I have now had the pleasure of being in post at Mavar for 3 months. It has been lovely getting to know the team, volunteers, Trustees, donors, and most importantly, members. Everything we do is informed by the needs of our members so I was delighted to complete with the team the first survey of my tenure. The results were fascinating and informative.

Firstly, a huge thanks to my predecessors and current team, as the feedback showed 100% of members would recommend Mavar to others. We had a 39% response rate which although we aim to increase next time, is a hugely creditable start.

100% of respondents said they were highly satisfied or satisfied with the education support they have received. Our tutors and Head of Education are hugely experienced and we are used to achieving 100% pass rates in examinations.

100% of our respondents also said they were highly satisfied or satisfied with Mavar’s pastoral support. Our Head of Pastoral and our volunteer mentor and counselling team are also of the highest quality, and this shows in the support being achieved.

What else did we learn? Well, most people find Mavar through word of mouth, so that is a challenge for us as to how to access those in often closed communities, who may want our services, but who have no way of knowing of us, or how to contact us. We will work harder with partners across the community to reach as many people as we can.

There were some requests for stronger community and social events, so we are including this in our plans for the next year (watch this space)!

We received some lovely and really thoughtful feedback, which makes doing the work so rewarding:

“Having an experienced mentor… has helped take the edge off overwhelming moments.”

“Mavar gave me the opportunity to study, which was always my dream.”

“I especially appreciate the neutrality and lack of agenda pushing.”

Our members articulated clearly how tailored support, with no agenda, helped them to find out who they were as a person, and what direction they wanted to take with their life. It has been a pleasure to offer this support and to see so many members become independent and deliver their own positive outcomes.