Newsletter February 2013

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Changing Our Lives Newsletter February 2013

Inside…

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Quality of Life Audits in Dudley

Reviewing the social care pathway in Dudley

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Changing Our Lives recently worked in close partnership with Dudley Council to carry out a quality of life audit of the experiences of people with learning disabilities living in Dudley. This audit was measured against our own Quality of Life Standards. These standards clearly set out how a person should be supported by services and what opportunities they should expect to have within their life. The audit also checked out how active people were in their local communities and assessed how they were being supported to become equal citizens. One of the main areas we focused on was the use of personal budgets, a personal budget is money given to the individual by the council to spend as they choose on their own care needs. We found that within Dudley, a range of new services and social enterprises were developing which provided a great choice to people with learning disabilities on how they used their budget.

Street Cred! February Half Term workshops

A new project – ‘Poet’s First ‘

Issy and Siraaj at ‘Life in a Day’

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Changing Our Lives

February 2013

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The audit also found some good practice around the way that staff and services communicate with people with learning disabilities. Dudley has an established Total Communication Strategy in place that raises the profile of the different methods of communicating with people with learning disabilities. We saw evidence of environments being adapted to make them more communication friendly, staff being given communication training and people with learning disabilities using equipment and resources that really supported their communication. Another area that seems to be working really well is the way that professionals work together, people told us that they felt well supported in most areas of their life. A lot of people that we met had some complex health needs as well as their social care needs, so it is especially important that services communicate effectively. Whilst we identified areas where people living in Dudley were living good lives, we also identified a number of areas where further action is

required to ensure people lead better lives. We are going to work with Dudley Council through the development of our People's Parliament to ensure more people with learning disabilities gain paid employment. We also want to ensure that more people understand about self-advocacy, ensuring that people with complex needs have greater opportunities to have their voice heard. We also want to improve the way that people

with learning disabilities and their carers are given important information such as how to complain. Much of these improvements will also be achieved through the role of the local Learning Disability Partnership Board.

Quality of Life Dudley Audits

Changing Our Lives February 2013

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The findings from this audit were summarised and feedback was given to key people working within adult social care in Dudley. This session proved extremely powerful and Ann Parkes (Head of Learning Disability Services) described working with Changing Our Lives as a very positive experience: "The audit enabled people with a variety of complex needs to have their opinions heard about the services they receive from Dudley MBC and other providers from whom they purchase support. This has been invaluable and will help us to make changes to the way in which we do some things. I am hopeful that the partnership with Changing Our Lives will continue and that people with a learning disability who live in Dudley will continue to be supported to have their voices heard."

The director of adult services, community and housing,

Andrea Pope-Smith, reflected on the use of the Quality of Life Standards, "The standards provide a fundamental framework to test and challenge the impact our services have on the quality of people's lives, and ensures this is seen through the eyes of people with a learning disability which accurately reflects their experience of the care and support they receive." Changing Our Lives plans to officially launch the standards within Dudley in the Summer of

Spotlight Open Mic on tour 2013! Following a truly fantastic evening at the Spotlight 2012 Final last November we are ready to welcome old and new performers to this year's Open Mic nights. Next Open Mic is on 22nd March 6-8pm at Newhampton Arts Centre, Dunkley Street Wolverhampton. Spotlight is a celebration of the often hidden artistic talents of people with disabilities across the Black Country. Leading up to the grand final at Wolverhampton Civic Hall on 31st January 2014 (we've really thought big this year!), there will be regular open mic nights where anyone can perform. Talent Scouts will select acts to compete for the title of Spotlight Winner. So, whatever you're good at – dance, song, comedy, drama - get in touch and book your slot to share your talent with all of us.

Changing Our Lives

February 2013

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Changing Young Lives

STREET C R E D

February half-term week saw over 100 children attending workshops in art, graffiti and music production which everyone who attended really enjoyed. You can see all of the photos at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/changingourlives/sets/72157632792696859/ February half-term fun!


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Changing Our Lives

February 2013

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Changing Our Lives is delighted to announce that it is one of fifteen organisations across the UK to receive a Clore Poetry and Literature Award funded by the Clore Duffield Foundation. The Clore Poetry and Literature Awards, founded in 2011, specifically target the development of imaginative new ways to engage children and young people in the experience of poetry and literature, both in and out of school. They represent a £1 million strategic investment in poetry and literature for young people in the UK. This award will enable Changing Our Lives to run a series of eight workshops with poets from Poetry Slam, together with contributions from performance poet, Dreadlock Alien. The workshops will be offered to 80 young people aged 11-18 with disabilities across Sandwell and Wolverhampton. Each workshop will end in a poetry slam and will be filmed and shared on social networks. A motion typography exhibit will be created to showcase the poetry through projected graphics. A final evening Poetry Gig will give young people an opportunity to perform for their friends and families. They will link to the Poetry Society via the Young Poets Network on Facebook. For more information about how to get involved contact: [email protected]

Poet’s First


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On Tuesday 12th February Siraaj Nadat, Self Advocacy Officer and Izzy Brant, Chair of Dudley People’s Parliament, attended 'Life in a Day', a conference for everyone with an interest in making employment a reality for people with disabilities. The event reported on the evaluation of a 3-year programme, funded by NHS West Midlands. It celebrated the ongoing work of many of the projects involved and showcased what had been learnt from a wide variety of approaches to the challenge of getting people into genuine employment.

Dudley People's Parliament was funded through this programme so Changing Our Lives were asked to present on the success of the Parliaments. Siraaj explained that "to influence policy and shape services you need to build relationships between professionals, service providers and other people that use services to share knowledge, share problems and develop new

ways of working together". Izzy and Siraaj showcased the work of People's Parliaments and how this model has brought about cultural

change in terms of leadership and employment for people with learning disabilities right across the Black Country. Izzy spoke proudly of her role as an MP and Chair of the Parliament and the ongoing training and development that she continues to undertake. Then proceeding to test and challenge the values and opinions in the room by presenting the delegates with controversial statements to debate in relation to people with learning disabilities and autism. After the workshop, delegates were asked to describe what they thought of the workshop in one word... Stimulating, thought provoking, interesting, inspirational, excellent, informative, fun, empowering, encouraging, inspiring, individual, great, lively, wonderful, awesome! Karen Ziglam, Mencap Area Service Manager said, "Your workshop was one of the best that I have ever been to”.

Izzy and Siraaj push the boundaries!

‘Life in a Day’

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The Public, New Street, West Bromwich B70 7PG

Tel: 0121 533 7174

Newhampton Arts Centre Dunkley Street,

Wolverhampton WV1 4AN

[email protected] www.changingourlives.org

www.twitter.com/Positive_Lives


What’s happening in March Here’s just a taster of some of our events to look our for during March… • 1st March – Time Machine • 8th March – Learning Disability Self

Assessment Framework Conference • 18th March – Wolverhampton Health

Parliament • 22nd March – Sandwell Big LD day:

people with learning disabilities co-producing the Learning Disability Commissioning Strategy

Documents

Newsletter February 2013