FEATURE
Legacy – The Robin Centre , named after former journalist and lecturer Robin Crowther , currently supports 23 adults at the TAD Centre in Berwick Hills .
When he returned to England in 1979 , Robin worked as a sub-editor for The Northern Echo before becoming a lecturer at Darlington College . His wife , Barbara , got a job as a nurse at Darlington Memorial Hospital , and they raised four sons .
“ We often had visits to the house from political refugees , seeking Dad ’ s advice , and he just wanted to help people in whatever way he could ,” recalls their son , Phil .
“ He always had this passion for human rights . As kids , he ’ d make us think about what was right and fair , while also letting us be freethinkers . He was a wonderful human being .”
Robin passed away in 2017 but his influence lives on . Phil became the Newlands Group ’ s founder and chairman , building a varied portfolio of businesses in care , education , recruitment and commercial property . But the part of his business that makes him most proud is the Robin Centre .
As the Newlands Group grew , Phil and business partner , Lisa Spark , wanted to open a centre where people with learning difficulties could be educated in a supportive environment , and given better life chances .
They saw the potential in an unused part of the TAD Centre . It had lots of windows , plenty of space and a garden , so they invested heavily in a refurbishment and opened it in February 2020 – only to be forced to close it almost immediately
because of the Covid-19 pandemic . They reopened the centre as soon as they could – the following September – and it ’ s gone from strength to strength ever since , currently supporting 23 adults through a contract with Middlesbrough Council .
“ It ’ s not about the location , the building , the pictures on the walls , or the furniture . What makes it special is the staff ,” says Phil . “ Vicky and Tracy do an unbelievable job – they make the magic happen .”
Vicky and Tracy – both mothers themselves – clearly love what they do .
“ It ’ s just so rewarding . The service users are at the heart of everything , and they make us so proud with what they achieve ,” says Vicky , who has decades of experience in health and social care .
“ Some have been let down by the education system , and we do our best to fill in the gaps , with literacy , numeracy , creative thinking , decisionmaking skills and helping them to form healthy relationships .
“ As well as working with them in the centre , we also take them out into the community , and on bus trips to interesting places , like the seaside , bowling or farms .”
Tracy was working 12-hour shifts in a care home before she joined the Robin Centre , and was “ worn out ”, but she finds huge job satisfaction in her new role .
“ Everything about my job makes me happy ,” she says . “ I walk in every day and see how they are developing as people , and that means the world to me .”
Now , Phil wants to build on the success of the Middlesbrough centre and spread the goodness to other parts of the region .
The aim is to work in partnership with more local authorities and colleges across Teesside to provide more day services and move into specialist respite care .
“ The Robin Centre has proved its value as a community asset in Middlesbrough – the members love it because it ’ s a place where they can be themselves , and their families know they are being supported in the right way . It ’ s my dad ’ s legacy and we ’ re very proud of it ,” he says .
“ Now , we want to invest more in taking the concept forward , grow what we ’ ve started in Middlesbrough and , ultimately , establish more Robin Centres in other parts of the region , so we can support more people like Shaun .”
To find out more about the Robin Centre , go to therobincentre . co . uk
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