Spectrum Northants is an independent charity supporting adults with autism, learning disability and mental health in Northamptonshire. The charity owns the freehold of the two venues it operates from in Northampton, has a strong balance sheet and cash reserves to draw upon in the delivery of our activities.
The organisation was formed in 1971 as Industrial Rehabilitation Workshop, as a result of collaboration between the Northampton Junior Chamber of Commerce and the NHS, which benefitted from a successful fundraising campaign for the premises in Berrywood Road, Duston. The initial service provision focussed patients from St Crispin’s Hospital fulfilling packaging orders for local companies, which led to many individuals leaving the Hospital and progressing into employment. By 1988, the workload had increased to the level of opening a second premises in Northampton Town Centre.
Since 2010 with the expansion of activities to assist clients with their wider personal development and life skills needs a change of name was needed. The new name Spectrum Northants Ltd was adopted with the re-launch on September 4, 2012.
In 2017 we opened the charity shop at the Duston site, and this has become well established in the local community, with a strong reputation for providing quality donations at affordable prices. The shop provides the opportunity to offer retail training for service users attending our provision. In March 2025 we expanded the training offer to include catering through the opening of a Café at the same venue.
In February 2026, 110 individuals attending the two centres in Northampton town centre and Duston. Our dedicated staff continue today to assist service users into employment, placements, and voluntary positions as appropriate. The training, care and facilities provided by the organisation is very much appreciated by the service users.
In our history to date, Spectrum Northants has a great story to share and build upon. We are a charity that places prime importance on the well-being of each individual service user. We take pride in seeing how each person develops, how everyone supports each other and the smiles on their faces at the end of their day with Spectrum. The achievement of this objective is assisted by a strong commitment to joint working and partnership, including with West Northants Council as a provider on the Commissioning for a Good Life Framework, with the local NHS and University, and many community organisations.
