In spite of lots of seasonal illnesses, the Anchor trainees continue to work on their goals. As a team we have been focussing on SMART goals - goals that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-Bound. A trainee might have a goal to be able to cook independently, which is something we can help them with, but we need to break it down first so that it is concrete rather than vague. We look at what steps it would take to get to their goal, for example:  choosing a recipe, budgeting for and buying the food, cooking with help, cooking without help, and the end goal might be that they can confidently cook five recipes independently in the next two months. In particular, we ask how a goal is relevant to the trainee - why it is really important to them. This is because when things get difficult and the trainee feels discouraged, we can remind them of this to help motivate them to keep going.

It is great that The Anchor has access to the Wiggly Worm training kitchen in our building. Two of our trainees have made use of it this month and they have really benefited not only from using the space, but from having the Wiggly Worm cooks there to give advice on things like how to chop correctly, or what herbs and spices to use. The trainees have left with tasty food and some new cooking skills!