I am lucky enough to be the Headteacher at Womaston School, MacIntyre situated on the Welsh side of the Powys/Herefordshire border.
Prior to my appointment I spent many hours on the MacIntyre website preparing for my interview. This introduced me to the term ‘Great Interactions’ and the ten key facilitation skills that are the pre-requisite to person centred working. Fine words but what do they actually mean in reality? Haven’t great interactions been around for years?
The view from my office allows me the opportunity to observe staff engaging with our students. The other week I watched as one of our female students happily walked past with her teacher Pam. Was this the same student who only a few days previously had forcibly re-arranged the furniture in our study area?
As I watched it was obvious that Pam has invested a lot of time in developing a relationship with her. This was evident in Pam’s eye contact, her active listening, positioning and the warmth of her body language.
Their conversation was centred around the incident in the study, particularly the emotions that the student had experienced and the strategies she could utilise if she felt the same way again.
A few days after this I watched the very same student pacing up and down outside my window,
in a heightened state of anxiety. She was verbalising her thoughts and I recognised key phases that she and Pam had shared in their conversation. She was able to self-moderate her behaviour and return to her scheduled activity.
Perhaps I have just witnessed the benefit of a Great Interaction? It’s not just the ‘then’ and ‘now’ but the lasting effects that positively impact on all the people that MacIntyre supports.
Martin Carter
Headteacher, Womaston
Thursday, 8 March 2012
Donors judge you on every interaction
You might think that as a fundraiser, I don’t need to think too much about my interactions, but I
had cause to think again after reading an article about how we support our donors.
Thanks to some funding linked to our Family Footings project, we have been able to appoint a fundraising consultant to work with us to develop a fundraising plan for MacIntyre. In researching possible consultants I came across an article one consultant had written about donor care.
The article refers to the “Moments of Truth” theory developed by Jan Carlzon when he was Chief
Executive of Scandinavian Air Service: (you may remember him from our Great Interactions book?). Carlzon’s theory asserts that “your customer (or donor) will judge you on every single interaction that they have with you, no matter how large or small…. They are the moments when we must prove to our customers that SAS is their best alternative”.
In a world where there are thousands of charities that an individual could give their hard-earned money to, we need to ensure that we get the message across that MacIntyre is their best alternative.
So, for example, we could write a standard thank you letter to someone who has made a donation, but what’s special about that? How have we personalised our communication to them, how creative have we been? Have we listened to the donor to understand why they have chosen to support MacIntyre – and then been able to build on that to encourage them to continue to support MacIntyre? If we get it wrong it’s a missed opportunity for a great interaction, and the donor may even walk away and support someone else.
We want to build a special relationship with our donors, ensuring that they know how important
they are to us and how we value their contributions. Thinking about how all our interactions impacts on others will be key.
For those of us who don’t work within MacIntyre’s services it can be easy to think that Great Interactions doesn’t apply to us – but this was a timely reminder that we can all play our part.
By the way – we selected the consultant who’d written the article about donor care. We’re now working with him to develop a fundraising strategy for MacIntyre - and taking the opportunity to review “the way that we do” our donor communications.
Claire Kennedy
Head of Fundraising
had cause to think again after reading an article about how we support our donors.
Thanks to some funding linked to our Family Footings project, we have been able to appoint a fundraising consultant to work with us to develop a fundraising plan for MacIntyre. In researching possible consultants I came across an article one consultant had written about donor care.
The article refers to the “Moments of Truth” theory developed by Jan Carlzon when he was Chief
Executive of Scandinavian Air Service: (you may remember him from our Great Interactions book?). Carlzon’s theory asserts that “your customer (or donor) will judge you on every single interaction that they have with you, no matter how large or small…. They are the moments when we must prove to our customers that SAS is their best alternative”.
In a world where there are thousands of charities that an individual could give their hard-earned money to, we need to ensure that we get the message across that MacIntyre is their best alternative.
So, for example, we could write a standard thank you letter to someone who has made a donation, but what’s special about that? How have we personalised our communication to them, how creative have we been? Have we listened to the donor to understand why they have chosen to support MacIntyre – and then been able to build on that to encourage them to continue to support MacIntyre? If we get it wrong it’s a missed opportunity for a great interaction, and the donor may even walk away and support someone else.
We want to build a special relationship with our donors, ensuring that they know how important
they are to us and how we value their contributions. Thinking about how all our interactions impacts on others will be key.
For those of us who don’t work within MacIntyre’s services it can be easy to think that Great Interactions doesn’t apply to us – but this was a timely reminder that we can all play our part.
By the way – we selected the consultant who’d written the article about donor care. We’re now working with him to develop a fundraising strategy for MacIntyre - and taking the opportunity to review “the way that we do” our donor communications.
Claire Kennedy
Head of Fundraising
Learning to step back
I invited myself to Great Holm Coffee Shop and Bakery last week to complete a “Big Respect”. Not one's to miss an opportunity, the team quickly had me in an apron and baseball cap, behind the counter.
I thoroughly enjoyed my morning and credit has to be given to all the team, as my feet were killing me after 4 hours and I may have been a little whingy about it when I got to the office, but they all remained upbeat and were on their feet for far longer!
My key observation was that the learning support workers, gave verbal prompts and loads of encouragement, but never tried to take over a task, even at their busiest time. I think this is an amazing skill to have and will admit there were times that my hands were itching to get involved and dare I say take over. Staff said it is something they have had to actively work at, because the easiest thing is to get involved in the physical task, either to hurry it along or even just to feel useful. Their hard work has paid off; with individuals completing tasks independently and there was definitely an air of achievement.
The team worked as a well oiled machine. I am not sure my ability in food preparation would be welcomed back, but I did make a mighty fine washer upper!
Catherine Warren
Area Manager, Milton Keynes
I thoroughly enjoyed my morning and credit has to be given to all the team, as my feet were killing me after 4 hours and I may have been a little whingy about it when I got to the office, but they all remained upbeat and were on their feet for far longer!
My key observation was that the learning support workers, gave verbal prompts and loads of encouragement, but never tried to take over a task, even at their busiest time. I think this is an amazing skill to have and will admit there were times that my hands were itching to get involved and dare I say take over. Staff said it is something they have had to actively work at, because the easiest thing is to get involved in the physical task, either to hurry it along or even just to feel useful. Their hard work has paid off; with individuals completing tasks independently and there was definitely an air of achievement.
The team worked as a well oiled machine. I am not sure my ability in food preparation would be welcomed back, but I did make a mighty fine washer upper!
Catherine Warren
Area Manager, Milton Keynes
Have you ever heard of it?
Having recently completed one year working with MacIntyre after a career in a completely different environment, the recent focus on Great Interactions within the company has encouraged me to examine the way I have interacted with the people I support. Most of the interactions we think about tend to be conversations or actions which are happening at one particular time but equally a great interaction can be created by groundwork and providing the right environment.
I work at a Learning Centre and one man I support used to interact with staff, but in a group setting would be distant, often to the point of turning his back on the group. I also worked respite shifts with
him and his usual way of initiating conversation would be to say something nonsensical and then asked me if I had ever heard of it. He would say something like “I like strawberries going to the moon on a cheese bicycle. Andy have you ever heard of it?”. I would reply “no!” and then he would laugh and ask, “who have I got this time?”. This was all good fun but the question was how to take it to the next level.
On these respite shifts we would sometimes go bowling and the next step was fairly obvious, bring someone else with us to create a more social environment. Another person who enjoyed bowling and
thrived on social interaction was keen to come, and the seed was sown.
At first the man from my learning centre could not understand why he should be in a group because to him it simply meant he had to take turns in bowling, but after a while he began to enjoy the company of the new group member and a friendship started to develop. The moment it all came together happened when we were driving to the bowling alley. Instead of just one of them making up nonsense, they joined forces to ‘get one over’ their support worker. It was a rendition of the Postman Pat song but with a twist. It started like this...
Postman Pat, Postman Pat, Postman Pat and his red and white cat,
Early in the morning, he has his fish and chi-ips
Pat has got a chocolate, yellow van.
They alternated singing a line each and then at the end asked simultaneously “Have you ever heard of it?”. They both laughed and it was one of those magical moments because for the first time they were working as a team and we were all interacting as a group in a totally natural, uninhibited way. This was vindication for me that all the groundwork had been worthwhile.
Anyway I need to go away now and plot my revenge. How about?
One, two, three, four, five, I found a sardine on my drive,
Six, seven, eight, nine, ten, I gave it to a cat called Ben.
Have you ever heard of it?
Andy Jeffs
Learning Support Worker, Milton Keynes Lifelong Learning
I work at a Learning Centre and one man I support used to interact with staff, but in a group setting would be distant, often to the point of turning his back on the group. I also worked respite shifts with
him and his usual way of initiating conversation would be to say something nonsensical and then asked me if I had ever heard of it. He would say something like “I like strawberries going to the moon on a cheese bicycle. Andy have you ever heard of it?”. I would reply “no!” and then he would laugh and ask, “who have I got this time?”. This was all good fun but the question was how to take it to the next level.
On these respite shifts we would sometimes go bowling and the next step was fairly obvious, bring someone else with us to create a more social environment. Another person who enjoyed bowling and
thrived on social interaction was keen to come, and the seed was sown.
At first the man from my learning centre could not understand why he should be in a group because to him it simply meant he had to take turns in bowling, but after a while he began to enjoy the company of the new group member and a friendship started to develop. The moment it all came together happened when we were driving to the bowling alley. Instead of just one of them making up nonsense, they joined forces to ‘get one over’ their support worker. It was a rendition of the Postman Pat song but with a twist. It started like this...
Postman Pat, Postman Pat, Postman Pat and his red and white cat,
Early in the morning, he has his fish and chi-ips
Pat has got a chocolate, yellow van.
They alternated singing a line each and then at the end asked simultaneously “Have you ever heard of it?”. They both laughed and it was one of those magical moments because for the first time they were working as a team and we were all interacting as a group in a totally natural, uninhibited way. This was vindication for me that all the groundwork had been worthwhile.
Anyway I need to go away now and plot my revenge. How about?
One, two, three, four, five, I found a sardine on my drive,
Six, seven, eight, nine, ten, I gave it to a cat called Ben.
Have you ever heard of it?
Andy Jeffs
Learning Support Worker, Milton Keynes Lifelong Learning
Trying to get it right . . .
Greg chose to go on holiday to Disneyland Paris with myself and our Head of Service, Oli, even though he can get anxious and feel uncomfortable in new places. We stayed at the Davy Crockett Ranch, which has its own facilities on site and most nights we would walk to the restaurant, which meant we would have to walk on the footpath that was only a metre or so away from the road. Greg would take hold of one of our arms for reassurance and he walked very close to us and also
very fast.
Greg and Oli built up a strong relationship at the beginning of the holiday, as Greg relates well to men and the two of them could walk at a fast pace (I’m much shorter!). I continually found myself
one, or two steps behind, and realised that I needed to find a better way of engaging with Greg. I thought about this and chatted it through with Oli.
One evening Greg and I decided we would walk to the restaurant and Oli would catch up. I wanted to make this walk as easy as possible for Greg so I decided to try something out. I engaged Greg in conversation the whole way to distract him from feeling anxious and unsettled. I managed to keep the conversation flowing by talking about things that were important to him, so that once one conversation had finished another one instantly started. We spoke about the gifts he wanted
to buy to take back home, his family and what he wanted to do that evening and lots more. On one topic I noticed that he was less engaged so I quickly moved the conversation on, to ensure his
concentration stayed with the conversation and away from things that cause him anxiety. The restaurant was about a 20-30 minute walk and not once did Greg ask for a supporting arm. He walked independently with his head held high and his shoulders back. He even slowed down to walk at my pace and not once did he show any fear.
At the end of the footpath there is a car park; Greg does not like car parks as he witnessed an incident in one previously and that put him off them. When we reached the car park, Greg felt so comfortable and confident that he walked straight through it, not once asking for reassurance from me. I still carried on the conversation and once we reached the restaurant we talked about what he
had achieved. He was delighted!
Oli explained that my working in a facilitative way had brought about great results for Greg.
Charlotte Williams
Support Worker, Buckinghamshire
very fast.
Greg and Oli built up a strong relationship at the beginning of the holiday, as Greg relates well to men and the two of them could walk at a fast pace (I’m much shorter!). I continually found myself
one, or two steps behind, and realised that I needed to find a better way of engaging with Greg. I thought about this and chatted it through with Oli.
One evening Greg and I decided we would walk to the restaurant and Oli would catch up. I wanted to make this walk as easy as possible for Greg so I decided to try something out. I engaged Greg in conversation the whole way to distract him from feeling anxious and unsettled. I managed to keep the conversation flowing by talking about things that were important to him, so that once one conversation had finished another one instantly started. We spoke about the gifts he wanted
to buy to take back home, his family and what he wanted to do that evening and lots more. On one topic I noticed that he was less engaged so I quickly moved the conversation on, to ensure his
concentration stayed with the conversation and away from things that cause him anxiety. The restaurant was about a 20-30 minute walk and not once did Greg ask for a supporting arm. He walked independently with his head held high and his shoulders back. He even slowed down to walk at my pace and not once did he show any fear.
At the end of the footpath there is a car park; Greg does not like car parks as he witnessed an incident in one previously and that put him off them. When we reached the car park, Greg felt so comfortable and confident that he walked straight through it, not once asking for reassurance from me. I still carried on the conversation and once we reached the restaurant we talked about what he
had achieved. He was delighted!
Oli explained that my working in a facilitative way had brought about great results for Greg.
Charlotte Williams
Support Worker, Buckinghamshire
Tuesday, 24 January 2012
Taking time to reflect and learn
It’s amazing how the Great Interactions training has helped all the staff team at No2 The Grove, and the people we support.
After doing my training with Gwenne and Jenny, I brought back all the exercises to share with the staff. We worked together as a team to improve our way of working as support workers who empower and work with people, rather than carers who do things for, or to, people.
The ‘care vs support’ exercise works wonders!!!
As a team we set aside a maximum of 30 minutes in our team meetings, which we do on Fridays, and leave that time for Great interactions. We do the training exercises from our packs and then staff reflect on all the good interactions they have seen between their colleagues and the people we support. This is really good for staff morale, as staff members are feeding back to one another, on positive interactions they have observed.
We have been going through huge redevelopments at our service and by using everything we have learnt from the training we have managed to support people in the way that they want to be supported. We went without our kitchen, bathrooms etc when the contractors were doing the work and by using all the facilitation skills and timelines, pictures, and signing we were able to let the people we support know what was going on around them. This helped them to understand that all the disturbance and inconvenience was to try and give them a better service.
The training and exercises did wonders for us and we feel we are all working better as MacIntyre Support Workers, but we will of course keep working to improve even more.
Patricia Nyirenda
Senior Support Worker, Bedfordshire
After doing my training with Gwenne and Jenny, I brought back all the exercises to share with the staff. We worked together as a team to improve our way of working as support workers who empower and work with people, rather than carers who do things for, or to, people.
The ‘care vs support’ exercise works wonders!!!
As a team we set aside a maximum of 30 minutes in our team meetings, which we do on Fridays, and leave that time for Great interactions. We do the training exercises from our packs and then staff reflect on all the good interactions they have seen between their colleagues and the people we support. This is really good for staff morale, as staff members are feeding back to one another, on positive interactions they have observed.
We have been going through huge redevelopments at our service and by using everything we have learnt from the training we have managed to support people in the way that they want to be supported. We went without our kitchen, bathrooms etc when the contractors were doing the work and by using all the facilitation skills and timelines, pictures, and signing we were able to let the people we support know what was going on around them. This helped them to understand that all the disturbance and inconvenience was to try and give them a better service.
The training and exercises did wonders for us and we feel we are all working better as MacIntyre Support Workers, but we will of course keep working to improve even more.
Patricia Nyirenda
Senior Support Worker, Bedfordshire
Wednesday, 18 January 2012
Great Interactions comes alive for us!
I am a support worker at Cherriton, on the Wirral and I would like to tell you about my experience of Great Interactions at the MacIntyre Roadshow in Bolton.
I accompanied Barbara to the Roadshow and when we arrived we were greeted with happy smiling faces which continued throughout the day and across the venue. Barbara and I tried all the different activities. We both enjoyed making bags and we drew our favourite things on them. We took our time and enjoyed doing this activity together. It was really special and Barbara is still so proud of the bag she designed.
We then went onto the Great Interactions stand and Barbara and I looked at the laptop which when you pressed a large button it gave instructions, using pictures and speech, on how to bake a cake. Barbara took control of the button and was fascinated by the step-by-step picture recipe.
We learnt about the Great Interactions awards and had our photos taken with them and we were then up on the big screen sharing MacIntyre’s success. We were also on the MacIntyre Stories video waving to everyone.
After a lovely lunch Barbara and I attended two workshops. The first was ‘Let’s spend time together’ and was all about Great Interactions and exploring the senses. There were lots of things to try, touch, listen to and smell. We looked at fancy lights, noisy items, squeezy things, crinkly silver blankets, a sensory tent and much more. There were also cheap things like bubble wrap and bubbles – lots to do, explore and share, and all great fun! Barbara enjoyed playing ‘bouncing the huge gym ball’, but it was the light up glitter ball which she was really interested in and we spent time investigating this together. We have recently purchased one of these balls and Barbara continues to enjoy this on a daily basis, with staff.
At the end of the day we learned to sign the song ‘What a wonderful world’ and we went on the stage at the front and preformed this to everyone in the finale. Barbara was better than me at signing and later showed the rest of the staff how to do it so that they were able to join in.
Barbara was so excited when we returned home, and told everyone how good the Roadshow was. We came away with lots of information, some great ideas and some new skills.
Great Interactions is SO important and this was a fun way to learn more about it!
Michelle Simpson Adkins
Support Worker, Wirral
I accompanied Barbara to the Roadshow and when we arrived we were greeted with happy smiling faces which continued throughout the day and across the venue. Barbara and I tried all the different activities. We both enjoyed making bags and we drew our favourite things on them. We took our time and enjoyed doing this activity together. It was really special and Barbara is still so proud of the bag she designed.
We then went onto the Great Interactions stand and Barbara and I looked at the laptop which when you pressed a large button it gave instructions, using pictures and speech, on how to bake a cake. Barbara took control of the button and was fascinated by the step-by-step picture recipe.
We learnt about the Great Interactions awards and had our photos taken with them and we were then up on the big screen sharing MacIntyre’s success. We were also on the MacIntyre Stories video waving to everyone.
After a lovely lunch Barbara and I attended two workshops. The first was ‘Let’s spend time together’ and was all about Great Interactions and exploring the senses. There were lots of things to try, touch, listen to and smell. We looked at fancy lights, noisy items, squeezy things, crinkly silver blankets, a sensory tent and much more. There were also cheap things like bubble wrap and bubbles – lots to do, explore and share, and all great fun! Barbara enjoyed playing ‘bouncing the huge gym ball’, but it was the light up glitter ball which she was really interested in and we spent time investigating this together. We have recently purchased one of these balls and Barbara continues to enjoy this on a daily basis, with staff.
At the end of the day we learned to sign the song ‘What a wonderful world’ and we went on the stage at the front and preformed this to everyone in the finale. Barbara was better than me at signing and later showed the rest of the staff how to do it so that they were able to join in.
Barbara was so excited when we returned home, and told everyone how good the Roadshow was. We came away with lots of information, some great ideas and some new skills.
Great Interactions is SO important and this was a fun way to learn more about it!
Michelle Simpson Adkins
Support Worker, Wirral
Thursday, 12 January 2012
We were told - It’s the way that we did it!
The Willows has recently been inspected by CQC, which I am proud to say went well, but what I feel stood out from our report was how the inspector felt the staff interacted during the inspection, and the ways we communicate with the people we support. While she was observing the staff and their interactions, the inspector noticed how people were always encouraged to join conversations and that staff stopped what they were doing to listen and respond to people.
In addition, she observed how people were encouraged and supported to achieve certain tasks, however small, during the evening, for instance setting the tables for tea. She saw how the consistent use of Makaton is fundamental to the inclusion, participation and well-being of one person.
The inspector felt that we had done well making our documents and information accessible and meaningful and could see how this made a difference to how involved people are, for example:· Service agreements
· My health
· How I like to be supported if I become ill or die
· House meeting agendas and minutes
· Rotas
As a team, we reflected on the report. We know the way forward is to work with people to further develop their skills and to find different ways to motivate people to take more control of their lives, no matter how big or small that is. We try to do this, working with MacIntyre’s DNA in mind, by identifying opportunities to experience and try different things, which may result in a more meaningful and fulfilling life.
MacIntyre’s DNA breaks it all down. If you put this into your working practise, we believe you cannot go wrong......because it is true
“It aint what you do it is the way that you do it”
Sandra Hughes, Head of ServiceWednesday, 4 January 2012
A new year of Great Interactions!
As we move into 2012 it’s the perfect opportunity to stop and reflect on the journey of Great Interactions during the last year. The highlights have doubtlessly included the launch of the Great Interactions book, the Great Interactions film and the development of training materials and a new course. We have heard accounts from all over the country of how our Senior Practitioners are sharing their learning and the ensuing positive outcomes for people.
On numerous occasions in MacIntyre, following Great Interactions training, I’ve heard the words ‘you wouldn’t believe it but...’, and I was thrilled to hear it again at the end of last year, but this was a little different. For the first time MacIntyre took it’s Great Interactions training external. We delivered the course to staff who had never heard of Great Interactions, but were enthusiastic to learn and desperate to achieve the best outcomes for the people they support. When this group returned to us for day 3 of the course, after having a 6 week period to try out what they had learned, they were bubbling over with enthusiasm and stories. We heard how people had been empowered to do things they had not previously done, had surprised staff with hidden knowledge and skills, and been less anxious when staff had worked in a facilitative way.
This should have come as no surprise to us, as we know that working in a facilitative way results in Great Interactions, but it’s reassuring to know that we can share our learning and that Great Interactions can spread beyond MacIntyre.
We have learnt, from talking to other providers and taking our work external, that other organisations face the same difficulty as us. They too want the best outcomes for people, they know about person centred thinking and planning, but need the missing link – good facilitation. This is our unique selling point: it’s what sets us apart.
So, as we begin 2012, I’m hoping that we continue to develop our facilitative way of working, reflect on our skills and strive to further improve them. There is still much to do and a lot to learn but sharing our journeys both internally and externally will enhance our knowledge.
I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to the Great Interactions blog over the last year. You have shared a wide variety of reflections, ideas and stories, which are clearly of interest as we have had over 3,500 hits to the blog. I hope you continue to follow, and maybe even contribute to, MacIntyre’s Great Interactions blog in 2012.
Here’s to another year of Great Interactions!
Gwenne McFadzean
Facilitation Advisor
On numerous occasions in MacIntyre, following Great Interactions training, I’ve heard the words ‘you wouldn’t believe it but...’, and I was thrilled to hear it again at the end of last year, but this was a little different. For the first time MacIntyre took it’s Great Interactions training external. We delivered the course to staff who had never heard of Great Interactions, but were enthusiastic to learn and desperate to achieve the best outcomes for the people they support. When this group returned to us for day 3 of the course, after having a 6 week period to try out what they had learned, they were bubbling over with enthusiasm and stories. We heard how people had been empowered to do things they had not previously done, had surprised staff with hidden knowledge and skills, and been less anxious when staff had worked in a facilitative way.
This should have come as no surprise to us, as we know that working in a facilitative way results in Great Interactions, but it’s reassuring to know that we can share our learning and that Great Interactions can spread beyond MacIntyre.
We have learnt, from talking to other providers and taking our work external, that other organisations face the same difficulty as us. They too want the best outcomes for people, they know about person centred thinking and planning, but need the missing link – good facilitation. This is our unique selling point: it’s what sets us apart.
So, as we begin 2012, I’m hoping that we continue to develop our facilitative way of working, reflect on our skills and strive to further improve them. There is still much to do and a lot to learn but sharing our journeys both internally and externally will enhance our knowledge.
I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to the Great Interactions blog over the last year. You have shared a wide variety of reflections, ideas and stories, which are clearly of interest as we have had over 3,500 hits to the blog. I hope you continue to follow, and maybe even contribute to, MacIntyre’s Great Interactions blog in 2012.
Here’s to another year of Great Interactions!
Gwenne McFadzean
Facilitation Advisor
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