The Big Voice and Beyond..... What people with learning disabilities

said they need in Reading

2014-2017

Who this is for.......

This is an update on the previous BIG VOICE PLAN that took place back in

2008. Over the last 5 years a lot has been happening for people with

learning disabilities in Reading. It was time to update the plan to reflect

what needs to be worked on NOW and BEYOND 2014.

People with learning disabilities in day

centres, students at college, people who

are using supported living services,

those who use other independent ser-

vices were asked to contribute their ide-

as and opinions. We did this from April

2014 using the Talkback Advocacy groups

that are established in Reading. We or-

ganised an afternoon meeting for people

who work for Health Services, Reading

Borough Council, Parents and Carers, representatives from all Transport

Services, The Adult Disability Team, The Job centre and Adult Learning

Representatives as well as people who provide leisure and sporting activ-

ities to come to look at these ideas and to pull everyone’s thoughts to-

gether. These opinions and ideas will become part of the Reading Bor-

ough Council’s Disability Strategy.

This report tells us what people with learning disabilities wanted to see

in Reading over the next few years.

Choice and control is about having choice and control over where you live, who

you live with, where you work, holidays, how you spend your mon-

ey, and how to use and find clubs and spend your leisure time.

Issues:

1. More support is needed in work places for people.

2. There aren't enough job coaches or work focussed training for people.

3. There doesn’t appear to be any going support to help move from learning

to earning.

4. There are not many suitable sporting activities for people with learning disa-

bilities.

5. People need more support to have good friendships, relationships and time

to talk about these.

6. Information about socialising, work benefits is not always easy read.

7. Some adult learning short courses can be expensive

8. Recruitment of support/carers : We need to have more opportunities for

people with learning disabilities to be on the panel.

What needs to be done:

1. Set up supported employment service to help on a continuous and regular ba-

sis people who have jobs and to find jobs.

2. Ask current work providers how they help with setting up and keeping jobs.

To make sure that finding out about sport and leisure hobbies is easy for us

and that there are suitable sessions for our abilities and support needs.

Police and community officers need to be approachable, we need to know

about their procedures and how this can help us in the community.

Having a social life, making safe choices In relationships, friendships and work

life, ensuring we have the opportunity to talk about these.

Relationships in supported living can sometimes be difficult. We need to find

ways of addressing these problems before they become even more problem-

atic.

Having easy read leaflets to help us to understand money, benefits, working

in general and budgeting.

Low cost short courses e.g pottery, cooking or other such hobbies.

We should have a choice about who supports us and we need regular attend-

ance on any interview panel. We need to share best practise of recruiting staff.

Being as healthy as we can means looking at the whole person and ensuring that

people have the right support in order to live full and healthy lives.

Issues:

Appointments run late and we don't understand why

Not everyone in the health service seems to understand learning disiaibity

and the support we might need.

Not all of us have ever had any screening done.

Health checks—some of have had them, but its difficult to know whether we

all understand what they are for.

Not all of us have a healthy diet, and not all of us understand what that can

mean for our health.

What needs to happen

To have a rounded way of working towards health and being healthy– being

holistic and person centred.

To facilitate more training and understanding for all Health Professionals that

is led by people with learning disabilities. “Experts by Experience.”

When we have health appointments please let us know if they are running

late. This can have an impact on us.

To have more training from Community Learning Disability Team and Talkback

to teach Health Professionals about the issues that people with learning disa-

bilities face.

To encourage where appropriate Screening Procedures. That we are given ap-

propriate support to carry out these procedures through the reasonable ad-

justments made by health professionals.

Making sure annual health checks really happen. That we can have a Health

passport and know how to receive one. That we are supported to have a

Health Action plan and know how to use it.

That we receive the right information about eating well and how to have a

healthy lifestyle.

Diversity– that we look at needs of other community members and how to

talk to people about their health needs

To have more information and understanding of other voluntary providers e.g.

Stroke, Macmillan, Weightwatchers,

That we train receptionists at doctors surgeries to ensure that they give us

good customer service.

To use Healthwatch to influence clinical commissioning groups, facilitate

health meetings, give people information and connect people.

Through our advocacy groups keep health professionals up to date with issues

and raise awareness through advertising our training sessions.

Represent people on the Learning Disability Carers Forum

To work alongside GP surgeries having better communication between all of

us so that people do get regular health checks and use their health passports

and plans.

To have better links with hospitals about screening

Supporting people to find sport and lifestyle activities that are accessible for

all. (Actions speak louder than words)

For people to be encouraged wherever possible to use community facilities and to

use public transport and be able to travel either within Reading or outside the local

boundary. Being aware of your own safety in the community.

Issues

Sometimes strangers might be unfriendly. We need support

workers/carers to support us to go out, to show us how to be

more independent

We use taxi’s, Readibus and public buses, but some of us need

support to do this.

We all need the opportunity ( or try it out) to do travel training

Some people want ( and need) to use their bus pass before 9.30am due to

work and appointment times

When advertising events let us know how to get there– how far away they are

Not sure who staff are in the shops

Limited opportunities to travel outside Reading

Readibus people generally nice

Reading buses too noisy, prams, drivers pull off before you’ve sat down

What can we do

To see why people do not go outside of Reading and why this is

Have clear information to let us know what to do if we feel unsafe to talk

about how we feel– support us to be more streetwise.

To know who to ask for help

To look at setting up a possible travel training course for people to do– pilot

scheme

To be able to look on the internet to find out information about coffee morn-

ings, events. For information to be done in easy read.

Talk to RBC/Transport Services about changing times on bus passes so that we

can get to work.

Being aware of your own safety, knowing who to go to if something is not

right. Police being aware of issues and situations that may be difficult.

Issues: and what we need to do.

Bullying– we need to talk about it and understand it

Raising awareness of “Mate Crime”. We don't know what this is.

Having healthy relationships with people. Knowing the difference between

right and wrong, what is a good relationship and helping everyone to under-

stand.

Family therapy, talking about our families and our children if we have them.

Knowing what to do in a crisis

Practical day to day issues at home. What to do if a cold caller comes knock-

ing, support to use “check a trade”. And knowing about basic health and

safety at home.

Social life, making safe choices In relationships, friendships and work

life.

Relationships in supported living. Some of us don't like living with

people and this causes alot of worry and arguments.

We want to work alongside police community officers, adult social

care workers and people that support us.

More school leavers with learning disabilities are aspiring to want to go out to

work. There needs to be more support in place in order for people to have the right

training through college or through the jobscentre or specific supported employ-

ment schemes to enable this to happen.

Issues:

Some of us want to work, we want to have paid work not just voluntary. We

want a way of looking towards doing this. We want choices in our work.

Supported employment- I lost my job because the right support not in place

Its not about working, its how to get to work, accessing travel training, finding

other ways of getting to work, e.g. walking,

We want more employers to be willing to take on people with a learning disa-

bility and to pay us.

Having easy read leaflets to help us to understand money, benefits, working

general and budgeting.

To link in with local colleges to see how these colleges courses can be recog-

nised by employers and used in any work placements or employment

What we can do

Invite employers to the Partnership Board meetings and other agencies. E.g.

New directions, jobscentre, employment agencies.

Set up a supported employment agency. Looking at existing agencies

Work alongside Readibus and Reading Buses to give them up to date training

about learning disability awareness.

To do travel training sessions and to reassure families that this can be done

with good support.

Skills for work— Training course—Getting out to work- short courses all about

work.

Having a strong voice for both people with a learning disability and their families is

an essential way of ensuring that our voices are heard and that services making

reasonable adjustments that support people to be successful in their choices.

Issues:

We have a very active Service User Forum–we talk about day services

There are Talkback Matters subjects every month we need more wider sub-

jects

We should have a choice about who supports us and we need regular attend-

ance on any interview panel. We need to share best practise of recruiting staff

We need to make sure that we involve parents and c arers and families when

a person is over 18

Some families need support to navigate the system. Understanding all the

changes from child/adult isn't always clear

We need to make sure that training involves people with learning disabilities

We need to be doing quality inspections of services with people doing the in-

specting.

Talkback’s contract needs to be extended to support people having a say.

What can we do

Reading Families forum– we need to collect videos of people’s experiences

which can support training.

Transitions to look at information pack– working alongside schools and colleg-

es

Look at best practise in recruitment in training

Identifying forums that already exist and to ensure we have some input into

what they are doing.

Ensuring that this links with Choice and Control

Who we need to help and support

us?

Talkback

Reading Mencap

Reading Borough Council

Community Learning Disability team

Royal Berkshire Hospital

Healthwatch

Reading college

Jobcentre

Community Interest group

Service user forum

Reading Buses

Gp surgeries

Department of Work and Pensions

Parents and carers

Providers of supported living

New Directions

Housing

Police

Community support officers

Employment agencies

This report is a plan for the Learning Disability Partnership Board to use

as its guide for the working groups.

The Learning Disability Partnership Board already has 3 working

groups which need to be expanded slightly to include some of the oth-

er elements of this report.

LEARNING AND WORKING

BEING AS HEALTHY AS WE CAN

TRANSPORT— TO BE RENAMED COMMUNITY AND KEEPING SAFE

HOUSING AND RECRUITMENT

A STRONG VOICE

Choice and control will be across all working groups and there may be

some cross over for the other groups.

This report will now be added to the Reading Borough Council Disabil-

ity Strategy , and this will also include strategies for people with physi-

cal needs, sight and hearing needs, mental health, and autism.

Sue Pigott

Talkback

August 2014