A few weeks ago, we at Oxford Lifelong Learning had a Quality Monitoring Review of the service. From the comments that the officer conducting the review made, it was obvious that she saw Great Interactions in action and could see the benefit, not just to the people who attend the Learning Centre, but to their families and other people who care about the quality of the support we provide.
The Officer conducting the review made the following comments about the service; these comments could easily have been written in our Facilitation manual.
‘On my visits to MacIntyre I felt welcomed by staff and service users. I was always greeted by a friendly smiley face from one of the learners. I was offered refreshments and shown to who I asked to see. This was not only professional but had an element of honesty - strange as that may sound, it made me feel there was nothing to hide - no bad practices and no unhappy people!!
The interactions I observed were 'great' - I observed MacIntyre's learners were comfortable, relaxed and happy. They were eager to show me where they spent their time and what they did. The staff, I noticed, were not intrusive of the learners activities, they really were there for support if needed/required. This was particularly pleasing to see - it was evident that by this approach the learners were confident and independent.
Staff have obviously taken on board the 'Great Interactions Policy' wholeheartedly and have been able to implement it in their work. Communication was clear and paced to suit the learner. As to the Manager, she was able to explain things so clearly for me that I never had need to go over or reiterate aspects of my discussions.
Taking time to listen and observe as well as to think of other aspects to your interactions will enhance any relationships that you have or are building; this promotes so much more for a learner and can really make a difference to their lives. This also applies to staff; if people - other colleagues and/or managers consider each other this can further improve working relationships as well as working environments.
I like that you have to consider things that so many people take for granted nowadays. I like that it is a simple idea that works. I like that it holds so much common sense. If you think about the dynamics of a conversation and the power imbalance that can be achieved just by someone standing and the other person sitting or by not looking at someone, considering distractions, I could go on...‘
The fact that she observed these behaviours and wanted to comment on them proves how much of an impact Great Interactions can make in all aspects of our daily lives.
Penny Canwell
Locality Manager, Oxfordshire