People: Team

Summary:
Lifespace is a team of accredited, trained & supervised mentors and educators from within the local community, most of whom are volunteers. All our team undergo strict checks through the Criminal Records Bureau and follow well established procedures.

Who are the team?
We have a small team of dedicated staff, which comprises:

	Chris Spriggs, Director With a background of teaching and coaching experience, Chris founded Lifespace’s work with young people in 2004 and now carries over all responsibility for the team, service development, standards, resources and funding. Chris has been mentoring young people since 1996 and delivering education in dozens of schools across the Midlands since 1998, both of which he continues to do through Lifespace. Click here for more
	Mike Gibbs, Mentoring Co-ordinator Mike joined Lifespace in Dec 2004 and has been working as a mentor since that time. Mike manages all incoming requests for mentoring, liaises with schools, agencies and families, and supervises a large number of our mentoring team. Click here for more
	Ros Peace, Office & Assistant Team Manager As well as being a trained mentor since Lifespace began, Ros does lots of the important stuff behind the scenes of the charity looking after invoicing and accounts, managing our information systems, handling day to day enquiries and supervising a number of the mentoring team. Click here for more
	Kate Cocker, Education & Training Co-ordinator Kate joined Lifespace as a trained mentor in 2007 and has extended her involvement to working part-time, developing the range of education work we deliver in schools. Kate delivers training for mentors, in partnership with Oasis College, manages the delivery of the parenting course ‘How to drug proof your kids’ and supervises some of the mentoring team. Click here for more
	Nigel Peace, Property Director Nigel has been a trustee of the charity since 2001 and managed the Mustard Tree Project from 1997 – 2011 which provided support work to adults recovering from ill mental health. Nigel is our main point of contact for all housing related matters, liaising with Together who are contracted by WCC to deliver support work to our residents, and is also a trained mentor.
	Sally Bliss, Receptionist and Administrator When you call, it will often be Sally who you speak to first! Sally has been involved with the charity since 2005, and although she doesn’t strictly now work for Lifespace, she helps to manage phone calls and general administration. Sally works for Hemming & Peace Funeral Services with whom we share our offices.

Team of volunteers
Our team of 14 volunteer mentors come with a wealth of diverse skills and professional expertise, including in the areas of business, coaching, senior management, careers guidance, outdoor adventures, fostering, counselling & psychotherapy, teaching, architecture, media, training... See the mentors and read about them

We are a team that knows how much mentoring can contribute to making a positive and lasting difference in the lives of individual young people, their families and places of learning. As you would expect, all our mentors have undergone rigorous Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) Enhanced Disclosure checks and receive regular individual supervision. Our mentors are trained through a course delivered by Oasis College and accredited by Staffordshire University.