Prior's Court Foundation, Hermitage, Thatcham, Berkshire RG18 9NU
01635 247202 • mail@priorscourt.org.uk • www.priorscourt.org.uk
Company Registered in England and Wales Number 3583324 • Registered Charity Number 1070227
Staff minibus service success
Prior's Court staff have been on the road attending careers fairs to
showcase what working at Prior's Court is like.
In the past months, Prior's Court staff have been to Bracknell College, the University
of Reading, Basingstoke College of Technology, the Downs School, and many
more, giving presentations to students about Prior's Court, autism and industry
placement opportunities, or exhibiting at careers fairs.
As a result of these events, we currently have one
student working with us for her BTEC industry
placement and another is due to start in February.
In November Prior's Court also gave a virtual
presentation at the University of Northampton
to a group of students studying for their Masters
degree. Graduate opportunities and our vacancies
were discussed, as well as our autism best practice
model, The Prior Approach, and autism more
generally.
Out and about at careers fairs and more
Our minibus transport-to-work service is
helping our staffing teams face the costof-living
crisis and supporting people to
access jobs.
Last year, Prior's Court introduced a minibus service
for staff members to get to and from our site.
The service was initially opened to non-drivers but
has since been expanded, and has offered transport
to 78 members of staff from drop-off and pick-up
points in Newbury, Thatcham, Theale, Reading, and
Swindon. Further locations are also being explored.
The service has opened up our array of challenging
but rewarding roles of working with young people
with complex autism to those who may not have
been able access our site.
Staff members are deducted a cost from their
monthly salary to use the service - but the cost is
less than fuel costs would be, not to mention the
additional running costs of having a vehicle, which
helps with their cost-of-living.
Ben Johnson, one of our Autism Practitioners, said:
"I've just moved to Swindon and as I don't drive, I was
worried about getting to work late. Thankfully the
bus service is so handy and reliable, so this has never
been an issue. The pickup times and drop off times
work well for me, and my stop is two seconds from
my door. All the other staff who get on the bus are
lovely and I am so grateful for Mark Bailey (our Head
of Service Management who set up the service) and
the bus drivers for doing this for us."
Kate Lefever, our Head of HR, said: "The staffing
challenges within the care industry across the
country are well-known. Prior's Court has the added
barrier of being based in a rural area without public
transport links.
"We have had to be innovative in introducing this
minibus service which is ticking so many boxes. It
provides a wider pool of potential staff members
for Prior's Court, while also it also opens up roles
to jobseekers who would not have been able to
come here as they are non-drivers, in addition to
supporting them during the cost-of-living crisis."