Aspire Community Benefit Society Annual Plan 2020/21 ‘Good’ by the Care Quality Have Risen to the Challenge, Commission (CQC)
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Aspire Community Benefit Society Annual Plan 2020/21 ‘Good’ by the Care Quality have risen to the challenge, Commission (CQC). This is fitting consistently demonstrating their Welcomerecognition for the hard work commitment and determination that staff put in each and every to support people to stay safe, day to ensure the quality of the keep active and maintain support they provide. It is all the contact with family and friends. more pleasing that this has been achieved at the same time as we I am pleased that we have have developed and launched our recently been able to re-open new Specialised Supported Living day service buildings, albeit for Service. This growth has enabled fewer people each day, in line us to recruit more staff and, with Covid Secure protocols. through our successful values- At the time of writing this based recruitment programme, The pandemic has brought introduction the country is facing a we welcomed our 300th new opportunities for us to work in national crisis with the Coronavirus starter to Aspire this year. new and innovative ways. We pandemic. Undoubtedly this will have already embraced social bring challenges for everyone, In March 2020 we took the media and created a Covid-19 particularly the most vulnerable difficult decision to suspend information hub on our website. people and their carers. Even all our day services due to We are now developing a at this difficult time it is important the pandemic. However, I am programme of online activities. to step back and take the proud that we have continued opportunity to reflect on the to support people through our I would like to thank each and progress we have made over the respite services and supported every person who continues last year, what has been achieved living services. In addition, we to support Aspire and to say a by everyone at Aspire and to have provided support to many special thank you to everyone who celebrate the many successes people in their family homes. The is working incredibly hard to keep and incredible acts of kindness. people we support and family people safe during the pandemic. carers have been incredibly I am proud that all our supported resilient and understanding living services and respite throughout this time and I have Andy Rawnsley services have been rated as been impressed at how staff Chief Executive About Aspire Aspire Community Benefit Society is a not-for-profit social enterprise which provides care and support services to adults with a learning disability. We have a flourishing Customer Council and, as members of the Board, people we support have real influence over decisions that are made within Aspire. Our purpose is to enhance the quality of the lives of the people we support. We put them at the forefront of everything we do and empower Kevin said: people to be as independent as possible by supporting them to build “I have loved being on the on their strengths. We encourage people to play an active part in Customer Council. the communities in which they live and to take advantage of all the opportunities offered by living in the diverse city of Leeds. I like to get my point across to management and speak out The people we support may have a wide range of additional support for everyone.” needs including physical disabilities, complex needs, behaviours that challenge, sensory impairments or be on the autistic spectrum. We work to safeguard people from avoidable harm whilst supporting them in positive risk taking, decision making and choice. 3 Our Services Aspire supports more than 900 adults with a learning disability and their family carers through day services, supported living services, respite and crisis services. We are committed to ensuring people receive excellent services which are safe, effective and caring and which build on their strengths. Margaret’s story: We pride ourselves on developing strong relationships with the people we support, their family carers and others which enables us to build on I absolutely love working at a thorough understanding of the needs and wishes of each person we the Becklin Cafe. To me it’s important to keep learning new support and to provide high quality care and support services, linking skills. I feel better working with people to assets in their communities. other people as part of a team. I just don’t want to sit at home Through individually tailored support plans the people we support are watching television. treated as individuals, have a lifestyle which promotes independence, are offered choice and have greater control and influence over their It can be very busy at the cafe and I am always meeting new lives, have opportunities to take informed risks and to live, learn and people. play an active, meaningful, role in their community. 4 4 Day Services Our day services support over 700 people with a learning disability from three specialist centres and 25 community bases co-located with other community facilties throughout Leeds. In addition, we support people to work in and run three community cafes at Middleton Park, Otley Chevin and the Becklin Centre. Being at the heart of communities enables us to promote opportunities for social inclusion and to deliver services to people close to where they live. Bramley’s story: Staff at the day service Dependent on assessed needs, the people we support may attend one supported people to undertake or more of our day services for between one and five days per week. a sponsored bicycle ride from Around half of the people who use our day services live at home with the day centre to Millennium family carers. These services support people to lead fulfilling lives by Square. They made the journey using adapted tandem engaging in healthy, safe and purposeful daytime activities. bikes, with a few stops along the way to change riders. We are proactive in working in partnership with a wide range of They also supported people to organisations to lead and/or co-produce events. By working together walk the final leg of the route and combining resources, where appropriate, we ensure a diverse and raised £2,000 to buy new equipment. programme of activities and opportunities are available to people. 5 Supported Living Our supported living services offer over 320 people with a learning disability the opportunity to live in their own homes or in small group settings. We ensure people have the right support, at the right time, to enable them to live as independently as possible within their communities in over 100 houses, bungalows and blocks of flats across Above: Supporting people to Leeds. take part in Leeds Pride Below: Peter and Tim at the Big The support we provide depends on the assessed needs of each Walk - Learning Disabilty Week person. This can range from personal care provided 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, through to regular visits for just a few hours to provide support and advice on all aspects of independent living such as dealing with a tenancy, paying bills, attending appointments and support to access and contribute to their local community. Our supported living, respite and crisis services are all registered with the Care Quality Commission, the national regulator of health and social care services. 6 Respite & Crisis We have four buildings across Leeds from which we provide our respite service, enabling more than 200 people with a learning disability to take short stay breaks away from their family home throughout the year. This means family carers can have a planned respite from their caring role and relax at home or take a holiday. Our crisis service provides five places for people to stay, usually for up Carol wrote: to three months, in the event that an unplanned, emergency, situation We have a good relationship occurs such as a family carer falling ill. Having a place to stay in such with staff and managers which circumstances provides some stability for the person we support and allows honest conversations provides the necessary time for planning for their future. This means and quick resolutions of any issues. appropriate arrangements can be made for them to return home when their family carer is well again or access alternative long-term Our daughter is always happy to go to respite and, accommodation, if this is required. as a family, we are extremely confident in her health, CQC regularly inspect our services to ensure they meet the happiness and well-being. required standards and links to the inspection reports can be Thank you everyone! found on our website at: www.aspirecbs.org.uk 7 Being Safe We have introduced safeguarding, medication and React to Red (pressure ulcer) champions in each service who will cascade training and be the point of contact regarding any concerns. As part of our regular review of policies, procedures and guidance Above: Chris, Caroline and John documents, we have updated the Challenging Behaviour policy, promoting the Safe Places video Whistleblowing policy, Compliments & Complaints policy and the Below: Melvyn enjoying his day Business Continuity Plan. The Leeds multi-agency safeguarding at the South Summer Festival policies and procedures have been updated and we have reflected the changes in our documentation. Aspire has two whistleblowing champions: our Chief Executive and the independent Chair of the Board. This year we have also commissioned Protect, the UK’s whistleblowing charity, which will enable staff to seek help, advice and support to whistle blow from someone outside of our organisation. We are ensuring that Best Interest Decisions are in place, which 8 involve all relevant people, where someone we support does not have capacity to make decisions in respect of large cost purchases.