'We can save Henshaws arts and crafts centre' says college principal in Harrogate

The rumour mill concerning Henshaws and its troubles may still be churning, but the principal of the charity’s specialist college in Harrogate has set out a more positive vision of the group’s future.

The northern-based charity, which supports people living with sight loss and a range of other disabilities, brought in seasoned educationalist Adrian Sugden 18 months ago to put the Bogs Lane-based college on a better and more stable footing.

Job done... just about, now the next task set for a man who spent 20 years in secondary education is doing the same for Henshaws Arts & Crafts Centre in Knaresborough.

Of course, the Covid-19 pandemic and resulting lockdown have made his tough task even more difficult.

In a recent announcement, the arts and crafts centre revealed how it could not hope to reopen in its present form due to the social distancing regulations. News that its staff had been put on notice of potential redundancy led to a great deal of distress and pessimism among art makers, parents and politicians about where Henshaws is headed.

But Mr Sugden, who is currently overseeing both the college and the arts and crafts centre, said this was not necessarily the end of the story.

He said not only was the specialist college’s future now secure, he said there was no reason why the arts and crafts centre could not be turned around either.

Mr Sudgen said: “Like the arts and crafts centre, Henshaws college was running at a deficit for a number of years.

“It had a chequered history. When I joined 18 months ago, one of the things I was tasked with was to improve the quality of what we did and to become financially solvent and financially independent and I have achieved this.

“I came in and made a lot of changes and introduced a more rigorous financial structure and financial planning.

“Our last Ofsted report for the college rated us “good”, which was the first one for years. There’s a good predicted number of students for September, too.

“Covid-19 has hit us a little but not as much as the arts and crafts centre because our fees are guaranteed whatever happens. We will have a small surplus by the end of the year.

“We’ve not done this by raising the fees for our 85 students but by raising our incomes in other areas.”

Mr Sugden says this new approach, which also included making the optimum use of facilities and reaching out to new sponsorship, was always meant to be applied to Henshaws Arts & Crafts Centre at Bond End in Knaresborough.

Henshaws answers questions on closure of arts and crafts centre in Knaresborough

Mr Sugden said: “The idea was that, after looking at how the college worked, I was to move to the arts and crafts centre to do the same there. Covid-19 put an end to that.”

Henshaws’ overall chief executive Nick Marr earlier spelt out the roots of the arts and crafts centre’s current financial situation in an email to one anxious parent.

He wrote: “Considering the physical layout of the Centre, it would be impossible to segregate the number of art makers. Any safety measures would severely reduce the number of art makers we could accommodate. Any decrease in art makers puts the centre into a critical deficit.”

The alarm bells were also set ringing by the news Henshaws was to ‘transition out’ of providing supported living housing for people with disabilities and special needs in Harrogate in a decision which will affect about 21 residents.

As someone whose life changed when his son was diagnosed with autism, Mr Sugden says his mission at Henshaws was still to reach out to the wider community.

Although lockdown and its economic effects make predictions a tricky game, Mr Sugden said Henshaws had a wide range of possible “significant improvements” in the pipeline at the college, including a new training centre to help the transition of students who leave college to succeed outside it, and increasing the number of resident beds.

Mr Sugden said he could understand why some people had thought the worst and paid tribute to the brilliant support for Henshaws of the local authorities.

The fact Henshaws headquarters is now looking for public feedback on how a new version of how the arts and crafts centre should look, ties into Mr Sugden’s positive hopes for it future.

He said: “We’ve managed to secure the financial future of Henshaws college. There will have to be changes but there’s no reason why we can’t do that at the arts and crafts centre.”

What chief executive at Henshaws headquarters says

Some of the public concern over Henshaws can be traced back to the fact that the arts and crafts centre in Knaresborough has always operated differently from its college in Harrogate.

The college is a regulated service, and so has different contractual responsibilities and is funded differently which meant it could stay open during lockdown.

Henshaws’ chief executive Nick Marr said the arts and crafts centre had not had access to guaranteed fees while its artmakers have been in lockdown.

He said: “Any decrease in artmakers puts the centre into a critical deficit.

“In addition, the arts and crafts centre has always been subsidised by charitable funds. But during the Covid period, these funds have also significantly dropped.”

The future of Henshaws Arts & Crafts Centre: Get involved

Email [email protected] where Henshaws is collating ideas for the future shape of the arts and crafts centre.

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