Avante NewsAutumn 2012 www.avantepartnership.org.uk

PAGE 4-5 PAGE 12 PAGE 14

Homeleigh’s summer holiday funOlympic fun for

our residents!Inspiring Communities

2

www.avantepartnership.org.uk

If you would like to receive the next edition of Avante News by

email please contact Karen Flynn, PA to the chief Executive, at

kflynn@ avantepartnership.org.uk

up conversations with me about Mo Farrah, Sir Chris Hoy, beach volleyball, how great our troops were for stepping in at the last minute etc etc, I really quite enjoyed it. The great challenge now of course is to hold onto that feeling as we head towards the dark days of winter.

Our summer at Avante Partnership was about more than the Olympics and Paralympics of course. Our organisational life continued as normal with lots of highlights for our residents, service users and staff, including holidays, events and days out for many.

Unfortunately this summer also saw us say goodbye to a number of our Stepahead Support staff as a service to children, young people and families in Kent transferred to another provider. We’ve said ‘thank you’ to them personally for their contribution to the organisation and the work they have done to support the hundreds of young people and families they’ve worked with over the last few years, but I would like to take this opportunity to

thank them publically and wish them well in their future elsewhere.

The summer also saw the conclusion of our ‘Snack and Chat’ staff consultation events which took place in homes, offices and services right across the organisation led by Derek Lindars our HR Director. Hundreds of our staff took the opportunity to come together, share their thoughts and have their say and I thank them all for their input. We’ve now got a lot of information to work through and discuss before we can feedback to staff on what changes we will make in response to their feedback.

So, all in all a great summer! Enjoy reading this edition of Avante News.

Cedric FrederickChief Executive

Cedric Frederick - Chief Executive

3

Caroline has joined Avante Partnership’s Property and Business Development Team as Marketing Manager. Having just moved back to Kent from Scotland,

Having left school at sixteen Janys followed family tradition and went into banking and joined Nat West in the West End of London.

Diane was born in Kent and after college moved to London where she started her HR career in the hotel and hospitality industry

Lyn was born in Buckinghamshire and moved to Essex when she was 8 years old to complete her education.

Belinda began her career in the care industry 15 years ago as a relief Sheltered Scheme Manager for Tonbridge

Gary was born in London and spent his primary school years in Australia.

Most of his working life has been in the

for several years before moving back to Kent to start a family. Once returning to work after having her son Diane continued her HR career in private sector companies before moving into the public sector which included Kent Police for 6 years and prior to joining Avante Partnership, Kent Fire & Rescue Service. Diane’s hobbies include cooking, DIY, reading -and shopping!!!

care sector. Indeed, he worked as a Care Assistant at Barnetts when it was owned and operated by Kent County Council and which now, of course, is one of our homes! After a varied career which included working in KCC’s area finance and contracting sections, Gary became an Inspector with Inspection and Registration in 2000 and regulated care services throughout the various incarnations of NCSC, CSCI and CQC.

and Malling Housing Association. In more recent years she has worked as a Registered Residential Home Manager and Area Manager Residential for a private sector company.

Belinda has an NVQ 4 in both Health and Social Care and the Registered Manager Award. She would like to study for a Diploma in Dementia, an area that is close to her heart.

Janys quickly realised this was far too stuffy a career path for her and left to join Tesco. After a brief stint in the cash office to use those bank skills, she was given the opportunity to train in HR and that was the start of her 24 year career in HR. This has included roles with other retailers, both high street and independent, to the Biotech and Pharmaceutical industry and more recently in supported living for adults with learning disabilities.

where she worked as Group Marketing Manger for Highlands and Islands Airports Caroline is reacquainting herself with marketing colleagues within the area. Her previous marketing roles have included working for Eurotunnel, P&O Ferries, Leukaemia Research Fund and DMB and B advertising agency. Caroline is married, and enjoys anything to do with travel, motor sports, historical sites and walking.

On leaving school she married and had 5 children. When her 3rd child reached 6 months old she worked as an Auxiliary Nurse at her local NHS hospital.Lyn went from there to a private domiciliary care provider as a carer and worked her way through the ranks to become a registered manager at a Kent branch. She was then lucky enough to be offered a new challenge as Operations Manager at Avante Care and Support.

New business team

Established 1990. Avante Partnership

A Company Limited by Guarantee(Registration No. 2565021, England)A Registered Charity(Registered No.1002727)

Registered office: De Gelsey House, 1 Jubilee Way, Faversham, Kent ME13 8GD

Tel: 01795 597400 Fax: 01795 597419Email: enquiries@avantepartnership.org.ukWebsite: www.avantepartnership.org.uk

Kaylea Jemmett joined Avante Partnership in April 2010 as part of a scheme called ‘The future jobs fund’ through Kent County Council. She started her role as a Trainee Administrator working with

the team in the Community Support department, which she found very interesting.

It is not for the organisation or any individual within it to have a view on the

results of the General Election on May 6th and the momentous events that have taken place since, with the formation of the

country’s first coalition government in 70 years. However, like almost every part of our society, Avante Partnership is feeling the effects of the coalition government’s key policies and their efforts to reduce the deficit.

The financial challenges faced by our local authority partners in particular are significant, and we understand the need for us to play our part in supporting them to meet their cost reduction targets. At the same time, we remain totally committed to ensuring that we not only continue to provide the highest quality services possible, but strive to improve the quality of our services. In order to achieve this we are asking ourselves tough questions about what we do, how we do it and whether we can do it more efficiently. We remain very ambitious for the organisation, the people we care for and support and our wonderful staff who work so hard to achieve the results and outcomes that we want. Yes, we make mistakes and we do not get it right every time, but when things don’t go as well as we would like, we are quick to acknowledge our mistake and commit to learning lessons and working hard to ensure that we get it right in the future. That being said, I am very pleased to say that we get it right much more often than we get it wrong.

For many, the highlight of the summer should have been England returning from the World Cup clutching that gold trophy. As we know, it didn’t quite work out like that. The team didn’t gel and too many players under performed. Perhaps Fabio Capello should have taken a leaf out of the Avante Partnership book and popped into Amherst Court, our newest 112 bed residential care home in Chatham for some advice about teamwork, commitment to excellence and achieving the goals you set for yourself. Fabio only had a squad of 23 footballers to think about, whilst my colleagues Tracey Jones and Geoff Ward led a team of literally hundreds of people to achieve what is a fantastic result.

Congratulations and ‘thank you’ to everybody who has worked so hard to deliver a great new care home.

As ever, I hope you enjoy reading this new look edition of Avante News.

Cedric Frederick - Chief Executive

As a charity, Avante Partnership is ‘apolitical’ in that we operate outside of politics, working for the benefit of our service users with whichever political party is in control at a national, regional or local level.

More recently Kaylea has been working alongside the Chief Executive’s PA, Karen Flynn, where she has been learning about the organisation as a whole. One of Kaylea’s many tasks was to help with this edition of Avante News which she has really enjoyed.

Working with:

Members of:• National Housing Federation

• The National Care Forum

• Kent Community Care Association

• IAHSA

Cedric FrederickChief Executive

Caroline WilliamsMarketing Manager

Belinda WatsonOperations Manager

Gary BartlettRegulation Manager

Diane RogersOperational HR Manager

Janys NessHR Manager

Carmel StevensonOperational Manager

Working with:

3

Caroline has joined Avante Partnership’s Property and Business Development Team as Marketing Manager. Having just moved back to Kent from Scotland,

Having left school at sixteen Janys followed family tradition and went into banking and joined Nat West in the West End of London.

Diane was born in Kent and after college moved to London where she started her HR career in the hotel and hospitality industry

Lyn was born in Buckinghamshire and moved to Essex when she was 8 years old to complete her education.

Belinda began her career in the care industry 15 years ago as a relief Sheltered Scheme Manager for Tonbridge

Gary was born in London and spent his primary school years in Australia.

Most of his working life has been in the

for several years before moving back to Kent to start a family. Once returning to work after having her son Diane continued her HR career in private sector companies before moving into the public sector which included Kent Police for 6 years and prior to joining Avante Partnership, Kent Fire & Rescue Service. Diane’s hobbies include cooking, DIY, reading -and shopping!!!

care sector. Indeed, he worked as a Care Assistant at Barnetts when it was owned and operated by Kent County Council and which now, of course, is one of our homes! After a varied career which included working in KCC’s area finance and contracting sections, Gary became an Inspector with Inspection and Registration in 2000 and regulated care services throughout the various incarnations of NCSC, CSCI and CQC.

and Malling Housing Association. In more recent years she has worked as a Registered Residential Home Manager and Area Manager Residential for a private sector company.

Belinda has an NVQ 4 in both Health and Social Care and the Registered Manager Award. She would like to study for a Diploma in Dementia, an area that is close to her heart.

Janys quickly realised this was far too stuffy a career path for her and left to join Tesco. After a brief stint in the cash office to use those bank skills, she was given the opportunity to train in HR and that was the start of her 24 year career in HR. This has included roles with other retailers, both high street and independent, to the Biotech and Pharmaceutical industry and more recently in supported living for adults with learning disabilities.

where she worked as Group Marketing Manger for Highlands and Islands Airports Caroline is reacquainting herself with marketing colleagues within the area. Her previous marketing roles have included working for Eurotunnel, P&O Ferries, Leukaemia Research Fund and DMB and B advertising agency. Caroline is married, and enjoys anything to do with travel, motor sports, historical sites and walking.

On leaving school she married and had 5 children. When her 3rd child reached 6 months old she worked as an Auxiliary Nurse at her local NHS hospital.Lyn went from there to a private domiciliary care provider as a carer and worked her way through the ranks to become a registered manager at a Kent branch. She was then lucky enough to be offered a new challenge as Operations Manager at Avante Care and Support.

New business team

Established 1990. Avante Partnership

A Company Limited by Guarantee(Registration No. 2565021, England)A Registered Charity(Registered No.1002727)

Registered office: De Gelsey House, 1 Jubilee Way, Faversham, Kent ME13 8GD

Tel: 01795 597400 Fax: 01795 597419Email: enquiries@avantepartnership.org.ukWebsite: www.avantepartnership.org.uk

Kaylea Jemmett joined Avante Partnership in April 2010 as part of a scheme called ‘The future jobs fund’ through Kent County Council. She started her role as a Trainee Administrator working with

the team in the Community Support department, which she found very interesting.

It is not for the organisation or any individual within it to have a view on the

results of the General Election on May 6th and the momentous events that have taken place since, with the formation of the

country’s first coalition government in 70 years. However, like almost every part of our society, Avante Partnership is feeling the effects of the coalition government’s key policies and their efforts to reduce the deficit.

The financial challenges faced by our local authority partners in particular are significant, and we understand the need for us to play our part in supporting them to meet their cost reduction targets. At the same time, we remain totally committed to ensuring that we not only continue to provide the highest quality services possible, but strive to improve the quality of our services. In order to achieve this we are asking ourselves tough questions about what we do, how we do it and whether we can do it more efficiently. We remain very ambitious for the organisation, the people we care for and support and our wonderful staff who work so hard to achieve the results and outcomes that we want. Yes, we make mistakes and we do not get it right every time, but when things don’t go as well as we would like, we are quick to acknowledge our mistake and commit to learning lessons and working hard to ensure that we get it right in the future. That being said, I am very pleased to say that we get it right much more often than we get it wrong.

For many, the highlight of the summer should have been England returning from the World Cup clutching that gold trophy. As we know, it didn’t quite work out like that. The team didn’t gel and too many players under performed. Perhaps Fabio Capello should have taken a leaf out of the Avante Partnership book and popped into Amherst Court, our newest 112 bed residential care home in Chatham for some advice about teamwork, commitment to excellence and achieving the goals you set for yourself. Fabio only had a squad of 23 footballers to think about, whilst my colleagues Tracey Jones and Geoff Ward led a team of literally hundreds of people to achieve what is a fantastic result.

Congratulations and ‘thank you’ to everybody who has worked so hard to deliver a great new care home.

As ever, I hope you enjoy reading this new look edition of Avante News.

Cedric Frederick - Chief Executive

As a charity, Avante Partnership is ‘apolitical’ in that we operate outside of politics, working for the benefit of our service users with whichever political party is in control at a national, regional or local level.

More recently Kaylea has been working alongside the Chief Executive’s PA, Karen Flynn, where she has been learning about the organisation as a whole. One of Kaylea’s many tasks was to help with this edition of Avante News which she has really enjoyed.

Working with:

Members of:• National Housing Federation

• The National Care Forum

• Kent Community Care Association

• IAHSA

Cedric FrederickChief Executive

Caroline WilliamsMarketing Manager

Belinda WatsonOperations Manager

Gary BartlettRegulation Manager

Diane RogersOperational HR Manager

Janys NessHR Manager

Carmel StevensonOperational Manager

3

Caroline has joined Avante Partnership’s Property and Business Development Team as Marketing Manager. Having just moved back to Kent from Scotland,

Having left school at sixteen Janys followed family tradition and went into banking and joined Nat West in the West End of London.

Diane was born in Kent and after college moved to London where she started her HR career in the hotel and hospitality industry

Lyn was born in Buckinghamshire and moved to Essex when she was 8 years old to complete her education.

Belinda began her career in the care industry 15 years ago as a relief Sheltered Scheme Manager for Tonbridge

Gary was born in London and spent his primary school years in Australia.

Most of his working life has been in the

for several years before moving back to Kent to start a family. Once returning to work after having her son Diane continued her HR career in private sector companies before moving into the public sector which included Kent Police for 6 years and prior to joining Avante Partnership, Kent Fire & Rescue Service. Diane’s hobbies include cooking, DIY, reading -and shopping!!!

care sector. Indeed, he worked as a Care Assistant at Barnetts when it was owned and operated by Kent County Council and which now, of course, is one of our homes! After a varied career which included working in KCC’s area finance and contracting sections, Gary became an Inspector with Inspection and Registration in 2000 and regulated care services throughout the various incarnations of NCSC, CSCI and CQC.

and Malling Housing Association. In more recent years she has worked as a Registered Residential Home Manager and Area Manager Residential for a private sector company.

Belinda has an NVQ 4 in both Health and Social Care and the Registered Manager Award. She would like to study for a Diploma in Dementia, an area that is close to her heart.

Janys quickly realised this was far too stuffy a career path for her and left to join Tesco. After a brief stint in the cash office to use those bank skills, she was given the opportunity to train in HR and that was the start of her 24 year career in HR. This has included roles with other retailers, both high street and independent, to the Biotech and Pharmaceutical industry and more recently in supported living for adults with learning disabilities.

where she worked as Group Marketing Manger for Highlands and Islands Airports Caroline is reacquainting herself with marketing colleagues within the area. Her previous marketing roles have included working for Eurotunnel, P&O Ferries, Leukaemia Research Fund and DMB and B advertising agency. Caroline is married, and enjoys anything to do with travel, motor sports, historical sites and walking.

On leaving school she married and had 5 children. When her 3rd child reached 6 months old she worked as an Auxiliary Nurse at her local NHS hospital.Lyn went from there to a private domiciliary care provider as a carer and worked her way through the ranks to become a registered manager at a Kent branch. She was then lucky enough to be offered a new challenge as Operations Manager at Avante Care and Support.

New business team

Established 1990. Avante Partnership

A Company Limited by Guarantee(Registration No. 2565021, England)A Registered Charity(Registered No.1002727)

Registered office: De Gelsey House, 1 Jubilee Way, Faversham, Kent ME13 8GD

Tel: 01795 597400 Fax: 01795 597419Email: enquiries@avantepartnership.org.ukWebsite: www.avantepartnership.org.uk

Kaylea Jemmett joined Avante Partnership in April 2010 as part of a scheme called ‘The future jobs fund’ through Kent County Council. She started her role as a Trainee Administrator working with

the team in the Community Support department, which she found very interesting.

It is not for the organisation or any individual within it to have a view on the

results of the General Election on May 6th and the momentous events that have taken place since, with the formation of the

country’s first coalition government in 70 years. However, like almost every part of our society, Avante Partnership is feeling the effects of the coalition government’s key policies and their efforts to reduce the deficit.

The financial challenges faced by our local authority partners in particular are significant, and we understand the need for us to play our part in supporting them to meet their cost reduction targets. At the same time, we remain totally committed to ensuring that we not only continue to provide the highest quality services possible, but strive to improve the quality of our services. In order to achieve this we are asking ourselves tough questions about what we do, how we do it and whether we can do it more efficiently. We remain very ambitious for the organisation, the people we care for and support and our wonderful staff who work so hard to achieve the results and outcomes that we want. Yes, we make mistakes and we do not get it right every time, but when things don’t go as well as we would like, we are quick to acknowledge our mistake and commit to learning lessons and working hard to ensure that we get it right in the future. That being said, I am very pleased to say that we get it right much more often than we get it wrong.

For many, the highlight of the summer should have been England returning from the World Cup clutching that gold trophy. As we know, it didn’t quite work out like that. The team didn’t gel and too many players under performed. Perhaps Fabio Capello should have taken a leaf out of the Avante Partnership book and popped into Amherst Court, our newest 112 bed residential care home in Chatham for some advice about teamwork, commitment to excellence and achieving the goals you set for yourself. Fabio only had a squad of 23 footballers to think about, whilst my colleagues Tracey Jones and Geoff Ward led a team of literally hundreds of people to achieve what is a fantastic result.

Congratulations and ‘thank you’ to everybody who has worked so hard to deliver a great new care home.

As ever, I hope you enjoy reading this new look edition of Avante News.

Cedric Frederick - Chief Executive

As a charity, Avante Partnership is ‘apolitical’ in that we operate outside of politics, working for the benefit of our service users with whichever political party is in control at a national, regional or local level.

More recently Kaylea has been working alongside the Chief Executive’s PA, Karen Flynn, where she has been learning about the organisation as a whole. One of Kaylea’s many tasks was to help with this edition of Avante News which she has really enjoyed.

Working with:

Members of:• National Housing Federation

• The National Care Forum

• Kent Community Care Association

• IAHSA

Cedric FrederickChief Executive

Caroline WilliamsMarketing Manager

Belinda WatsonOperations Manager

Gary BartlettRegulation Manager

Diane RogersOperational HR Manager

Janys NessHR Manager

Carmel StevensonOperational Manager

Now it’s all over and the country can get back to the normality of grim economic news, funding cuts, the Eurozone crisis and highly paid footballers falling over at the slightest touch! I’m not sure about you, but after initially feeling slightly perturbed by the number of strangers who struck

Well, that was a summer and a half wasn’t it? What started out looking like a huge washout ended on an amazing high with the whole country being infected by Olympic and Paralympic fever. Like most, I loved every second of it and even became a fan of dressage…for a day!

33

Caroline has joined Avante Partnership’s Property and Business Development Team as Marketing Manager. Having just moved back to Kent from Scotland,

Having left school at sixteen Janys followed family tradition and went into banking and joined Nat West in the West End of London.

Diane was born in Kent and after college moved to London where she started her HR career in the hotel and hospitality industry

Lyn was born in Buckinghamshire and moved to Essex when she was 8 years old to complete her education.

Belinda began her career in the care industry 15 years ago as a relief Sheltered Scheme Manager for Tonbridge

Gary was born in London and spent his primary school years in Australia.

Most of his working life has been in the

for several years before moving back to Kent to start a family. Once returning to work after having her son Diane continued her HR career in private sector companies before moving into the public sector which included Kent Police for 6 years and prior to joining Avante Partnership, Kent Fire & Rescue Service. Diane’s hobbies include cooking, DIY, reading -and shopping!!!

care sector. Indeed, he worked as a Care Assistant at Barnetts when it was owned and operated by Kent County Council and which now, of course, is one of our homes! After a varied career which included working in KCC’s area finance and contracting sections, Gary became an Inspector with Inspection and Registration in 2000 and regulated care services throughout the various incarnations of NCSC, CSCI and CQC.

and Malling Housing Association. In more recent years she has worked as a Registered Residential Home Manager and Area Manager Residential for a private sector company.

Belinda has an NVQ 4 in both Health and Social Care and the Registered Manager Award. She would like to study for a Diploma in Dementia, an area that is close to her heart.

Janys quickly realised this was far too stuffy a career path for her and left to join Tesco. After a brief stint in the cash office to use those bank skills, she was given the opportunity to train in HR and that was the start of her 24 year career in HR. This has included roles with other retailers, both high street and independent, to the Biotech and Pharmaceutical industry and more recently in supported living for adults with learning disabilities.

where she worked as Group Marketing Manger for Highlands and Islands Airports Caroline is reacquainting herself with marketing colleagues within the area. Her previous marketing roles have included working for Eurotunnel, P&O Ferries, Leukaemia Research Fund and DMB and B advertising agency. Caroline is married, and enjoys anything to do with travel, motor sports, historical sites and walking.

On leaving school she married and had 5 children. When her 3rd child reached 6 months old she worked as an Auxiliary Nurse at her local NHS hospital.Lyn went from there to a private domiciliary care provider as a carer and worked her way through the ranks to become a registered manager at a Kent branch. She was then lucky enough to be offered a new challenge as Operations Manager at Avante Care and Support.

New business team

Established 1990. Avante Partnership

A Company Limited by Guarantee(Registration No. 2565021, England)A Registered Charity(Registered No.1002727)

Registered office: De Gelsey House, 1 Jubilee Way, Faversham, Kent ME13 8GD

Tel: 01795 597400 Fax: 01795 597419Email: enquiries@avantepartnership.org.ukWebsite: www.avantepartnership.org.uk

Kaylea Jemmett joined Avante Partnership in April 2010 as part of a scheme called ‘The future jobs fund’ through Kent County Council. She started her role as a Trainee Administrator working with

the team in the Community Support department, which she found very interesting.

It is not for the organisation or any individual within it to have a view on the

results of the General Election on May 6th and the momentous events that have taken place since, with the formation of the

country’s first coalition government in 70 years. However, like almost every part of our society, Avante Partnership is feeling the effects of the coalition government’s key policies and their efforts to reduce the deficit.

The financial challenges faced by our local authority partners in particular are significant, and we understand the need for us to play our part in supporting them to meet their cost reduction targets. At the same time, we remain totally committed to ensuring that we not only continue to provide the highest quality services possible, but strive to improve the quality of our services. In order to achieve this we are asking ourselves tough questions about what we do, how we do it and whether we can do it more efficiently. We remain very ambitious for the organisation, the people we care for and support and our wonderful staff who work so hard to achieve the results and outcomes that we want. Yes, we make mistakes and we do not get it right every time, but when things don’t go as well as we would like, we are quick to acknowledge our mistake and commit to learning lessons and working hard to ensure that we get it right in the future. That being said, I am very pleased to say that we get it right much more often than we get it wrong.

For many, the highlight of the summer should have been England returning from the World Cup clutching that gold trophy. As we know, it didn’t quite work out like that. The team didn’t gel and too many players under performed. Perhaps Fabio Capello should have taken a leaf out of the Avante Partnership book and popped into Amherst Court, our newest 112 bed residential care home in Chatham for some advice about teamwork, commitment to excellence and achieving the goals you set for yourself. Fabio only had a squad of 23 footballers to think about, whilst my colleagues Tracey Jones and Geoff Ward led a team of literally hundreds of people to achieve what is a fantastic result.

Congratulations and ‘thank you’ to everybody who has worked so hard to deliver a great new care home.

As ever, I hope you enjoy reading this new look edition of Avante News.

Cedric Frederick - Chief Executive

As a charity, Avante Partnership is ‘apolitical’ in that we operate outside of politics, working for the benefit of our service users with whichever political party is in control at a national, regional or local level.

More recently Kaylea has been working alongside the Chief Executive’s PA, Karen Flynn, where she has been learning about the organisation as a whole. One of Kaylea’s many tasks was to help with this edition of Avante News which she has really enjoyed.

Working with:

Members of:• National Housing Federation

• The National Care Forum

• Kent Community Care Association

• IAHSA

Cedric FrederickChief Executive

Caroline WilliamsMarketing Manager

Belinda WatsonOperations Manager

Gary BartlettRegulation Manager

Diane RogersOperational HR Manager

Janys NessHR Manager

Carmel StevensonOperational Manager

The original service first established in 1999 in Thanet was known as the KCHT Breakthrough service, and was an early intervention and preventative service working with

young people aged 8 – 16 and their families. The primary aim was to prevent family breakdown, young people being taken into care or the need for intervention from statutory agencies such as social services.

93% families didn’t require social services support.

Stepahead Keyworkers have through their skills, strengths and abilities, provided life changing support services to thousands of children, young people and their families over the past 13 years. It is impossible to demonstrate or do justice to the real impact the services has had over the years, as the benefit of Stepahead’s support leaves a legacy that spans generations.

97% of families reported improved communication between young people and their family.

We can only attempt to illustrate the positive impact the Keyworkers have had by sharing feedback received from families and agencies that have benefited from our services.

From parents:‘Even though our Keyworker has always said, we have done the work, Stepahead has made an incredible difference to our lives. I would hate to think where we would be without the support we have been given. It saddens me to think that other families will miss out on the support we have been given.’

‘Our support worker has been invaluable to us as a family, I would even go as far to say, that she has been instrumental in helping our son in turning his life around, he still has a way to go yet, but on the whole his behaviour is now 100% better than before.’

‘ I know saying thank you never quite seems enough, but I can honestly say you have helped to rescue a very large family through a crisis situation.’

87% reported an increased resilience to difficult situations.

From young people:100% said we treat them as individuals.

‘Stepahead Support helped me with my problems and how to solve them. My life with my family is much better’

86% felt that they dealt more confidently with life changes and challenges.

From agencies:‘Your work is fantastic and an extremely valuable service.’

‘This is terrible news and a great loss to all of our teenagers and their families that you support. This will leave a very large

The door has closed on Stepahead’s targeted family intervention services

gap in our services to teenagers and I am concerned that this will have a huge impact with the current families we have where Stepahead Support have been involved.’

96% agencies were very satisfied or satisfied with the service provided.

The service wouldn’t have been possible without a fantastically skilled, dedicated and caring group of Keyworkers, senior Keyworkers and Area Managers.

Whilst this service in its current form will no longer be around to support children, young people and families in Kent, we are working hard to secure new contracts through the KCC tendering process and other funding streams. All new work will compliment and add strength to the remaining high quality services that will continue to be delivered by Stepahead Support, and we very much hope that many of these staff will work with Stepahead Support again in the near future.

We want to personally thank and show our deep appreciation to the following staff and wish them well in the future, whether in different roles in Stepahead Support or elsewhere.

Area Managers Length of service

Jan Chapman 2 years

Gerry O’Brien 2 years

Susan Amos 8 years

Senior Keyworkers Length of service

Rachelle Mackender 8 years

Maggie Sandy 9 years

Julie Ward 10 years

Corrina Collins 9 years

Keyworkers Length of service

Sally Atkins 7 years

Juliette Joyce 4 years

Barbara Antinoro 4 years

Barbara Millet 9 years

Jenny Bedding 3 years

Melissa Jane 2 years

Virginia Cornwell 4 years

Faye Geary 4 years

Phil Jordan 2 years

Qudrat Masudi 4 years

We are lucky that a handful of these staff have been able to remain with Stepahead Support in alternative roles, including a new service that is being delivered by Stepahead Support.

The door may have closed but it is certainly not being locked. We write this article with heavy hearts as we all come to terms with the fact that our Stepahead Support family services, funded by KCC ceased on 30th September 2012.

Angela Johnson, Operations Manager

Carolyn McVittie, Managing Director &

4

Olympic fun for our residents!On Thursday 19th July, 10 residents and staff from Avante Care and Supports care home, Court Regis, came along to Head Office in Faversham to be part of the Olympic celebrations and see the Olympic Torch Bearers travel through the town.

With the sun shining and the flags waving

there was an amazing buzz throughout Jubilee Way and Whitstable Road, Faversham, in the build up to the Torch Bearers arriving.

The Olympic procession was booked to stop for a short break at the Jubilee Centre on Jubilee Way (next door to Avante Partnerships Head Office) so staff and residents were lucky enough to have the opportunity to talk and have pictures taken with the Olympic Torch Bearers. Residents from Court Regis showed their full support for Team GB by waving Union Jack flags and a banner they had designed especially for the day.

Residents from Court Regis got to hold the Olympic Torch and chat to the Torch Bearers about their journey so far.

It was a great afternoon and the residents at Court Regis thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

An Olympic day for Court Regis

5

On Sunday 2nd September Amherst Court hosted their

very own version of the Olympics, by involving residents and families who wanted to take part and named the whole event ‘Amlympics’. The day had been planned with great detail and a lot of effort from staff members involved. There were even medals for all ‘Amlympic’ winners! Events, included the egg and spoon race, goals into the net, golf and a whole lot more. The day was rounded off with a mouth watering BBQ enjoyed by all. ‘We are proud of the variety of events that take place on a regular basis, but this one really did top them all! It will definitely be an event that we will repeat and maybe class it as an annual sports day event’, says Dawn Christopher, Activities Coordinator.

Amlympics at Amherst Court

AMLyMpiCS

party in the park with Avante partnership!

Staff who had volunteered to help on the day all met at Mote Park on

the Wednesday morning to help with erecting gazebo’s and marquees and to ensure a little shade was provided, for what was predicted to be the hottest day of the year so far. Mid morning saw lots of buses full of residents, young people, staff (and lots of picnic food!) come flooding in to the park, all set for a great day out.

This years Summer Getaway was a little different than the previous events that had taken place, as thanks to staff at Mote Park we were given unlimited access to the boating lake, kayaking, miniature railway and insect trail for the Summer Getaway guests to enjoy.

Guests to the great day out included residents and staff from all 15 of our care homes enjoying a trip out on the boating lakes. Young people and their families

from Stepahead Support took advantage of the free kayaking activity and service users from Avante Community support enjoyed a free boat ride or two, including one service user, Betty who was also celebrating her birthday on the same day.

The event saw Elvis Tribute act Chris Field singing and dancing to entertain the crowds throughout the day.

Karen Flynn, PA to the Chief Executive and event organiser said:

On Wednesday 25th July we held our Summer Getaway at Mote Park in Maidstone. The Summer Getaway is an annual event for the organisation that invites residents, service users, young people and families to join for a day of fun and activities all can enjoy.

6

‘This was the biggest and best day out so far and the weather was completely on our side! It was wonderful to see everyone enjoying themselves and a special thanks go to all members of staff at Head office that helped on the day; we look forward to another fantastic Summer Getaway event next year’.

7

8

We are starting a Carer of the Month scheme

across Community Support. The Carer of the Month can be nominated by anyone. If you would like to nominate a Carer from Avante Community Support, please send through

Back in June this year two of our Service Users Patricia and Edgar

from Avante Community Support took the plunge and got married. Patricia met Edgar through the Minister of the Church in Day Lane, Sidcup. Edgar lives next door to the Minister and knows him personally. Pat attends

We’d like to celebrate the high quality support our Key

Workers have given to our New Outlooks clients. It is a great symbol of their hard work when all our clients have been reviewed by KCC; they choose to stay with Avante Community Support, New Outlooks service. Key Workers unlike carers are sometimes lone-working in the community with very vulnerable individuals. We value their dedication and contribution and look forward to future developments.

Staff announcements:

New Outlooks Two of our service users tie the knot!

a weekly craft club and was asked to make some crafts at Easter for the Church. The Minister introduced Edgar to Pat and they hit it off straight away. Edgar asked Pat out for a meal and then the rest is history. They have been inseparable ever since. They got married on 12th June.

your nomination to the relevant Team Manager: Julie Barr, Faversham; Sue Broadbent, Bexley East/Greenwich; and Dawn Dwyer, Bexley West. We will be putting all nominations in a monthly draw.

Avante Community Support would like to welcome new office staff members. Juli-Ann Ledger is our new Business Administration Manager based at Head Office and Christine Matthews is our new Field Care Supervisor based at the Bexley Branch.

Congratulations to Trixie Moors who recently celebrated her 100th birthday. Trixie is one of our service users at Avante Community Support who celebrated the

milestone birthday with her friends and family in October! Congratulations Trixie from all at Avante Community Support!

9

The day was opened by Trustee Brian Munday who said, ‘It is with

great pleasure that we are officially opening the new offices in Erith today.The demand to assist people to live independently in their own homes is growing and it is vital there are experienced care providers able to meet these demands. Avante Community Support has been operating in the Bexley area for over 20 years and prides itself on its excellent customer satisfaction and its flexible service.’

Open day for Avante Community Support

Recruitment and training with Avante Community SupportAvante Community

Support has invested in Field Care Supervisors

to oversee all senior carer, and key worker activity. The FCS’s ensure that all compliance for the field-based staff is monitored and supported on a daily basis. We have been able to implement some really great advances in our care delivery due to this investment.

We’ve been complimented by Greenwich Council on our Medication Administration procedures - as the only provider in Greenwich with the skills and experience observed by the District Nurses. This is a credit to the Field Care Supervisor, Dawn Phipps, who has overseen 200+ carers and

400+ service users with their Medication Administration support.

Avante Community Support is achieving some really high targets in regards to recruitment. Karen Randell, Training and Recruitment Manager, has been implementing a recruitment strategy for the past 5 months. Karen’s team, Bernie Clancy and Carolyn O’Shea, have worked to increase the new care worker totals to over 30 in the last 5 months. Additionally, Amanda Andrews, Recruitment and Training Officer (Kent), has been able to increase the recruitment pipeline to the highest levels in the past 12 months.

Guests and staff dropped in throughout the day and also took part in the balloon launch, which was arranged to mark the open day. Staff and guests launched 100 Avante Community Support balloons into the sky with a prize reward for the furthest travelled balloon.

A big thank you to all the staff involved in making the open day a great success.

On Friday 29th June Avante Community Support had an open day to launch the opening of their new offices in Erith.

10

New Senior Management Team members

Michelle joined Avante Partnership in September 2012 with

over 20 years’ experience of working within Health and Social care. Michelle’s career commenced in nursing and subsequently Midwifery and Health Visiting.

Michelle has had a number of senior leadership roles with the NHS within Kent including commissioning, service redesign, contract and procurement and business planning. Michelle was also a Sure Start Director in Medway.

Prior to joining Avante Partnership Michelle was the Director of Strategy and Business Planning for South East Health; a not for profit organisation focusing on out of hours and urgent care and

was successful in a number of tendering opportunities.

Michelle is committed to organisational growth and development, by creating innovative services, which meet the needs of the community. Michelle’s focus is to enable the organisation to explore and create new opportunities.

Her passion and enthusiasm is in improving services for disadvantaged and vulnerable groups.

Michelle lives in Ashford and enjoys gardening, cooking and reading.

Welcome to Avante Partnership Michelle!

Anita Eader is the Acting Managing Director for an interim period of six-

months for Avante Community Support.

Anita has over 20 years experience with a combined background in healthcare, mental health, learning disabilities, and social care. Anita has a Dual Master of Arts for both Individual Psychology and Marriage and Family Therapy. Anita’s management and care background may have originated in the U.S. but

her focus and drive indicates that she has successfully transferred her skills to the U.K.

As well as the appointment of Anita Eader as Acting Managing Director Avante Community Support is pleased to announce the new Interim position of Assistant Director – Business Support, Kim Bailey, who is already a member of the Leadership group and has stepped up from her current position of Finance Manager for Avante Community Support.

Michelle Ford Business Development Director

Anita Eader Acting Managing Director, Avante Community Support

11

On Friday 7th September staff at Barnetts held a garden party for their residents, families, friends and staff. Everyone came together to enjoy music from the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s performed by a band called “Side by Side”. Everyone enjoyed the day and took part in dancing the afternoon away whilst enjoying a wonderful buffet and a glass or two of Pimms!!!

“A fabulous day with sunshine, happy faces and much laughter – what could be a better way to celebrate the end of summer”.

On Thursday 12th July a team of volunteers from the Policy and

Partnerships Department of Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, wielded their forks and spades at Barnetts care home to help dig and clear an overgrown area of the grounds for a day. The overgrown grass area had become an unused area for quite some time and was in desperate need of some attention, so office wear was exchanged for garden gear, with plenty of drinks and sandwiches supplied by the kitchen to keep the workers fuelled up for the task.

Employer sponsored volunteering projects such as above are on the increase and Avante Care and Support has recently welcomed several organisations into their services to help encourage such projects to take place. The employer sponsored projects are becoming an important contribution from many organisations to give

Barnetts garden party

Volunteers help at Barnettssomething back to their local communities and to build a sense of team work and pride in the participating employees.

‘We have recently been approached from several organisations who have asked to spend the day volunteering their services in various areas of our services. The projects are a great idea and a great support for us and our services’ says Phillip Moore, Community Engagement Manager.

Avante Care and Support would like to thank all employer sponsored volunteering groups that have contributed so far to our services and look forward to working with new ones in the future.

12

Day six: The tea dance Residents from Riverdale and Sunbury Lodge came to Homeleigh on this day to enjoy the Tea Dance and entertainment from Gary King.

Day seven: Day at the zooWe all had a great day out at Wingham Wild Life Park. We had lunch served next to a pond with ducks, parrots and chickens running around. This was followed by a leisurely walk around the park and a walk on the wild side with the Flamingoes!

Day eight: Away day for some and entertainment for othersWhile some of our residents were enjoying Mote Park for the away day , Homeleigh had a singer come and visit at lunchtime. The residents enjoyed a great sing a long over lunch.

Day nine: Last day BBQ dayThe holiday ended with a BBQ that was cooked by Angela and Tony this was then followed by Trustee, Giles Craven presenting each resident with a medal for taking part in the holiday fun and to mark the start of the Olympics.

Day one: Trip to the Malta inn in Maidstone Philip Moore from Head office met us in the car park and helped out with the outing, where we had a picnic by the river, then a boat ride into Maidstone and back followed by lunch in the Malta Inn.

Day two: pamper day Homeleigh This involved a lot of cream and face packs. It also involved a bubble bath with a glass of wine for Peter. We had a holistic massager called Trevor Reed who treated the residents to a relaxing massage.

Day three: Take away day and high teaThis day was all about food! The residents enjoyed a takeaway of their choice delivered to the home for lunch and once that had been digested Barbara and Angela created a High Tea for all to enjoy

Day four: Fashion show This was inspired by Winn Cass who said that she would like to go to a fashion show. Instead we brought the fashion show to Winn with the help of a very nice young man called Gary. Gary came along and displayed his clothes collection that ranged from the 1930 to the 80s,

Day five: Whitstable for the dayWe parked at the castle at Whotsable where each resident was given a posy of sweet peas from the gardner. We then walked along the sea front to find an Italian restaurant. This was inspired by May Morgan who asked if she could go to Italy for a holiday, as this could not happen this year; this was the next best thing.

Homeleigh’s summer holiday fun

The residents chose not to go away this year but to have the holiday within the home. Themes for days were also chosen from one to one sessions with the residents.

Well done to all the staff at Homeleigh who helped make the virtual holiday a huge success.

13

On Thursday 18th July, Honeyfield had a special visit from

a four legged friend called Tigger.

Nicola Lambert, Activities Coordinator decided to arrange a little surprise for residents at Honeyfield, by arranging a visit from Tigger the donkey from Willow Farm, Crockenhill.

The idea had come about from many conversations between staff and residents at the home about pets and favourite animals. Many

Tigger visits Honeyfield for the day

On Thursday 26th July Bridge Haven proudly opened its recently refurbished doors, to families, health professionals and the Sheriff and Vice Chairman of Canterbury, Heather Taylor, to come along and celebrate the completion of the building work that took place at Bridge Haven and to officially open ‘Gregory’s Tea Room’.

The building work at Bridge Haven started in November 2011 to

introduce two new bedroom suites, offering modern en-suite facilities and luxurious bedroom features, plus a new reception area. During the building work, residents, family members and staff were extremely patient and flexible with the necessary, temporary changes that were required.

Bridge Haven now boasts 12 new beautifully designed bedrooms in suites of two, called Kingston and Patrixbourne, a brand new

reception and meeting area for the residents and their families, plus a log cabin to be enjoyed by residents and families as well as the general public to come along and enjoy a cup of tea or coffee and slice of cake!

The open day saw Trustee Brian Munday welcome everyone to the day and invited Sheriff and Vice Chairman of Canterbury, Heather Taylor and Mrs Gregory, who very generously donated to the funding of the log cabin, to officially open ‘Gregory’s Tea Room’.

residents and staff talked about what their favourite animals were and what pets they used to have; surprisingly to some, the favourite animal mentioned throughout the conversations were donkeys!

With that, an idea was born and Nicola approached Willow Farm and asked Farm Owner Liz Fry very kindly if she minded if Honeyfield borrowed their donkey for a few hours for residents to enjoy. Liz dropped Tigger off, and a few snacks for him to enjoy during his visit, which looked like at least a kilo of bananas, 6 packs of ginger biscuits and various other treats for residents and staff to feed Tigger with.

One resident who is staying at Honeyfield for a respite break said ‘This donkey

reminds me of when I used to go the beach as a child and there used to be donkey rides. What a lovely treat for a sunny day’.

Another resident enjoyed reminiscing on how Tigger reminded him of his own donkeys that he used to keep many years ago, referring back to one of them being called ‘Jacko’.

Julie Ayres, Home Manager said, ‘It was excellent having Tigger come and visit today, I could see so much enjoyment in the residents faces whilst they stroked, fed and talked to Tigger. I think the staff and residents thoroughly enjoyed spending time with Tigger, although I’m not sure that Sam our dog was as keen on him as everybody else!’

Bridge Haven open day

Honeyfield would like to say a big Thank You to Liz Fry and all staff at Willow Farm for allowing this day to happen and a very big thank you to Tigger for being a great visitor!

14

Trip 1, Kelly Coombs, Steve Page and Mark Harvey began the summer taking the young people to the ‘Summer Getaway’ where they enjoyed taking part in the activities. Kayaking was a first for some young people and staff as well and many took pleasure in watching Kelly nearly fall into the water. Mark led the way show casing his skills along with Oliver. His message for the day was ‘I really enjoyed the kayaking and would like to take it up as a hobby’. The day ended on a high when we missed our train and had to wait, this was a fab highlight for our young people as they found this highly amusing!!

Trip 2, Our travels in the Summer took us back to Route 25 for an action packed gaming day where the young people enjoyed a treasure hunt around the centre tracking down clues in a race to the finish. They also had the opportunity to develop their skills in t-shirt designing, chocolate making, lino printing and the fabulous Djembe drumming which taught us the African art of communication.

Trip 3, Steve and Kelly went on a trip to the beach fossil hunting the young people excited to find any hidden treasures as well as fossils. A couple more hours and I’m sure we would have found a pirate ship!!!

Header - Inspiring Communities

Images that are related to this article all begin with R25

inspiring CommunitiesThe Inspiring Communities project at Route 25 had an amazing summer full of activities. The staff and young people went on a variety of trips and activities that brought fun and laughter all the way.

Trip 4, Mark wore us all out on our trip to the leisure centre where in true Olympic spirit he had us all tobogganing, playing volley ball, hooping and basketball. Everyone was shattered at the end and the only way to recover was with an ice cream!!

Trip 5, Dover Castle was our final adventure we had a brilliant day exploring the castle and the grounds, we tried to lock Mark and Steve in the dungeons but they escaped!!

Trip 6, Mark took some young people down into the second world war tunnels and helped them to understand the history behind them.

As described by our young people “The summer was too good for words”

We all enjoyed a fabulous summer and look forward to many more activities with our young people. If any one is passing Route 25 pop in for a cup of tea and have a look at our summer slideshow.

15

Congratulations to Stepahead Support Volunteer Steve Page,

appointed Senior Keyworker at Route 25 in Folkestone last month. Steve says he is delighted to be offered the 6 month contract to work with young people and make a difference to their lives.

A Production Team Leader at Pfizer Pharmaceuticals in Sandwich, Steve was made

Route 25 are having A Christmas light switch on Wednesday 28th November 2pm – 6pm

For more information please call Route 25:-

From Volunteer to Senior Keyworker

redundant after 25 years with the company in 2009. Father of 4 children, he felt strongly drawn to helping young people not so fortunate as him and his family. Responding to a volunteer advert, Steve came to Stepahead Support, trained as a mentor and gave many hours to supporting a young autistic person in Thanet with great dedication. After working round-the-clock

shifts in domiciliary care with older people, followed by 2 years working in a care home for the elderly, Steve resigned and decided to try volunteering with Stepahead Support. Steve quickly became involved with Route 25, working in evening clubs for both young people. Stepahead Support staff soon recognised steves passion for helping young people with

problems and were keen to invite Steve to the Senior Keyworker post.

Well done Steve!

Coming Soon

23-25 Tontine Street, Folkestone, 01303 251 835

16

Second Interview6

Owl or Lark? Definitely a lark, love the mornings often awake during the summer months from about 4am. I find that this is the best time of the day; peace and quiet and able to think.

Daily alarm set for? Set for 5.40 although always awake earlier!!

Tea or Coffee? Tea, although I do love the smell of coffee.

Smart, casual or scruffy?Depends, love nothing more than having to dress for an occasion but equally am happy in a pair of old jeans and a t shirt.

Highlight of week ahead? (work) Out visiting some of the services that we offer both in relation to residential care and Stepahead services. It’s lovely to get out and about and meet clients and staff.

Highlight of week ahead? (my time) Out on Friday night to eat with friends and husband.

Favourite Meal? I don’t think I have a favourite, I love all aspects of food … including shopping, cooking and eating.

Evening unwind? Nothing better than a large glass of wine and a good book.

Favourite music/artist?I don’t have a favourite artist; I will listen to anything within reason from classical to Rihanna.

Favourite holiday destination?Sri Lanka, a very beautiful country, with a lovely culture and fantastic people. Although I am happy to go anywhere that is hot with a swimming pool and a sunbed!!

Favourite hobby?Reading has always been one of my main hobbies but I have become even more of a bookworm since having a kindle.

Name:Michelle Ford

Job Title:Business Development Director

The ASB office is located above Homeleigh residential care home in Erith and is managed by Samantha Gibbs, Recruitment Consultant and assisted by Toni Ansell and

Leah Cosby. The ASB staff base is growing and adverts are currently being rolled out, to recruit experienced relief Care Service Assistants, Domestic Assistants, Kitchen Assistants, Cooks and Team Leaders to the already growing bank of staff. The ASB “On Call” service came into effect in June 2012 and this means ASB is available from 6:30 a.m. until 10 p.m, 365 days a year. The on call service is there for emergencies only, to cover absences out of normal office hours. The cover currently provided by ASB is on average 60% over all with the target of 90% coverage across our homes. Overall feedback has been positive and ASB welcomes any feedback in order to improve the services that they provide for the organisation.

The Avante Staff BankThe Avante Staff Bank (ASB) was established in January 2012 to help reduce agency usage, but more importantly to maintain continuity of care. Avante Care and Support and Avante Community Support strive to ensure their residents and service users have a consistent high level of care and by providing our own bank of staff at ASB we can ensure that this is achieved.

17

Noreen makes time for ‘My Time’ at Bridge Haven

There is always something good going on at Parkview care home, whether it be through their residential care service or the day care centre. The need for short relief evening respite care is growing on a daily basis and staff at Parkview have decided to introduce a new evening respite service called ‘My Evening Time’. ‘We are really pleased to be launching this new service on Tuesday and Thursday evenings as we know there is a growing need for this extra care for people

The service allows people living with dementia to have a short break stay

at Bridge Haven, whether it is for a few hours, a day or overnight stay.

The service makes time for the carer to have a little time to themselves for all those little things that generally get put on the back burner due to the demands of caring for someone living with dementia.

Since it’s launch in July, there has been a steady flow of bookings and

Welcome to ‘My Time’ Noreen!

the first person to book through MyTime was Mrs Rumley for her mother Noreen. When Noreen arrived at Bridge Haven, staff enjoyed reminiscing with her and getting to know her background which included Noreen being a ward sister at St Martin’s Hospital in Canterbury from 1969 to 1994 and was apparently a real stickler for detail.

parkview launches its new evening respite service

living with dementia and to help support their carers. The evening service includes a hot meal and entertainment which the carer is also invited to come along too’, says Claire Evans Home Manager at Parkview.

My Evening Time launched at the beginning of October, for more information on the My Evening Time respite service call Parkview on: 0208 2982271

Bridge Haven care centre has recently launched a new short term relief service called ‘My Time’.

18

Follow Anne Child, Head of Pharmaceutical Care and Clinical standards, Avante Care and Support, fortnightly blog on http://goo.gl/HXpd6

A big well done to all of the care homes that took part in dementia

awareness week to help raise funds for the Alzheimers Society. Our homes and Head Office took part in the fundraising by planning coffee mornings, prize draws, pyjama days, fetes and cake sales and combined raised a grand total of £902.10.

The team dressed up in purple T-shirts (with Northbourne Court

Angels printed on the front) pink feather boa’s, angels wings and angel wands. Even the dog (Mikey) had a feather boa wrapped around his collar!!

The walk started at 11.00 a.m. and the team headed off to Station Road, via the park and met with a group of footballer’s mums and dads, who were very happy to donate to the Northbourne Court Amenity fund, so we then handed thank you stickers to show our appreciation. The team completed the 5 mile walk, raised £650 and ended the

Northbourne Court fundraisingOn Saturday 9th June 2012 Managers, Team Leaders, Carers, Charlie (who’s only 12) and one of Northbourne Court pet dogs, Mikey, raised approximately £650.00 for Northbourne Court residents amenity funds by doing a 5 mile walk from Harland Avenue Sidcup to Foots Cray and back.

fundraising with tired legs!!!

The fund raising team would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone, Firstly, SEAN BAKER (Haulage Contractor) – who kindly sponsored the printed T-shirt, the relatives and visitors at Northbourne Court, Jo-anne Baker, Leanne and Charlie Bennett, Deena Perry, Doreen Barrett, Elaine Pavey, Angela Snapes, Bernie Kane, Carol Booker, Dianne Cavender, Joy Jacobs, Andrew Card, Fiona Taylor, Eddie Hall and Mikey-the dog who helped to make this fundraising event successful.

Well done everyone!!!

Avante Care and Support take part in Dementia Awareness week

5 MILE WALK

DATE: 09/06/12TIME: 10:00 - 3:00PM

This fundraising event is to raise money for the residents amenity funds. Your kind generosity is greatly appreciated.

0208 269 9840www.northbournecourt.org.ukenquiries@avantecaresupport.org.uk

19

AVERYSPECIALBIRTHDAY

ThismonthsawCourtRegiskickingthingsoff

withaveryspecialpartycelebratingGladys’s

101stbirthday.Withentertainmentfrom

CourtRegisfavourites‘Unique’,Gladys,

friendsandfamilymadesuretopartyuntil

theevening.

PATRELIVESHERROLE

AlsothismonthCourtRegisheld

theirannualsummerfetewithour

veryownPatsteppinginherold

market‐tradershoestohelprunthe

tombolafortheday.Soonafter,the

localpressprintedthestory.Thanks

toPatandotherfriendsandfamily

ofCourtRegistheyroseover£500

andhaveanewcelebrity.

CHEERSMALCOLM.

EarlierthisyearwementionedthatMalcolm,

theowneroflocalpub,TheThreeHats,was

torunthemarathontoraisefundsforthe

CourtRegisAmenityfund.Well,heraised

£2000whichpromptedanimmediaterushto

thebartothankhimforallhishardwork.

Thelocalpresshavealsocoveredthestory;

lookoutforourresidentsinthepapersoon.

pat relives her role

Also this month Court Regis held their annual summer fete with our

Pat stepping back into in her old market-trader shoes to help run the tombola for the

day. Soon after, the local press printed the story. Thanks to Pat and other friends and family of Court Regis they raised over £500.

On Saturday 11th August Pilgrims View had a bbq for their

residents and their families. The day was a great success where lots of families attended along with staff members too. The day had a whole range of entertainment including a disco, dancing, raffles, lots of wonderfully cooked BBQ food and this was all topped off with a lot of sunshine gracing us for the day!

Also on the day one staff member, Peter Latham, decided he wanted to help raise funds for the homes amenity fund by offering to have his back waxed. As you

BBQ time at pilgrims Viewcan imagine staff members were not going to turn down this opportunity for a little fun (and possibly a little bit of pain for poor Peter). According to staff members Peter didn’t cry out once but he was seen to be pulling a few funny faces!! Peters brave efforts managed to raise an excellent £170 for the amenity fund!

The residents have already said how they would like to spend their money on some new fish and fish tank. Thanks again to Peter and also all the staff that helped to make the BBQ fun day a great success!

AVERYSPECIALBIRTHDAY

ThismonthsawCourtRegiskickingthingsoff

withaveryspecialpartycelebratingGladys’s

101stbirthday.Withentertainmentfrom

CourtRegisfavourites‘Unique’,Gladys,

friendsandfamilymadesuretopartyuntil

theevening.

PATRELIVESHERROLE

AlsothismonthCourtRegisheld

theirannualsummerfetewithour

veryownPatsteppinginherold

market‐tradershoestohelprunthe

tombolafortheday.Soonafter,the

localpressprintedthestory.Thanks

toPatandotherfriendsandfamily

ofCourtRegistheyroseover£500

andhaveanewcelebrity.

CHEERSMALCOLM.

EarlierthisyearwementionedthatMalcolm,

theowneroflocalpub,TheThreeHats,was

torunthemarathontoraisefundsforthe

CourtRegisAmenityfund.Well,heraised

£2000whichpromptedanimmediaterushto

thebartothankhimforallhishardwork.

Thelocalpresshavealsocoveredthestory;

lookoutforourresidentsinthepapersoon.

Cheers Malcolm

Earlier this year we mentioned that Malcolm, the owner of local pub,

The Three Hats, was to run the marathon to raise funds for the Court Regis Amenity fund. Well, he raised £2000 which

prompted an immediate rush to the bar to thank him for all his hard work. The local press have also covered the story; look out for our residents in the paper soon.

AVERYSPECIALBIRTHDAY

ThismonthsawCourtRegiskickingthingsoff

withaveryspecialpartycelebratingGladys’s

101stbirthday.Withentertainmentfrom

CourtRegisfavourites‘Unique’,Gladys,

friendsandfamilymadesuretopartyuntil

theevening.

PATRELIVESHERROLE

AlsothismonthCourtRegisheld

theirannualsummerfetewithour

veryownPatsteppinginherold

market‐tradershoestohelprunthe

tombolafortheday.Soonafter,the

localpressprintedthestory.Thanks

toPatandotherfriendsandfamily

ofCourtRegistheyroseover£500

andhaveanewcelebrity.

CHEERSMALCOLM.

EarlierthisyearwementionedthatMalcolm,

theowneroflocalpub,TheThreeHats,was

torunthemarathontoraisefundsforthe

CourtRegisAmenityfund.Well,heraised

£2000whichpromptedanimmediaterushto

thebartothankhimforallhishardwork.

Thelocalpresshavealsocoveredthestory;

lookoutforourresidentsinthepapersoon.

This month saw Court Regis kicking things off with a very special party

celebrating Gladys’s 101st birthday. With entertainment

A very special Birthdayfrom Court Regis favourites ‘Unique’, Gladys, friends and family made sure to party until the evening.

20

A funny moment shared from Weybourne, Home Manager, Terry HeslingtonI went out to assess a lady a few weeks ago – this is what transpired:

On arriving at the hospital I engaged with Ester, (aged 96 years of age). We chatted for a while and then I said to her that we had something in common – our birthdays were the same – 30th August. She looked me up and down and said – Well mate, all I can say is that you look bloody good for 96. It just shows that although there may be a dementia dysfunction, the sense of humour still remains.

National payroll WeekThe 3rd to the 7th of September was National Payroll Week - a week to celebrate all things Payroll. The theme for this year was “Driving Payroll Forward” so we did. The Payroll Team borrowed the Care & Support Fiesta and went on a road trip to see if we could help any of our employees with payroll queries or explaining their payslips to them.

On Tuesday we visited Stepahead Support in Margate,

we met quite a few of our Keyworkers, one of whom took us on a tour of the offices and explained to us what some of the different contracts they work too are and what they are able to achieve. Inspiring stuff. – They didn’t have any payroll queries for us.

Wednesday we went to Weybourne in the morning, we held a payroll surgery where we met some employees with a few payroll queries and then went on a tour of the home meeting staff and Carers – the roast potatoes looked delicious! In the afternoon we visited the

new offices at Erith for Avante Community Support. We met the hard working office staff who keep the calls to our service users covered.

On Thursday we visited Amherst Court in the morning and held another small payroll surgery with staff and went through their payroll queries. Then, on a tour of the homes we found an Irish lady who used to do payroll for a large London shop. We had a chat with her and she seemed very animated, unfortunately she has reverted to Gaelic and we could not understand her apart from yes and no. One of the yes’s was when asked if the Care was good. Amanda also recognised a gentleman she used to deliver

papers to a few years ago so an animated conversation followed.

In the afternoon we went to Court Regis where we again held a small payroll surgery and had a tour of the home. We met a few of our clients who were just off for a walk with 2 of our Carers.

These three days were inspiring and I am full of admiration for our staff. My team and I had a whirlwind of fun laughter and tears.

Last night I watched the closing ceremony of the Paralympic games and they thanked the volunteers –“The Games Makers”. I know our staff are not volunteers but

I am sure most of them go above and beyond their paid duties (I know my team do). To me our staff are “The Care Makers” and I would like to thank them for their hard work and dedication.

Thank you all

Jacqui Sedgwick and the Payroll team

Leading payroll in 20123-7 September

NPW’12Driving payroll

forwardLeading payroll in 2012

3-7 September 2012

nationalpayrollweek.co.uk

cipp.org.uk

Volunteer polo shirts

New volunteer polo shirts in Avante purple are now available in each of our care homes for volunteers to wear ‘on duty’ if they choose. This one is modelled by

Steve Giles, a volunteer at Honeyfield care home in Hextable, who offers many hours each week, including driving the minibus, which is greatly appreciated by residents and staff alike.

We hope to see a significant increase in the number of volunteers over the next few months. We want to engage with local people as volunteers and partners, providing greater diversity, a local marketing resource and a significant contribution to our person centred approach in care.

All the evidence points to ‘word of mouth’ as the most effective way of recruiting volunteers, so we encourage all our dedicated staff, families and friends of our service users to spread the word among their contacts.

21

prison Groups

Two of our care homes benefit from regular gardening and groundwork support from supervised groups through partnerships with local prisons. This is a good example

of community engagement, where both parties receive mutual benefit from the project, not least winning a best garden prize for the second year running at Barton Court.

Avante News – Community Engagement Volunteer polo shirts

New volunteer polo shirts in Avante purple are now available in each of our care homes for volunteers to wear ‘on duty’ if they choose. This one is modelled by Steve

Giles, a volunteer at Honeyfield Care Home in Hextable who offers many hours each

week, including driving the minibus, which is greatly appreciated by residents and

staff alike.

We hope to see a significant increase in the number of volunteers over the next few months. We want to engage with local people as volunteers and partners, providing

greater diversity, a local marketing resource and a significant contribution to our

person centred approach in care.

All the evidence points to ‘word of mouth’ as the most effecting way of recruiting

volunteers, so we encourage all our dedicated staff , families and friends of our

service users to spread the word among their contacts.

National Citizen Service

Bridge Haven and Pilgrim’s View have benefited this Summer from Government

sponsored National Citizen Service teams of young people aged 16/17. Both groups

chose the care homes for their projects of service to their local community by working in the grounds to improve the spaces for use by residents and their families, as well

as the wider community on occasion.

The Not Forgotten Association

Residents at Amherst Court, including some ex-service veterans, enjoyed an

excellent and very professional afternoon of ‘Diamond Jubilee’ themed musical

entertainment as a gift from the Non Forgotten Association supporting veterans, whose Chief Executive Col. Piers Storrie-Pugh introduced the proceedings. A rousing

Land of Hope and Glory completed the afternoon to encore and applause.

School Business Challenge

A volunteer recruitment campaign for Avante Partnership was chosen as the

business challenge for a team of 5 year12 students from Maplesdene Noakes School in Maidstone this Summer. Working over a two week period with mentors and

teachers, the winning team, judged by an independent panel, would receive a prize

of £1000. Our team won! The young people’s presentation showed their passion and commitment to the task and their business plan brochure was an excellent

production. The Prize-giving evening at the school was a splendid occasion, attended

by 4 Avante partnership staff.

Prison Groups

Two of our care homes benefit from regular gardening and groundwork support from supervised groups through partnerships with local prisons. This is a good example of

community engagement, where both parties receive mutual benefit from the project,

not least winning a best garden prize for the second year running at Barton Court.

The Not Forgotten Association

Residents at Amherst Court, including some ex-service veterans, enjoyed an

excellent and very professional afternoon of ‘Diamond Jubilee’ themed musical

entertainment as a gift from the Non Forgotten Association supporting veterans, whose Chief Executive Col. Piers Storrie-Pugh introduced the proceedings. A rousing

Land of Hope and Glory completed the afternoon to encore and applause.

School Business Challenge

A volunteer recruitment campaign for Avante Partnership was chosen as the

business challenge for a team of 5 year12 students from Maplesdene Noakes School in Maidstone this Summer. Working over a two week period with mentors and

teachers, the winning team, judged by an independent panel, would receive a prize

of £1000. Our team won! The young people’s presentation showed their passion and commitment to the task and their business plan brochure was an excellent

production. The Prize-giving evening at the school was a splendid occasion, attended

by 4 Avante partnership staff.

Prison Groups

Two of our care homes benefit from regular gardening and groundwork support from supervised groups through partnerships with local prisons. This is a good example of

community engagement, where both parties receive mutual benefit from the project,

not least winning a best garden prize for the second year running at Barton Court.

Community Engagement

National Citizen Service

Bridge Haven and Pilgrim’s View have benefited this Summer from Government sponsored National Citizen Service teams of young people aged 16/17. Both groups

chose the care homes for their projects of service to their local community by working in the grounds to improve the spaces for use by residents and their families, as well as the wider community on occasion.

The Not Forgotten Association

Residents at Amherst Court, including some ex-service veterans, enjoyed an excellent and very professional afternoon of ‘Diamond Jubilee’ themed musical

entertainment, as a gift from the Not Forgotten Association supporting veterans, whose Chief Executive Col. Piers Storrie-Pugh introduced the proceedings. A rousing Land of Hope and Glory completed the afternoon to encore and applause.

School Business Challenge

A volunteer recruitment campaign for Avante Partnership was chosen as the business challenge for a team of five year12 students from Maplesdene Noakes School

in Maidstone this Summer. Working over a two week period with Mentors and Teachers, the winning team, judged by an independent panel, would receive a prize of £1000. Our team won! The young people’s presentation showed their passion and commitment to the task and their business plan brochure was an excellent production. The Prize-giving evening at the school was a splendid occasion, attended by four Avante Partnership staff.

Avante News – Community Engagement Volunteer polo shirts

New volunteer polo shirts in Avante purple are now available in each of our care homes for volunteers to wear ‘on duty’ if they choose. This one is modelled by Steve

Giles, a volunteer at Honeyfield Care Home in Hextable who offers many hours each

week, including driving the minibus, which is greatly appreciated by residents and

staff alike.

We hope to see a significant increase in the number of volunteers over the next few months. We want to engage with local people as volunteers and partners, providing

greater diversity, a local marketing resource and a significant contribution to our

person centred approach in care.

All the evidence points to ‘word of mouth’ as the most effecting way of recruiting

volunteers, so we encourage all our dedicated staff , families and friends of our

service users to spread the word among their contacts.

National Citizen Service

Bridge Haven and Pilgrim’s View have benefited this Summer from Government

sponsored National Citizen Service teams of young people aged 16/17. Both groups

chose the care homes for their projects of service to their local community by working in the grounds to improve the spaces for use by residents and their families, as well

as the wider community on occasion.

22

The approach of using care homes as placements is a completely new

approach in the UK and a first for Avante Care and Support. Students were placed across 7 of the 15 Avante Care and Support care homes and Stepahead Support services for their 100 day placements part of the BA degree in Social Work. The purpose of the placement for each student is to gain valuable incremental learning for the degree which is about theoretical approaches using a social model of care in helping people to seek solutions to social dynamic problems. Befriending residents and Service Users and developing a broader insight on social care about dementia type conditions also formed part of the students learning.

Students Neil Parry and Janet Jacob were two of the students that attended the celebration lunch and spoke vividly about their experiences within our care homes. Neil said he found the placement a great opportunity to understand and learn more about dementia type conditions and gained a lot from the residents and staff team, he also said his perception of a care home had now changed and was better than he had expected since working with residents on placement at Park View Bexley SE London.

Janet Jacob commented that placements helped to

Avante Care and Support and Kent Learning Centre projectOn Tuesday 3rd July 2012, year 1. Social Work Students from Kent University at Medway, staff and Trustees from Avante Partnership celebrated the hard work of 14 students on placement in Avante Care and Support care homes and young peoples services Stepahead Support.

understand the connection between theory and practice in a real environment as to that learnt in the classroom adding it also helped her with her written work.

Jacqui Morris, Practice Development Director opened the celebration by speaking about the journey staff members and students were on. ‘If we are honest we were all a little dubious at first as to how the placements would fit within our day to day work within our services, but it soon came apparent following the induction training and partnership with the Social Work Directorate at Kent University at Medway that this would be a beneficial project for all involved. The project was a great learning experience for both the students and staff and we are all so pleased with the results, all students have successfully completed there assessments from this first pilot programme and we have agreed to repeat the programme for 2012-13 with another 14 students from Kent University.’

Avante Partnership would like to thank Kent University at Medway for involving our organisation as part of the Avante Learning Centre Project a joint partnership with Kent University and Avante Partnership for Social Work programmes covering Kent, Bexley and Greenwich.

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