This year No Limits in Bucks set up their first Duke of Edinburgh Award group, which required expedition training. The Silver Award involves a two night camp and a group activity each day. We discovered whilst some people had camping experience and were excited at the prospect, some were apprehensive. To make this a positive experience we felt a trial camp would ease anxieties and provide an introduction to camping. Planning & training We made a plan to run weekly sessions covering camp basics such as Fire Safety, First Aid, Tent Construction, Weather and Kit to be run at the Life Skills Centre, a regular meeting point. Equipment was sourced by making an important link with the Aylesbury College Duke of Edinburgh Coordinator and staff contributions. Session one focussed on tent construction in groups of 2-3 setting up tents in the garden with staff support. This activity, in fantastic weather, caught the attention of others’ who then wanted to have a go. Individuals, who would not usually join in, were drawn to support one another to put tent poles together, while others demonstrated leadership skills. It was great to observe so much determination and team work through a shared aim, in this case the construction of a tent. These camp sessions gradually morphed to become all inclusive which led to others’ expressing an interest in the great camp experience. After some research a suitable location was identified and presented to everybody through photos and verbal discussion, providing an opportunity to communicate any concerns. This session included sleeping arrangements and menu planning. Our thoughts and discussions focussed on the logistics and factors that might have a negative effect on moods and behaviours including: tent sharing, extended periods of close proximity, changing weather conditions and tiredness. Great interactions at the campsite It was agreed that for this first camp staff would do the cooking, so our camp participants could concentrate on other camp tasks, including collecting fire wood or putting up tents. A space was set up for people at dinner time which proved to be of great benefit as this enabled everyone to interact and sit together without staff interference. One of the best outcomes of camp was seeing a group of young people all sitting around a table eating and chatting away, completely care free and not relying on staff in anyway. In the evening a camp fire in the woods provided another space for some great student and staff interactions; the preparation of the fire was used to empower everybody in its creation. Firewood was wheel barrowed by two individuals working together, neither had worked together much before. They then acted as marshals for the arrival of other campers’ around the fire; with night falling it was a fantastic atmosphere and one I won’t forget. Staff brought different skills and ideas with them to camp, and ‘camp fire cooking’ were one such expertise; bread twists were made on sticks and then toasted by the students with our support. People were relaxed and calm and naturally mesmerised by the flames. The environment brought about changes in behaviours too; a person renowned for enjoying food and eating very quickly, showed a member of staff how to peel a marshmallow, enjoying it in stages rather than just eating it whole. Another fantastic moment was ‘silly songs’ around the fire. One particular person, who can get very anxious, was soon singing and dancing around the fire, encouraging others to join in. When asked at the end of camp what he had enjoyed most, he said he wished we had sung more songs around the fire. The camp fire had provided a level playing field for everyone to enjoy and learn together. On the last day of camp one individual showed a level of compassion and empathy that was unknown to us until now. He had observed a lady fall over on site, and approached her to check she was ok. He soon informed staff and got her a glass of water and it was ascertained that she had sprained he ankle. A learning experience for all! The young people who attend No Limits have a variety of interests and long term goals and my job as a Community Learning Facilitator is to support each person to succeed at these, promote independence and identify barriers to learning, overcome these and help goals be reached. While students often see each other around there is quite often a missed opportunity for them to interact - we can get in the way, preventing the interactions we observed during the camp. The added space that the camping trip brought about opened up a whole host of new learning opportunities and Great Interactions and has enhanced student friendships in a way we could not have anticipated. The young people that attended the camp now know some of their peers better and are familiar with more staff, and we feel that this has instilled a confidence in them, which they can take forward into their future learning and lives. Michelle Burrows Community Learning Facilitator No Limits - Buckinghamshire |
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I will be leaving Oxfordshire No Limits at the end of August, to go to the new Academy. From the day I made this choice, memories of Great Interactions have been popping into my thoughts. I wanted to share with you a few of them, as a celebration of the people I have met and the impact they have had on me.
On my first day, back in August 2011, I was working with a young man called Stuart. Stuart loves to talk about his shoes and his red bag. He asks people whether they like his things, and is so comfortable knowing that they will say “yes”. I watched Adrian and Stuart making a plan for the day, Stuart turned to Adrian and said “do you like my red bag” and instead of responding with the predictable response, Adrian said “I prefer my black bag”. To which Stuart laughed hard. What I really enjoyed about this interaction was the risk that had been taken, so often it is easier to do something expected, but what I saw that day was that by being creative with our responses, we can build trusting relationships that expand the comfortable boundaries that people often build around themselves, this in turn makes their experiences a little more colourful. The staff at Risborough Road were preparing for Halloween. The house was scattered with sticky plastic skeletons and monster masks. Although James was interested in these things, he didn’t quite know how they worked. Blessing and James were sat in the lounge watching music videos. James was tapping his foot to the tunes. Without James seeing, Blessing pulled a bone shaped head band out from under her seat. James is known for his dislike of headbands, but instead of swiftly hiding it away, Blessing looked at James cheekily and put it on her head! It took a moment for him to adjust to this strange change, he reached out for it and started to touch it. Blessing leant forward in silence and let him explore. He then whipped it off her head and put it on his own. I learnt from this the importance of keeping things simple. Blessing could have so easily made a fuss over James taking the headband, but she just let him explore at his own pace. It is so important that we support people to put their own stamp on experiences. On the last day of term we had a big party for the people we support. We put up a huge Marquee. When it came to handing out certificates, Jake didn’t want to come in. He sat outside by the tree. We called out people’s names and they came to the front to collect their certificate, everybody clapped. Hannah had remembered that Jake hates the noise of clapping, which is probably why he didn’t want to come inside. She told me to quietly ask everybody to wave their hands instead of clap, we called Jake’s name and everybody waved their hands. Jake walked through the centre of the Marquee in silence, he looked so relieved and said “ah that’s better isn’t it” . He collected his certificate and left the marquee. The thing that stands out for me about this is that Hannah found a way to include Jake in a respectful and creative way. She understood what he found difficult and instead of letting him sit the activity out, she supported him (and a room of 50 other people) to engage in a person centred way. Rebekah and Farah had been visiting Kirsty for 3 months. They met her at a secure unit for 3 hours per week. During this time they hadn’t heard her speak at all, but that was ok, because they found other creative ways to talk to each other. Kirsty had told them that she wanted to design a rock band, so they spent most their sessions on this project. On the last day of term Rebekah arranged for Kirsty to come to college and display her rock band designs. This was a huge step for her, as she rarely feels comfortable in public places. We put her display in the centre of the college; she looked so pleased to see it. She then went into a quiet room with Rebekah and her mum. Kirsty had made all of the staff who work with Rebekah a cake. After about 15 minutes I saw Rebekah in the garden with Kirsty and her mum, they were all talking to each other. I couldn’t hear what was being said, or how much Kirsty was engaging. But what I could see is that she felt comfortable. I don’t know much about the work that was put into supporting Kirsty to feel ok talking, but what I do know is that designing a rock band wasn’t the main focus for Rebekah and Farah. It was simply the vehicle to support them to build trust, by taking away the complexities of speech, Kirsty was able to get to know the staff working with her. Sometimes we think that speech is the most important form of communication, when really we should let the people we support lead in whichever way they feel comfortable. Over the past three years I have seen and heard of many Great Interactions. What has been so heart-warming is that every person I have met within MacIntyre, has their own set of stories to share. I am leaving Oxfordshire No Limits with a strong trust that each day, every one of the staff will facilitate great moments for the people they support. Thank you for letting me be a part of it. Natalie Bianchi Programme Coordinator MacIntyre, No Limits David celebrated his birthday on 10th May with a fantastic, fun filled party. I know Great Interactions isn’t about the big things, but lots of little things we did as a staff team made this special event a success. David invited his friends and family as well as people from other houses for a party in his garden. We were hoping the party would help people to build new friendships. David can find busy environments with lots of people a bit difficult to cope with, so we had to plan carefully to try and ensure that the day was a success and that David really enjoyed himself. Pictures work well for David, so we supported him to make a picture list of all the things we needed to buy for the party. David thoroughly enjoyed taking charge on the shopping trip and checking everything off on the list. This was a good start to him gearing up for the party. We needed to take our time to ensure David could make informed choices. We offered lots of colour choices, but not all at once, and David decided on a yellow and green theme for the party with lots of colourful balloons and banners as he loves bright cheerful colours. David was particularly excited to buy his new outfit for the day. He chose a dicky bow and a colourful purple shirt. As the big day approached we chatted about it to David; who would be coming, what we would do, the music etc. We tried to prepare him for lots of visitors. On the big day David was happy to meet and greet guests at the door and help serve their drinks. He mingled with friends and family and enjoyed interactions with lots of different people. The smile on David’s face as he greeted family and friends with a hug was lovely to see, especially for his Mum who was delighted to see him so confident and happy. She can’t believe how well David is getting on: David used to spend a lot of time in his bedroom at home and over the two years he has lived here his confidence has really grown. The careful preparation of the staff team paid off - David was the star at his party, his infectious smile ensuring everyone else was happy and smiley too. This is why I love my role as a practitioner. Margaret Edmondson Practitioner Ellesmere Port At Cherriton in 2013 we recruited two staff, one who stayed with us for 6 months and the other for one year, so in June 2014 we had a further two vacancies and this time we really wanted to get it right for the people living at Cherriton. Our focus was on whether the new staff interacted in a meaningful way with the people who live at Cherriton. As we all say ‘it ain’t what you do, it’s the way that you do it”. So, we supported everyone to update our joint wish list and of course what we were looking for was that dynamic and facilitative staff member that walks through the front door! Our ‘meet and greet’ process involved everyone who lives at Cherriton, but one lady in particular, Barbara, took the lead. She was like my PA! Barbara and I met with the staff who would be on shift for the meet and greet sessions. Barbara had her own pen and paper and before we started, we explained that it was very important that we get this right. Barbara listened carefully. Each staff member completed the ‘meeting the people we support observation sheet’ for all candidates who attended a ‘meet and greet’. Each candidate was given a two and a half hour time slot at the service. This enabled the staff to ask the candidate questions and for the candidate to ask questions to the staff team. This also enabled the staff to observe the candidate to see if any of the ten facilitation skills were being used. The testing point was yet to come, as Barbara loves music! After Barbara introduced the candidate to the other people who live at the service and the staff on duty, they were taken into the lounge area and immediately Barbara took out her karaoke machine and began to sing ‘Edelweiss’. She turned to the candidate and asked them to sing with her on the karaoke machine and what do you think they did? Well each and every one of them joined in with enthusiasm! When all the ‘meet and greets’ had been completed, we then had to make a decision on who everyone thought were the successful candidates. In turn, we went through our observation sheets, involving Barbara at all times. We asked Barbara, on behalf of everyone living at Cherriton, who she felt would be most suited to work with us. To do this, we asked Barbara: “the lady with the dark hair or the lady with the blonde hair?” Barbara replied, “the lady with the blonde hair”, as she drew a picture of Lorraine. She chose Joe as the second member of staff. When the decision was finalised, Barbara was asked if she would like to make a phone call to the two successful candidates, to which she loudly replied “Yes”! We then dialled the telephone number for both Lorraine and Joe, and Barbara said to them, “You’ve got the job!” For me, as a frontline manager, this was an uplifting experience and a most successful approach as we involved everyone at Cherriton in the recruitment process to get the desired outcome. My staff team and I also learnt that we can communicate in an effective way with people with profound learning disabilities about things that can at first look complex, but with thought and planning can be broken down into meaningful parts. We were able to get it right this time by involving everyone creatively in the recruitment process. Tracy Nelson Head of service Cherriton |
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