The CroftCommunityCre

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portun

ities for

adults with special needs

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charity dedicated to creating opportunitiesfor adults with learning disabilities, mentalhealth problems and other special needs.In addition, we are part of the widerCamphill Movement, which, since its esta-blishment in Aberdeen in 1940 has grownto include more than 90 Communities inover 20 countries. These Communitiesassist children, adolescents and adults,enabling them to develop their full poten-tial for a rich and rewarding life.

We particularly recognise each personsindividuality, dignity and worth, supportingeach one in order that they may makeappropriate choices in exercising self-

determination in allareas of their lives. OurCommunity�s frame-work of mutual supportand respect ensuresthere is never any feel-ing of isolation, with allmembers of ourCommunity valuedequally for what theybring to our lives.

Welcome toThe CroftSINCE 1976, The Croft Communityhas been supporting adults with learn-ing disabilities, including autism andDown�s syndrome, assisting their inte-gration into the life of the town ofMalton, North Yorkshire.

By providing a home life where eachindividual�s needs are understood, mean-ingful work where achievements arerecognised, and combining them with anenriching social and cul-tural life, our Commun-ity builds the confidencewhich allows people ofall abilities to take theirrightful place in thewider community.

The Croft Commu-nity is one of the 11centres of The CamphillVillage Trust, a national

The Croft Community is part of thewider local community of the busymarket town of Malton and neighbour-ing Norton and Old Malton whichstraddle the River Derwent in the Valeof Pickering, 18 miles north east of thecity of York.

We aim to create opportunities forpeople with learning disabilities and otherspecial needs for whom opportunities areoften limited by their need for extra helpand support.

Our Community is based on mutualsupport, with all those involved contribut-ing in whatever way they can and receivingthe support of the Community in expand-ing horizons and taking new steps to makethe most of life�s opportunities. Everyoneis valued for the way they contribute toour Community life and treated as an indi-vidual. Each person�s abilities are nourishedto grow into achievements.

Our mutually supportive lifestyle inte-grates home life with work and culturaland social activities. Life-long learningexpands horizons, not purely with work ordomestic skills, but in social and culturalspheres too.

And knowing that the contributionmade to the life of the Community is val-ued by all, builds the confidence needed toexplore new roles and adjust to the widercommunity in which we live.

Being part of a mutually supportiveCommunity like The Croft demands activeparticipation by all those involved. So thedecision to make one�s home with us mustbe taken freely, recognising the implica-tions and responsibilities. Our CamphillCommunity life balances individual needswith the needs of those with whom we

live and work, so Community membersmust be willing to have give and take intheir lives.

Those with special needs who chooseto come to The Croft Community maycome from other Camphill Communitiesor may have been living at home with par-ents, at other centres for those with spe-cial needs or have recently completedtheir education and are ready to take theirfirst steps in the adult world.

They need not be local residentsalthough a considerable number of those in

our Community originate from theYorkshire area.

We are an open and welcomingCommunity and in addition to enquiriesfrom people with special needs, we alsolike to hear from those who may wish towork with us either for a short period oron a longer term basis, or who may wishto assist us in other ways.

A Community that cares

AtHomeThe Croft Community is home foraround 70 people, half of whom havespecial needs.

Our home life is based on six house-holds in different areas of Malton, Nortonand Old Malton, with each house providingour residents with a comfortable andsecure home environment as a stable andsupportive background for their lives in thewider community.

In five of our households everyone

lives in an extended family environment.Those with responsibility for the house,their family, and those who assist them,share life with those with special needs.

Our sixth house enables residents withgreater self reliance to live more independ-ently, with those providing their supportliving close by and available at all times.

Everyone is involved in the usual aspectsof domestic life, participating in the everydayneeds of the household such as meal prepa-ration, washing up and keeping the houseclean and tidy. Each household eats togeth-er, socialises and relaxes together.

While the main rooms of each houseare used communally, everyone has theirown space, allowing them time on theirown when they want it.

Each household has a different charac-ter resulting from the different personali-ties involved. We try to ensure that thosewho share their homelife are compatible,getting along well together and sharinginterests. Our aim is to provide a stablehome environment, and a number of thosewith special needs have been with us sinceour Community was established.

The Croft, at Highfield Road, OldMalton, is the house from which ourCommunity takes its name and is whereour Community was established. It is anextended Georgian house and is home for8 residents.

In its two-acre grounds is RowanHouse, a large purpose-built family housecompleted in 1994. It offers modernaccommodation for 6 residents.

Adjacent to The Croft and RowanHouse is Yew Tree Cottage. This is to beused in a different way, making a home forthree of our residents who want a moreindependent lifestyle. They are to be sup-ported by a family living in a new housewhich we plan to build just across thecourtyard from Yew Tree Cottage.

Gawain House, in Welham Road,Norton, is a large Edwardian House inpleasant surroundings close to the edge ofthe town. Five residents are supported in

an extended family environment.Greengate House is a Grade II listed

Georgian townhouse just two minuteswalk from the centre of Malton. It is a com-fortable home for 6 of our residents, andits central location allows those who livethere to get to the shops and other facili-ties and activities in the town centre with aminimum of support. Greengate House isthe hub of our Community, with manypeople calling in when in the town centre.

Michael House is an Edwardian housein a quiet leafy area of Malton to the northof the town centre. Bought in 1996, it ishome for 6 of our residents.

All of our accommodation has beenrefurbished or built tohigh standards toexceed statutoryrequirements andensure they provide apleasant, comfortableand safe home for all.Each of our residentshas their own room.

Those with special

needs who are part of The CroftCommunity span an age range from theirearly 20s to late 70s. Our facilities aredesigned to meet the needs of all ages.

Our Community includes a number offormer residents who live independently in

the town while retain-ing strong links withus. They continue tobe involved with ourwork activities andsocial and cultural life,and know that anysupport that they mayneed is always close athand.

RealworkopportunitiesWork has a central place in our lives,yet those with learning disabilities andother special needs often find it virtual-ly impossible to obtain employment.

As a Camphill Community, we regardmeaningful work as an essential part ofeveryday life, including those with specialneeds. It brings dignityand a sense of selfworth, allows peopleto gain new skills andtake responsibility, andencourages the devel-opment of social skillsand integration into thecommunity around us.

The work activitiesavailable to those withspecial needs at The

Croft Community all produce goods orservices that are needed by others. Weaim for a work programme which involveseach person in a number of activities, pro-viding variety in the working week andencouraging a willingness to �have a go� atanything.Kingfisher Café, Gift & Bookshop

Situated in Saville Street, in Maltontown centre, this modern and stylish caféis a place to meet and relax for residentsof Malton and visitors to the town. It pro-vides a wide range of drinks, snacks andmeals, many of them making use of organic

ingredients wheneverpossible.

It provides seatingfor 40 customers ontwo floors. It is asuperb working andtraining environmentfor members of ourCommunity, and eachweek around 25 peo-ple are involved -those with special

needs and those who support them. A fulltime manager is employed and the variedwork includes food preparation, baking,waiting on customers, keeping the café andkitchens clean and tidy, washing up, cashhandling, banking and shopping. Training isprovided in hygiene, food technology andall other aspects of the work.

Kingfisher Café is an important contactpoint with the general public, encouragingsocial contact and communication with awide range of people.

Part of the first floor is devoted to gift-shop and bookshop areas. Gifts includedecorative craft items produced in ourown craft workshops and from otherCamphill centres. The range of booksincludes many not available elsewhere andbooks related to Camphill and the philoso-phies on which our lives are based.

Craft workshopsWe have three craft workshops which

allow people of all abilities to learn anddevelop a variety of skills. Our productsare then sold to the public through ourCamphill shops.

Our weaving workshop at The Croftdesigns and makes traditional rugs startingwith raw wool which is washed, dyed,carded and spun before being woven onhand looms.

The Candelabrium, also at The Croft,operates mainly in the winter months,designing and making decorative art can-dles, including very large ones.

The gift workshop, situated on the topfloor of the Kingfisher Café building, hasmorning and afternoon workgroups work-ing on a wide range of projects. Theseinclude ceramic painting, clock making,

glass painting, picture frame making,woodwork, clay modelling, drawing andpainting, papier maché.Market Gardening

Our two-acre organic market gardenand orchard provides varied work growingproduce used in our houses and café. Thework follows the seasonal rhythms ofground preparation, sowing, planting,weeding and harvesting. Our glasshousesand polytunnels allows work to continueyear-round, even when the weather ispoor.

Domestic and office workHome skills are important too, with

work in our houses involving food prepara-tion, cleaning, laundry and shopping.

Residents also work in our Communityoffices which serve the wider CamphillMovement. The varied work includesassisting with filing, photocopying, post,banking, entering accounts on computerand compiling mailing material.

Meaningful work for all

Training &educationLife-long learning is an important fea-ture of all Camphill Communities.Everyone at The Croft, whether withspecial needs or involved in running ourCommunity, is encouraged to seek newskills and knowledge, to broaden hori-zons and find new directions.

Training and education can be for per-sonal skills, work or leisure, and can be

carried out informally or by attending for-mal courses either within our Communityor at local colleges and training centres.

Reading, writing and numeracy areimportant life skills and every assistance isgiven to those with special needs in makingprogress. We work closely with localorganisations and residents attend localauthority classes.

Other personal skills are gained infor-mally, often at home, such as learning touse a washing machine or improving cook-ing skills.

A great deal of work-related trainingtakes place on-the-job. All of our workplaces are managed by experienced andskilled people who take care and timeassessing each person�s abilities. Interestand aptitude for different areas of thework is nurtured and encouraged so thateveryone can develop their abilities andskills.

Formal training for work can includetraining in the work place. All thoseinvolved with our café receive foodhygiene and food technology training aswell as health and safety training.

Our residents and those with responsi-bility for our Community also have theopportunity to attend courses at local col-leges and other centres to gain recognisedqualifications. These courses are usuallywork related, such as a horticulturalcourse for those involved with our marketgarden, or computer use for those work-ing in our offices.

Those who carry responsibility for ourCommunity are encouraged to build onthe qualifications they already have, andkeep their training up-to-date, alwaysensuring that qualifications meet or exceedstatutory requirements.

As a town-based Community, many ofour residents take advantage of theevening classes offered locally. Painting,photography, foreign languages, musicappreciation, keep fit and flower arrangingare some of their interests. We also runclasses of our own which include activitiessuch as dancing and music.

Social &cultural lifeThe social and cultural life of The CroftCommunity includes activities organ-ised within our Community and thewider social life of the town and thelocal area.

As a Community based on Christianideals, many of our own activities arelinked to our celebration of the Christianfestivals which mark our progress throughthe seasons of the year. Into these festivalswe weave songs and plays, music andverse. The Barn at TheCroft is the centre ofmany of these activities,as well as film shows,dancing, choirs andeurythmy. RegularServices are held theretoo, for those who wishto participate, whileother members of ourCommunity attend local

churches and chapels.Socialising also takes place on an infor-

mal level, with a barbecue in the garden, abirthday celebration or just visiting friends.

Everyone is encouraged to involvethemselves in the social life of the area.Some enjoy belonging to local clubs andgroups, such as the ramblers or the ama-teur operatic society. Others follow inter-ests with their friends, such as regular trainexcursions or visits by bus or train to Yorkor the coast. There are visits to the cine-ma, theatre and concerts, and, as well asmaking use of the shops, pubs and cafés ofMalton, there are walks or picnics in the

countryside too.Holidays may be

taken with family andfriends, and we alsoorganise group holidaysin Britain and sometimesabroad, providing anopportunity to relax withfriends from ourCommunity in a differentsetting.

and by local authorities cover the day-to-day living expenses of our Community.Income from our café and workshops goestowards their running costs. All otherexpenses have to be covered by fundrais-ing activities.

For larger projects, such as building orpurchasing houses, or major refurbish-ment, some of the fundraising is carriedout by the Camphill Village Trust�s appealsoffice, and some by The Croft Communityitself. In addition to major projects, we alsohave to raise funds to cover other costs,such as vocational training, work clothing,counselling, maintenance of our social hall,

production of plays andconcerts, and tools andequipment for our workplaces.

Our grateful thanksgo to all the grant mak-ing trusts, individuals andcompanies who gener-ously assist us bothfinancially and with theirtime.

Organisationand economicsAs a centre of the Camphill VillageTrust, major policy decisions affectingall centres are taken by the Council ofthe Trust.

However, each centre takes responsi-bility for its own planning and managementthrough its Local Management Committee.The Croft Community�s LMC, whichincludes interested local people as well asmembers of our Community, works close-ly with those in our Community who takeresponsibility for its day-to-day operation.

We have no man-agement hierarchy andwe aim to involveeveryone - includingthose with special needs- in decision making.

The residential andday placement fees paidthrough DSS benefits

Life at The Croft Community, like allother Camphill Communities, centreson a shared Community life based onChristian ideals and the work of thephilosopher Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) which inspired Dr Karl König andhis colleagues who founded theCamphill Movement.

The aim of their first CamphillCommunity and those founded subse-quently, including The Croft Community, isto provide a setting in which those withspecial needs can develop their potential inan atmosphere of mutual care and respect,with each person valued and recognised asan equal.

Camphill�s founders chose to do thiswork not as a job but as a way of life. Theyfollowed Rudolf Steiner's belief that com-munities are stronger when everyoneworks to help each other rather than forpersonal reward. This philosophy contin-ues to be followed today, and no-one livingin The Croft Community is paid directlyfor their work. Instead, each person'sneeds are met from the resources of theCommunity.

The task of all those who work along-side our residents with special needs is notso much �care�, as our residents can domany things for themselves. Instead theyare �enablers� working to allow those withspecial needs to achieve much in theirlives.

Those who have made a long-termcommitment to our Community, living per-manently with us and carrying the respon-sibility for day-to-day operation, do so outof common beliefs and a willingness toshare in the Camphill way of life. Theytreat their work as a vocation and way of

life and receive no salary. Their needs, andthose of their families, are met from theCommunity's resources.

They are assisted by volunteers whonormally spend a year with us, sharing inthe life and daily work of our Community.These voluntary workers come from allover the world, many of them young peo-ple seeking new experiences and wishingto help others. They contribute a greatdeal, bringing different cultures and youth-ful enthusiasm with them.

While we base our lives on Christian

principles, we welcome people of any per-suasion who respect this aspect of ourCommunity life.

In addition to caring for each other,caring for the land on which we live andthe environment around us has alwaysbeen the Camphill way. So we use organicand biodynamic growing methods, andorganic food forms the basis of a healthydiet.

OurComm

unity way

Railway Station

GawainHouse

MichaelHouse

GreengateHouse

Kingfisher Café,Gift & BookshopCraft Workshop

The CroftRowan HouseYew Tree CottageCandle and WeavingWorkshopsMarket garden

B1257

B1257

B1248

B124

8

A64

NORTON

MALTON

Welham

Rd

To Scarborough

To

York

To Helmsley

GreengateSavilleSt

Old

Mal

ton Rd

Highfield Rd

Middlecave Rd

RIVE

RD

ER

WENT

To Pickering

Malton

THE CROFTCOMMUNITY

Pickering

Kirkbymoorside

York

15m

iles

Scarborough

23miles

Helmsley

NORTH YORK MOORS

B1257

B1248

A64

A170

A16

9

A64

Norton

Creating opportunities for

adults with special needs

Where to find us

Getting in touchThe Croft Community, 4 Old Maltongate, Malton, North Yorkshire YO17 7EQ.Tel: 01653 694197Fax: 01653 694323E-mail: croft@camphill.org.ukWebsite: www.camphill.org.uk

The Croft Community is a centre of The Camphill Village Trust.Registered Charity number 232402.A non-profit company limited by guarantee 539694

Published by The Croft Community.Designed & produced by Ideas in Print, Tel 01289 388409. Copyright © 2003-2007