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Referrals

Please carefully read through all of the information on this page before you make a referral to the Camelia Botnar Foundation. Please also familiarise yourself with the wider website and department(s) you are considering and ensure you are familiar with the key documents on the Applications page.

The Camelia Botnar Foundation is a unique residential learning centre offering work-based training to disadvantaged young people. Young people must have a home address to return to at weekends and at any time if they become ill or are suspended from the programme. We do not provide housing.

We are a small charity with limited resources that provides training and experience in various trades for disadvantaged young people who are able to cope in small groups, without one to one or specialist intervention, and who are genuinely interested in the trade they pick to train in.

We offer fully funded training places of 3 months or more in a chosen trade, where young people with difficult backgrounds and home lives get ‘on the job’ style experience in a range of fully fitted workshops and ‘live’ settings, completing real jobs.

Our department tutors are all genuine tradesmen with hundreds of years of combined expert experience.

We are not a school, college or academic setting, almost all our training is practical. All our training courses are industry standard, delivered by external trainers and assessors and officially recognised. For many of the formal qualifications that can be achieved there is a theory element which does require some study or being able to cope in a training room environment.

There is a convenient overview document you can view on the Applications page.

Please take careful note that we are not a care home, behavioural unit, mental health facility or a specialist SEND provision

We have a broad category of intake, and we welcome applications from young people who can explain why and how they are disadvantaged or in stuck in difficult or tough situations. Many young people in such circumstances benefit from getting out of their home area and being offered a different path. We offer an opportunity to change direction.

We offer a hand up, not a handout. Any young person coming to Camelia Botnar must be able to adapt to the structured and demanding work experience programme and residential setting, be able to develop the resilience to cope with the programme and environment, and be able to maintain basic behavioural expectations and social standards. We have limited resources and cannot offer specialist care or individual options to meet specific needs.

Our age range is 16 – 21. However, 21 is a soft cap and it is possible for a young person to stay beyond their 22nd birthday. We particularly welcome applications from those aged 18 and above that no longer have statutory educational opportunities and may be in desperate need of a life opportunity.

It is essential that applications are honest and thorough so young people are not set up to fail or put in an environment they cannot cope with.

If you make a referral and it is not successful, please accept that we know who we can facilitate and serve.

We are a small charity with limited resources. We do not provide specialist care; we cannot meet the provisions of EHCPs; and we cannot support complex mental health needs, specialist care or individual options to meet specific needs.

Although we have no set academic criteria for entry, applicants must possess a good fluency in English and be able to listen, read, observe and respond to safety notices, product information and instructions from tutors. Our workshops and ‘live’ work environments are places of inherent risks and danger from machinery, materials and chemicals.

Young people who come to the Camelia Botnar Foundation must be genuinely interested in learning their chosen trade, be resilient enough to cope with the programme, and be able to maintain basic standards of behaviour.

Please familiarise yourself with our House Rules on the Applications page.

Initial application is made by completing the short form on the Applications page. This will then send links for 2 further forms to the candidate and referrer:

– The full application form – to be filled out by the applicant with or without the help of an appropriate adult

– The risk assessment form – which should be filled out by a professional that knows or is working with the applicant

Once returned, they will be assessed by our admissions panel and a decision made whether the application is suitable to go on our waiting list. If so, the applicant will be called for an in-person interview at the Foundation when an opportunity for a place in the chosen department is imminent or available. Waiting times can vary considerably and could be from a few months to a year depending on a wide variety of factors that contribute to the availability of a place.

The applicant will be contacted a month to six weeks ahead of an interview date and if there is substance use will be expected to make every effort to go substance free from that point, if they haven’t already. We want applicants to turn up for interview 28 days substance free so they are ready to pass a drugs test and start should a place be available soon after the interview.

If the applicant is successful at interview they will be notified within a couple of days and we will look for a start date. This could be almost immediately or very soon after, but in some cases may require another wait.

We welcome visits and offer tours every Wednesdays at 11am. Please book in via our online booking system on the Book a Tour page.

Coming to the Camelia Botnar Foundation is similar to going to a weekly boarding school. Applicants must be prepared for a potentially challenging transition. The first day and first week, getting used to a new environment and routine, require a reasonable level of resilience. Soon after settling in, the clear structure, regular routine, and simple boundaries at the Foundation offer safety, security, and the chance to thrive.

Please note that Trainees must also have a permanent address to return to every weekend.

Trainees must be able to get themselves up and be ready for work on time in the morning. If trainees are unable to work due to illness or for any other reason, they must return to their nominated address immediately.

Our accommodation is separated by biological sex. Please familiarise yourself with the Sex and Gender Accommodation policy on the Applications page.

We have three levels of accommodation:

– Main House – All trainees begin in Main House, where they have the highest level of supervision and all meals are catered for in the dining room.

– Coach House – The second level of accommodation can be achieved with reliable good behaviour in the residential setting. In Coach House, there is a separate common room and a small kitchenette for preparing snacks. All meals are still catered for in the dining room.

– Flats/Cottage – The third level of accommodation is more akin to independent living. Trainees who we believe are ready for this level enter into a flat or cottage share in groups of three. They manage their domestic environment between them, and we provide a budget for them to get their weekly food shopping at the supermarket to cook their own dinners. Breakfast and lunch remain provided in the dining room.

We have a simple daily routine:

– 0730 – 0800 – Breakfast is served in the dining room.

– 0845 – 1700 – Trainees must be at their workshop ready to start at 0845. There is a morning and afternoon tea break, and lunch is at 1230 in the dining room.

– 1715 – 1745 – Dinner is served in the dining room. All trainees are expected to shower and change from their work clothes before coming to dinner.

– 1815 – 2215 – The facilities are open for use (except for Thursdays when they open after room checks). They include: sports hall, gym, games room, communal video games & TV lounge.

– 2215 – 2230 – Last cigarette/vape.

– 2230 – 2300 – Trainees must be on their landing/in their rooms, preparing for bed.

– 2300 – 0700 – All trainees must be in their rooms from 2300. There is no set ‘lights out’ time, but it is advisable to go to sleep soon after 2300. Any music etc must be on headphones and there must not be any noise that disrupts others from 2300.

We have a simple weekly structure to the evenings:

– Sunday – Return to Horsham train station for the minibus pick up at 2000.

– Monday – Shop trip to the supermarket for those in flats/cottage. Shop trip to the newsagent for Main House and Coach House.

– Tuesday – Onsite activities. These vary, but examples are: arts & crafts, fishing and kickboxing.

– Wednesday – Offsite trip. These range considerably. Examples are: cinema or bowling to indoor climbing or archery.

– Thursday – Room checks.

– Friday – Minibus drop off at Horsham train station after work.

All meals are served in the dining room. An applicant must be able to eat in front of others at a table, at the set meal times, and in the environment of the shared dining room.

– Breakfast – Options of cereal, toast or cooked breakfast are available.

– Lunch – The catering trainees prepare lunch for everyone at the Foundation. This is usually a hot meal, and there is usually a salad bar offering too.

– Dinner – The catering trainees prepare dinner for everyone at the Foundation. This is a hot meal, and there is usually a salad bar offering too.

Unfortunately, we don’t have the capacity to make individual meals or separate options to meet specific individual needs. The only options we can provide are a vegetarian alternative (which is a standard provision, not an individual preparation), or we can offer a jacket potato at lunch and/or dinner.

Sadly, if an applicant’s needs go beyond this, we will be unable to meet them as we do not have the resources to provide specialist care or individual food options for mental health or other requirements.

Because meals are prepared by trainees, we cannot guarantee allergens are not present in any specific serving.

Our programme is built on 3-month success horizons, with a range of industry standard qualifications gained within those timeframes.

Every young person who joins us is on an individual timeline that starts when they join us. We don’t have terms or semesters; we run all year around, like a job. A trainee can book a week off after each 3-month period and will also have forced time off when their tutor is on leave for the week. Plus, we have a shutdown over Christmas.

We offer an initial placement of 3 months. This is our Level 1. At the end of that 3-month period, the trainee will have a full review. If the trainee wishes to continue and we feel we can help them develop further, we will offer a further 3-month placement to complete our Level 2. Completing one or both is an excellent achievement, that means leaving the Foundation as a success.

It is possible for some trainees to go on to an extension, should progress during Level 2 indicate this to be a suitable option. This is a third 3-month placement. In some departments this may be followed by further 3-month placement extensions following the same process.

It is of course possible for a trainee’s placement to be ended at any point outside the review timetable if there are serious or repeated discipline infractions, if there is clear incompatibility with our expected standards of behaviour and effort, or if there is an obvious misalignment of trainee needs and our capability to meet them

We have a straightforward discipline system with four levels:

– Recorded Verbal Warning – this goes on a trainee’s record and if the infraction is repeated (or a similar infraction made) within one month, it will be escalated to a written warning.

– Written Warning – this will be issued for a repeat of the infraction that received a verbal warning. Or it can be issued directly for a more serious initial infraction. This disciplinary also carries a deduction of £50.

– Suspension – this will be issued for repeats of the written warning infraction. Or it can be issued for a more serious initial infraction. Examples are not limited to, but include failing a drug or alcohol test, or being involved in abusive or intimidating behaviour. A suspension also carries a £100 deduction from the end of level bonus.

– Ending of Placement – If boundaries and rules are repeatedly transgressed beyond a suspension, or there is behaviour discovered which is totally unacceptable (such as bullying), or there is clear incompatibility with our expected standards, it will lead to an ending of placement.

We do not employ trainees. Strictly speaking they are students and the tradesmen they work under are their tutors. However, the terms we usually use are ‘trainee’ and ‘manager’, since our programme and environment are much more akin to a workplace. The vast majority of young people who come here are not suited to academic environments and instead thrive with our ‘on the job’ style training.

What we offer is a weekly bursary of £100 to support trainees during their time working and learning with us. This is not paid by the hour or by the day. A trainee must be here for the full week to receive the bursary, which is paid into their bank account on Friday.  We also have other rewards such as Trainee of the Month.

Deductions will be made from the bursary for being late (up to £10 each time), for not wearing uniform (£5 each day), and potentially for transport costs outside of policy.  Deductions will also be made for written warnings.

At the end of each 3-month period a trainee can receive a bonus of up to £300 (L1) or £500 (L2). This is given as a voucher. Deductions will be made for certain infractions.

The qualifications that can be achieved vary by department. Please look at the department pages of the website for more detail on each. The qualifications we offer are all industry standard and externally assessed.

All trainees will usually have the opportunity to gain First Aid and Manual Handling qualifications, and all trainees will have the opportunity to build up a portfolio of evidence & certificates.

As a part of our offer, we pay for one journey each way per week by public transport (train) to the trainee’s home destination. We do not cover fuel or any other transport costs if a trainee elects to travel by private transport.

We do not have a set catchment area; however, journeys to and from the Foundation must be logistically reasonable. In practice, this means London and the South East would be a reasonable range. Although, we do occasionally have trainees from farther afield where their personally arranged private transport and/or particular circumstances have made the distance achievable.

Please bear in mind that trainees will be dropped off at Horsham train station on Friday evening and their journey home from there may begin around 6pm. On a Sunday, they must journey to Horsham station and be there, ready for pickup, at 8pm.

Trainees must also be able to return to their nominated address at any point, for example if they are ill or suspended. In addition, parent/guardian must be in range to assume duty of care if we have to take a trainee to the nearest hospital due to an emergency, or if the trainee has problems on route that mean they become stranded or have other issues they need support with.

The Camelia Botnar Foundation is a drug and alcohol free zone.

Arriving back at the Foundation intoxicated or under the influence of drugs or alcohol is not allowed.

Drugs and alcohol are serious safeguarding and health & safety violations.

Please familiarise yourself with our Drug & Alcohol Policy on the Applications page