iMatter Awards - Independence Matters€¦ · Welcome to the Winter 2018 edition of News Matters Staff Matter award The Training Team pictured with Strategic Project Manager Maggie

Celebrating the achievements of staff

across Independence Matters

iMatter Awards

Congratulations to our overall winner

and finalist at the regional Great British

Care Awards, Ben Gadsby-Williams

Huge congratulations to our 2018 iMatter

Awards winners! The category winners

attended an awards ceremony on 22nd

November where Independence Matters’

Chair, Karen Hester, announced her

‘Chair’s Choice’ which went to People

Matter award winner Ben-Gadsby Williams.

Karen chose Ben as her overall winner

because of the potential for his Pathway

App to support the future of the business.

Alongside its ability to reach a broad range

of people regardless of their situation, she

said that technology, including AI, is coming

and that many of our customers would

enjoy using it.

We had a great turnout for the awards and

would like to thank everyone who put

forward nominations. We want to continue

to improve the way we recognise

outstanding contributions made by staff and

volunteers across Independence Matters

and will be building on this event to make

the iMatter Awards bigger and better for

2019.

2 0 1 8

Carers Matter awardKatie Snazell, Support Worker at Sprowston Community

Hub, pictured with Stakeholder Director, Philip Field.

Katie was nominated for going ‘above and beyond’

when a customer’s family fell victim to a cruel identity

scam which gave them access to their online data and

bank accounts. She helped them contact the fraud

team, cancel their bank cards and change their

computer settings. Her quick thinking and practical

support saved the family from a lot of heartache and

financial worries and make her a great role model for

our values.

People Matter award and Chair’s Choice Ben Gadsby-Williams Support Worker, North

PAS Team pictured with Finance Director. Paul

Slyfield.

Ben was nominated for the invention, design and

development of a smart phone app for

Independence Matters. The ‘Pathway App’

provides an easy and effective way for staff to

record data around customer activities and will

help us gather the independent living outcomes

we are delivering with customers. It also gives

customers a way to ‘score’ their experience at

local businesses and attractions, giving them a

star rating to help us build a picture of the best

places to visit.

I Matter, People Matter,

Carers Matter, Staff Matter,

Excellent Care Matters

Sarah Stock

Managing Director, Independence Matters

Hello from SarahWelcome to the

Winter 2018 edition

of News Matters

Staff Matter awardThe Training Team pictured with Strategic

Project Manager Maggie Manton.

Nominated for their enthusiasm, positive

attitudes and unparalleled dedication to meeting

the needs of learners at all levels. The team’s

members were praised for their professional yet

relaxed style, desire to nurture learners and

willingness to share their skills, knowledge and

expertise for the benefit of the whole company.

Excellent Care Matters awardBelinda Siely and Donna Mingaye-Jalowiec

pictured with NCC Director Janice Dane.

Team managers, Belinda and Donna were

praised equally by their staff teams and family

carers for their empathetic and supportive

approach. They were nominated for providing

support, leadership and guidance to their teams

and delivering quality services that meet the

expectations and needs of the customer.




It was lovely to recognise

our amazing staff who

have gone above and

beyond in their work at

our iMatter Awards in November.

I love the festive edition of News Matters as it

is always full of warmth and brings out the

creative side of everyone. There is a lot of

creativity running through this edition and it

makes me realise what a great medium the

arts are for bringing people together to share

experiences and express emotions; the

wonderful displays for the moving ‘Lest we

Forget’ celebrations in November, with Gabby

helping to sort hand crafted poppies from all

over the world; the brilliant underwater

Sensory Room at Suffolk Road Hub where

staff have been very innovative; the use of

drama and singing and the sheer joy that this

brings through participation in performance

and how it can stimulate memories for people;

the amazing Christmas card competition,

always so difficult to choose the winner; the

wonderful decorations and the sight of so

many festive jumpers… how is it that you

never see two people wearing the same

jumper!

However, it can also be a difficult time of year

and people can feel isolated and lonely. So it

was lovely to welcome back Friends In Deed

to Harford Hill as they are a fantastic charity

who bring the generations together throughout

the year and at Christmas the lovely little elves

come out to spread some joy. We are also

proud to be a part of the Better Together

collaboration to reduce the impact of social

isolation and loneliness. Wishing you all a

lovely Christmas, Happy New Year and be

kind to each other.

Lest We Forget




In November, customers and staff across our

services joined the nation in commemorating

the centenary of the WW1 Armistice, marking

100 years since the conflict ended.

The centenary was recognised at William Day

Centre with a special event attended by Norfolk-

based vintage singing duo Timescape, who

specialise in songs from 1940s and earlier.

They sang along with

some of the war time

favourites and

remembered those

lost in the First World

War. Their ‘100’

display was made

using old egg trays

and they baked

poppy decorated

cupcakes to go with

their afternoon tea.

OWL work placement

customer Gabby and Ipswich

Road Community Hub

support worker Jasmine

helped staff at the Millennium

Library to co-ordinate and sort

more than 15,500 hand

crafted poppies, donated by

people and groups from

across the world.

The poppies represented all

those commemorated on

Norfolk’s war memorials who

lost their lives in WW1. They

were used to create a display

in Norwich’s St Peter Mancroft

Church in October (right),

before being split into smaller

displays at the county’s

libraries in time for

Remembrance Sunday.




Sprowston Community Hub’s woodwork

group were asked by Sprowston Churches to

make 22 large white crosses to be displayed

at both churches on Remembrance Sunday.

The crosses were greatly admired by the

congregations that attended the services and

special thanks goes to everyone who worked

hard on these projects.

The Hub held its own tribute on Friday 9th

November. The main hall was decorated with

poppies made by the customers and staff in

the art and knitting groups and individuals,

including customers, staff and volunteers

contributed. Chris Child gave a talk explaining

the events leading up to the start of the war in

August 1914 and of the battles and trench

warfare which lasted over four years.

Massimo played music and popular songs of

the war years and Alan brought photos from

his time in the TA along with two of his

uniforms for everyone to see. Sean’s dad,

Jim, provided information about the history of

the poppy and the Tuesday cooking group

and Dawn Yull provide tea and cake. Chris

read the famous poem “In Flanders” fields”

before the event concluded with the last post.

Customers also made poppies which were

used to create a mural displayed at a public

exhibition at the Diamond Centre in

Sprowston. The artwork (below) is now

hanging in the reception area of the Hub.

At Crossroads Community Hub customers

created their own touching tribute (below) to

mark the centenary, painting and preparing bottle

bases to replicate poppies.




WINNER Lesley, Great Yarmouth Community Hub

Thank you to all the

customers who entered our

Christmas card competition

2018. We had a fantastic

response and loved looking

through all your entries.

As always, our judges found it

very difficult to choose a

favourite and in the end they

selected a winner and runner

up.

Congratulations go to Lesley

at Great Yarmouth

Community Hub, winner of the

Christmas card design, and

Dennis at Laburnum Grove

our runner up whose image

has been chosen for our

festive e-footer.

Alongside these are a

selection of the short-listed

entries. Enjoy!

2018 Christmas card competition

RUNNER UP Dennis, Laburnum Grove

Heidi, Dereham Community HubChristine, Harford Hill Ewan, Great Yarmouth

Community Hub




Alan and Doreen, Harford Hill

Jonathan, Dereham Hub

James, Great Yarmouth Hub

Ivy, Harford Hill

Judith, Dereham Hub Danni, Sprowston Hub Jonathon, Holt Hub

Mark, Great Yarmouth HubShirley, Attleborough Hub




Wendy, Great Yarmouth Hub

Lewis, Dereham Hub

Mark, Dereham HubMartha, Holt Hub

Vincent, Church Green Lodge Valerie, Church Green Lodge

Monica, Laburnum Grove




Better Togethercreating connections, building communities

What are LCs doing at the moment?

Having undergone training for the role, we

are now out and about doing a lot of

networking, finding out what’s available as

well as starting to work with people on a one

to one basis.

What type of support do you offer?

There are many reasons why people feel

lonely or isolated. As LCs we speak to

people and draw out what would improve

their quality of life. Currently we are

supporting someone who is stuck indoors

waiting for a hip operation but we can also

offer practical help, such as completion of

PIP forms, and emotional support for

example where people feel they can’t step

outside their house. For us, it’s about putting

people first. We are able to take time with

people and listen to them, helping them to

make their own choices, then support them

to do what they want to do.

How long do you provide support to

people for?

There is no real time limit, but we are aiming

at six months. We are not there long term,

our goal is to help people to build resilience

and become independent.

Is there anything you don’t do?

We specifically don’t provide clinical care,

advocacy, help with in depth housing issues

or anything with legal involvement. We’re

here to enable and support people to help

themselves rather than solve issues.

Better Together Norfolk is a new service, led by

Voluntary Norfolk and funded by Norfolk County

Council. Better Together’s Jade and Lorraine are

part of a team of six Life Connectors (LCs)

currently working across Norfolk. We asked them

to tell us more about the service and their roles.

What does the service aim to do?

Better Together was set up to reduce the impact

of loneliness and social isolation by proactively

reaching people who are not currently engaging

in services. We plan to do this is by enabling

communities to provide their own solutions,

through the support and encouragement of new

and existing community groups, helping them to

be more effective and increase their

membership.

Whereabouts are you based?

We work mainly in the community and are base

at the Norfolk County Council’s Broadland Early

Help Hub. The Hub is set up to give information

and guidance on a range of issues including

mental health problems, drug or alcohol

dependency, lone parenting and debt/housing

problems. Being in close proximity to other

services and means callers can be routed to the

most appropriate place, whether that is to Better

Together or another service.

Who can access the service?

The service is available to anyone aged 18 and

over, it’s free and you don’t have to be referred.

If you or someone you know could benefit

from the service, please call the Better

Together Helpline: 0300 303 3920 or visit www.bettertogethernorfolk.org.uk




Supporting work and learning opportunities for young people

Launched in January 2018, Norfolk County

Council’s Opportunities for Work and

Learning (OWL) project delivers workplace

experience to young people with additional

needs. Ipswich Road Community Hub has

been working with OWL since the project

started, and support worker Jasmine supports

student Gabby to attend a work placement at

the Millennium Library in Norwich.

Gabby’s placement involves helping the

Library’s regular staff by carrying out day to

day tasks, including photocopying and folding

leaflets. She also tidies bookshelves in the 8+

category of the library, collecting and sorting

mislaid books and putting them back on the

correct shelves. This is something Gabby

finds this particularly challenging as she has

eyesight problems which make it difficult for

her to read. Staff have encouraged her to

work around this is by sorting the books

visually using subject matter, genre or type,

for example putting all the annuals together,

which has worked well. Sorting and selecting

book titles has also been useful in helping

Gabby improve her reading skills.

The Library regularly reviews its stock and

sells any books that are old, worn or

unpopular. One of Gabby’s regular tasks has

been delete each book’s security from the

Library’s online system, using a computer and

tag pad, so that they can be put on sale. She

has also supported the Library’s half hour

story time sessions for younger children (3-4

years old), helping to choose the books,

joining the group to sing and using Makaton

(a language programme that uses signs and

symbols) to communicate with parents and

children.

The Library team say Gabby is very helpful

and upbeat in everything she is asked to do

and her mum is really pleased with her

progress. Everyone agrees the placement

has really helped her confidence and laid the

foundations for her to move to potentially

move on to a different work environment.

Ipswich Road Community Hub ran a pop up stall

at Norwich market in November, selling festive

arts and crafts made at the Hub and making over

£180. Team manager, Gillian Wu Warrens said:

“We were delighted that so many people asked

who we were and what we do, asking the

customers how they make things and

complimenting them on their work. This was

probably the most rewarding aspect of being there

and myself and my customers really enjoyed

doing the Thursday, they felt it was such an

achievement!”




Festive London VisitA group of customers from Ipswich Road

Community Hub have enjoyed a pre-Christmas day

out in London. The group travelled by train and

visited Carnaby Street, Leicester Square, Covent

Garden and China Town. It was also an opportunity

to see the Christmas lights and do some shopping

before enjoying a meal out at Giraffe in Old

Spitalfields Market.

Market pop up a big success

Dance duo bring

performance to

Sprowston HubDance artists Gaelin Little and Cat

Westwood of Eleven Farrer House

delivered an interactive dance and

movement workshop to customers at

Sprowston Community Hub on 26th

November.

Gaelin is a regular visitor to the Hub and

uses dance to bring interactive

performances to care settings, people

with dementia and learning disabilities.

Customers were encouraged to join in

the movements which used battery

powered candle lights to engage with

each other and brought a festive glow to

the Hub on a dark winter’s afternoon.







Dereham Community

Hub held a Christmas

Jumper Day on Friday

14th December with

everyone putting on a

festive pully to raise

money for charity.

Lots of amazing

jumpers were worn,

raising a fantastic

£42.00 for Save the

Children.

Festive fundraiser




It’s been a busy autumn of fun and

fundraisers at The Lawns. In October, staff

members Sherrie Lockwood, Donna

Beckett and Esther Simm (right) took part

in the inflatable run in Norwich raising £322

for the Hub’s amenities fund – a brilliant

result! The Hub also received a donation of

£130 from a customer’s family. A proportion

of the money will be put towards the Hub’s

Christmas entertainment, including a free

lunch for everyone, and some of it will be

used to purchase an iPad for customers.

The Hub was pleased to welcome back

local music entertainers, ‘Singalongwith

Hank’ and Bob Wilkinson’s ‘Reminiscing

With Music’. Songs and music from the

past is recognised as a powerful way to

stimulate memories and both visits were

popular with customers.

Bob’s visit coincided with the Hub’s final

event in their suffragette centenary

celebrations which have been running

throughout the year. It included a buffet

lunch and a quiz held with customers as

part of the show. Everyone is looking

forward to Bob returning for a special

Christmas visit and Hank will be back in

January 2019.

News round up from The Lawns

Staff give Hub’s sensory room an

underwater-themed makeover




Staff at Great Yarmouth Community Hub

celebrated the refurbishment of their sensory

room with a grand opening in October. They

carried out all the improvements themselves

and worked tirelessly to make the space a

better and more enjoyable place for

customers to spend time.

The Hub has also benefitted from the

generosity of a customer’s sister, Amy Sims,

who raised £506 for the amenities fund by

holding bake sales at her place of work. The

money will be used to improve the Hub’s

additional sensory area as Amy’s sister

spends a lot of time here as she has very

complex needs and really benefits from

sensory activities.

Our photo (left) shows the cheque being

handed over, from left: Hannah Clark (Team

Manager), Amy Sims, Claire Jermy (Team

Manager) and Jayne Daniels (Service

Manager).

Team manager, Hannah Clark said: “We

came up with many themes including space,

a funfair and the beach, however, when we

asked the customers what they would prefer

they all chose underwater. We included all

customers in the layout and design of the

room and then we were off and the creativity

was unstoppable! Most items have been

homemade some way or another (thank

goodness for Pinterest!). We wanted to keep

budget in mind but make it as effective and

creative as possible and we are all incredibly

proud of the finished outcome.”

Dereham Community Hub customers, staff,

parents and carers came together on Sunday 2nd

December to run a stall at the town’s Christmas

lights switch on market.

The stall was packed with products made by

customers supported by staff. There was a great

atmosphere and the day raised a fantastic

£333.50 which will be put towards art and craft

materials for the Hub. Thank you to everyone who

supported the event and Merry Christmas to all!

Turning the town pink at Dereham lights switch-on




THE TAPS perform 20th anniversary show




THE TAPS 20th anniversary show, Goodnight Sweetheart, played to a

sell out crowd at Northgate High School on Thursday 25th October. Robbie

King took on the role of Gary Sparrow with his two leading ladies, Yvonne

and Phoebe (played by Chloe Brewster and Helen Palmer), Royal Oak

landlord Eric (played by Stephen Stearman), PC Deadman (played by Justin

Hewitt) and best friend Ron (played by newcomer Luke Clark). They all put

on a great show, as did all the actors involved in the production.

The show was written by Claire Millman and based in the popular TV comedy,

set in two time zones. It included popular music from the 1940s and 1990s

with dance numbers performed by the ‘dancing land army girls’.

Well done to everyone who worked hard to put on a memorable show to

celebrate 20 great years. Next year’s show ‘The Return of The Partridge Family’

is already underway and THE TAPS would like to thank everyone who came and supported

them, as well as their dedicated backstage crew. We look forward to seeing you again next year!

Christmas at…Harford Hill




There was a lovely atmosphere and a big

turnout of visitors young and old at Harford

Hill’s Christmas party, organised by staff for

customers and family carers with festive

entertainment and a large raffle.

Special thanks go to family carer, Julie,

(pictured below left) who very kindly made all

the mince pies and and also a beautiful cake

which was used as a fun fundraiser.

Unfortunately the booked entertainment had to

cancel at the very last minute, so everyone was

very grateful to Felicity Moore who kindly

stepped in on her day off to sing festive songs.

Little visitors bring special smiles




Harford Hill welcomed back Kelly at Friend In Deed who

brought some little visitors along to the Hub for a pre-

Christmas visit. Angela Bishop, who runs reminiscence

sessions, joined the fun and delivered a creative

Christmas craft workshop with the children and our

customers Thanks go to both Kelly and Angela for

generously donating the session – there was a lovely

atmosphere and lots of little elves!

Customers and staff from Holt Community Hub

visited the Christmas Tree Festival at Fakenham

Parish Church where they enjoyed seeing the

beautiful trees, decorated by charities, followed

by tea and cake.

One customer described it as "the best day of my

life" and another had assistance to complete and

place a prayer star on a tree for her mum, which

she loved doing.

The Hub also held a pop up stall at Holt’s

Christmas lights switch on. This was a wonderful

festive evening selling items made, grown and

produced at the Hub by customers and staff.

Great fun was had by all and the Hub would like

to thank staff for their support as well as star

customer, Susan, for helping out on the evening.

Altogether a grand total of £135 was raised for

the Customer Amenities Fund.

Christmas at…Holt Community Hub




Congratulations to our Harford Hill team

and support worker Ben Gadsby-Williams

on reaching the East of England regional

finals of the 2018 Great British Care

Awards.

The finalists attended a prestigious

awards ceremony in Peterborough on

15th November. Although we didn’t reach

the national finals on this occasion, we

are still proud of the achievement and to

have been recognised as being among

the best in the East of England.

Well done to our Great British Care Awards Finalists

Norfolk Sports Awards




The 2018 Norfolk Sports Awards took place at

OPEN in Norwich on 14th November. Hosted by

Active Norfolk the awards celebrate the best of sport

and physical activity achievements across the

county.

Independence Matters sponsored the Services to

Disability Sport award, which recognises people who

have made a difference to disability sport in Norfolk,

including disabled athletes. It was won by Able2b

who received the award from our Managing Director,

Sarah Stock.

Training for food bank customers

News in Brief

Trainer Kevin Hines has delivered a

Manual Handling training session to

Dereham Community Hub customers

who volunteer at the Hub’s food bank.

The hour-long session taught them

about the importance of looking after

their backs and correct lifting

techniques.

Documents

iMatter Awards - Independence Matters€¦ · Welcome to the Winter 2018 edition of News Matters Staff Matter award The Training Team pictured with Strategic Project Manager Maggie