www.mcch.org.uk
newsletter for mcch staff
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March 2015
Get up to date news: twitter.com/mcchcharity facebook.com/mcchcharity
Picture: Some of our winners from the recent mcch awards. learning disability | autism | mental health
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Peter Thompson Chief Executive
What’s new? Change is something that we can always guarantee at mcch. Our success is based on our openness to do things differently.
National awards recognition
We have introduced new computer systems such as Webroster, Microsoft Dynamics CRM and My Learning Cloud. These are vital to help us to become more efficient. We have been working on new housing developments which create new ways of supporting people. These include a mental health forensic step-down service and a learning disability transition service. Read more about these on page 6. We are planning to merge with the charity DGSM yourChoice. They provide day centres, registered care and supported living services for adults with learning disabilities in Kent and Medway. Some of the people we support in Bexley also use their services, so the merger is a really good fit with mcch. We aim for them to transfer into the mcch group on 1 April. We are introducing new ways of involving people we support. We will be inviting people to join learning disability and mental health forums. Representatives from these will sit on a Partnership Board with mcch board trustees. Look out for the adverts and our launch at the Autism strategy event on 2 April (see page 4).
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Allan Finn wins the citizenship award at the 3rd sector care awards.
Mental health specialists finalists at the Great British care awards and the 3rd sector care awards.
Carlton Centre wins Great British care awards.
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Abseil 80m for mcch
Sign up today and you could be abseiling down the tallest sculpture in the UK! When? Time?
Saturday 4 July
Time slots throughout the day (9am - 5pm)
Where?
The ArcelorMittal Orbit at the Olympic Park We have organised a day’s abseil for up to 80 people.
We have some FREE places for people we support
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People wishing to abseil will need to raise ÂŁ100 in aid of mcch. We also have FREE places for people we support without the need to raise money for mcch. If you are interested or want to know more, please contact our Fundraising Manager Emma Cassley e.cassley@mcch.org.uk or call 01622 722536.
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Safeguarding facts Terry Wills Corporate Safeguarding Specialist
Freephone whistleblowing number: 0800 066 5689
Report all concerns you have about bad practice to your manager or call the freephone mcch whistleblowing number, which will be answered by a mcch manager: 0800 066 5689. Remember, if you are concerned, report it! Ignoring abuse is not an option. If you do not report it you are condoning the act. What should you do if someone discloses abuse or you see abuse taking place? • Reassure the person and make sure they are safe. • Make sure you have the basic details of the incident. • Let the person know that you need to pass any details on to your manager. • Report it to your manager/team leader and maintain confidentiality. • Write up your account of events and put onto Recordbase. • Remember to tell the police if you think a serious crime has been committed. Safeguarding Adults Return, Annual Report, England 2013-14, Experimental Statistics Referrals concluded by Local Authorities during the 2013-14 reporting year that there were 122,140 allegations about the type of risk. Of these, the most common type was neglect and acts of omission, which accounted for 30% of allegations, followed by physical abuse with 27%.
Autism strategy launch 2 April We’re launching our new autism strategy on 2 April, which marks World Autism Awareness Day. Join us at Hermitage Court from 11am until 3pm and spend some time talking to staff about our work in autism. Stands include positive behaviour support, language and technology, storytelling, involving people and much more. It’s also an opportunity to say goodbye to Jacky Hammond, operations director for mental health, autism, employment, enterprises and engagement.
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Congratulations to our mcch award winners
Winner of the Employee of the Year award, Colin Thomas comments on his win: “It really was a lovely occasion and I am completely stunned that I should be chosen from the many hundreds of fantastic staff we have.�
Inspire and Support
Outstanding Contribution
Respect
Volunteer of the year
Runner-up: Eric Baker, Winner: Tracey Cox
Colin Guest
Ridgelands (Brian Douglas, Ben Gomes, Sam Hobbs)
John MacCabe
Top Team
Top Team
Employees of the year
Winner: Maidstone Employment Service (Chris Thompson, Stuart Boyle, Kevin Hoare, Caroline Moore)
Runner-up: Thames Innovation Centre reception team (Adam Hunt, Mark Cook, Caroline Moyles)
Jo Woollett, Wendy Ward, Heather Fournier, Kath Trante Overall winner: Colin Thomas
Good Ideas
Good Ideas
Working Together
Runner-up: Carlton reception team
Winner: Safe Haven project
Paul Jenkins and Ashley Green
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Building for the future Richard Webb
Executive Director of Housing and Development
It’s going to be a busy year for the housing team in 2015.
The Pines We have started the construction of a new 16 person service in Tunbridge Wells which we will own and be the landlord (progress can be seen on our live camera feed on the website).
Supported living accommodation We will also start redeveloping 2 residential care schemes in Maidstone to provide new self contained supported living accommodation for people with learning disabilities due to open later this year.
The Pines
Transition service In March we will start redeveloping a 150 year old school to provide a new service for young people with learning disabilities in transition into adulthood. This scheme is due to open in April 2016.
Transition service
Mental health service Also, we have purchased a grade II listed building in Maidstone to provide a new service for people with mental health needs leaving secure accommodation. We have already obtained planning consent so we are hopeful this will open in July 2016.
If you want to know more call Richard on 01622 722493, email r.webb@mcch.org.uk or pop in and see him at Hermitage Court.
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Mental health service
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My Voice My Story My Way Tracey Cox
Storytelling Lead Practitioner / Co-ordinator
Can you be a champion? Our goal is to have a My Voice, My Story, My Way champion in every learning disability service. The champion will lead the service in creating and sharing stories for the people they support. My Voice, My Story, My Way helps people we support to create accessible stories about themselves to share with other people.
How to get involved To become a champion contact Tracey Cox and sign up to the 2 day training course. t.cox@mcch.org.uk 01622 722407 Use the skills you learn to encourage others to participate in the project and capture the life stories of the people we support.
Learning Disability Week 15-21 June 2015 Get involved this year to celebrate learning disability week. You could organise a party, coffee morning, do some fundraising or get creative and do some art. Let us know how you will be celebrating by contacting Karen Mitchell on 01622 722418 or email k.mitchell@mcch.org.uk
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Do you benefit from
great savings?
www.ubenefit.org.uk Save £100s by using uBenefit
What’s so good about it?
www.ubenefit.org.uk
• It is exclusive for mcch employees only. • You can save money on groceries, clothing, toys, holidays and more! • It’s easy to use - there are video tutorials to help you understand how to use it. • Buy a pre-paid gift card for one-off use. • Buy a pre-paid gift card and top it up each month. • Get a discount code and buy online. • You can even get cashback on purchases.
Did you know? The most popular gift card that our staff buy is from ASDA.
What do you think? Gemma Doucy, Team Leader: “When Ubenefit was first launched I dismissed it pretty quickly thinking that it was ‘just another scheme’. However, once I took the time to log on and have a look around I realised that it really could save me some money every month. I only use it for my grocery shopping and coffee shops so I reload my card every month on pay day. I put my monthly food shopping money onto an Asda card and some money onto a Nero card. Nero do some good deals I save money every month and get a free coffee added onto the card too. It may not sound much but per month I save £15. I have put this £15 to one side and have saved £90 to put towards my Christmas shopping. Ubenefit is really easy to use and navigate around. I would recommend it to all staff to use.”
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Personal development Emma Cobbold joined us in September 2014 as a graduate trainee with Charityworks and works with the business development team. “I knew I really wanted to work in the charity sector, but with little experience, it was difficult to get into. Charityworks has given me the stepping stone I need and a great opportunity to build my skills during my year’s placement. “I’ve learnt so much already, both personally and professionally. I meet up with the other graduates regularly as part of the placement, so that we can learn from each other and discuss common issues in the sector. “So far I have helped to write tenders and have written reports on personal budgets and carried out research about our competitors. I hope these and future projects will help mcch to explore potential gaps in the market. “I am really enjoying working for mcch. I have had the pleasure of meeting people we support and their support staff, who are clearly passionate about their work. It inspires me and makes me want to continue my career in the charity sector.”
Shared parental leave Partners can now share time out to care for their new born child/children. The right comes into effect for babies born on or after 5 April 2015. We are currently working on a policy and procedure to support shared parental leave. If you are considering shared parental leave, contact your HR team for advice. You or your partner may be eligible if you are expecting a baby on or after 5 April 2015.
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My Learning Cloud: New e-learning system
We have a training course to help you find your way around the new e-learning system. You will learn how to: • log on to My Learning Cloud and change your password • find the information you need from the homepage
Computer skills training This course is designed for people with very little or no experience of computers. You will learn how to: • use a mouse and keyboard • open, save and close documents
• view your training record and completed certificates
• edit and format text within documents
• view training assigned to your role (mandatory as well as service specific)
• use a browser to access the Internet and bookmark favourite sites
• complete your e-learning.
• explore the content of our Intranet
Training for managers We also have training to help managers understand the new e-learning system. In addition to the above training, you will find out how to assign courses to a role and how to find out what training your team has completed. Managers will have the opportunity to complete an e-learning module.
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• insert and format images
• send and reply to emails • and you will build your confidence in using IT. Contact Wendy West to find out more: 01622 722522 w.west@mcch.org.uk
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Staff survey: You said...we plan to do... Anne McLean HR Projects Manager Thank you to everyone who filled out the employee survey. The survey told us that there are 12 areas that we need to explore in more detail, including reward, communications, workload, career development and fair treatment. There are several key messages that we have already started to address and we will have more information about what we plan to do in the near future. Directorates and central services have already started to talk about the things that staff have said about working within their own teams. We expect that this activity will increase over the coming months.
Join our focus group We are running focus groups and would like you to attend. The first is at Hermitage Court on 8 April 2pm - 5pm. The second is at the Thames Innovation Centre on 22 April 9.30am to 12pm. To book your place contact Anne McLean: 01622 722495
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a.mclean@mcch.org.uk
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HR team structure changes Anne McLean HR Projects Manager From 1 April, the HR structure will change. We will have a HR Shared Services team and directorate HR teams.
HR Shared Services team The team: HR shared services manager (Caroline Howarth), team leader (Jade Fotheringham) and our current HR Administrators. These staff will be based at Hermitage Court. The team will be responsible for recruitment, HR system updates and will support directorate HR teams by carrying out administration.
Directorate HR team The team: HR Business Partners (current HR Managers) and HR Officers. These teams will be continue to be based at Hermitage Court and at the Thames Innovation Centre. The team will be responsible for bringing a commercial focus to the delivery of best practice in people management and workforce efficiency. HR Officers will support the HR Business Partners and will take a leading role in all “sensitive issues� casework. If you have any queries about this, please contact me: 01622 722495 a.mclean@mcch.org.uk
mcch One Hermitage Court Hermitage Lane Maidstone Kent ME16 9NT t. 01622 722400 f. 01622 722450 www.mcch.org.uk twitter.com/mcchcharity facebook.com/mcchcharity mcch is a registered charity number 1156486 and a company limited by guarantee (registered in England and Wales number 8971493).
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