Northamptonshire Children’s Trust

Belmont Press supporting Northamptonshire Children’s Trust

Belmont Press is proud to support the local community by encouraging staff to engage in volunteer projects. Currently, one of our team members serves as an Independent Visitor (IV) for Northamptonshire Children’s Trust, providing valuable mentorship to children in care. In addition, Belmont Press continues to support the Trust by offering free print services, helping to enhance its outreach and initiatives for young people.

What is the Independent Visitor service?

Northamptonshire Children’s Trust is a statutory service that recruits and trains volunteers to become Independent Visitors for children and young people in care, primarily in Northamptonshire. Volunteers are matched based on shared interests, hobbies, and travel willingness.

What is an Independent Visitor?

An Independent Visitor provides a long-term, trusted friendship to a young person in care who has little or no contact with their birth family. Visitors commit to at least two years, meeting fortnightly to monthly for a few hours, usually on weekends due to school/college schedules. Visits may include day trips based on availability.

Why Independent Visitors matter

Children in care often experience instability and fractured relationships. Independent Visitors offer a consistent, positive presence, building friendships through shared activities and interests. This trusted, non-judgmental relationship gives young people someone who truly accepts them.

A young person in care shared:
“I have had a lot of moves over the last few years and lost a lot of people close to me. My IV is the only consistent person I have had in my life who has shared those experiences with me. My IV is very important to me, I trust her and know that as long as she knows where I am, she will make the effort to speak to me.”

Becoming an Independent Visitor

  • Informal interview and one-day training.
  • Enhanced DBS and reference checks (in line with safer recruitment).
  • Matching process based on shared interests and personality.
  • Ongoing support and supervision from an Independent Visitor Coordinator.

A Belmont Press IV volunteer shared their experience:
"Being a 'volunteer' suggests that you give up your free time just for the benefit of others. This couldn't be further from the truth for me. I have gotten so much out of being partnered with my young person. From larger more obvious things such as the satisfaction and joy that comes with being a young person’s mentor, to the smaller things such as getting to watch a superhero film that my significant other would normally refuse to watch! Not to mention the tasty milkshakes! Being a male role model to a young person in care has been one of the best decisions I have made."

How to get involved

Northamptonshire Children’s Trust runs three recruitment campaigns annually to find the right volunteers. Young people already benefiting from the programme also share their experiences at these events to help attract new IVs.

There would be no service without IVs

  • Northamptonshire Children’s Trust host an annual celebration event for volunteers to show their appreciation for the ongoing time and commitment IVs give to their young person. As one carer put it: "IV stands for ‘InValuable’.

If you would like to support these events, or have any other queries, please do get in touch.

Contact: IVService@NCTrust.co.uk

Know someone who could make a great Independent Visitor?

At its core, it’s about being a good friend, a good listener, and having a genuine desire to make a difference.

Please scan the QR code below to apply or share or share it with others.

What Northamptonshire Children’s Trust says about Belmont Press

"Belmont Press has generously supported our service by printing leaflets for recruitment campaigns, helping us find volunteers both locally and beyond. Recently, they also printed invitations for our first celebration evening, giving our young people and volunteers a special keepsake. Their ongoing support has been invaluable, and the quality of their service has been exceptional."

Printed brochures

FRANKE

FRANKE

Franke is a high-end brand of kitchen systems with a focus on high quality manufacturing and stylish design. Selling through kitchen design studios, Franke’s brochure range is aimed at both consumers and the trade and is a key part of its marketing strategy. The company produces three major printed brochures for different product ranges each year, comprising 48 or 76 pages. They are required for the KBB exhibition, so the deadline is fixed. It’s a complex project featuring hundreds of products, photographs and drawings.

The Marketing Operations Manager at Franke had this to say about the service they received from the Belmont team:

Quality printed brochures

“Our range of printed brochures are our largest print project by some margin and a significant part of our budget. We needed a commercial printer who could deliver the quality we required, had the capacity to produce all three brochures at the same time to meet our deadline and was competitively priced. Belmont met these requirements, and they’re very easy to work with...We always need some flexibility as the artwork is often delayed due to the complexity of the project. We deal primarily with a sales person at Belmont, who is very professional, but it’s clear that each department has a different responsibility and that they manage the whole process very well.”

Quick and easy proofing

"We receive a level of service from Belmont that we haven't had from other commercial printers, and the small things make a big difference to us. We get the proofs back almost straight away and they have already been checked and marked up by the Repro team at Belmont. For example, checking that page numbers correspond with references on other pages. This is a great help, as someone viewing the brochures for the first time will spot things that you might not notice when you've read them dozens of times. We never compromise on quality, but price is an important factor, and Belmont Press delivered an excellent brochure printing service at a very competitive price."

Regents University

Regents University, London

Regent’s University London is a highly respected and internationally diverse independent university. Its focus is on professionalism, internationalism and the development of its students as global citizens, offering both undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes. After a competitive tender process, Belmont Press was awarded the contract due to our high quality lithographic print, as well as other key factors: -

  • Proven experience within the Educational Sector.
  • The provision of a 1,500 pallet storage facility.
  • A focus on providing excellent customer service.

High quality lithographic print and customer service

Sarah Jackson, Publications Manager in the External Relations Department at Regent’s University London, said:

“I found Belmont’s sales person, Joe Billingham, really helpful and easy to get on with. He’s very responsive and will come in and discuss any print projects or queries that I have.”
“He’s very knowledgeable, as well as being supportive and seeing things from the customer’s point of view. He’s happy to make suggestions on how best to achieve what we need and nothing is too much trouble.”

Rebranding project

Belmont Press retained the contract after Regents gained University status. This involved a comprehensive rebrand, which we were delighted to be involved with. Following the rebrand, the university team had this to say about our services:

'The service we receive from Belmont Press is excellent and there have been no problems at all. The account management team are always adaptable, responding very well to last-minute changes. They are easy to work with, helpful and efficient and have always delivered on time. The quality of their digital, large format and lithographic print is second to none'