Family Fun for All

This week Nottingham No Limits held a family fun day in Bilborough, Nottingham. We invited all of the families we support, along with other providers, disability groups, and local people. Attractions included face painting, fencing, peddle boats, and cycle powered smoothies. We had hoped for around 200 visitors, so we were delighted when the final count was over 460. The success of this event led me to reflect on the journey we have travelled in establishing our children and young people’s provision in Nottingham.

The No Limits ethos of empowering young people was instrumental in winning the Nottingham contract. It’s what makes us stand out from other ‘home care’ providers. As the service becomes established, the challenge for us is to deliver outcomes in an outputs focussed world, in a scenario that amplifies all of the challenges of personalisation e.g. a disparate workforce, tight costs, geography etc.

Using person centred approaches, we ask families “what makes your lives difficult and how can we help?” Some people just want respite, and we can offer staff to look after their child so that they can take a short break. However by inducting and coaching our staff to work in a facilitative way, we offer support that goes beyond this, and the outcome of these interactions is increased choice and control for the individual. This often leads to a shift in thinking from “I need a break”, to “What can I do with my child’s provision to help them develop and achieve?”

We help families to see that the outcome of these day to day interactions can be really profound. For example, a practitioner engaging with a child through play, for the child to have fun whilst learning cause and effect, and new words like ’again’ in the case one young man. I wonder how often in his life he’ll use that word to get something he wants? What a great outcome.

Seeing these successes has helped families trust us and try new things. For example a young man used his support to go to a festival with a friend, a real world experience that challenges existing models of support. To quote a commissioner speaking to a parent about their options; “you can chose x for home care, x for respite, or MacIntyre who can do everything.”

There may be some scepticism about the Great Interactions Policy and some may be reluctant to buy into the concept. It’s when people see the outcomes of everyday great interactions that they recognise the true value.

Rachelle Russell
Project Manager, No Limits

Leading the life that I want

I had the great pleasure recently of being invited to Michael's review; Michael has lived at the Haddons since 2005. Everyone at this years review, including myself, were all very pleased to be part of such a positive review.

You see for Michael the support he receives really enables him to lead a full and active life. There was a catalogue of wonderful pictures that Michael had chosen to put on posters to show everyone just what he had been up to in the past year, including photos at work, days out, holidays and the works Christmas party.

Michael was so proud to share his successes with everyone at his review and the list of these was endless. None of these things would have happened if the people around Michael didn't listen to him and support him to lead the life he wants to.

It's easy sometimes to focus on the big goals that are set with people but I feel it's all the little things, the small touches, and people going the extra mile, which made this review an example of Great Interaction's at its best! For me and the people supporting Michael this is why continue to do what we do - ensuring that the people we support do get the very best!

Sadie Scott
Project Manager, The Haddons

Are you sure it's for me?

To people like me who sit in our central administration building, away from the many interactions taking place between staff in our services and the people they are supporting, ‘Great Interactions’ can seem a bit theoretical - more like a management exercise than the way of working which is at the core of what we do.

But one of the strengths of Great Interactions is that it is about so much more than training frontline workers to be better at their jobs. At its heart, Great Interactions focuses on dignity and respect, and how people foster that in each other. This means it is relevant to everyone in an organisation, whether they directly support people or not.

So just think, for a moment, about the interactions that underpin your working day: How do you speak to your co-workers? How do you ask for information? How do you give information? How do people feel after they have spent time with you?

And then imagine what would change if you listened more, observed more, reflected more?

And then do it!

Kathryn Bodenham
Head of Marketing

The smallest things . . .

Sometimes the smallest things have the greatest impact, and this is certainly true of a situation I found myself in last week when I arrived at 6am at a person’s home to complete an observation of Suzanne, a member of staff.

When I arrived Suzanne was supporting Adrian with his breakfast routine. Adrian appeared relaxed and happy, which was clearly a result of the way Suzanne was interacting with and responding to him. Using a range of facilitation skills, she kept her tone of voice low and gentle, her body language open, and positioned herself perfectly throughout the entire interaction, making sure that breakfast time remained calm, relaxed, unrushed and peaceful.

Adrian took full control and made informed choices about his breakfast. The pace was perfect and clearly suited him. Support was offered at the right time and only when requested.

Whilst writing this I appreciate that in order to understand the significance of this interaction, you really need to know Adrian to fully grasp what a wonderful moment I was fortunate enough to experience.

There was genuine warmth in the relationship between the two, which was clearly reflective and responsive. When I left it was clear to me that Adrian was feeling very happy and relaxed and I suddenly realized that if I, or a member of my family, needed support with breakfast, then what I had just witnessed, was exactly how I’d like it to be – with respect, offering choice and control and being there to support and guide me, and not to do things that I can do for myself.

Moreover, thanks to Adrian and Suzanne, they weren’t the only ones who’d experienced a great start to their day!

Tina Murray

Area Manager