Welcome to the December edition of Barnwood Connect 

We are coming to the end of a year of change and development for Barnwood, with more ahead. This is our last e-newsletter of the year, so it’s a chance to both reflect a bit and look forward. You’ll therefore find updates from our Annual Public Meeting ‘Together with Barnwood’, our recent DEI work, including the Building Belonging podcast, and our ’12 Years of Learning’ evaluation report and blog.

Four months into my role now and my impressions are:

• Good people work here, and many others contribute their time as volunteers to this endeavour, and it has been an absolute pleasure and very rewarding to get to know you all. 

• The world can sometimes feel like a difficult, nasty and divided place. But there are amazing people and organisations across this county and beyond striving to make the world a better, more inclusive, more equitable place. We mustn’t forget this. It was a privilege to meet and learn from so many of them at our Annual Public Meeting. 

• It is our job here to keep things simple and support good people and good organisations as best we can. Then together we can push for positive change and set some better examples. 

• Even though structures, policies, and systems constantly shift and change around us, good people doing good things together will always be a constant and solid centre. 
  

  

Here is to peace, care and kindness in 2026. 

Thanks,
Matt Little
Chief Executive 

Together with Barnwood

Last month, we hosted our Annual Public Meeting, Together with Barnwood, at Churchdown Community Centre.   

The day focused on learning, reflection and conversation. We shared the projects we’re leading, the ideas we’re developing and the change we are building alongside our staff, partners and Circle members.  

Together, we looked back at this year’s key activities, explored what we’ve learned and started looking ahead to 2026.  

Through scheduled talks, information stalls, our cinema corner and other new spaces, we created opportunities for people to connect with our work.

Our DEI journey

As a Trust, we are continuing our journey on diversity, equity, inclusion, and social and racial justice. This journey remains crucial and central to creating lasting positive change in and through our work.  

The Better Org have worked with us to identify 5 areas of DEI development. Cross-team groups are exploring the evidence gathered; looking at how other organisations put the ideas into practice; and coming up with top priorities for us to focus on next at Barnwood.   

We’re not rushing – we’re building understanding and will create our DEI plan from this. We also want to go about this work in a gentle and inclusive way, using DEI principles to underpin this work from the start.  

You can read more about why this work matters and what we’ve learned so far in our latest DEI and Social Justice blog.

Building Belonging in Barnwood Circle

Belonging is at the heart of Barnwood Circle. It’s a space where people with a range of ethnicities, faiths, cultures and backgrounds are welcomed and heard. But we know belonging doesn’t happen by accident – it takes intention and action. 

In 2024, we began a series of conversations with Circle members and staff to explore what an experience that is truly anti-racist and inclusive would look like. Together, we co-produced a Guide to Building Belonging and Anti Racism in Barnwood Circle, setting out principles like “I am wanted and welcome” and “Trust is built over time.”   

To download the guide and view the full story, read our Building Belonging Blog.

Since creating the guide, we’ve been putting our ideas into practice, and we’ve launched a new podcast series. Co-created with Circle members and staff, each episode shares real conversations about anti-racism, inclusion, and belonging – honest, imperfect but hopeful.  

We don’t have all the answers, but we’re committed to learning and sharing along the way.

12 years of learning

We wanted to capture learning from the last 12 years of social change work to help us develop our strategy going forward. We commissioned an independent research company, Brightpurpose to carry out a review of our learning and impact between 2012 and 2024. They spoke with a range of people and organisations we have worked with over the years and shared their findings with us. Some of the insights include, what has worked well, what could have been better and what opportunities there could be for us to create positive change in future. 

Read more about their findings in the PDF summary report from Brightpurpose.

We are taking this learning into the development of a revised and evolving strategy for the organisation from 2027 onwards. See what Matt Little, our CEO, has to say about this in our latest blog.

Winter Closure

Overton House will be closed from Tuesday 23rd December and will reopen on Monday 5th January.

We know that the winter break can be a joyful time for many, but it can also feel difficult or overwhelming for others.

You can find a list of organisations that are available to support you here.

The information line number for Mind is 0300 123 3393 and for Samaritans is 116123 and Campaign Against Living Miserably is here 0800 58 58 58.

Feedback welcome

We want to learn as much as we can about what works, and what doesn’t. If we can make this newsletter better, please let us know.

If you want to get in touch with us, please email us at info@barnwoodtrust.org