Wave was formed in 2006 as a registered charitable company limited by guarantee, and a social enterprise. Its purpose: to inspire active lifestyles. Its vision: to be at the heart of the improvement of health and wellbeing in the community. We also have a key role to play in building a sense of community and social cohesion.
The trust manages nine facilities on behalf of Lewes District Council, East Sussex County Council and in partnership with Seaford Head Primary School, Ringmer Academy and Priory School.
Irrespective of competitors, recognising that customers have a choice drives us to keep the quality of our service high. We’ve built a management team around our core business objectives, so there’s a strong connection between our purpose and vision and what we do on a day-to-day basis. By reducing layers of management, we’ve brought senior managers closer to front-line staff and the customer, which is key to understanding how we can have greater impact in our community.
Our committed trustees and good governance are also pivotal to our success and we invest considerable time in the recruitment process. Ensuring relevant skills and experience are drawn from the local community is key to our focus on local service provision.
Although we’re an independent trust, we also value and recognise the importance of the relationship between us and Lewes District Council. True partnership is based on respect and we must work to achieve our partner’s goals and priorities as much as our own.
We understand the importance of working in our wider community and continually develop, manage and deliver a range of quality facilities and outreach initiatives. We’ve made a significant investment in creating a dedicated community engagement team, for example, who run outreach initiatives and engage people in activity.
And we’ve enjoyed many achievements, including winning Quest’s Top Performing Facility in the UK for two successive years; winning Best Employer at the Lewes Business Awards 2016; and the fact that we continue to re-invest and thrive despite a challenging financial environment.
However, these achievements must be put into context against our purpose and vision, which relate directly to our impact in the local community, and to our priorities as defined by Lewes District Council. For example, winning Best Employer: our team comes from our local community, so by investing in our staff we’re actually investing in our community. Every member of our team has a voice, and we want that voice to positively promote Wave within the community.
We also provide an annual Community Fund of £3,000, which has so far awarded £28,420 in grants to 137 successful applicants. These awards provide funding for a range of things, including team kit, NGB subscriptions, travel expenses and equipment. It’s another way we’re able to reinvest in our community.