Ealing
Annual Report 2015-16
Contents Ealing 2
Chief Executive’s Report
3
Ealing Specialist Advice Service
5
Project SEARCH 2015-16
7
The Band with Rockability
9
RealMe
Our Vision
11 Making the Difference People with a learning disability and 13 Community Engagement 15 Staff & Volunteer Awards 2015
others we work with are valued, supported, and listened to, so they can reach their potential and have the same life chances as others.
Our Mission We will campaign for people’s rights, create opportunities, showcase our customers’ talents and skills, break down barriers to overcome isolation, and change lives.
17 A Look to the Future 19 The Big Picture This Year
Registered Office address:
21 End of Year Finances
*
23 Contact Details 25 Our Thanks 26 Chair’s Report
:
Enterprise Lodge Stockdove Way Greenford Perivale Middlesex UB6 8TJ
www.ealingmencap.org.uk info@ealingmencap.org.uk
Registered Charity No. 1054061 Company Limited by Guarantee No. 3039319 CQC Registered Service No. 1-131465411 @ealingmencap facebook.com/ealingmencap
Chief Executive’s Report Lesley Dodd Chief Executive In my report last year I said that we remained ambitious, and that I was looking forward to telling you about the new services and innovative support that we will have delivered. It’s fair to say that the last 12 months have proved to be immensely challenging, though we’ve worked hard and remained optimistic throughout. By keeping our business strategy at the forefront of everything we do, we’ve been able to work towards setting up new services, whilst endeavouring to maintain valued existing ones too. However, as grant funding streams are inevitably finite, this has not been possible for all areas of our provision. We all know it’s an extremely challenging time for anyone involved in health and social care. The continued cuts to budgets are a massive concern, as councils across the country are faced with not having the money to deliver the support that we know people with learning disabilities warrant and deserve. We entered this financial year knowing that the local authority health and social care grant funding was to be retendered. Grant funding accounted for 55% of our income last year, so we had to prepare adequately for any potential impact on our services and to our customers. The new H&SC commissioning intentions – chiefly a preference for consortia applications, to support the council in meeting the expectations of the new Care Act (2014) - meant that funding for existing services would end. Annual Report 2015-16
The highly regarded advocacy and advice support services we delivered last year, including the Disability Advice Bureau and our long-standing Asian Advocacy support service, were two casualties of the refocused council aims and commissioning process. Recognising the impact that the loss of advocacy provision would have locally, the board of trustees have agreed to release some money from our reserves to ensure some of this work carries on, whilst other funding opportunities are sought. It is essential that people with learning disabilities are afforded the extra time and support they require to ensure their voice is heard. Ealing Mencap has championed this for over 50 years and, given these cash-stricken times, it is imperative that we continue to campaign, influence, and advocate. As finances get tighter, there has been a far greater emphasis placed on the voluntary sector, both locally and nationally, to work in partnership. Whilst laudable, especially as it consolidates funding and allows for more a holistic approach in service delivery, it often means that people with learning disabilities are marginalised by the larger social care agenda, ending up without the specialist advice and support they require. With this concern in mind we took the decision to take the lead in pulling together an ambitious consortium to apply for Ealing Council’s specialist advice grants. The consortium consists of likeminded partners; though they all have their own specific beneficiaries, they understand the need to ensure people with learning disabilities are not pushed to one side.
Ealing Specialist Advice Service. ESAS has already proved to be a great success; between the start of October 2015 and end of March 2016, the service supported over 800 people. We were also successful in receiving funding to sustain our brilliant Travel Buddy Service, Children’s After School Club, and the extremely informative EalingHELP website. Our specialist housing service Accommodate Me has continued to offer support thanks to a five-year Big Lottery grant, and has worked closely with ESAS over the last few months. The personal budget service at RealMe remains a valued and successful service, one that listens to customers, families, and carers, and is innovatively diversifying to ensure it stays relevant to people’s needs. The success of RealMe has led to the opening of two new provisions. One is already up and running at the Dominion Centre in Southall, and we expect to open an amazing new training centre and shop in West Ealing later in 2016. Exciting times ahead! As another year comes to a close, we’re not standing still; we’re already working hard on reviewing our Business Strategy, making sure we stay relevant and remain committed to listening to our customers, our staff, and everyone else we work with. Finally I’d like to take the opportunity to formally express how much I appreciate all of our amazing staff and volunteers. I’m proud to say I work alongside them. Every day they make sure that people with learning disabilities and other disadvantaged groups in society have a means to aspire to and achieve the same life opportunities as others. Thank you.
I’m delighted to say that we were successful in winning that funding, and Ealing Mencap is now the lead partner of an incredible new provision, the 2
Ealing Specialist Advice Service October 2015 saw the launch of a brand new service offering free and confidential advice for people with additional support needs. Ealing Specialist Advice Service (ESAS) replaced the Disability Advice Bureau, and has already proved to be a much-needed resource in the few months since it launched, with unprecedented numbers of people seeking help and advice from the service. Ealing Mencap is delivering ESAS in partnership with four other local charities; Age UK Ealing, deafPLUS, ECIL, and Mind Ealing & Hounslow. Each partner brings an area of specialist skill and experience to ESAS, offering residents of Ealing a pan-disability service which can support with issues such as housing, benefits appeals, and disability rights. 3
This means that alongside Ealing Mencap’s experience in learning disability support, ESAS can offer support with physical disabilities, mental health issues, sensory impairments, and age-related needs. This collaborative approach has resulted in a much stronger service provision for Ealing. More than 350 people contacted ESAS by the end of 2015, after just three months of being open. A further 500 customers got in touch with ESAS for advice before the end of March 2016, and this doesn’t include the hundreds of anonymous contacts in this time. After hitting the ground running, ESAS was able to celebrate their successful start with an official launch in February 2016. Over 50 invited guests, including local councillors, council officers, and service providers, attended the event at Ealing Town Hall to hear about what ESAS offers to the people of Ealing, giving the opportunity for the consortium partners and other advice providers in Ealing to connect.
Rupa Huq MP at the ESAS launch event
In the continuing age of austerity, the people who are worst affected by Government budget cuts and welfare reform are often the most vulnerable in society, and are much more likely to require support in many different ways. Filling in forms online, navigating the complex procedure necessary to appeal decisions on benefits or housing, or even making a telephone call can be daunting to someone with additional needs. That is where ESAS is able to step in to assist. Guest of honour for the launch event was Rupa Huq, Labour MP for Ealing Central and Acton. In her speech she reiterated the vital role that services like ESAS performed Ealing Mencap
for the community, ensuring that those in need have the opportunity to access the help, advice, and support that they require.
“I had to .move... It .took so long I .didn’t think it .would ever be .happening... .I want to sort .the garden .out now!”
ESAS Project Manager Matthew Coulam said: “It was a fantastic day, we had a good attendance and there were representatives from across the political parties there, all interested in what we’ve managed to achieve so far.
“The feedback that we received from councillors who run local surgeries was excellent. They have individuals coming to them with issues like debt relief who don’t know where to turn, so they were saying it was great to be able to refer them to ESAS for sound and professional advice.” Still one of the biggest concerns for people with learning disabilities is housing. More than 200 people contacted the Accommodate Me service in 2015-16 for support in this area. The service works closely with ESAS, receiving referrals from the advice team in order to provide a direct pathway to support from a specialist housing advice worker. Annual Report 2015-16
in numbers figures represent period between 01/10/15 & 31/03/16
7,543
Between first and second quarter of operating saw:
51% increase in contacts 55% increase in referrals 61% increase in clients
Peter, Accommodate Me customer
This proved to be an essential aid to many, by preventing homelessness or rent arrears accumulating, and helping people who have been on waiting lists - in many cases for months or even years - with the local authority to obtain suitable, safe housing.
accessing service
client support needs:
Accommodate Me also offered continuity after the closure of DAB, ensuring that anyone with an open case was not abandoned or forced to start the support process again. ESAS has been inundated by enquiries in the first six months of opening, and this shows no signs of slowing. The numbers show just how vital the advice service is for the community, as well as the strength that working in partnership can provide.
total recorded contacts
Older people / carers Physical disabilities Learning disabilities Mental health issues Sensory impairments
6%
7% 9%
19%
58%
client referral reasons: 2 3 6% 4
%%
%
10%
49%
21%
32
%%
H&S care / personal budgets Debt & money Education & employment Other (mostly aids/adaptations, Family & domestic Housing Welfare benefits transport and travel related) Access to legal advice Health
4
Project SEARCH 2015-16 Project SEARCH entered its second year, once again offering a mix of training, education, and work experience placements to a new group of young people with disabilities. Eleven interns completed the scheme this year, with a number of them finding paid employment shortly after graduating. Building upon the foundations laid in the inaugural Project SEARCH, the interns this year had more opportunities to develop their work-based skills at the Hilton London Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 hotel, with a wider range of hotel roles available for them to participate and gain experience in. Positions in landscaping and garden maintenance, and the opportunity to develop computer skills in reception back office were added to the programme this year, on top of the opportunities to experience working life in operational departments responsible for areas such as food preparation, customer services, and housekeeping. Interns were fully embedded in the daily working life at the hotel, and were expected to meet the same, exacting standards of 5
customer service as any other member of hotel staff. Of course, they were not expected to achieve this on their own. Job coaches from Ealing Mencap offered intensive, on-the-job support to all of the interns, helping them to both improve upon existing skills and gain new ones that would be vital for achieving paid employment in the future.
The 2016 Project SEARCH interns
Interns were also supported by hotel staff ‘buddies’ who worked alongside them in each department, offering their knowledge by acting as mentors and providing an additional level of support and guidance. The interns’ work experience was underpinned by a training programme delivered through the Hilton Online Worldwide University, an internet-based
Flying high with British Airways training Ealing Mencap
series of training modules that all Hilton team members are required to complete. This ensures not just a consistent approach and ethos among hotel staff, but a consistent standard for the hotel guests’ experience as well.
“The .support .from the job coaches here helped me be more confident in .myself.”
“Project SEARCH was good... It helped me to step forward from college and into working life.”
Hilton-based scheme winning a national award for outstanding levels of employment outcomes; over 90% of the year one interns found paid employment after graduating.
Project SEARCH interns also received some Angel, Project SEARCH 2016 graduate first class customer Adam, Project SEARCH 2016 graduate service training with Although the British Airways staff second-year at the airline’s head office near Heathrow graduates have not yet matched their Airport. With a reputation for priding Assistants at the Heathrow T5 Hilton. predecessors for entering work, the skills, themselves on their high-quality customer Angel and Adam share some of their training and confidence they will have service, British Airways trainers put the experiences of Project SEARCH on page 11. gained through completing Project SEARCH interns through their paces with a range of will equip them to follow their own paths to role-play sessions and scenario exercises, Another intern was successful in finding employment. and were given the same advice that BA employment at a Hilton hotel in Kensington, staff would be given to handle challenging and two others found work at commercial Job Coach Jai Upadhyaya is sure of this, situations with customers on board an cleaning companies. The remaining saying: “For the ones who haven’t got work aeroplane. graduates are all actively job-seeking, and yet, it’s only a matter of time. The way they are being supported by Project SEARCH and present themselves has changed so much. At the time of writing, five of the Project the Transition team at Ealing Mencap to SEARCH interns have successfully found apply for job roles. “Right in front of us we’ve seen them grow paid employment. Adam and Angel and become more professional, and they (pictured above right) graduated the The incredible achievement of the first have the skills now to go out and get the programme this year, and were successful year interns was recognised at the Project jobs that they want to get, and we’ll be in applying for roles as Food & Beverage SEARCH European Conference, with the there to support them.” Annual Report 2015-16
6
The Band with Rockability I Love Thunder celebrated the fifth anniversary of their formation in 2015, making it a year to remember with plenty of gigs, musical workshops, and their first taste of recording in a professional studio. Since coming together in 2010, I Love Thunder have made it their mission not just to rock out, but to deliver a message of ‘rockability’, and that there should be no barriers for anyone who wants the opportunity to express themselves through music. Not one member of the band has been asked to audition, with enthusiasm being more important than technical ability... Hence rockability! The band performed across a huge number of stages this year; from acoustic busking sessions at Ealing Broadway Shopping Centre, to appearances at local festivals like Perivale’s Eco Festival, and the Disability Arts Festival in Harrow. And of course, they took to the stage for their customary appearance at the Hanwell Hootie alongside dozens of other bands at the one-day music festival. 7
No matter the size of the stage, I Love Thunder made sure they brought their unique attitude, sound, and style to the crowds that gathered to see them. The musical workshops have seen I Love Thunder take their instruments to local schools such as Pield Heath and Springhallow, as well as to organisations like Certitude.
Busking at Ealing Broadway
Each workshop has had the aim of introducing music and performance to people who may have never had the opportunity to pick up a musical instrument or explore creativity through sound. Band manager Nick Radclyffe said: “These workshops represent a really great model for community engagement. All the members of the band get involved, taking on roles mentoring and engaging with the students. “Workshops like this also provide a valuable source of income for the band. This goes a long way towards keeping us doing what we love best - rocking out!”
Studio time in Wales
On stage at the Perivale Eco Festival Ealing Mencap
Like any band, raising enough money to keep going is the biggest challenge. Although gigs and workshops have helped the I Love Thunder finances this year, they were also supported by the band’s drummer Dan and his father Jeff.
be a great source of inspiration. After a few days of rehearsal (and a surprise yoga session), the band decided to use their final day at Mwnci to record ‘aslive’ performances of some of their favourite songs from their setlist.
Taking part in the Osterley Park 10k run in June, the pair raised more than £1500, smashing their original target of £500. You can read more about Dan and Jeff’s efforts on page 25.
Recording tracks in the studio gave the band the chance to listen back to how they play, and has given them fresh ideas about how to approach songs when performing in the future.
The band went further afield to celebrate their five years together in October, travelling over 200 miles in a hired former highway maintenance van, to Mwnci Studios in Wales for a musical getaway.
They also came away with enough tracks for ‘Welsh Jam’ - the band’s first CD featuring plenty of songs from their live set - which is available to buy directly from the band.
The road trip offered the chance for the band members to socialise, relax, and experiment musically in a new environment. The professional studio was a new experience for most of the band members, and proved to Annual Report 2015-16
I Love Thunder have had an incredible year, showing just what can be achieved through the power of performance, and - most importantly - have pushed their distinctive brand of rockability further than ever before.
“When you’re on .stage with the .audience right .there... You’re on .top of the world!” Vince, I Love Thunder
‘Bat-bass’ player Vince and guitarist Eric relax before rehearsals
Opening the stage at the Hanwell Hootie
Nick leading a school workshop
8
RealMe RealMe remains our most popular service, with 170 customers engaging in a mixture of life skills, activities and opportunities for personal development in the past year. It’s proved so popular that the service has had to lengthen its reach with a range of new opportunities, whilst still continuing to offer the same level of high-quality support. The first expansion RealMe introduced was at the Dominion Centre in Southall, which properly launched in January 2016 after a staggered start in the preceding months. This allowed customers who had previously used services at Enterprise Lodge to adjust to the change in environment and decide if they preferred the new location. The timetable at the Dominion offers a similar range of activities to those which currently take place at the main hub at the Lodge in Perivale. This includes activity sessions using the kitchen space, arts facilities, and the computer suite, as well as utilising resources in the local community. 9
Although the activities in Southall are designed to be inclusive and are open to all, having a base in the area also provides RealMe with a targeted service that can reach out to the diverse ethnic groups of the community.
work experience in a supported way. The unit next door will be The Show Room, a boutique shop staffed by Dare to Dream trainees, and stocked with upcycled and hand-crafted homewares from RealMe’s Trade & Enterprise sessions.
By utilising staff with a sound knowledge and understanding of cultural and language needs of the people in the area, the service at the Dominion is designed to tear down the barriers that some people find difficult to overcome when finding suitable day opportunities.
There are also plans to invite local craftproducers to utilise the space as a pop-up sale space, engendering deeper ties with the wider community.
The next expansion will see RealMe launch a brand new service focusing on training, independence, and employment, just a few steps from the high street in West Ealing. In a brand new double-fronted development on Leeland Road – the home to Ealing’s weekly farmers’ market – RealMe will launch Dare to Dream, a service designed to give customers the confidence to take the first steps toward employment, and a pathway to gaining meaningful
Head of Services Kathryn White said: “This is a really exciting time for Ealing Mencap. Although we already offer a broad range of services in the borough, by opening these two new hubs we will be able to offer an even greater variety of choice to meet the different needs of people with learning disabilities in Ealing. “We already know that demand for our Southall hub at the Dominion is high with many people looking forward to a service based locally to them. “There is also a huge need for services that can support people to achieve their employment and independent living ambitions, and the Leeland Road service will be able to focus on exactly that.” Ealing Mencap
“There was no ..doubt in our .minds that she’d .be given the best .support and care. .As a parent, .what more .can you ask?”
Chair yoga session at the Dominion
Chris Delger, Personal Assistant Service customer
Delays with the building works and the final exchange of contracts for the lease has pushed back the launch of the Leeland Road sites, but they will feature heavily in next year’s annual report, along with the inevitable success that the trainees there will have along the way. The RealMe Personal Assistant Service has also continued to offer high-quality personalised support, enabling one couple to enjoy their first holiday without a caring responsibility in more than 20 years. Mary and Chris were able to go abroad, while their daughter Charlotte (all three pictured above) was supported in her own home by RealMe staff. This meant that they could take a holiday at their own pace, and allowed Annual Report 2015-16
Charlotte to continue taking part in the daily activities that she enjoys, minimising any potential disruption that could be caused by using a respite provision. “We’re used to taking her on holiday with us,” said Chris, “but this was an experience that we were keen to have for ourselves, with a view to looking to further ahead and having Charlotte living independently in some way, and this was a window into the future for that.” “We want to move towards that gradually,” Mary added. “By the time we retire we want to think about doing things for ourselves and I think Charlotte will as well. There’s always a need to get established independently, and the longer you leave it the more difficult it’s going to become.”
Upcycled crafts made by RealMe customers
The soon-to-open Leeland Road site 10
Making the Difference In the last year Ealing Mencap has supported more than 1400 customers across a range of different services. Some services helped people to learn or develop skills. Others empowered people to stand up and make their voices heard. Some ensured that people were given the opportunity to live, work, and contribute to their community. We are proud to have made a difference to a huge number of people this year, and are especially grateful to a few that have agreed to share their stories.
Peter. When the council needed Peter to move to a smaller house, he was faced with having to go through a lengthy process as well as the upheaval of moving away from somewhere he had called home for years. Accommodate Me Housing Support Worker Verena worked with Peter for over two years to find him a suitable place to live. They were finally successful in July 2015, locating a ground floor flat 11
with an accessible bathroom. It was less than a mile away from his previous home, meaning that he wasn’t totally uprooted from his support network, or moved to an area he was unfamiliar with. “I like it here,” says Peter. “It’s close to where I used to live. I can still see my old neighbours. “I used to live in North Avenue but I had to move. Verena came to see me with forms to fill in. It took so long. I didn’t think it would ever be happening. “But now I like to watch telly and look through my catalogues, and seeing things out of the window. I want to sort out the garden now. Get it cleared and have a patio area.”
Adam agrees that moving to Project SEARCH assisted him in ways that college didn’t.
Angel & .Adam Angel and Adam took part in the second Project SEARCH programme at the Hilton London Heathrow Hotel Terminal 5, and have since become Food and Beverage assistants at the hotel. “It was different to college,” says Angel. “College wasn’t too bad, though some of the courses we went over and over and I got bored. “I did a work placement course at college but it wasn’t like this. We just wrote about what we wanted to do after we left. Here they’re teaching us, stepby-step, things that we can use in the future.”
“It helped me to step forward from college and into working life, and it’s completely different,” he said. “College is more relaxed, but here you have to be on your feet. Work is more serious than college. I like working across different departments. “My favourite was working in the executive lounge which means working with VIP guests, our diamond customers. It’s not like famous people, but they are important regular customers that we take care of. “I like being around customers, welcoming them, taking care of their issues and just helping people. “Project SEARCH gives you the opportunity to build your CV as you work your way through different departments as well. Ealing Mencap
I tried to apply for jobs before but wasn’t successful because there was very little on my CV, it wasn’t built up enough.”
Mary, Charlotte & Chris
As well as building an impressive CV, Angel felt the staff helped her to build her confidence too. “The support from the job coaches here helped me be more confident in myself,” she says. “We did role-plays in the classroom where we’d have to tell each other what we’ve done in the hotel that day, stand up in front of everyone and talk. I was nervous, it was a bit scary but I got there slowly.” Both Angel and Adam say that hard work was the key to their success on Project SEARCH and in finding employment. “You have to work hard on it, you’ve got to keep focusing to get there though,” says Adam. Angel agreed, “If you’re very determined and work hard you can get a job at the end of it. I feel like I’ve achieved something and I’m proud of that.” Annual Report 2015-16
Mary and Chris Delger made use of the RealMe Personal Assistant Service to provide a week of one-to-one support for their daughter Charlotte, enabling them to take their first holiday as a couple in 26 years. Here they share their experiences of the support Ealing Mencap offered. Chris: We couldn’t imagine leaving Charlotte for a week in the care of someone we’d never met before with an ‘off-the-shelf’ trained carer. Then there was the issue of where she would actually physically live for the week we were away. We thought it would be great if she could stay at home in her own environment, her own room, with her own things around her, looked after by people who were trained, people that liked her, and that she liked too. And of course we thought there was only one organisation that we knew of that has all of those ingredients.
Mary: It was an ideal solution, Charlotte goes to respite out of borough and we thought about using that, but it just wouldn’t work. She wouldn’t have liked to have been out of her home for that long and it would have been impossible for her to get to day activities from elsewhere. Having people from Ealing Mencap was the perfect solution. C: Though we didn’t expect there to be a support option that could extend overnight, we approached Kathryn at RealMe and outlined what we were looking for. The process from the beginning was extremely well-handled. Kathryn immediately understood what we were wanting, and was sympathetic, cooperative, and helpful about suggesting ways in which we might be able to do it. M: Charlotte was a bit apprehensive at first, but because she was staying in her own home it made it lot easier
for her. To start with she’d be talking about how long we were going away for. But she was staying in her own home and doing the things that she enjoys, so when it actually happened it was fine as her daily life wasn’t disrupted at all, apart from the fact that we weren’t here. That was one of the huge advantages of it, she could do all the things she normally did and she felt secure, at home, sleeping in her own bed, so it made us not being here that much easier. Now that Charlotte is older she doesn’t want to go away with us. She doesn’t want to be traipsing round cities with her parents doing things that we think are interesting. Our sons wouldn’t want to come away with us necessarily, so we don’t see why she should be expected to either. The last time she came away with us she missed the people she knows and talks to everyday. She doesn’t see a holiday with us as a break, she sees it as being denied time with her friends and social activities. C: There’s a huge amount of trust and faith that we place in this kind of support, which has been rewarded. Because we knew the people caring for Charlotte, there was no doubt in our minds that she’d be given the best support and care. As a parent what more can you ask? We’d certainly recommend this to anyone else. It was faultless. 12
Community Engagement A key aim of Ealing Mencap is not simply to support our customers, but to promote a positive perception of learning disability, encouraging those who are involved in our services to showcase their talents, skills, and abilities. One of the best ways to do this is through direct contact with the public, and making a mark in the local community. This year has seen our customers get involved in a number of high-visibility activities and events that have provided both the platform to change attitudes towards learning disability, and the opportunity to display their talents. Handmade and upcycled craft items produced by RealMe customers made a public debut at the Hanwell Carnival in June 2015. The Trade & Enterprise sessions at RealMe have seen the creation of dozens of uniquely decorated homeware items; bowls, clocks, plant pots and storage containers were amongst the goods they had for sale on a market stall at the carnival. In each case, the items for sale had been hand-crafted from scratch or upcycled out of discarded materials - such as wooden wine bottle boxes - by RealMe customers. 13
Senior Support Worker Kate Kilty said: “It was good for the guys who came down to help on the stall because they could see people were really interested in the things that they’d been making. “We had lots of people saying ‘Wow, they look great, they’re brilliant,’ and lots of other compliments during the day. People were really interested in how we’d managed to make everything out of practically nothing. The guys were really proud to sell a few things they’d made to the public.” The group were also involved at the Perivale Eco Festival held in Stockdove Way in August 2015, selling their handmade goods alongside seasonal vegetables locally grown at the gardening project The Dig in Hanwell, and cards designed by artists with disabilities from The Art Box. Donating a percentage of sales from the day contributed to the £500
that was raised overall for a community garden project. The homewares made one final public appearance at the Ealing Broadway Shopping Centre Christmas Spectacular in November, which saw the big switch-on of the centre’s Christmas lights. RealMe customers were also involved with two high-profile art projects, working with the V&A Museum and Ealing Council on exhibitions this year. The V&A collaboration saw a series of workshops take place in September and October, with a group of RealMe customers exploring traditional ways of crafting Indian textiles. The group block-printed a frieze which was placed on display at the V&A’s Fabric of India, the first major exhibition exploring the world of handmade textiles dating all the way back to the third century. Another artistic collaboration took place in February, this time with Ealing Council for the Pop-Up Pitzhanger exhibition, a touring display of artworks inspired by architect John Sloane who redesigned and rebuilt much of the historical Pitzhanger Manor House in Ealing. Ealing Mencap
(L-R) Lorelle, Tom, Katrina, Kate & Crystal at Hanwell Carnival
Making vases for the Pitzhanger Pop-Up exhibition
The Hillingdon Travel Training service teamed up with Uxbridge Metropolitan Police in February, to raise the profile of ‘invisible disability’ amongst shopkeepers in the busy town centre. Accompanied by two members of the Metropolitan Police Safer Transport Team, Travel Training Development Worker Cathy Back spoke to shop staff about why someone with a disability may turn to them for help, and what they can do to assist if that were to happen. Cathy said: “Everyone that I spoke to on the day were really receptive to what we were saying and were happy to help us. “I’ll now feel much more confident about taking students into Uxbridge in order to practice their travel training skills and using their help cards, and my colleagues will too.” Annual Report 2015-16
Raising awareness in Uxbridge
I Love Thunder not only performed at the Hanwell Hootie (see page seven), but thanks to their efforts in raising the profile of learning disability locally, the organisers of the annual music festival named Ealing Mencap as one of the official charities of the event.
Planting in the garden at the Lodge
temperatures outside to clear weeds and plant new shrubs and bushes. They added more colour and life into some areas where unwanted plants from the banks of the River Brent had begun to take hold.
This gave the band the opportunity to fundraise as well as perform – thanks to both the organisers for the support as well as all of the festival-goers for digging deep and filling the collection buckets on the day.
Inside the Lodge, some aspiring artists started work on a mural to brighten the area outside of Crystal’s Hall. The mural design brought together the ideas and elements from the RealMe arts group, who drew inspiration from the reasons why they came to Ealing Mencap and RealMe.
Ealing Broadway Shopping Centre and British Land continued their support of us this year with a day of volunteering, teaming up with customers from the RealMe service to brighten up Enterprise Lodge both inside and out. A team of gardeners braved soaring
Maintaining relationships with community groups and organisations has given our customers many opportunities this year to positively change attitudes to learning disability, and they have done a fantastic job at seizing each of them. Well done everyone! 14
Staff & Volunteer Awards 2015 Five staff members and one volunteer were commended at the 2015 Annual General Meeting for going the extra mile for Ealing Mencap. They all received prizes presented as part of the first staff recognition awards, led by the Employee Voice representative group. Colleagues had the opportunity to nominate someone who they believed had shown not just commitment in their day-today work, but had gone above and beyond their role, and were deserving of an official commendation from Ealing Mencap for their efforts. The nominations were taken to the Employee Voice group who, along with Chief Executive Lesley, decided which of the nominees were the most deserving winners. Each winner was presented with a food hamper and gift vouchers, and told why they had been nominated by their peers. 15
The collected nomination support statements for each of the winners can be read on the right. Although Martin Boyle unfortunately could not attend the presentation, the statement was read in his absence, and he received his award later.
He has offered particularly intensive support to someone who is extremely challenging to work with. But Daniel’s commitment, patience, and tenacity have paid off.
RealMe Team Leader Bobby Sidhu was awarded a special prize for her work in organising a fundraising dinner and dance for the RealMe service in October 2015. Head of Services Kathryn White gave a short speech thanking Bobby for pulling together a brilliant event that raised not just funds, but also our profile in the local community.
Daniel Adetunji
The difference in the young man he supports is clear for all to see, and this individual now takes part in many activities that were often difficult for him in the past.
“Daniel has supported one of our RealMe customers on a one-to-one basis for over a year.
Daniel is very popular with his colleagues and the other customers, and he gives 100% all of the time.”
Councillor Charan Sharma presented each winner with their prizes, and said a few words praising the winners and commending the efforts of everyone at Ealing Mencap. Congratulations once again to the award winners, and thank you for going out of your way to help make Ealing Mencap a positive place for our customers to be.
Martin Boyle “Martin started volunteering for Ealing Mencap with the SuperCare training and employment project in Acton, almost 10 years ago. Since then he has worked across several different
services for Ealing Mencap and no matter where he has worked, he has always proven himself to be a committed member of staff. He has now moved into a role working as a travel buddy, where he has excelled at supporting the customers who use the service.” Ealing Mencap
Teresa Begley “Teresa is one of those people who clearly loves her job and it shows every day, come rain or shine. She makes everyone feel welcome, and is known as the person to go to if you think you need just that little bit more support. In fact, one nominator said that Teresa was so welcoming towards them, she was one of the reasons for them deciding to work at Ealing Mencap. She’s one of the rocks of RealMe, a positive influence on her team, and deserves to be recognised for all her hard work.” Annual Report 2015-16
Tony Campbell “It doesn’t matter how heavy Tony’s workload is, he’s always buoyant, extremely positive, and supportive of both his staff and colleagues. Tony was a Travel Buddy for many years before becoming the line manager for the other Travel Buddies in the service. He’s a great role model for the people he manages and those that he works with and everyone really enjoys working with him. Tony is also the ‘go-to person’ when the rest of the travel trainers have any questions about public transport.”
Richard Melmoth “Richard has volunteered with our day services at Enterprise Lodge since 2011. He has built up a fantastic rapport with our customers, and his positive demeanour makes him a joy to work alongside. Richard is always smiling and laughing, and always helps with the RealMe swimming group which can be a challenging experience. It’s very rare for Richard not to be able to offer his services as a volunteer, but on those rare occasions he is sorely missed by staff and customers alike.”
Bobby Sidhu “Passionate, persuasive, dedicated, diligent, kindhearted and loyal; Bobby puts her all into absolutely everything she does. She has taken on any new challenges presented to her with a quiet but steely determination. This was most evident when organising the Bollywood Dinner Dance, raising well over £1400 for Ealing Mencap. Bobby also has a particular talent for gaining community support for our cause. Thank you and well done, you deserve this award.”
A Look to the Future Our Three Year Business Strategy has given us guidance since late 2014, helping to consolidate existing services and provide a pathway to improve upon them wherever possible, in order to deliver the best service for our customers. The end of this financial year marked us passing the midway point of our strategy. In just under eighteen months, we have made huge forward strides in meeting many of the organisational aims that we laid out for ourselves and our customers. Many of these achievements can be seen in this annual report. Our services are developing and expanding to meet customer needs. We have sought out new partnership opportunities to share skills and knowledge. And we have supported our customers to positively shape peoples’ attitudes of learning disability, by encouraging them to get involved in their local community, showcasing their skills and talents. Behind the scenes we have been busy too. We have engaged with specialists to overhaul our policies and procedures to ensure they are relevant and up to date, 17
meeting all legal requirements expected of us. We have modernised our online policy access portal to ensure that the information is easily reachable for all employees. And we have implemented a robust and informative induction training plan for staff to complete, ensuring that they are certified to support our customers effectively. Of course there are areas where we have not made as much progress as we would have Turning the page... A sneak peek at the draft 2017-20 strategy liked; this has mostly been Evaluating a business strategy whilst you down to our capacity to dedicate enough are half-way through enacting it is difficult; time or resources to develop ideas in the particularly as it was never designed to be face of more pressing issues and the daya static plan, but one that would evolve as to-day support that we offer. But that is not opportunities arose and could be responsive to say we won’t be endeavouring to make to our customer’s needs and desires. headway in these areas before 2017. But feedback from both our staff and management teams has been instrumental And as 2017 - and the end of our current in shaping the format of the new strategy. plan - is rapidly approaching, this year we have begun working on the initial stages One consistent suggestion has been to of what will become our next Three Year condense the strategy into something Business Strategy, designed to guide us into easier to digest, yet still contains Ealing 2020. Ealing Mencap
Our staff team will have all contributed to the 2017 Three Year Business Strategy prior to its launch
Mencap’s ethos and aspirations. To that end, the 2017-2020 plan will be based predominantly around a strategy map, outlining our values and foundations as an organisation, and how they relate to our key objectives and aims. From our core values to our overall vision, there will be a clearer emphasis on how each element of the strategy builds on the one before it, providing a strong and consistent concept for all staff and services to look to for guidance and inspiration. Most importantly, all of this will be outlined on a single page for clarity. Annual Report 2015-16
Instead of specific targets and outcomes which although informative lead to a lengthy document - more general ‘markers’ will determine how we are progressing towards our overall goals. We are also planning to place a greater emphasis on using key performance indicators to ensure that we are moving in the right direction, which will also provide insight into any underlying reasons as to why we may not be. Although still early in development, we are confident from the work that has been
completed so far, our new business strategy will provide us with a renewed focus and direction until the end of the decade. Ealing Mencap is determined to deliver the best services for our customers, as well as a wealth of opportunities for our staff to develop and flourish. We are aiming to launch our new Three Year Business Plan in April 2017, and it will be available to read through our website. There will also be a full review of the new strategy in the annual report next year, looking in detail at what this means for the future of Ealing Mencap. 18
The Big Picture this Year Through more accurate recording utilising our online CharityLog database, we’re able to provide a more accurate picture of the demographics of our customers.
Our Customers... By Gender
By Support Needs
Clients
Carers
Overall
We’ve seen an 83% increase in recorded customer numbers, and more than doubled the amount of contacts we’ve shared with customers compared to 2014-15. This is due in part to better contact recording on our database, but the majority of this increase has been through the huge numbers of referrals to the ESAS service (see page three). Although the number of carers we have had contact with has increased, overall contacts with carers have decreased considerably this year. As mentioned in the Chief Executive’s report, our carerfocused services fell victim to grant funding cuts in 2015, which has impacted greatly on our ability to offer practical support to carers. 19
58%
42%
26%
74%
53%
47%
Learning Disability or Autistic Spectrum
30%
Refused/ Not recorded
36%
Physical Disability or Sensory Impairment
22%
Other
12%
By Numbers Ealing Mencap has worked with:
14% carers
1,215 clients & 192 carers 86% clients
That’s a total of
1,407 people
Ealing Mencap
By Area Northolt: 5.5% clients 6.8% carers
Greenford & Perivale: 12.8% clients 7.8% carers
2 9 .1 % cl ie nt s & tside 11. 9 % ca re rs live ou L.B. of Ealing
By Ethnicity 600
15 Clients
Carers
500
400
300
Southall: 16.6% clients 43.2% carers
Hanwell: 10% clients 9.4% carers
Ealing & West Ealing: 17% clients 11.5% carers
Acton: 9.0% clients 9.4% carers
49 200
100
538
91 26
239
203 163
White
By Age
Asian
Black
4 27 Mixed Ethnicity
7 45 Any Other Ethnicity
Refused
By Contacts
Under 18
Clients 16%
Annual Report 2015-16
18 - 64
65 & Over
Clients 64%
Clients 7%
Carers 55%
Carers 28%
Refused
?
Clients 13% Carers 17%
We’ve recorded...
21,552 contacts with clients & 366 contacts with carers ... in person, in writing, or over the phone.
On average in the last year, each of our customers had contact with us more than 15 times. 20
End of Year Finances Our Reserves at 31st March 2016
Income: April 2015 to March 2016
58%
Grants Personal Budgets & Direct Payments
41%
1%
Staffing Costs
Restricted
Support & Governance Costs: April 2015 to March 2016
1% 2%
External Project Costs
5%
58%
12%
Support & Governance Costs Other Direct Activity Costs Premises Costs Depreciation
18% 21
35%
Donations, Legacies & Investments
Direct Charitable Expenditure: April 2015 to March 2016
2% 2% 3%
65%
Unrestricted
7% 11%
Salary & Related Costs
79%
Consultancy General Office Costs Audit & Annual Report Fees Salary & Related Costs
Rent & Venue Hire
Ealing Mencap
End of Year Figures: 2015-16 against 2014-15
Where Our Money Was Spent
23%
13%
2%
17%
Direct charitable expenditure General support costs Audit, Strategy, Finance, Legal & HR costs Total expenditure Unrealised gains/(losses) on investments Net resources incoming Net assets
45%
Advocacy & Advice
Organisational & Management costs
Services for Adults
Depreciation
Services for Children
Annual Report 2015-16
Income Grants received Income from charitable activities Donations and gifts Investment income Other income Total income Expenditure
2015-16
2014-15
1,287,744 922,883 12,927 1,414 0 2,224,968
1,163,119 898,797 16,877 1,021 18,205 2,098,019
1,897,292 218,635 36,790 2,152,717
1,648,556 267,165 27,738 1,943,459
(6,740) 65,511 1,211,219
3,012 157,572 1,145,708
We are grateful for funding this year from The Big Lottery Fund, British Land Co PLC, Ealing, Hammersmith & West London College, London Borough of Ealing, London Borough of Hounslow, London Borough of Hillingdon, and numerous generous donations from members and other supporters. We also thank all the customers who choose to use their personal budgets, direct payments, or self-fund to purchase a service from us. Our full audited accounts can be viewed upon request at our registered office or are available on the website of the Charity Commission. The 2014/15 comparative figures have been restated to match the 2015/16 accounts, in accordance with new Charities SORP FRS102 financial reporting requirements.
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Contact Details Enterprise Lodge
*( Stockdove Way Greenford Perivale UB6 8TJ 020 8566 9575
Nearest bus routes: E5, 297 Nearest tube station: Perivale (Central Line)
Call here for: RealMe, Gateway Clubs, Personal Assistant Service & Business Support
The Lido Centre
*( Nearest bus routes: 207, 483, 427, E2, E3, E7, E8, E11 Nearest tube stations: Ealing Broadway (Central Line & District Line), Northfields (Piccadilly Line)
Call here for:
135 Uxbridge Road Nearest bus routes: West Ealing 207, 483, 427, E2, E3, E7, E8, London E11 W13 9AU Nearest tube stations: Ealing Broadway 020 8567 8017 (Central Line & District Line)
Call here for:
63 Mattock Lane West Ealing London W13 9LA 020 8280 2222
Travel Training, Travel Buddy Service, Transition, Accommodate Me Housing Service
ESAS at Age UK Ealing
*(
23
Ealing Specialist Advice Service
Ealing Mencap
Services
Business Support
Access
based at Enterprise Lodge
based at Enterprise Lodge
based at the Lido Centre
Services encompasses RealMe, Gateway Clubs, & Personal Assistant Service
Business Support encompasses HR, IT support, finance, & volunteering
Access encompasses Transition, Accommodate Me, Travel Training, & Travel Buddy Service
All Ealing Mencap staff have an email address in the format:
Preparing For Adulthood Manager Tom Quilter (ext. 259)
firstname.lastname@ ealingmencap.org.uk
Travel Training Manager Annemarie Braganza (ext. 265)
So if you know the name of the person you would like to contact you can email them directly.
Head of Services Kathryn White (ext. 201) Social Inclusion Project Manager Ann Weekes (ext. 204) Skills Development Project Manager Adrian Ford (ext. 202) RealMe Team Leaders Teresa Begley (ext. 215) Larry Oguine (ext. 214) Daniel Rouse Bobby Sidhu
Business Support Manager Maureen Schofield (ext. 206) Customer Referrals & Assessment Coordinator Claudia Omisore (ext. 208) HR Personnel Officers Clare Penfold (ext. 210) Manpreet Roopra (ext. 212)
Housing Advice Worker Verena Matthews
Some staff have direct extensions which are listed here.
Finance Officer Krupa Shah (ext. 211) Administration Assistant Kate Venus (ext. 213)
based at Age UK Ealing office
Resource & Quality Assurance Manager Maurice Elliott (ext. 207)
ESAS Project Manager Matthew Coulam
Quality Compliance & Best Practice Officer Lisa Williams (ext. 218)
IT & Data Administrator Joanna Thomas-Wright (ext. 209)
ESAS Learning Disability Advocate Gabriel Jones
Senior Support Worker Kate Kilty
Site Supervisor Michael Markwell
Employment Consultant Steve Poole (ext. 203)
Annual Report 2015-16
This is a list of a few key contacts in the organisation.
Extensions at Enterprise Lodge can be entered after dialling the main number. Extensions at the Lido Centre can be directly dialled by using the main number and substituting the last three digits. For example you can dial 020 8280 2259 for Tom Quilter at the Lido. 24
Our Thanks Once again we need to say thanks to a huge number of people for their efforts, hard work, commitment, and goodwill this year. Although funding is vital for us to be able to offer our support, as a charity we need to rely on more than just money to deliver our services. Every volunteered hour or donated pound goes a long way for so many. We’re fortunate to have a number of funders and donors, including all of our customers who choose to spend their personal budgets or self-fund to purchase a service from us. We’re delighted that you continue to choose Ealing Mencap to support you, and we’re proud to be able to deliver you a service. We hope that you will continue choosing to be our customers for as long as you need. Although there are far too many to mention individually, we wanted to highlight the contributions of the following people and organisations for what they had contributed to Ealing Mencap in the last year.
going to the finishing line. This will make a huge difference to the band.” Thanks to staff from Ealing Broadway Shopping Centre and British Land, who revisited us this year to volunteer at Enterprise Lodge, buddying up with RealMe customers to brighten up the garden with new plants and the reception area with a bold mural. We’re immensely sad to be saying goodbye and one final thank you to two people who passed away this year. Bernice and Mike contributed an enormous amount of time and energy to Ealing Mencap as volunteers. Bernice McNaughton MBE served as trustee on our board for decades, showing a huge commitment to our cause as well as many others in the community. Bernice was involved with Ealing Hospital, sat as a magistrate, and was the first chair of the Ealing Racial Equality Council.
Congratulations to Dan and his father Jeff for completing the Osterley Park 10k, taking on the challenge to raise funds for I Love Thunder (see page seven and eight of this annual report).
Mike Frost volunteered huge amounts of time and IT expertise in developing our first centralised electronic database of customers, which was an invaluable tool for our services for a decade.
Dan updated their JustGiving page to say: “Thanks to everyone who has contributed their money and support to our fundraiser. Knowing that so many people were supporting us kept us
Both had a massive, positive impact in different ways to our organisation, and we were fortunate to have benefited from their skills, experience and kindness.
25
Jeff & Dan Highfield
Bernice McNaughton MBE
Mike Frost
RealMe staff and customers with EBSC & British Land volunteers Ealing Mencap
Chair’s Report George Venus Chair The past year has flown by and as you will see from the stories in our annual report, it has been another eventful and successful one. This is thanks to the efforts of Lesley and all of her staff team, assisted by my colleagues on the Trustee board, as well as our volunteers and countless others in the community who support us. You’ll see we’ve had another good year from a financial point of view, and the strong balance sheet puts us in a good position to continue to develop new avenues of support for our customers with a learning disability and their families. As you’ll be aware, it’s been a year of turmoil politically in the UK and we’re all still uncertain about what the full impact of the result of the European Union referendum will be, both from a political and practical standpoint. What we do know is that despite all of our efforts to improve facilities for people with a learning disability and the positive progress we have been instrumental in bringing, there is still a lot of work for us to do. Annual Report 2015-16
For example, the number of people with a learning disability in employment has fallen recently – only 6% of adults of working age in the UK have a job. Nationally, the amount spent on adult social care has fallen over the last five years, as has the number of people receiving social care, with the number down by half a million. There is an even greater strain on family carers who struggle to cope with the job of caring in an economically difficult climate. Only 16% of adults with a learning disability are able to live in independent supported housing. A significant number live with parents over the age of 70, who don’t have a plan in place for how their loved one will be cared for when they’re no longer able to carry on their caring role. The good news for children is that life expectancy has improved dramatically in the 21st century, but there is still much room for improvement in the health service, where for various reasons people with a learning disability can often have a less positive experience than everyone else. This is partly to do with the need to change awareness and public attitudes. Other examples of negative experience comes in the shape of incidents of bullying and hate crime.
level, and wherever we can we will work closely in partnership with other charities and groups with similar aims. Despite the challenges we all face there are many heartening stories in this report and elsewhere, of people having new, exciting and positive experiences. Recently I accompanied I Love Thunder to Norway where they played at a festival with other musicians and bands made up of people with a learning disability, and had the most amazing time. Just this week I went to see Impact Theatre’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a fabulous show and a fitting tribute to that charity’s efforts to develop the artistic talents of people with a learning disability in West London. And finally I spent yesterday morning with customers from our own RealMe service who have been training and working as volunteers at the Hanwell Zoo in Brent Lodge Park, providing vital experience on the pathway to employment. But these are stories for the annual report next year... And I’m looking forward to reading about them, as well as all the other successes that the coming year will bring.
Mencap is very involved in campaigning for improvement in all the areas I’ve mentioned and many more at both a local and national 26
Ealing
AR2016-10:M0 words, design & layout by Maurice Elliott
www.ealingmencap.org.uk Chair
George Venus
Ealing Mencap is an independent registered charity (No. 1054061) and a company limited by guarantee (No. 3039319)
Trustees Bill Elliott* 1 Phil Greenhead Steve Penfold Anne Warner* 2 Dave Widdowson Roy Willis
Care Quality Commission Registered Service No. 1-131465411
Treasurer Jayesh Pankhania Chief Executive Lesley Dodd * 1 resigned September 2016 * 2 resigned May 2016
Get in touch: Enterprise Lodge Stockdove Way Perivale Greenford UB6 8TJ 020 8566 9575
The Lido Centre 63 Mattock Lane West Ealing London W13 9LA
ESAS at Age UK Ealing 135 Uxbridge Road West Ealing London W13 9AU
020 8280 2222
020 8567 8017
:
info@ealingmencap.org.uk @ealingmencap facebook.com/ealingmencap
The voice of learning disability.