Association for Real Change: Active Support Conference – 17th September 2014

Q&A Panel

Panel members:

Chair – Gary Bye – Chief Executive, Life Paths Trust

Glenda Roberts (GR) –Director of Care Services, Martha’s Trust

Catherine Carter (KC) – Trainer, Change

Edwin Jones (EJ) – Service Development Consultant, Directorate of Learning Disability Services

Kathy Lowe (KL) – Service Development Consultant, Directorate of Learning Disability Services

Paul Griffiths (PG) – Director, …is 5

Paul Deakin (PD) –Personalisation Manager, Robert Owen Communities

Chris Shrubb (CS) – Chief Executive Officer, Edward Lloyd Trust

Question 1:
“How long before you realistically saw positive change in your organisation as a result of Active Support?”
GR: “Positive results can be seen very quickly but the difficulty is keeping it going and maintaining the positive outcomes.”
Question 2:
“How do you keep reviewing and keep on going with Active Support?”
CS - “It’s really important to rely on first line managers.”
GR - “At Martha’s Trust we were undergoing a period of change within the organisation at the same time as implementing Active Support, so we were able to introduce it as part of the new organisational changes. It’s really important to work with people to make sure it becomes embedded.”
EJ – “Reviewing and keeping Active Support going is all about leading and expertise within the organisation, and being able to reinforce staff behaviours. The Edward Lloyd Trust are doing some excellent work in training everyone in Active Support and this is a great positive example.”
KL – “It’s really important that the senior management team needs to feed back into the service aswell – it needs to be embedded into the whole service.”
PG – “It is the actual behaviour within the service, not just having an Active Support policy, that is really important.”
Question 3:
“What advice would you give to organisations starting to implement Active Support, particularly if the Manager/s are not necessarily ready or fully on board?”
CS – “It is really a journey for the whole organisation.”
PD – “It is down to the passion and drive of someone in the service, and someone who will maintain it and make sure it is kept ongoing.”
PG – “There is a need to be careful with the typical fatigue that there can be for new initiatives – quietly introduce staff to Active Support, then there is going to be less resistance when it is fully introduced.”
KL – “It’s important to start with the most willing, interested and enthusiastic. They can then be ‘champions’ for Active Support within the service, and lead others.”
EJ – “It’s all about positive interactions with staff, the training, but don’t start with paperwork!”
KC – “I find that students and younger people are more willing to learn than those who are established in a job role – but it really all depends on if the individual wants to change their way of working, or just stay in the ‘old’ ways.”
GR – “I think managers need to be humble and really listen to their staff and front line people, as they are the ones who truly know and understand the service and service users.”
Question 4:
“What have you done in relation to challenging commissioners in terms of the delivery of Active Support?”
GR – “Core hour records have a specific section for Active Support. Martha Trust have not yet been successful in challenging commissioners about AS, but I feel that it costs money and we will not give up. We usually meet with the commissioners in an office setting – they do not come out to visit the service and see it in practice, and this really needs to change. Outcomes of AS may not be measureable on paper or really tangible, but they are part of the reality of the day-to-day running of the service and that really needs to be seen”.
CS – “There has been a mixed response from commissioners in Newcastle. One Local Authority is really on board with Active Support. Another has tried to drive down to a fixed cost for care services and has visited providers to audit how ‘enabling’ the service is, using this as a measurement of success, linked to funding.”
EJ – “It’s really important to emphasise the creative use of existing resources and the fact that Active Support does not necessarily have to cost more. It is much more about using existing resources in a different way and adopting the approach of AS.”
KL – “All research into the cost of service provision reveals that cost is not directly related to quality. Active Support is all about what staff do, not the cost.”
GR – “I would argue that cost is more relevant than that because commissioners do not pay enough for the quality of services, and this is vital to organisations to be able to deliver Active Support. There can be a cost involved, and it is not necessarily due to lack of resources within the organisation – just a recognition by commissioners of the importance of AS.”
EJ – “I would agree, and also emphasise that commissioners really need to be educated that the cheapest service is not going to be the best.”
Question 5:
“I am from Holland, and would like to ask – What about Active Support training for parents and families?”
EJ – “This is a really important point.”
PD – “ROC have beenkeen to broaden the involvement of families and have invited them in for Active Support training. There has been some resistance, but now most families are buying in as they have heard positive things about AS from other families.”
KC – “Change are working with the Netherlands on a project about sex and education, with multi-national partners, to develop a toolkit.”

Edwin Jones and Gary Bye thanked all the organisations delivering presentationsat the conference today for sharing their experiences and knowledge of Active Support.