PERSONAL SUPPORT & SOCIAL WORK SERVICE RAF Impact Report 2016-17 WHAT’S INSIDE OPENING MESSAGE A message from our Deputy Controller Over the past year, we have seen that the RAF’s cases are becoming increasingly complex, and we need to be even more proactive by making preventative and early interventions. Last year, we increased awareness of problems, like domestic abuse. We’ve held mental health and first aid courses for our staff. We will continue to develop the services we provide and aim to be more innovative and proactive. This includes increasing face-to-face support, as well as 3. Controller Introduction SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity, using our client data to better 4. has been working in close RAF locations in the UK identify and stay informed of those partnership with the RAF 4. Our Vision – our approach to support issues which most affect the RAF community for many years. community. 6. Our impact in 2016 Following 25 successful years of We will continue to maintain the 9. Personal Support & Social Work Service specialist social work support foundation of our work. We provided by SSAFA to the RAF, the - Quality assurance want to ensure that a high- contract was submitted for a tender - Learning and development quality and responsive service is process in 2016. We are delighted to delivered to those in the RAF - Utilising technology to ensure continuity of care be successful in securing the who need our support, no contract again for another 5 years in 10. SSAFA’s added value matter what their circumstance. the UK and are proud to be - Adoption service continuing to deliver the RAF’s - Forum for additional needs and disabilities (FANDF) Personal Support and Social Work Michael Dickinson Service. Deputy Controller - Specialist services 11. Closing Remarks 2 PERSONAL SUPPORT & SOCIAL WORK SERVICE RAF IMPACT REPORT 2016-17 3 Our approach seeks to tackle to provide a high level of support, RAF LOCATIONS IN THE UK issues by going to the root cause specifically in: and not just solving the initial Supporting increasingly complex cases problem. Our SSAFA team of RAF LOSSIEMOUTH RAF LEUCHARS specialist social workers and Reaching Reservists as well as , personal and family support Regulars RAF BOULMER workers are located on bases in the RAF LEEMING Seeing more demand from families RAF community. Our specially RAF LINTON-ON-OUSE of serving personnel trained staff are an integral part of RAF DIGBY RAF SCAMPTON delivering our services to the RAF Continuously monitoring service community. We are always working provision and seeking client feedback RAF VALLEY RAF WADDINGTON RAF WITTERING RAF SHAWBURY RAF CONINGSBY RAF COSFORD RAF CRANWELL MARK RAF MARHAM RAF BRIZE NORTON STUDY CASE RAF HONINGTON MOD ST ATHAN “I was so low. My wife had to look RAF WYTON after me for two months after we had MOD ABBEYWOOD CENTRAL OFFICE, our baby daughter. For the first nine LONDON RAF ST MAWGAN months of my little girl’s life, I simply RAF ODIHAM couldn’t pick her up. RAF HALTON RAF BENSON RAF HIGH WYCOMBE “I felt like I was losing the plot. If it RAF RAF NORTHOLT hadn’t been for Matt at SSAFA, I would have lost a lot of things in my life Mark, a RAF ground electrician, because I just didn’t know where I was OUR VISION – OUR APPROACH suffered a career-ending arm going. His guidance and advice was SSAFA wants to enhance the service we provide to the RAF injury after a six-foot fall. He invaluable. He would say, ‘Have you community in the UK and overseas through technological struggled to cope with what thought of this? Have you tried that?’ change, innovation, organisational change and new happened. He got in touch with He was there for me when no one else programmes. We want to maintain our high-quality our Personal Support and Social was. Matt was someone I could go and services and continue to be the RAF’s Personal Support and Work Service when he had talk to. I can’t fault him, and SSAFA has Social Work Service (PS&SWS) provider of choice. nowhere else to turn. been absolutely amazing.” 4 PERSONAL SUPPORT & SOCIAL WORK SERVICE RAF IMPACT REPORT 2016-17 5 OUR IMPACT IN 2016 5 56 Staff qualified as Mental Staff across the UK Health, First Aid, Armed 3,409 Forces instructors People supported in 2016 11 Mental Health, First Aid, Armed Top 3 referral reasons: Access to our Forces courses delivered service by category: 21% Relationships/Family 9 Domestic Abuse awareness Top 3 busiest RAF 2,510 and training days delivered stations for referrals: Serving to RAF social work staff 17% across the country Physical health/Disability 354 824 RAF Leeming 16% Dependent 303 Personal support 43 RAF Brize Norton Veteran 251 32 RAF Coningsby Reserves 6 PERSONAL SUPPORT & SOCIAL WORK SERVICE RAF IMPACT REPORT 2016-17 7 PERSONAL SUPPORT & LIAM SOCIAL WORK SERVICE CASE STUDY CASE Quality assurance through Care Director, our specialist The quality assurance group supports health and social care software. our staff located on RAF bases. Care Director allows easy access to Quarterly audits are conducted in the digital records of our clients’ data, relation to casework. They help which gives more robust reporting develop future plans and improve and effective monitoring of the practice across our service. This personal support and social work mitigates against risks, challenges service that we provide. The data can decision making and identifies any then enable us to further enhance gaps in our service provision. the service by analysing and building Learning and development on the information collected. As the service evolves, we are faced The specialist software supports all with more complex cases and need established assessment frameworks to ensure both our SSAFA field for Adult and Children’s Services in workers and social worker staff are the UK as well as other legal trained to handle them in the best requirements and improved data possible way. Throughout the year, reporting. It gives a greater degree of we continued to deliver courses on accountability for the services we mental health and first aid as well as offer to our clients, wherever they are introducing domestic abuse Senior Aircraftman Liam had a motorbike accident in 2014 and hasn’t been based. awareness days for our staff. The able to work since. Ali from the Personal Support and Social Work Service continuous learning and Our priority is always the individual liaised with RAF Waddington to get Liam the support he needed. development of our team ensures and making sure their needs are “The accident has had a massive impact on my career and our family life. Even that we stay innovative in our met with a continuity of care. Using after the reconstructive surgery, I can’t do 90% of what I could before. My wife delivery of services and align with Care Director and our digital Danielle gets extremely tired looking after both me and our daughter. any legislative changes. capabilities allows us to seamlessly transfer clients required data “Ali from SSAFA has been my biggest advocate and always made the effort. Using technology to wherever they are based. This She’s come to our home for meetings and called to check on us. When I was in ensure our continuity of care ensures we can continue our high hospital, she visited Danielle at home. She even helped organise a bed for me Our service and support to the RAF level of client support with downstairs as I couldn’t get upstairs. She always finds the positive and has community has continued to evolve minimum disruption. really gone above and beyond.” 8 PERSONAL SUPPORT & SOCIAL WORK SERVICE RAF IMPACT REPORT 2016-17 9 DELIVERING ADDED VALUE CLOSING REMARKS SSAFA have been serving the people and seeks to grow their military community since 1885 and capacity and resilience and build a understands the unique demands of workforce that is fit for the future and service life. Our experience and succeeds on operations. heritage means we benefit from With this in mind, we are delighted to having an established set of select SSAFA to deliver our personal specialist services that target the support and social work services for Armed Forces community. In the next five years. I look forward to addition, we continue to develop the significant enhancements in and evolve our portfolio, so that we SSAFA’s contribution that are can bridge any gaps where support Forum for additional needs included in the new contract isn’t readily available. and disabilities (FANDF) provisions, including the single point With a network of over 6,000 volunteers Serving parents can come together The latest Impact Report portrays of contact referral management as well as our trained staff, SSAFA in our forum for families with vividly the valuable work being capability and the supervision offers practical, financial and additional needs and disabilities to delivered by SSAFA in the provision programme that will better support emotional support to Regulars and share information and advice as well of personal support and social work personnel directly engaged in the Reserves as well as Veterans and their as recognise the network of support services for RAF personnel and delivery of welfare. I am also pleased families. available to them. their families. that the new contract recognises and addresses the requirement to Adoption service Specialist services Whilst it might be easy to appreciate better support the welfare needs of the positive effects that professional Our professional adoption service Life in the Forces can present the RAF Reserves. welfare provision can have in caters specifically to military families different challenges for different supporting an individual with a I am most grateful to SSAFA for all and the issues they face when people; not every case has a particular domestic problem, it is they have done and continue to do adopting, especially challenges faced straightforward solution.