Ealing Mencap Annual Report 2014-15 50th Anniversary Edition
Ealing
Contents 3
Planning for the Future
4
Our Aims, Vision, & Mission
Ealing
5 Project SEARCH 6 Jason’s Story 7 The Power Group 8 Hear My Voice Hustings 9 Community Engagement
1965 - 2015
11 Travel Training Turns Ten 13 Investing in Our Staff
Registered Office address:
15 Working in Partnership
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16 Being a Quality Checker 17 The Big Picture this Year 19 Ealing Mencap 50th Anniversary 21 Volunteering 22 Our Thanks 23 Finances 2014-15
Enterprise Lodge Stockdove Way Greenford Perivale Middlesex UB6 8TJ
Registered Charity No. 1054061 Company Limited by Guarantee No. 3039319 CQC Registered Service No. 1-131465411
:
www.ealingmencap.org.uk info@ealingmencap.org.uk
25 Get in Touch
@ealingmencap
26 Chair’s Report
facebook.com/ealingmencap
Chief Executive’s Report Lesley Dodd Chief Executive I’m not sure where the last year went it’s just flown past. And by passing into 2015, we’ve entered our 50th year as an organisation. Ealing Mencap was formed by a group of committed local parents and carers in 1965. In fact, it was so long ago that the exact date has been lost to history! So for that reason, we’ve decided to launch our Golden Anniversary celebrations at the 2014-15 Annual General Meeting, and carry on the commemorations over the next year. When we were founded all those years ago, both socially and financially things were very different to what we’re faced with today. The 1960s were, relatively, a prosperous time for the country. The economy was modernising and unemployment averaged around 2%, less than half of what the figure stands at today. It was said by one British historian that “Opportunities in life, if not equal, were distributed much more fairly than ever before.” However, whilst legislative changes were beginning to come about for people with Annual Report 2014-15
disabilities at this time, many people with learning disabilities were still institutionalised in long-stay hospitals. And for those that did live at home, their family or carers had virtually no recourse to support.
“Regardless ..of the environment, ...we find .ourselves in a good position... .We remain .ambitious.”
There’s nothing tangible to say that the parents and carers who came together - forming the first stages of the Ealing Mencap we are today felt that their sons and daughters were not afforded a fair, let alone equal, opportunity in life. But the fact that they wanted somewhere for people with learning disabilities to participate in activities and events, a place where they could meet and make friends, and a forum for carers to come together and offer each other support, does indicate that they weren’t getting the help from anywhere else.
Over the past 50 years we’ve faced many challenges and we’ve grown steadily, both in good times and in bad. Given the current financial climate, Ealing Mencap’s balance sheet at the end of this financial year was extremely favourable. This has been down to the hard work and dedication of our trustee board and staff team. They’ve worked tirelessly and professionally throughout this year to identify
savings, whilst working within the auspices of our Three Year Business Strategy. Our strategy has helped us to stay true and focused in an environment of austerity, and has given us the ability to be forward thinking about potential financial challenges over the coming year.
Regardless of the environment, we find ourselves in a good position to take on any of the testing times that may lie ahead. I’m confident we’ll continue to survive and flourish as an organisation. We remain ambitious, and I’m looking forward to telling you about the new services and innovative support that we will have delivered for people with learning disabilities and their carers, at this time next year. From our small beginnings, we’ve become firmly rooted in the local community and grown into one of the leading learning disability services in Ealing. With the work of our wonderful staff and volunteers - who make a positive impact every single day - we’re making a huge difference to our customers’ lives, and striving toward helping each of them have the same fair and equal opportunities as the rest of society.
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Planning for the Future In October we launched our Three Year Business Strategy. We consulted our staff, customers and partners about what Ealing Mencap should be doing for people with learning disabilities. We found that our customers and their carers appreciated and valued the services and support we offered them. Our task was to consolidate these services, raise the quality of them wherever possible, and look ahead to what we would be able to do in the future. We knew that due to the financial climate of austerity, funding cuts were coming. To not just to survive as an organisation, but look to improve and innovate for our customers, we would require a plan. This is where our Three Year Business Strategy has helped to guide us.
structure. The restructure provided us with a solid foundation to move forward from, but it’s our Business Strategy that has given us direction. The strategy document highlights ten key aims and outcomes that we are working towards, which are listed on the opposite page. Some of our aims are ambitious and won’t happen overnight; some we will achieve by delivering the same great services we always have, with a greater focus on listening and responding to our customers, and evidencing their successes for everyone to see.
By acknowledging that we need to adapt to the needs of our customers, as well as the expectations of our partners and the challenges of funding cuts, we looked at what we wanted to achieve both as an organisation and for the people we support.
The strategy also provides us with a clear vision of what we want to achieve for people with learning disabilities in the long term. With it comes a mission statement, one that reflects our organisation as well as the local community, and says how we intend to accomplish that vision.
Our strategy document captured a snapshot of Ealing Mencap as it stood at the end of October 2014, having operated for a little over two years with a new organisational
Throughout the annual report this year, we want to show what we – as well as our customers – have achieved that shows that we’re moving in the right direction with the
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Business Strategy. Look out for the guide at the top of relevant pages, indicating what outcomes each of the featured achievements have met. It’s important to mention that the strategy is not a static plan. It will grow, change and evolve as we move forward, and we are regularly reviewing how we are progressing with the aims and outcomes. The full Three Year Business Strategy document, including fully detailed aims and plans for the future, are available to read online at www.ealingmencap.org.uk/ threeyearplan. Ealing Mencap
Our Aims, Vision, & Mission Our Aims - we will use these to measure how successful we have been in 2017 >>>>>>>>>> Our Vision - what we want to achieve for people with learning disabilities: “People with a learning disability and their family or carers in the borough of Ealing will be valued, supported, and listened to, so they can reach their potential and have the same life chances as others.”
Our Mission - how we see our role in achieving that vision: “We want to be one of the lead learning disability organisations in Ealing that campaigns for people’s rights, creates opportunities, showcases our customers’ talents and skills, breaks down barriers, overcomes isolation and changes lives.” Annual Report 2014-15
1. Our services will be even more effective. We will improve the ways that we look at and use the information that our services keep. This will help us improve our ability to use gathered information to better our services and reach more people. 2. We want all of our customers and the people who support them to be able to access and understand our services. 3. We will reach out to more people with learning disabilities and their families, including people who don’t get any money from local social services and those with complex needs. 4. We will encourage our customers to get involved in their community, showcasing their abilities, talents and skills, to positively influence people’s views of learning disability and our organisation. 5. Our customers will be involved in the running of Ealing Mencap by making decisions about the services we provide and how they’re run. We will listen, understand and act upon their feedback. 6. We will increase the amount of money we have to make sure the organisation is fit for the future. Our fundraising will be bringing in additional money and we will look for new ways to fund services and support customers. 7. We will have increased the number of organisations that we work with so we can share skills and knowledge, provide new services and avoid duplication. 8. Our staff will always be well trained, skilled and enthusiastic about improving the lives of people with learning disabilities. 9. We will have open and easy to understand budgets and accounts for our customers, staff and supporters to be able to see how the money is spent. 10. Our policies and procedures will be current, in line with the law, and our staff will understand and work to them. Our organisation will meet all legal requirements to ensure our customers and employees are both protected and fairly supported.
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Project SEARCH Project SEARCH launched in August, a partnership venture designed to prepare young people with disabilities for competitive employment. Alongside Ealing Council, Connexions, and Ealing, Hammersmith & West London College, Ealing Mencap has helped deliver meaningful work experience and an OCN qualification to a dozen people aged 18 to 24. The Project SEARCH interns received workbased training at the Hilton London Heathrow Terminal 5 Hotel (pictured right). They were fully embedded in daily working life there, getting directly involved with placements within the front office, food preparation, customer service, housekeeping, and events operations. Job Coaches from Ealing Mencap and the college offered intensive, on-the-job support to all of the interns, helping them to improve on existing skills or gain new ones that they would need for future employment. Interns could also count on support from staff at the Hilton as well. 5
Strategy Outcomes
3 4 7
And the benefit of gaining skills and first-hand experience has shown already. More than half of the 2014 interns found paid employment upon graduating Project SEARCH. Two – including Jason Russell, who shares his experience on the opposite page – took positions at the hotel, with another two interns being offered employment at the Hilton London Kensington Hotel. Three interns later found jobs at ISS, an airport facilities and support company operating at Heathrow, and three more found work as school caterers. Of the final two interns, one has started a placement with the Marks and Start programme - a scheme run by Marks & Spencer for people who face barriers into work - and the other is currently volunteering at the Transport for London museums in Covent Garden and Acton, while still being supported to look for and apply for jobs by Project SEARCH. Over 90% of the interns are now in paid employment.
The 2014 Project SEARCH interns
Overall it is clear to see that the first year of Project SEARCH has been a massive success, and congratulations are due to all of the interns that graduated. They have proved that with the right support, commitment, and positive attitude, employment is a realistic and achievable goal. Ealing Mencap
Jason’s Story “I was going to college in Hounslow and I didn’t like it. I was doing the same sorts of things over and over, maths and English and IT classes with tests. I just dropped out in the last couple of weeks. I thought I’d just end up probably doing more college and the same things later on again and again. I found out about Project SEARCH through Southall College and it sounded different. It’s been more engaging for me and it’s kept me interested. For me, going out and working is better than just sitting down, writing on paper or being on the computer. The Job Coaches are a bit like teachers, but they’re like colleagues as well. You can have a laugh and a joke with them, and that made me feel less shy. They’re still strict though, but it feels like they’re there for you and not themselves. They’ve pushed me from the start to my limits, in a good way. They’d check on me every now and then to see if I was doing things right, questioning me, keeping me focused. I started off nervous and shy, really closed. But throughout the year I’ve been opening Annual Report 2014-15
up and talking to everyone, to chefs, the housekeepers, managers and guests. I’m a lot more confident. Project SEARCH has been like stepping stones, taking little steps. With new things like housekeeping, for the first days of trying that it was just showing me how to do things. The same in the kitchen, just showing me first. That helped me learn a lot. Seeing it was better than just talking about it, and witnessing the job for myself just made it real.
“It’s like stepping stones... Just showing me first. That helped me learn and made it real.”
Now I work as a Commis Chef in the hotel which is the first step, every Head Chef has to start there. I got through Project SEARCH last year, and work four days a week here and go to university one day a week to do an NVQ level two in catering. It’s helped me understand more about temperatures and food safety.
I’ve focused on being a chef and bringing that dream to life. I’ve been dreaming about it since I was young. My mum was a chef, so was my sister and I’ve always had an interest in food. It’s a one hour journey for me to get here. This week on Monday I
Jason Russell, Project SEARCH Graduate
started at 7.00 in the morning so I had to get up at 4.30 to be here on time. But when I come here and put my whites on, it’s worth it. It feels a relief for me, knowing that I’m doing something with my life, something that I love doing. It’s a dream come true. It’s amazing. I didn’t think I would ever work somewhere like here. I thought ‘Just try your best and follow the yellow brick road’ and here I am now.” 6
The Power Group
Strategy Outcomes
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Six months before the public went to the polls to decide who was going to be taking charge of the country, the Power Group kicked off their local election campaign with a hustings event in November. Sixteen candidates – all people with learning disabilities – stood for election to the Power Group, wanting to represent their peers and speak up for people across Ealing. The majority of the candidates were at Ealing Town Hall to meet potential voters and tell them why they would be the right choice to serve as a Power Group representative. Each elected rep has a different focus in areas such as housing, day opportunities and education, and they will go on to campaign for the rights of people with learning disabilities across the borough. An official ballot box was borrowed from Ealing Council, with a private voting booth set up for people to make their decisions. The ballot box and candidate information was also taken to Enterprise Lodge so customers engaged in services there could cast a vote. Voting online was also possible. 7
The Power Group L-R: Esther Brown, Leanne Stevens, Kerry Ann Brown, Sarah-May MacMurray, Belinda Powell, Anne Corrigan, Berge Kanikanian (Not Pictured: Tom Thacker, Becky Sillet, & Adrian Matthews)
Overall almost a thousand votes were counted. The majority of them came through the online system, but almost as many votes were made in person at the hustings event and at Enterprise Lodge. That was a fantastic response and showed the importance of the Power Group to many people. The results were announced in December, and the new reps have been in position since then. For a full breakdown of the results and an introduction to the ten Power Group reps (some of whom are pictured above), visit www.ealingmencap.org.uk/ ppg2014 where you can download the full election report.
Top: Belinda meets potential voters Middle Left: Councillor Hitesh Tailor casts his ballot Middle Right: Anne shares her biography Bottom: Leanne offers her manifesto Ealing Mencap
Hear My Voice Hustings One of the major events this year saw the Power Group partnering with national Mencap in the Hear My Voice Campaign, organising a hustings event for candidates standing as members of Parliament in the 2015 General Election.
James Symes (Conservatives) and Virenda Sharma (Labour) - spoke about what they would do to help people get into suitable training and meaningful employment, provide better access to public transport, and prevent hate crimes.
Hear My Voice began as a direct response to the fact that although there are 1.4 million people with learning disabilities in the UK, their issues are rarely, if ever, debated during elections. Taking into account families and carers, that’s millions of voices and issues not being heard and discussed.
The hustings started with a presentation from members of the Power Group, outlining their views on what the next Government – no matter what party is in charge – should do to create a more equal society for people with disabilities. The candidates and audience in attendance at Ealing Town Hall certainly heard the reps’ voices as they spoke up for the people who had voted for them back in November.
“Are you listening?” was the big question Hear My Voice asked of political candidates across the country, who were encouraged to commit their support to making sure everyone was heard. In March – just a few months after the Power Group’s own hustings event – potential candidates for the Ealing Southall seat in Parliament were asked questions about what they would do for people with disabilities if they got into power. Candidates from the three main political parties - Kavya Kaushik (Liberal Democrats), Annual Report 2014-15
Strategy Outcomes
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The Nelson Room at Ealing Town Hall was packed
The candidates prepare for questioning
Ms Kaushik said: “I really enjoyed speaking today, great bunch of people and a great variety of questions. Thank you so much for inviting us, I hope to see you all again soon!” Mr Symes added: “Thanks for the hustings, great to talk about employment and learning difficulties. It was a great event, thanks for organising.”
The Power Group watches on 8
Community Engagement As an organisation with the community at our core, this year we were fortunate to be able to put ourselves right in the centre of Ealing for over a month, giving us the chance to raise our profile as well as the profile of people with learning disabilities in the borough. Anyone walking through Ealing Broadway Shopping Centre during June should have noticed the Ealing Mencap Pop-Up Info Shop, a space donated by the centre management as part of our nomination as the centre’s ‘Charity of the Month’, which also overlapped with Learning Disability Week 2014. It gave us the opportunity to raise awareness of what we do and showcase the talents, skills and energy of our customers. Throughout the month, a range of Ealing Mencap services took up residence at the pop-up. We also invited others to join us, with the Brent Lodge Park Art Collective (now called the Art Box and being supported by social 9
The RealMe fundraising team with collection tins at the ready
enterprise Green Prospects), the Ealing Shopmobility scheme, and rock band I Love Thunder all taking part alongside us. Gardening project The Dig delivered a special offer on fresh fruit and vegetables, which had been grown naturally and locally just down the road at their allotment site in Hanwell. The Art Collective displayed a gallery of their work, with original paintings, prints and other arts and crafts for sale as well.
Members of staff and customers of the Transition team provided information about the service in a drop-in session, and our referrals and volunteer coordinators were both on hand to answer questions about how people can join us, either as a customer or by donating time as a volunteer. A team of eager fundraisers were a constant presence during our stay, led by staff and customers from the RealMe service. The team did a fantastic job with direct fundraising, which EBSC kindly allowed us to do both in the pop-up and Ealing Mencap
Strategy Outcomes
4 6 around the centre throughout the month. This raised not just money but the profile of Ealing Mencap as well, providing the opportunity for people to find out more about what we do whilst they were giving. By the end of our stay at the centre the public had donated almost £4,000, an incredible amount of money and an astonishing show of generosity from the people of Ealing. I Love Thunder - the band with added ‘rockability’ – played an acoustic set in the Town Square at the heart of the centre to entertain late night shoppers, drawing quite a crowd (and getting a few dancing!), and even more donations as they busked their way through their setlist. The amount of money raised, as well as the interest we received, speaks volumes about our reputation and standing in the community as a well-thought-of, local organisation, one that the public recognises. But the size or reputation of the charity counts for nothing if you cannot gather Annual Report 2014-15
support from your local community. Getting out and engaging in this way was a really positive experience, and has provided us with great ideas about the future, as well as inspiration as to how we can become more visible in the wider community. Thank you to everyone who made the Pop-Up Info Shop a such a success, especially to our staff and customers who took part in the various events and represented Ealing Mencap brilliantly throughout. We would also like to again thank the management team at EBSC who made it possible for us to be there. And it’s not the only support that we received from the centre this year, there are more thanks on page 21 for other ways they have helped. Finally thanks go to anyone that stopped by to talk and find out a bit more about us, donated money, took some information away with them, or signed up to receive more information about volunteering. You all made it a huge success.
Top: I Love Thunder busk in the Town Square Middle: Michelle tests a shopmobility scooter Bottom: The Art Collective gallery 10
Travel Training Turns Ten The Ealing Mencap Travel Training service celebrated a decade of encouraging independence and freedom through travel at the end of June. More than 100 people, including the Mayor of Ealing, supported the event at Ealing Town Hall, which looked back at the impact Travel Training has made in the borough and further afield over the last ten years. Travel Training works by offering person-centred support and training to make using public transport an option for young people with learning disabilities. This means they can come off the minibuses or expensive taxis that would otherwise be taking them to school, which is of massive benefit to the local authority who no longer has to fund a transport solution. We feel that of much more benefit however, is the life-changing skills that a Travel Training student will receive through successfully being part of the service, 11
providing a positive, long-term impact to their lives. The ten year celebration highlighted this impact. A number of ex-students of the service and their families spoke to the gathered audience about how learning to travel independently has helped them, and they thanked everyone for their support. Cian Binchy - who was travel trained in 2004 recited an excellent selfpenned poem about his experiences of the service, even saying that he now has the confidence to travel on planes alone thanks to the skills he was equipped with through being travel trained. Former Travel Training staff members also came down to celebrate, including Sarah Mepham who started the project in 2004; she said a few words about how incredible it was to see the success it has become. The service originally began in Ealing with two Travel Trainers and a manager, and
Just having a look... Not an official ride!
Role-playing scenarios aboard a double-decker
Make a wish... Ealing Mencap
Strategy Outcomes
1 2 has become so successful that there’s now 17 people working within the service across three boroughs. This includes the Travel Buddy service, which not only offers travel support, but paid job opportunities for people with disabilities as well. The Travel Training team have also been influential in raising awareness of the many issues that people with learning disabilities can face when using public transport, and offered suggestions for tube and bus operators on how they can work to make their services as accessible as possible. This campaigning has seen the creation of a London Travel Training Forum which is now hosted by Transport for London, and looks at travel issues from across the capital. The Travel Training team has also regularly held workshops at local bus company garages to improve drivers’ disability awareness, and highlight some of the key support needs that people with learning disabilities have when travelling. The success of the service in Ealing has been recognised by neighbouring boroughs, with services in both Hounslow and Hillingdon continuing this year. Annual Report 2014-15
The bus day celebration for Hillingdon Travel Training’s first birthday
In fact, Travel Training in Hillingdon held a celebration of its own, marking the first anniversary of the service at an event at the Civic Centre in Uxbridge. In a similar vein to the Ten Year Anniversary celebration, the day consisted of a mix of awards, speeches and workshops demonstrating safe travelling techniques. Hillingdon trainees were joined by local school teachers, members of the Metropolitan Police Safer Transport Team,
and staff from Metroline Bus Company and Transport for London, in marking the first 12 months of Travel Training in the borough. Travel Training has once again proved this year what an invaluable service it provides. Across three boroughs - and including the Travel Buddy Service - the project has offered direct support to over 200 people overall during 2014-15, with hundreds more family members and carers also benefiting from the skills, training, and ultimate independence, that the service offers their loved ones. 12
Investing in Our Staff In order to deliver high quality services to our customers, we need an effective, motivated, and skilled staff team. The people who work with us are our greatest asset, and in 2011 we were independently accredited by Investors in People as being an organisation that offers a supportive environment in order to achieve our overall goals. We were reassessed in May, and once again we impressed the Investors in People inspectors enough to retain our accreditation. In that three-year period there has been substantial change to the organisation, with a new Chief Executive, extensive restructuring, and a severe reduction in funding to manage. Investors in People were satisfied that our commitment to our staff has remained consistent in spite of the changes, and that staff do have a voice within the organisation. 13
Around half of our staff team - as well as a number of volunteers - were interviewed, and they gave honest feedback about Ealing Mencap and their experiences here. A great deal of what was said has been taken on board by the trustees, Chief Executive and senior management team, and has provided a number of ideas and initiatives to ensure that we continue to develop as an organisation and do as much as we can for our staff. A consistent theme that came from the IiP assessment was the need to make the most of opportunities to communicate and come together. The existing monthly staff meeting format was felt to be stale, and most staff found it difficult to get the time away from their respective services to attend. In response, monthly staff meetings were repurposed as staff days that take place on a quarterly basis, with a complete closure of our services to ensure as many staff as possible could participate. The focus
of staff days became much wider than the simple information exchange of past meetings, and introduced training sessions, consultation activities, and presentations about future developments relating to the Three Year Business Strategy. This has given our staff a regular forum with a greater level of interaction and, for that day, the emphasis on what Ealing Mencap can do to support them, rather than what they do to support our customers. To further improve upon communication internally a staff representative group was set up, with volunteers from each area of Ealing Mencap coming together to act as a link between staff and management teams. The group – known as Employee Voice – were given training by an external HR consultant with the emphasis on leadership and moving forward with preparing terms of reference for the group, establishing what role Employee Voice will play in the organisation. Since formation, Employee Voice has represented staff views on collective issues to management and discussed matters affecting the staff team as a whole. The Ealing Mencap
Strategy Outcome
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Attendees of Ealing Mencap’s first new quarterly staff day in November 2014
group have also pushed for more staff recognition and the introduction of an official award for team members who have gone the extra mile for the organisation. The issue of health and wellbeing of our workforce has also been one of the key areas that Ealing Mencap has continued to explore and develop. For example, staff with long-term medical conditions are now given the flexibility to attend hospital appointments, without the additional worry of making the time back Annual Report 2014-15
up to the organisation or by using either annual leave or ‘time off in lieu.’ Working with us now makes you eligible for Mencap Extras - a scheme delivered by national Mencap - which offers a range of discounts on high-street and online shopping, days out, and other activities.
Financially we have also invested in our staff. This year we have committed to paying our Support Workers an hourly rate that at least equals the London Living Wage (currently £9.15 an hour, more than 35% above the national minimum wage), and are now making employer pension contributions of 1% for our staff as well.
We are also committed to looking into other staff benefits such as childcare vouchers and the Bike to Work scheme, as well as other ways to reward staff for their hard work.
Echoing the words of the Chief Executive and Chair in this report, thanks go to all the staff who have worked tirelessly, continuing our success and position as one of the lead learning disability organisations in Ealing. 14
Working in Partnership It’s said that while competition makes us faster, collaboration makes us better. Since 2010, six local Mencap groups have actively looked to work together as the North West London Local Mencap Consortium, finding new and inventive ways to make us better at what we do. We have collaborated with our neighbours in Hammersmith & Fulham, Brent, Barnet, Harrow, and Kensington & Chelsea, working under the Consortium banner to take on innovative projects, share skills and experience, and strengthen wherever possible.
Through working collaboratively, the Consortium saved a significant amount of money on consultancy fees, and were able to support each other wherever possible through the complicated process.
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The Consortium Chief Executives: (L-R) Nic Walsh, Ray Booth, Lesley Dodd, Teresa McGinn, Ann O’Neill & Deven Pillay
The Consortium is also recognised by Mencap at a national level as a leading local initiative and one of the very few partnerships of local Mencap groups to work in this way, looking beyond borough boundaries to deliver services.
Working collectively has seen enormous North West London benefits which have Consortium been shared across the Consortium. One perfect example of this has been the introduction of an automatic enrolment Thinking and operating collaboratively has workplace pension scheme this year. also provided us with the confidence and experience to proactively seek out new In order to meet new laws that came into opportunities for partnership working and effect in 2012, the Consortium Finance deliver these effectively. Sub-Group worked together to procure an excellent pension scheme that staff could One of the most ambitious projects choose to contribute in to or opt out of. the Consortium has taken on has been 15
Strategy Outcomes
Expect the Best, a three-year, crossborough, peer-to-peer quality checking scheme funded by the Department of Health, of which Ealing Mencap are the lead partner. This pilot project has seen Quality Checkers - all people with disabilities - visiting day opportunities, residential services, and other places that deliver support or activities, and asking questions to the people that access the service. In this way the Quality Checkers can build up a picture of how the service is performing, and whether it is meeting the customers’ needs. One of the EtB Quality Checkers, Simon Houlton, shares his experiences on the next page. Ealing Mencap
Being a Quality Checker “I’ve been a Quality Checker since December 2013. I’d had jobs before but not quite like this. When I was living in Oxford I used to do some advocacy which is quite similar, and now also do selfadvocacy in a group run by Mencap in my spare time in Hammersmith. Quality checking means going into a service, looking around the place to see what life is like there, like if it’s safe or well decorated, and we ask a series of 11 questions to each of the service users within that service. If they feel happy, or if they like the staff, things to do with customer satisfaction really, to see if they enjoy what they do in that service, whether that’s having sessions with a key worker, or painting, or sewing, or anything else. Being a Quality Checker means that we ask those questions and we check to see if the service is up to the service users’ standards. If they’re happy we should be happy with what they say. And if they’re not then we need to look for some ways to improve things from their point of view. As Quality Checkers we’ve experienced similar services for ourselves. For example I would check residential services because Annual Report 2014-15
I’ve got experience of using residential services. Someone else might check day services, because they’ve been to day services in the past. It’s almost like we have our own specialist fields in a way. I use residential services in Edgware so I know what I personally like, and I know what I like to see in a service. But everyone’s different and everyone has different opinions, so it depends on what you want to get out of the service. I look to see if people are happy at a service, if they feel safe, if there’s a ‘personal touch’ like paintings on the walls and photos of them doing things with their friends. We report back to the service and say what we found, and suggest ways they can improve. Sometimes the service will say “Well, we didn’t know about that,” or “We’ve never asked anything like that before.” It feels great because it means you’ve helped improve the services for other people and they’re benefiting from it. We benefit too, in a way. We notice the changes and see things that are running smoother. Even small little changes that make a difference, and that makes you feel like you’ve made a difference, which is a good thing.”
“Even small little changes make a.. difference... That makes you feel like you’ve made a difference.” Simon Houlton, Quality Checker 16
The Big Picture this Year This year we have invested in our IT infrastructure to connect better and work more efficiently, both internally and externally with our customers and funders. As part of our Three Year Business Strategy, we needed to find better ways to reach out to more people and more effective ways of communicating overall. Our email system was outdated and based on old technology, so we migrated to a new, cloudbased system which offered greater flexibility and more features, including better security and backup facilities. It also provides us with far greater options of working collaboratively, even if staff members are in different locations. We also invested considerably in migrating our electronic database – which was set up over a decade ago – to a brand new online system called CharityLog, specifically designed to meet the needs of charities. 17
This was a huge undertaking, and meant migrating years of customers, carers, contacts, and case histories from our old system.
Our Customers... By Gender Clients
Carers
Overall
Recording information about our customers with a database like CharityLog allows use to use data in a quick and efficient way. Reports to funders and stakeholders can be generated so we can evidence what we have spent their resources on and how. Using outcome based reports also builds a picture of how customers have benefited from using our services over time. Using data like this is not only used to see what we have done, but also to show how and where we might aim services in the future. Looking back over 2014-15, we have recorded contacts with 767 people on our database in total. Here is some more information that we are able to show using CharityLog.
63%
37%
23%
77%
57%
43%
By Numbers Ealing Mencap has worked with:
15% carers
652 clients & 115 carers 85% clients
That’s a total of
767 people Ealing Mencap
Strategy Outcomes
1 2 3
By Area Northolt: 9.5% clients 4.3% carers
Greenford & Perivale: 11.7% clients 4.3% carers
2 6 .1 % cl ie nt s and tside 8 .8 % ca re rs live ou L.B. of Ealing
By Ethnicity 400
35
350
Clients
Carers
300
250
200
331
Acton: Hanwell: 9% clients 10.4% clients Ealing & 11.3% carers 6.1% carers West Ealing: Southall: 15.5% clients 17.8% clients 16.5% carers 48.7% carers
150
7
57
100
50
110
99
0 White
By Age
Asian
6 26
2 22
0 24
3 13
African
Caribbean
Other Black Background
Mixed Ethnicity
5 27 Any Other Ethnicity
Refused
By Contacts
Under 18
Clients 32%
Annual Report 2014-15
18 - 64
65 & Over
Clients 62%
Clients 5%
Carers 67%
Carers 26%
Refused
?
Clients 1% Carers 7%
We’ve recorded...
8,348 contacts with clients & 832 contacts with carers ... in person, in writing, or over the phone. On average in the last year, each client has contact with us over 12 times, and each carer has had contact with us more than seven times.
18
Ealing Mencap 50th Anniversary As mentioned in the Chief Executive’s report, this year marks our 50th Anniversary since the Greater London Council redrew the borough boundary lines, and what used to be known as the ‘Ealing Society’ came into being.
Committee Minutes 25th August 1966
The redrawn boundaries saw the Brentford Society for Mentally Handicapped Children split into two distinct organisations for the newly separated areas. The small amount of funds held were divided, and the first thing the Ealing Society resolved to build was a new community centre... The years between then and now have seen countless hundreds of members, supporters, volunteers, parents, carers, and staff play their part in our continuing success. The past five decades have seen enormous positive change for people with learning disabilities, but we still work for the day that we won’t be needed as an organisation. Here are a few memories from days gone by, with names and events that a few perhaps may still remember. If you have some memories to share, we’d love to hear as part of our Year of 50th Anniversary Celebrations. Please get in touch! 19
Present Messrs Hall, Lyons, and Bunge, Mesdames Bunge, Lyons, Harris, Doe, Wallace and Enfinger. Apologies were received on behalf of Mrs Fredman, Miss Brown, and Mr Harris. “Meeting was called to discuss plans for building of new centre. There was a discussion on what is to be done and exactly how much is to be spent on the building. Mrs Harris suggested we try to get advice from someone with more knowledge of such matters and Mr Hall felt that the Regional Office was the place to ask help from. Mr Bunge proposed we leave the subject of money until the picture is clearer and we know more about it. Mrs Doe agreed.
Mrs Bunge has been in contact with Taylor Woodrow who told her that if we decided exactly what we wanted the building to be like they would send a representative along to discuss it with us. Mrs Bunge drew a rough plan of what she thought the building should be like and she asked the other members to comment. It was decided that a kitchen approximately 8 x 12 would be suitable and a cloakroom preferably near the entrance. Two girls and two boys toilets were thought necessary. Mrs Bunge proposed that the completed rough plan should be approved and Mrs Wallace seconded. Mrs Bunge took the names of members who would be able to be present at the meeting with Mr Beck, the Taylor Woodrow representative, there has to be at least six people present. Mr Hall asked why the Council Committee has been disbanded as he was not present at the last meeting. This point is to be raised at the next committee meeting.” Ealing Mencap
Mencap Matters April 1985
Annual Report 2004-05
Introduced by President of the ‘Ealing Society’ Helen Doe, this newsletter features the report made by Chairman Joyce Bogoni for the AGM, which had taken place on March 2nd. “Some of you might not agree,” she said, “but those of us who have moderately handicapped sons and daughters... are reasonably serviced.” “For the parents of our severely or profoundly handicapped, there is no such comfort and it has been like this ever since I became aware of the problem some 20 years ago.” Mrs Bogoni’s words will still echo 30 years later, with many parents and carers still struggling to find suitable support services for their children.
Annual Report 1997-98 Huge significance for many in Ealing was reported by former Chief Executive Julian Hillman, with Ealing Council creating “a joint team of Health and Social Services professionals, devoted to adults with learning disabilities and based in one building, at 62 Green Lane, W7.” They’re still there today.
Annual Report 2014-15
Our 40th year was, as ever, an eventful one. A team of 14 athletes from Ealing were supported to the Special Olympics in Glasgow in the Summer of 2005, with the team returning home with three gold, three silver, and a bronze medal.
3C’s counselling was launched this year, and the children’s Saturday Club was reopened after further funding was found, doubling the number of sessions it offered to 40 per year.
The origins of the EalingHELP website can be traced back to 2005, with the ‘Interactive Website for Children with Disabilities in Ealing’ (good thing they changed the name) being scheduled to launch by the end of the year.
Total income for 1997-98 was just over £275,000, including £2,000 raised by Taylor Woodrow in an eating competition, with a “crew of workers wolfing down sausage rolls, dry cream crackers, pickled onions, boiled eggs, and pints of baked beans.”
The purchase of the Enterprise Lodge freehold was boosted after an appeal in the Ealing Gazette, from £5 postal order gifts, to a £20,000 anonymous donation coming in. Thanks again, a decade later, to our mystery donor! 20
Volunteering As mentioned on the previous pages and elsewhere, 50 years ago parents and carers came together to volunteer their time and energy for people with learning disabilities. Forming a small but committed group, they were the bedrock of Ealing Mencap. We still consider ourselves, at heart, to be a voluntary organisation to this day. As a volunteer you can make a real difference to our organisation and the people that we support. We look for people from all walks of life; everyone is an individual and everyone can bring something special to us that can help others. We celebrated the hard work and commitment of the individuals who had already volunteered with us this year, with a Volunteer Appreciation Evening in June. Trustees, club leaders, receptionists and volunteers from all across the organisation were recognised and thanked for their efforts, before being presented with certificates of achievement. Both long-term volunteers and new faces attended the event at Enterprise Lodge, 21
Just a few of our fantastic volunteers from 2014
which gave them a chance to share their experiences and learn about other areas of Ealing Mencap that they may not have been involved with or heard much about before. We were sad to say goodbye this year to our long-standing Thursday Club Leaders Mick and Kath Davies, who stepped down in February this year. They had welcomed hundreds of members through the doors of the club for two decades, and were two of our best-known and longest-serving volunteers. We would like to say thank you one last time for all the time, energy and enjoyment they have given to so many over the years at Thursday Club, and wish them all the best for the future.
Chair George Venus says thanks to Mick and Kath
Finally, we would like to thank once again all the volunteers who have donated their time to making a difference with us this year. If you’re interested in becoming a volunteer, please visit our website at www.ealingmencap.org.uk/volunteer for current voluntary opportunities, or call us on 020 8566 9575, or email volunteer@ ealingmencap.org.uk to find out more. Ealing Mencap
Our Thanks As ever, we need to thank you to a huge number of people for what they’ve brought to the organisation this year, through their efforts, hard work, commitment, or kindness. As a charity we rely on more than just money to succeed, and we’re incredibly grateful for every volunteered hour as well as every donated pound that we receive. We’re fortunate to have a huge number of funders and donors, far too many to mention individually. But we would like to mention the following people and companies for really going above and beyond in supporting us this year. Congratulations go to our Transition Lead Gabriel Jones who raised over £1400 by being sponsored in the Ealing Eagles 10k race in Gunnersbury Park, finishing in a very respectable time of 1:09:05. Gabriel was joined by Huishan Loh, who finished just six seconds ahead and raised a further £420. We received a massive amount of support from Ealing Broadway Shopping Centre and British Land, who own the centre overall. Volunteers from EBSC and British Land celebrated Learning Disability Week Annual Report 2014-15
with us by fundraising and planting £300 worth of donated native wildflowers and plants in the wildlife triangle adjacent Enterprise Lodge. Members of the EBSC management team also ran in the Ealing Half Marathon in September, raising over £1700 for us. Huge thanks to everyone involved for being incredibly supportive throughout the year. Thanks to Neighbourhood Direct Ltd, a member of the Oldroyd Publishing group, we now have an excellent Services Guide which was produced for us at no cost. The guide contains information about what services are available for people with personal budgets to purchase from us. Steve Marcinko, Zara Zubrzycki and Glenn Oldroyd all deserve massive thanks for producing the guide on our behalf. Finally we want to say thank you to all of our customers who choose to spend their personal budgets, or self-fund to purchase a service from us. We are delighted that you continue to choose us to support you and we are proud to deliver you a service. We hope you will continue choosing to be our customers for as long as you need.
Top: Gabriel & Huishan after the Gunnersbury Park 10k run Middle: British Land & EBSC volunteers give the thumbs up to gardening Bottom: Our new Services Guide
Welcome to our Services Guide
The voice of learning disability An independent charity (No 1054061) Care Quality Commission Registered Provider (No 1-131465411)
22
Finances 2014-15 Our Reserves at 31st March 2015
Income: April 2014 to March 2015
43% Unrestricted
72% 2%
Restricted
55%
All other incomes
Overall Expenditure: April 2014 to March 2015
Direct Charitable Expenditure: April 2014 to March 2015
67%
99%
All other costs
1%
23
28%
All other costs
6%
24%
3%
Ealing Mencap
Strategy Outcome
9 End of Year Figures: 2014-15 against 2013-14
Where our Money was Spent
Income Grants received Income from charitable activities Donations and gifts Investment income Other income Total income
2014-15
2013-14
1,147,603 898,797 16,877 1,021 33,721 2,098,019
1,019,666 723,945 38,199 1,004 23,838 1,806,652
1,924,778 8,908 9,314 459 1,943,459
1,826,795 5,184 9,575 128 1,841,682
154,560 1,147,908
(35,030) 990,336
Expenditure Charitable expenditure Governance costs Interest paid Other costs Total expenditure Net resources incoming / (outgoing) Net assets Advocacy & Advice
Organisational & Management Costs
Services for Adults
Depreciation
Services for Children
Annual Report 2014-15
We are grateful for funding this year from the Bailey Thomas Charitable Fund, City Bridge Trust, Department of Health, Ealing, Hammersmith & West London College, John Lyons Trust, London Borough of Ealing, London Borough of Hounslow, London Borough of Hillingdon, and numerous generous donations from members and other supporters. Our full audited accounts can be viewed upon request at our registered office or are available on the website of the Charity Commission. 24
Get in Touch Enterprise Lodge
Stockdove Way Greenford Perivale UB6 8TJ 020 8566 9575
The Lido Centre
63 Mattock Lane West Ealing London W13 9LA 020 8280 2222
Nearest bus routes: E5, 297
Call here for: RealMe, Gateway Clubs & Business Support
Nearest tube station: Perivale (Central Line)
Nearest bus routes: 83, 207, 427, E2, E3, E7, E8, E11
Call here for:
Nearest tube stations: Ealing Broadway (Central Line & District Line), Northfields (Piccadilly Line)
Travel Training, Travel Buddy Service, Transition & Housing
Ealing Specialist Advice Service (ESAS) will be launching in October 2015 and offering advice and information for people with disabilities. Call 020 8567 8017 or visit www.ealingsas.org.uk to find out more. At Enterprise Lodge:
Services Services encompasses RealMe, Gateway Clubs, & Personal Assistant Service Head of Services Kathryn White Social Inclusion Project Manager Haydn Morris-Leveque 25
At the Lido Centre: Skills Development Project Manager Adrian Ford
Customer Liaison Officer Lauren Radford
Customer Referrals & Assessment Coordinator Claudia Omisore
RealMe Team Leaders Teresa Begley Lorelle Busby Larry Oguine Bobby Sidhu
Business Support Business Support encompasses HR, IT support, finance & volunteering
Resource & Quality Assurance Manager Maurice Elliott
Senior Support Worker Kate Kilty
Business Support Manager Maureen Schofield
Access Access encompasses Transition, Travel Training, & Travel Buddy Service Transition Manager Gabriel Jones Travel Training Manager Hannah Bailey Ealing Mencap
Chair’s Report George Venus Chair The charity has had another great year thanks to Lesley, all of our managers, staff, volunteers, and trustees! The year also saw the retirement of Mick and Kath Davis who successfully led the Thursday club for many years. We wish them both many happy years, with more time to enjoy their family and travel. We were also saddened by the recent death of one of our long-standing trustees Bernice McNaughton MBE, who will be very much missed for her warm friendship and support, which we were fortunate to enjoy for many years. The General Election came and went and we were able to support many people with a learning disability to make contact with the candidates to tell them about the support they need and the problems they encounter in their day-to-day lives. Some will also have exercised their right to vote for the first time. Annual Report 2014-15
Whilst we have unfortunately lost much of our advocacy funding in the new Health and Social Care grant funding round, we intend to continue to support people with a learning disability to have a continuing dialogue with political decision makers, in order to keep their concerns high on the political agenda. The same applies of course to family carers who have also acquired new rights to be better supported under the 2015 Care Act, including breaks from caring responsibilities. It is too early to say how big a positive impact the act is going to have on people’s lives, but we have been very involved in the early stages of implementation. I have also been part of the development of the new national Mencap strategy as a national Mencap trustee. We are putting a strong emphasis on trying to change public attitudes towards people with a learning disability. This will include better access to and involvement in mainstream community activities and resources, and better support to develop and maintain friendships and relationships - high visibility and direct contact is one of the best ways to change attitudes.
support for families in the early years. The national charity will also be committing to work much more closely with local Mencap groups like ours in Ealing, to develop more innovative support services right across the country. We have already done lots of good work to improve the health and wellbeing of people with a learning disability but there is still a long way to go to make the NHS as accessible and responsive as we would like, so we will be working hard on this priority too. From a financial point of view, significant progress has been made this year towards ensuring that we have adequate unrestricted reserves, which are now at an acceptable level, but we have to bear in mind that we still face many uncertainties around funding and increasing competition from other providers. The numbers of people in our community with a learning disability is increasing and traditional services such as council-run day centres are closing down, so we also need money to invest to increase capacity and meet the increasing demand for our services.
We should also begin to see Mencap more involved in ensuring that there is better 26
Ealing
AR2015-10: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 Phil Greenhead Bernice McNaughton MBE†Steve Penfold Anne Warner Dave Widdowson Roy Willis
Care Quality Commission Registered Service No. 1-131465411
Chief Executive Lesley Dodd
†passed away July 2015 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 020 8280 2222
:
info@ealingmencap.org.uk @ealingmencap facebook.com/ealingmencap
The voice of learning disability.