Following these interviews a report was produced which included recommendations.  This was shared with the director Paul Davis and other key personnel.   Links to Work was recognised as a diverse and vibrant workplace that offers lots of different opportunities, services and supports to many different people.  Understanding its commercial viability will be key to its future development.

I became involved in this piece of work to support the feedback mechanisms to staff and users of the service.

The following records were produced as part of an engagement and consultation exercise to communicate the findings and recommendations and gather further comments and thoughts. ( click on images to enlarge)

One of the key messages that needed communicating was the need to define the roles that people who are involved in Links to Work take.  It was also necessary to develop a clear understanding of the route that each role takes within their journey in Links to Work.  Graphic facilitation was used to help people understand this concept and the following record was produced.Not only did the graphic help people understand where they were in the evaluation process they were also given the opportunity to voice their concerns and the hopes they had for future service development.  Community Catalyst’s work is not complete.  Angela Catley is working in partnership with Walsall MBC to develop a clear journey, defining the roles within Links to Work and a clear pathway for the route that they may take on entering the workplace through to leaving the service at a chosen point.

I am looking forward to developing this journey in a visual record once the strategy has been agreed.

working collaboratively with other facilitators who share a passion for developing creative, innovative and engaging approaches to working with groups of people is right up my street.  On the 19th March I got to do just that.

There is an ever growing interest in the use and versatility of graphic facilitation and recording techniques being used to; engage with and grow learning, development, communication and visualisation in organisations.  I’m so excited to be a part of that.

We arrived early in the morning at the Renewal Centre with our trademark of big rolls of paper, coloured pens and pastels and quickly set about hanging sheets of paper on the walls ready for action.  The event was opened by  Karen Murphy, service director: performance, planning and commissioning.  There was a lot to be excited about as the format of the day would provide 4 workshops for people to choose from and attend just 2.  Decisions decisions…. Fortunately Carrie and I were there to capture all 4 workshops and the records have been included below for you to take a look at.

The opening presentation was made by Linda Martin, a senior Lecturer at Coventry University, she talked about managing change and some of the challenges that are presented within the transformation agenda.  Linda got us thinking about the skilled balance that needs be established within the professional working role that will enable people to make informed choices, and be in control of the lives they choose to live. She acknowledged the need for a shift in mindset that would support creative solutions, use the valuable knowledge that professionals have whilst looking for outcome focused sloutions that will really make a difference in peoples lives.

Workshop 1

Was run by David Hardman and Yolanda Dennehy from Brent Council.  They were sharing their journey and the lessons learned one year on in their transformation of services in Brent.  David identified 3 basic principles to help you succeed in transforming services.

• Manage demand
• Control Your Costs
• Focus on Quality

David then talked about how they developed their customer journey at the 4 main stages of

• Initial Contact
• Reablement
• Support Planning
• Review

The key benefits of developing a customer journey has enabled Brent to look at how they interact with their customers, how staff work and how they deploy their resources. the key aim of the journey is to ensure that the customer is at the centre, that Brent is able to promote independence, for people to have greater choice and control to lead full and active lives and that the council is thought of as a whole rather than separate services.

Yolanda then talked about her experience of the hospital discharge team.  They looked at reducing waiting lists and increasing community reablement.  One assessment process was developed. the team’s skill base was widened, they were able to learn from each other, the main assessments now take place at home and they look not to move customers around unnecessarily.  The result has been that delayed discharges have been significantly reduced.

Workshop 2

Dr John Woolham’s workshop looked at transforming the lives of people with dementia. The presentation was based on an evaluation of the “safe at home” project in Northamptonshire.  John talked about the introduction of assistive technology into a council property and monitored the impact that it had over a 21 month period.

There were questions raised about how to establish the balance between supporting someones independence and and controlling their lives.  John referred to the Mental Capacity Act and how that establishes the key principles in the decision making process.

He stressed the importance of the assessment process to find the right technology for the person.  This  then meant that a very person centred approach could be offered.  The results found that there was a reduction in hospital referrals, referrals into care, and that people were 4x more likely to remain living in the community. Carers were less stressed All this makes the cost of services much more efficient.

Workshop 3

Lorna Wallace-Davis is the lead consultant supporting Solihull MBC with the cultural change programme in adult social care.  Lorna ran a workshop on Action Learning Sets and in particular,  the benefit that this process can have as a development opportunity within group supervision.  Lorna has introduced Action Learning Sets within Solihull MBC as a way of supporting the authority to develop a learning culture in order to support changes that have and will occur in the transformation process.  The principle of action learning is that there is no learning without action and no action without learning.  Therefore there is a need for continuous reflection, learning and action to bring about change.   Following Lorna’s introduction to action learning sets she ran a set with participants.  Reviewing the process at the end participants acknowledged that is was really hard not to give advice and that it is the questions that make all the difference.

Workshop 4

Ms Gerry Nosowska is a research and development manager at Research in Practice for Adults (RIPFA) and Kate Olgilvie an associate with RIPFA.  Their workshop focused on how people experience change.  They introduced participants to Culture Change Cards, a tool developed at RIPFA that is used to help people to understand what they are experiencing and why they are experiencing it.  The Culture Change Cards help to recognise, evaluate and validate people’s experience of change.  The experience of change is different for everyone.  It is really important to understand people’s behaviour when change is introduced in order to know how to help them.  By considering how change effects people and then understanding what is causing people’s reaction to change organisations can make sure things are properly aligned within the model of change.

This was a half day event and a huge amount was packed into that time.  The event was very well received.  I am now looking forward to working with Solihull to develop a visual representation of the customer journey.  This will then be used to communicate with all key stakeholders.

Dave Martin, the interim director of adult social care services in Solihull opened the event that promised to be engaging, dynamic and productive.

I’ve included  the graphics that I produced on the day.  This first one was Peter Bates input, he talked about the barriers that vulnerable adults can face, the need for us to map out the journey that people may travel through the system, looking for clarity about how services can work efficiently together.

Peter then went on to explore what he described as 3 dimensions to Serious Self Neglect.  Service Refusal, Personal Care and Domestic Squalor.  He asked people to think about the human reaction to self neglect and what as a professional can be done to offer support where it is needed.

Next we heard from Jeremy Patton, Head of Mental Health Services, Solihull MBC.  He talked about the Mental Capacity Act and asked us to consider the right that people have to make unwise decisions.  There is a need for professionals to demonstrate how they have established a  persons capacity to make unwise decisions and consider who’s judgement is being applied.  He highlighted the importance of vulnerable adults understanding of the consequences of making life choices and encouraged professionals to use the Mental Capacity Act as their friend.  Jeremy talked about differentiating between capacity and consent and the need to balance the risk that is  presented with the level of satisfaction about life choices that have been made.

During the course of the morning participants engaged in debate and discussion about their experience of supporting/ working with vulnerable people at risk of serious self neglect.  there were 6 tables with groups of 10 people representing a variety of different professional disciplines from Advocacy to the Fire Service, Police to Care Providers, Accident and Emergency to Housing Providers.  Using a graphic template produced by New Possibilities, table facilitators encouraged participants to share their experiences, consider the journey that people take through services and identify where further awareness raising and sign posting was necessary to ensure that vulnerable adults get the support that they need to prevent individual circumstances escalating into a safe guarding issue. There was a real buzz in the room,  the discussions were extremely productive with lots of sharing and understanding developing around the tables.

The next presentation came from Roland Simmons who talked about the project that he is involved in to develop a Management Information Tool Kit to support people who compulsively hoard.  Roland talked about what a debilitating condition hoarding can be.  He highlighted the need for the condition to be recognised as a form of Mental Ill Health.  The impact of hoarding can have a devastating impact on a person’s life. The cost of clearing up domestic hoarding can be hugely expensive and not necessarily have any impact on the individual’s condition.  The project that Roland has been involved in has been able to identify where the gaps are and demonstrated that the responses need to be individualised and and look at preventative measures and interventions to prevent a relapse.

The final presentation of the afternoon came from Peter Allington who holds the Vulnerable Person’s Officer role with the West Midlands Fire Service.  Peter showed us lots of pictures of the houses of people who hoard or live in domestic squalor and showed us the fire risks that this can present.  It was a very powerful message about the impact that house fires can have not only for the person but also for family and neighbours.

The day concluded with participants giving thought to some of the stimulus or triggers that we may need to be aware of in terms of self neglect.  Appropriate responses were identified by different agencies.  This is very much a work in progress but Joan Mchugh,  Safeguarding Development Manager, and Sue Walton, Safeguarding Adults Manager, Solihull MBC are keen to develop a pathway or journey that describes describes the route through safeguarding vulnerable adults that will support and prevent people becoming seriously at risk of self neglect.  They are working with Peter Bates at NDTi and New Possibilities to develop visual and interactive tools within a resource pack that will enable multidisciplinary agencies to work more effectively and efficiently together to raise awareness and signpost to relevant agencies.  I am really looking forward to being involved in this exciting initiative and seeing it come to fruition.  Watch this space…

Do you fancy developing your graphic recording and facilitation skills?  Well here are details of our latest training event….

The course will give you the necessary skills, techniques and top tips to give you confidence to bring visual communication into your working practice.  Before you know it you’ll be doodling and recording information in a more engaging and creative way.

People you work with will be impressed with your ability to capture key messages from debates and discussions that bring clarity of understanding. 

These Photos were taken at a workshop that we ran at the Facilitators Practice Group in London.  Participants embraced the opportunity to get stuck in with their pens. At the beginning of the workshop a straw poll showed that 80% of people were not confident in their ability to doodle.  By the end of the session everyone said they felt more confident to add colour and doodles to their feedback charts.

People said they were amazed at what they had learnt in such a short space of time.  One person passed on what she’d leart to a colleague who hadn’t been in our workshop.  Her colleagues was very impressed with her artistic skills.  So you can see what you learn can be implemented immediately.

Go on – give it a go – you’ll rediscover the joy of doodling and be able to share that with others.

Supporting Family members to continue in their caring role.

This issue has become live for me again recently as I talked with  my best friend, her mother, brother and sister and  their respective wife  and husband about what their father & husband was experiencing having recently received a diagnosis of dementia.  It reminded me of conversations that I had with many family members who attended some training that we delivered in the Eastern Region of England.

For family members and friends who take on the role of supporting and caring for their loved one, through the journey of dementia, it can be hugely challenging.

The National Dementia Strategy was launched in 2009 and Objective 7 of this strategy is: Implementing the Carers’ Strategy for people with dementia.  Family carers are the most important resource available for people with dementia.  There is a lot of political rhetoric about supporting people to remain living in their own homes as they age, supporting carers to be able to continue in their caring role, and ensuring that the care provided is person centred and outcome focused.

We know that family members will be able to continue in their caring role for longer if:

• • They have relevant information about services that are available and understand what they are entitled to as carers
  • They are able to understand how their loved one is experiencing life with dementia
  • They feel that their loved one is content
  • They are able to share their experiences with others who have similar experience.
  • They are able to have other interests in their life that are not focused on their caring role
  • There are plans for end of life in place at an early stage in the journey of dementia

Being commissioned by the Eastern Region Improvement and Efficiency Partnership in 2010 to provide training to family members and friends who were supporting people with dementia was a privilege. We met over 250 people who all had their own story to tell.

The one and two day events focused on:

• Sharing information about what services were available; carer’s assessments, the use of personal budgets and direct payments, powers of attorney etc.
• An understanding of how people with dementia experience life using the SPECAL Photograph Album®
• Providing practical, person centred tips and techniques and skills to gather information about how to best support their loved one.
• Developing a one page profile of important information that could be used to inform care providers about the person, who they were and how they could best be supported.

We learned that family members can often feel so isolated in their caring role.  They need to feel that they are able to do something positive, many people needed to be reassured that they are doing the “right” thing.  Without this support family members are more likely to reach a crisis point and find that the care provided at the end of life for their loved one is not what they would wish for.  We met many people who were reaching a crisis point and were fearful of what might happen to their loved one.

We all need to be able to take some time to step back from our hectic lives and reflect on what is working or not working for us and then make any changes we need to.  This can be so hard for people who are providing care 24hours a day.  Being able to have some time to reflect on their personal situation proved to be invaluable for many cares who attended.

To read the full evaluation report follow this link.Supporting Dementia

Below are extracts from the evaluation forms, and quotes from participants made during events, which detail some of the benefits of the course.

• • This has been inspiring.  I will soon need respite at home and I will use some of the tools in the pack
  • We have just made the decision to move mum into a care home and now I am thinking there might be a way of bringing her back to her own home.
  • Legal and financial information
  • Will help me to cope with my caring role better
  • Having heard other people’s experiences & coping mechanisms, I feel I’ll be able to approach my problems from different angles
  • It will strengthen my resolve to make my wife the most important person in the world – I love her to bits, and the extra insight I have gained in dementia will certainly improve my performance
  • (The training) has revealed several areas where my thinking & practice (re care of my husband in the early stages) are unhelpful & I’m challenged to change!
  • This has already calmed down my anxiety over my caring situation, knowing that others are finding the tasks very hard to manage
  • (I will) Try to engage my wife’s abilities in a more constant way and search for new ways of making her life more interesting
  • This has enabled carers to talk to each other about their own experiences and enabled us to take a step back and look in.  This is very difficult to do when you are in the situation
  • I feel it will make me more understanding of dementia in all stages
  • More awareness – insight, where to look for information and help
  • Being able to see how the person with dementia must feel and see things (the Photograph Album)
  • Finding out about the carers assessment
  • I have been on dementia courses before, I’ve heard it all before and it’s really no help to me.  But today I’ve made a decision; it’s something I’ve been thinking about for some time – today I have decided that I’m going to contact my Local Authority and tell them that I am not going to be a carer all of the time.  I’m going to tell them that I’ll need them to look after my wife 4 days a week and I’ll do the other 3.  I’ve heard from other people today that it can be done.
  • The practical stuff at the end was so useful, it was so positive to have some practical things to do – it’s all felt uplifting
  • I am going to look for places for the future now
  • I had been thinking about my wife and realised it was the conversation that was missing and I can do something about that now.
  • it helped to have an understanding of the person’s perspective because that helps you not to get so frustrated
  • This is the first information I’ve had – I think something like this should be available to all carers
  • The 3 golden rules were just brilliant
  • Today has been valuable beyond measure
  • I came today thinking it would be worthwhile if I learned one thing – and I’ve learned lots.
  • Today has far exceeded my expectations

I  looked back over the report and felt humbled to have made a difference is some people’s lives.  Bringing me back to my best friend and her family it highlights that it is still as important as ever that people who find themselves in a caring role get the support they need.  There are many people who are not eligible for services because of their financial status yet they are crying out for support not necessarily knowing what that support might be.  If we can support carers well then:

• people will be able to continue living in their own homes for longer
• Carers will continue to be the most valuable  resource we have
• and people with dementia will receive support that is person centred and outcome focused.

In 2010 only 7% of people with a learning disability have a paid job – this is a sad reflection of the difficulties that this group of people face and a significant loss to society from a group who want to contribute.  It is clear that there are still many barriers to employment for people with a learning disability.

The positive news is that there are many organisations and agencies providing employment support services for individuals with learning disabilities in Worcestershire, meaning that there are a number of options open to people who are looking for employment.  However the route to employment can be complicated and it is clear that people have difficulties finding the most appropriate service.

The Worcestershire employment pathway has been developed by the Learning Disability Partnership Board Employment Sub Group and it is intended to set out the range of options and services open to people to help them make choices or to be sign posted to the most appropriate service.

The event on the 13th January was a huge success.  I was only able to attend for a short period but the council chamber was full of people wanting to hear about the Pathway.  There were inspirational speakers, lots of useful information and an opportunity to network and speak to some of the support services that are available in Worcestershire.  I was asked by Worcestershire County Council to produce a graphic record to accompany their written document.  This 10ft long poster was on display as you approached the council chambers and it looked pretty impressive – even if I do say so myself!

Graphic Recording is not a new concept. Ancient man used graphic illustrations to share information, tell a story and make a permanent record – preserved to the present day in caves around the world.

Graphic Facilitation will help you to use time more efficiently and make meetings more productive.  We know that visuals help speed up thinking by working with the collective intelligence of a group.  We know that when we do a graphic record people become engaged in a very different way.  The atmosphere that is created when a graphic record is produced enables people to relax, barriers are removed and people talk more openly and freely.

The fantastic thing about a graphic record being produced is that it grows continuously and remains as a static reference for people to constantly refer to at the time, along with it being kept alive long after the event has finished.

It is said that “a picture speaks a thousand words”.  With graphic facilitation, a complex idea can be conveyed with a single still image making it possible for people to absorb large amounts of information very quickly.  People retain about 65% of what they see and only 15% of what they hear, so using graphic facilitation will inevitably enhance retention of information and the visualisation of ideas.

This course aims to give participants the skills, knowledge and understanding of graphic recording and graphic facilitation.

Participants will:

● Develop a useful set of images to aid visual thinking
● Be able to produce live and accurate graphic records of meetings, discussions and interviews. Capturing the content of discussion and debate through colourful images, words and symbols to portray emotion, energy and direction
● Have an appreciation of when to use different ways of recording information

For more information or request booking form  ring 01564 823 396 or send an email to info@newpossibilities.co.uk

*BOOK BEFORE THE 16th DECEMBER 2011 AND PAY £375! – BOOK TODAY TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF EARLY BIRD DISCOUNTS!!

(*after 16th December price is £475)

To view the poster in full click on the image below

Graphic Recording is not a new concept. Ancient man used graphic illustrations to share information, tell a story and make a permanent record – preserved to the present day in caves around the world. Unlike powerpoint presentations the graphic record produced at an event grows continuously and remains as a static reference for the duration. People retain about 65% of what they see and only 15% of what they hear, so using graphic facilitation will inevitably enhance retention of information and the visualisation of ideas.

BOOK BEFORE THE 14th OCTOBER 2011 AND PAY £275! SO WHY DELAY BOOK TODAY!!

(after 14th October price is £475)

For more information or request booking form  ring 01564 823 396 or send an email to carrie@newpossibilities.co.uk

It is with great pleasure that we are responding to an ever increasing demand that is being placed on New Possibilities for people to use the images that we draw. The Drawn to Communicate Library has been developed to provide you with images that you can use to:

• make agendas and minutes of meetings more interesting and easier to understand
• make reports and plans more accessible
• provide a visual record of the information that is being communicated
• bring your website to life!

The images that you will find in this library will help you to communicate more effectively with everyone.  They are bright and colourful. They have energy and movement.

This library will grow over time. With the purchase of your licence you will be entitled to 3 free bespoke images.  We will draw bespoke images for you if you cannot find what you need in the library please contact us and tell us what it is you want.  The new images that we produce will be added to the library for you and everybody else to use.

 Don’t delay, join today!!