughter can be quite clingy and sometimes she won’t settle down. Carla understands this and allows me to go off and settle my daughter, then come back and join in the group again. This couldn’t happen in a face-to-face group. This has enabled me to continue with the course.
- What difference has this course made to your personal life and/or career? (Learnt new skills, improved confidence, progressing onto employment/ further learning etc.)
There have been lots of benefits to this course for me. A new career for me in the future, once I start working full time at my business. My confidence has also grown with choices I am making for my business. There have been other benefits too for the people who are accessing my services. At present, we are supporting 25 families, with another 3 coming on board last week. As I have personal experience of what the families and their children are going through, we have supported each other through very difficult times. The Widow/ Widower’s Group that we run for bereaved partners has been hugely successful. They can mix with other widows who know what they are dealing with on a day-to-day basis. I had one widow who said this was the only place where they feel like people understand what they are going through. People don’t understand we aren’t just grieving the loss of the person we love; we are also grieving the life that we will never have, especially at milestone events such as birthdays, weddings etc. Parents comment on the peer support groups we run for the children as being transformational for their children. Parents have reported that whenever they go to other facilities like play centres, the children can be very clingy. They struggle when they can see other families with both parents, and this can affect the children. However, when the children attend the peer support group with other children, the parents can see how freely the children play. They feel they are understood by others in the group. This is hugely satisfying to see how much this support is benefitting all involved.
- What would you say to anyone thinking about enrolling on a course with Knowsley FACE?
If you are thinking of applying for a course to go for it! The course content is great, and the quality of the delivery is thorough and well planned. There’s lots of support and compassion from the tutors and wider team, so don’t let family dynamics put you off.
- Have you gained employment as a result of attending this course?
Hopefully in the future I will be able to do this full time, but at the moment I’m doing this part time alongside my job.
- What’s next for you?
I hope to work full time at the Foundation in future and to continue to develop the business and charity further. My aim is to produce an app with support information on how to regulate emotions, where to get help etc so that people can gain this valuable support nationally.
- Any other comments
I am looking towards having a base in Bluebell GP surgery so I can have somewhere for people to drop in or have appointments with counsellors etc. We are already supporting a couple of schools in Knowsley and a couple in Liverpool City Region. I want to develop this side of the business further so that we can reach out to many more schools.
I have been awarded funding from the Lottery. I am also applying to the Citizen First programme now I have developed my ideas. If I am successful, this may enable me to give up work and focus on the charity full time. They provide funding so I can work and develop the business with a business advisor to grow it even further. They will also provide me with virtual support for IT, so that I can develop the app. I have 2 directors and 3 volunteers at the moment, but I’m hoping this will grow with time. I also have a couple of counselling students from John Moore’s University who are specialising as childhood counsellors who are going to work with the children next year during their final year of their degree.
I am proud to say that what I have created is building friendships for families who are grieving, both the partners and the children. These friendships can be a lifeline to the families involved.
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