Speak Out Council 31 st May 2013

Transcription

1 Contents Speak Out Council 31 st May 2013 We are sorry this is such a long document but we wanted to include everything that came up! Attendees Pages 3-7 Welcome Page 7 Update from the Speak Out Council Pages 7-10 Lee McManus Employment Presentation Pages Group Work Pages

2 Mark Briggs Evening and Weekend Opportunities Presentation Pages Bill Jones After Winterbourne View Presentation Page 18 The Speak Out Council Report on meeting Sir Graham Bright Pages Action Planning Pages Open Floor Discussion Pages

3 Attendees: The Speak Out Leaders Neil Adams Speak Out Leader for Hunts Sean Anderson Speak Out Leader for East Bill Jones Speak Out Leader for City and South Michelle Mansfield Speak Out Leader for Fenland High Support Needs Committee: Christian Raphael Russell Henke Simon Vale 3

4 VoiceAbility Staff: Graham Fitzgerald - Active Voices Manager Hayley Newton - Fundraising and Development Officer Ali Fawkes Speak Out Council Coordinator Mary Robbins Internal and External Communications manager Chris George Regional Development Manager (South) Sarah Jones Advocate and Development Volunteer Imogen Ridler Consultancy and Training Coordinator Volunteers: Eleanor Carr Other Guests Mark Briggs Countywide Day Service Manager Charlotte Kirin LDP South Locality Team Manager Lee McManus LDP Commissioning Manager Jaynee Ramsurun LDP Contracts Manager Lisa Robinson LDP Care Manager 4

5 Jonathan Senker VoiceAbility CEO Dick Middleton Civilian Investigator Cambridgeshire Constabulary James Varlow Camden Council Frances Mostafce Camden People First, Service User Representative Claudia Macauley Camden Council Ron S Guest Camden People First, Service User Representative Jody Wicks Service Manager, Total Voice Northamptonshire Sharon Tansley - Total Voice Northamptonshire Dawn Bell LDP Northamptonshire Sonja Noon LDPB Manager, Northamptonshire Marshall Mathers Service User Representative (Affinity Trust) Andy Hinson Affinity Trust 5

6 Lois Sidney Engagement Working SUN Alliance Sarah Prentice Engagement Officer Cambridge and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group Laura Cousins - Service User Representative Debbie Waters Service User Representative Cheryl Mayes Cambridge County Council Vicki Raphael Supporter Tina Salmon Service User Representative Lara Tejada Supporter Kirsty Hopper Service User Representative Lucy Fisher Supporter Keith Laud Service User Representative Katie Steels Huntingdon Community Centre, Service User Representative Jeanette Winters - Service User Representative Lizzie Kewley - Service User Representative Lee Milsom - Service User Representative Gary Hall C.C.C Service User Representative 6

7 Andrew Scott Huntingdon Community Centre, Service User Representative Rajosh Vara Supporter, Scope. Apologies(People who could not come): James Codling Safeguarding Training Organiser Nadeem Ahmed Cambridgeshire Alliance Welcome Sean welcomed everyone to the Medway centre. He also told everybody about the Health and Safety information for the day. Update from the Speak Out Council The Speak Out Council gave an update on what we have been up to. Consultations: We consulted with 150 people on what they do during their evenings and weekends. We found that 94% of people go out in the evenings and at weekends. The most common things that people do in the evenings and at weekends are: Shopping 7

8 Going to the Pub Bowling 52% of people said that they go to a club. Most of these people go to clubs for people with disabilities. However lots of people said they would like to go to clubs for everyone. 76% of people said they would like to go out more. The main reasons people gave for not being able to go out more were: Lack of transport Lack of Money Not enough staff We have also been finding out what is currently available in the evening and at weekends. This has been quite hard and we have found information difficult to find. 8

9 The Speak Out Council told everyone that they managed to meet with Sir Graham Bright. This took lots of work because we had to write him lots of letters. He is the Police and Crime Commissioner for Cambridgeshire. He came to the Speak Out Leaders meeting on 1 May. The Speak Out Leaders updated us on the actions from the last Speak Out Council. They have worked with the Laurels (Cambridgeshire Sexual Health Service). The Laurels are going to stock Easy Read Sexual Health Leaflets. They are also working with the Laurels to make an accessible flyer about their service. HSNC The High Support Needs Committee Russell gave an update on what they have been up to. The High Support Needs Committee has held meetings in their favourite places, mostly pubs! After writing to the University of Cambridge Medical School we met the person who teaches communication. We are hoping to help doctors to communicate with people with Learning Disabilities, especially complex needs. We are going to write to Addenbrookes to see what training their doctors get. SUS Speak Up Spectrum Bill gave an update on the work of the Speak Up Spectrum. 9

10 They have been working to make links with new groups of people. They have met with the National Autistic Society Social Club. They have also met with the University of Cambridge AS group. They hope to consult with these groups and others over the next few months. Lee McManus Employment Presentation Lee spoke about getting a job and why people work. He also looked at problems for people with Learning Disabilities finding work, and ways to help. He told us about the types of jobs there are at the County Council. He told us that he had spoken to the Speak Out Leaders about work. They had told him that what they think stops people getting jobs at the council: Not knowing what jobs there are Not knowing where to look for jobs Having to apply online 10

11 Transport The things they think would help are: Help with applying Support at interview Seeing the Equality Policy Having an Easy Read News Letter that told you what jobs are available. Lee then asked if there was anything we thought he has missed. He asked if there were any questions. Tracy said that you can always ring up and ask for help. Jody asked if the council offers training if you get a job. Lee said yes, but what type of training depends on what job. Group Work The Speak Out Council split into 4 groups. Each group was given 4 questions to answer. The groups fed back on what they thought could be done to make things better for each of the following questions: 11

12 Question 1: 52% of people we spoke to said that they go to a club. Most people go to clubs for people with disabilities. However, lots of people told us they would like to go to clubs for everyone. Two rooms, one quiet, one noisy. Beer Dancing Girls Different Activities Support not going home at 9.00pm Lower cost/free entry for support Friendly and understanding public Question 2: Most people who said they would like to go out more said that transport was what stops them. This included bus timetables, not being able to drive and not having someone to give them a lift. Car share Help people feel safer Work with community transport 12

13 Make an announcement of timetable Bus passes for support People booking transport Question 3: Most people we spoke to go out with carers. However this limits when people can go out. More staff or befrienders to make evening outings possible People split the cost of minibus or outing to reduce costs Staff to encourage and give ideas More drivers available More wheelchair spaces on buses Better time management of support staff Providers ensuring their staff rotas meet the needs of service users. Question 4: Some people don t go out as much as they would like because they don t feel safe or confident on their own. 13

14 Going to safe places Staff need to work with people for at least 6 weeks before they go out and about with them Having enough time to do things, e.g. swimming, so people don t get stressed Carry a Stay Safe card Question 5: We spoke to lots of people who do really great things in their evenings and at the weekend. Often we had not heard about these clubs or events even though we were looking hard. How could we make information easier to find? Sharing leaflets/more easy read leaflets Go online/internet websites being accessible Newsletter Work notice boards Local paper/new/radio Centralised information Activities send out information to other groups Mailing lists 14

15 Letting organizers of events know where they can advertise Posters in shops and cafes Question 6: We spoke to lots of people who would like to work. More support have support worker visit to talk about problems Talk to people who are doing the jobs Finding new jobs or tasks people with disabilities can do Better training Partnerships with employers to find jobs Accessible application forms Interview practice Setting up social enterprises Information and training for staff at job centres Recognising that everyone can contribute 15

16 Mark Briggs Evening and Weekend Opportunities Presentation Mark gave a presentation on the changes that are happening in day services. He told us that there are now opportunities to learn skills for work. There are going to be cafés and allotments at the day centres. Service users will be able to learn to: Cook Clean Garden Mark also told us about what is currently available in the evenings and at weekends. There are club nights in some areas, lots of people go to these. He runs camping trips these are very popular. 16

17 Mark also told us that he is going to set up a club night in Cambridge. Mark asked what was most important to people in a club. This is what everyone said: The venue does not have to be a night club. There needs to be a bar There needs to be food Most people would like there to be Karaoke It needs to happen regularly Sean volunteered to be bar staff Bar staff should be service users It needs to make money. The money could be used to train people with learning disabilities to be DJs. 17

18 Bill Jones After Winterbourne View Presentation Bill told us about a workshop day he went to with Ali called After Winterbourne View. He explained that Winterbourne View was a hospital for people with Learning Disabilities. The people who lived there had been abused by the staff. There was a big investigation and some staff went to prison. Now people with Learning Disabilities who live a long way from families will be reviewed. They will be able to move back to their family area if they want to. Bill told us that there were lots of presentations and some were hard to understand. He said he really liked the presentation by Christian Raphael about his life and communication. The Speak Out Council Report on meeting Sir Graham Bright The Leaders told everyone that on 1 May Sir Graham Bright came to their meeting. They asked him lots of questions about things they think are important to people with learning disabilities. They also asked him questions from guests at Speak Out Councils. Bill asked him about internet safety. He said he thinks this is very important as the internet can be dangerous. He said people should always report internet crime. 18

19 There is a special unit in Cambridge which works with a national unit on internet crime. Sean said they asked him about training for Police officers. This was about working with people who have learning disabilities or autism. He said that there is training but he was not sure what it is or whether all Police officers get it. He arranged for us to get in touch with the person who does the training. Michelle said that the Police do train officers in working with people with learning disabilities. The training is being reviewed to check it is good enough. We hope we will be able to help them. Action Planning We asked all guests to write an action plan. We will be contacting all attendees who made an action plan before the next Speak Out Council. We will ask if they were successful in their task. This is what they said: Lois Sidney I shall do my best to improve the interagency communication to increase awareness for service user involvement opportunities. Sarah Prentice Work with the Speak Out Council and VoiceAbility to develop an accessible area of our website. Andy Hinson I will try to encourage others that I and my organisation support to attend a council meeting to 19

20 see how important the work is that is undertaken at the meetings. Mark Briggs To ensure a regular, sustainable night club night for Cambridge happens. To come back and keep council up to date with what is happening. Sharon Tansley Continue to make sure that our partnership board and the local partnership groups get involved with issues like: employment, leisure opportunities, keeping safe and housing. Sonja Noon Look at how we run and support our local LD groups and if we can add in leaders talking to lots of different groups and people and taking the message back. Dawn Bell Raise the issue of Police training at the Regional Forum and ask them to raise it at the National Forum. Online training isn t enough. James Varcow Tell people in Camden (London) about all of the good things that happen at Speak Out Council. Share information with other areas. Cheryl Hayes Speak to all the staff about the different changes that can happen, how activities can be made easier for people with learning difficulties in the evenings and at weekends. Chris George ensure that VoiceAbility bids and funding applications are clearly relevant to the lives and experiences of people with learning disabilities, 20

21 reflecting the diversity of needs, experiences and abilities. Richard Middleton Speak to some DJs I know about holding a disco or workshop to train disabled people to become a DJ. Mary Robbins Make sure conversations about accessibility of employment and job opportunity information are followed up. Offer advice on accessible newsletters, webpages etc. for job centres and employers. Lisa Robinson Work with job centres to raise their awareness of communicating with individuals with disabilities. Look to co-ordinate with job centers to support accessible information, online applications, support whilst working and having right job. Jonathan Senker Find out if the Speak Out Council get to train the Police and how well this works. Rajesh Vara Report back to staff about all new opportunities and changes as regards services available to people with learning difficulties. How they can be supported during evenings out and staying out late. Jaynee Ramsurun ensure that evening and weekend opportunities are looked at as part of the contract monitoring process. This will also include monitoring staff rotas to ensure they meet the needs of the service users. 21

22 Open Floor Discussion Bill introduced the open floor discussion and reminded everyone to use their traffic light cards. These are the topics that we discussed: Healthy Eating The leaders said that they have had big chats about this. There is a lot of confusion and we often don t agree with each other. Camden People First told us that they have a healthy dinner club every Saturday. It is very popular. More camping holidays Some service users would like there to be more camping holidays. They love the holidays that they go on and would like to do it more often. Internet Safety Some people think that you should not use chat rooms because they are dangerous. Not many people have access to internet especially at home. Tina told us about the computer room at Hester Adrian where people can go and use the internet. They can also get training on using a computer. It was asked how people learn to stay safe on line? Some people have training Some people just pick it up 22

23 Who do we report abuse to (specifically on the bus) There was some confusion because a service user had had an incident on a bus. She did not know where to report it. Michelle said you should always report things to the Police. She said they are very helpful if you contact them. In Northampton people have Stay Safe cards with a special number on. This number goes to the police, and the police know that anyone who calls it has a learning disability. Neil suggested panic alarms. Not enough activities for people with high support needs. It was discussed that there is a problem with having proper changing places. Not very many places have them. Mark said that there is a mobile changing place which went to Strawberry Fair last year. What should we be talking about at Speak Out Council? Support what support is available and how to get help. Being independent 23

24 Benefit Assessments The Department of Work and Pensions will be attending the next National Forum meeting. Hopefully this will help to make things clearer. VoiceAbility have made an Easy Read Guide to the benefit changes. Contact if you would like a copy. Bedroom tax people in Camden are being moved out of their homes. Some people have lived in these houses for a very long time and moving is very upsetting. Getting into the car park at Huntingdon Community Centre. Mark told us that this is only a problem whilst the kitchen is being built. It will be finished soon and then the problem will be solved. Job Centre Staff Training It was suggested that staff at job centres should have training on how to support people with learning disabilities. The Speak Out Leaders thanked everyone for coming and told them that the date of our next meeting will be the 6 th of September and will be at FACET in March. 24