As things gradually return to normal and more shops and services are re-opening their doors, we are excited to pick up where we left off with our Active Support journey. A journey that takes us in the direction of creating an “ordinary”, meaningful and valued life for all the people we support at SNC.
As you will be aware, the Active Support training programme was put on hold once lockdown began, meaning some houses had their training experiences interrupted, whilst others, unfortunately, didn’t even get going.
Despite the interruption, we have continued to see many examples that reflect our important BAGS model of support, from both trained services and those who are yet to start. We share a couple of those stories with you here.
We also want to use this bulletin to tell you how far we’ve come, what we’re currently up to, and all about our plans for the coming months.
Being good neighbours
Whilst on a recent walk in their local area, Elisha and Josh came across a dog which had lost his way and was wandering near to the road. The guys checked his collar for details and took the dog home whilst they googled the address. Later, they took Mosley the pup to reunite him with his very grateful owner. What a wonderful example of belonging and making a valued contribution to the local community, not to mention great initiative in Elisha and Josh’s investigative work. Nice work gents!!
Tanya’s Talents
Tanya has been learning the new skill of using the sewing machine to make hair scrunchies. She has made so many that she has run out of fabric! Staff will be supporting Tanya to buy some more material and buttons so she can keep production going!!
Great skills Tanya!!
Employee of the month
Our employee of the month for June was Laura Fletcher. Laura is described by managers and her co-workers as flexible, positive, motivated AND motivating to others. Laura is great at thinking outside the box and creates valuable life experiences for the people she supports.
Thank you Laura!!
What have we done so far?
Between August last year, when we introduced Active Support in our first house, through to the beginning of lockdown, we had rolled out our AS training programme to sixteen of our supported living houses. For eight of these houses, we have complete data so we cab show the positive impact of AS training on the engagement levels of both staff and the people we support, as well as the quality of support being provided. A great achievement for all involved with the first eight houses – well done!! We continue to gather data on the other houses, which we look forward to sharing in future editions.
What’s happening now?
Now exactly a year on, we have restarted the training programme, with some necessary changes due to ongoing restrictions linked to COVID-19. We have completed a pilot with the team at Sandon Road, where the Active Support workshop was delivered “virtually”, using Teams.
Interactive Training sessions were reduced to one trainer at the service (wearing PPE!), with the second trainer supporting remotely via Facetime/Teams. So far, so good – the new method worked really well and we have seen some great outcomes for the folk at Sandon Road. Although we miss the opportunity to see staff in person for training, we feel this is a great way of moving forward, whilst ensuring the safety of staff teams and the people we support.
So, what’s next?
We plan to carry on with our ‘new-look’ virtual training, until guidance allows a return to our original plan. We are very keen to roll out AS training in our remaining houses and see the benefits to the people we support and staff alike. You may already be aware of when your house will participate in the training, but if not, you will hear from your manager very soon. We are looking forward to seeing you all over the next few months!