Welcome to issue 9
With summer just around the corner and better weather (hopefully) on the way many of us will be starting to think about holidays.
Choice is no different and in this edition we look at the different ways in which Capability Scotland supports our customers and their families to enjoy a break. Holidays are a great time to widen your horizons. However, this edition of Choice proves that you can do just that without travelling very far at all. Our First Person article this month tells how, thanks to our therapy services, one young girl was able to continue to explore the world around her. While AllAbout Me highlights the commitment of one staff member who wanted to deepen her skills.
With this edition you’ll also find information from Mobility Solutions, who’ve just opened Scotland’s largest mobility equipment shop, in Glasgow. Including inserts in Choice helps to pay for thedistribution of the magazine, providing a welcome source of income in these cost conscious times.
I am always delighted to hear from readers. You can find my contact details on the back if you want to get in touch with your thoughts and ideas about the magazine. Enjoy your summer - whatever the weather.
Julie Laird
Communications Co-ordinator
A message from Dana
Who isn’t inspired by thethought of ‘widening horizons’?
It’s a wonderful theme for thisedition of Choice as we headtowards summer. It also gives usa great excuse to highlight themany ways in which CapabilityScotland is supporting ourcustomers, their families andour staff team to enjoy newexperiences and to make themost of opportunities in theworld around us.There are lots of examplesin this issue of how peopleare widening their horizons.Perhaps the most obvious is ourholiday feature. This looks at themany different ways in which
Capability Scotland is makingit possible for our customersand their families to enjoy thegetaway of their choice.
Whether it’s providing directsupport to an individual ontheir travels, or offering respiteso families can take sometime out to relax, CapabilityScotland is helping people totake a break from their usualroutines. We’re also hard atwork behind the scenes tacklingthe broader challenge of accessto tourism, and this edition looksat our partnership work withVisitScotland in this area.
Children from our Renfrewshireand Midlothian playschemeshave also widened horizons bytaking part in a worldwide playconsultation. This has resultedin the United Nations takingaction to enforce children’s rightto play. You can read all aboutthis remarkable achievementin the coming pages.
Of course, it’s also importantthat we widen our own horizonsand engage with individuals,organisations and partners whocan enrich the service we areable to offer to disabled peopleof allages in Scotland.To this end I am delightedthat the author of the ScottishGovernment’s review ofspecialist education, PeterDoran, will be working withCapability Scotland. Peterwill help review and furtherdevelop our learning servicesfor children and families.
I believe his expertise andbackground will help usdeliver our strategic objectiveof developing a sustainableeducation service. You can findout more about Peter and thework he will be doing with usin our News in depth article.
I hope you enjoy this springedition of Choice and that itinspires you to widen your ownhorizons. Thanks again for yourcontinued support and havea lovely summer whatever yourplans are.
Dana O’Dwyer
Chief Executive
News in brief
Cafe Mistura recognisedfor healthy eating forthird straight year
A cafe run by Capability Scotland in West Lothianhas won the Healthy Living Award for the thirdyear running. CapabilityScotland’s Cafe Misturain Broxburn was awarded the Food StandardsAgency accolade, which is given to cateringestablishments capable of demonstrating acommitment to healthier eating.
Karen O’Hare, Service Co-ordinator at Café Mistura, said: “The Healthy Living Award is agreat achievement for both customers and staffat the cafe. I am very proud of the work thatwas put in by everyone in gaining the award.”
Meanwhile customers at Upper Springland withan interest in the service industry will have theopportunity to volunteer in Perth’s newest cafe. The foyer area at Upper Springland has beentransformed into a cafe with the help of localtradesmen who volunteered time and resources.
Funding success
Capability Scotland has been awarded a grantof £45,447 from the Better Breaks FundingProgramme to set up the Breaks 4 All project.This project aims to support disabled youngpeople in rural areas of South Lanarkshire totake part in social and recreational activitiesoutside the home and school environment.
By supporting children to access theseopportunities independently it will also provideregular short breaks for parents and carers.
The Better Breaks programme is funded bythe ScottishGovernment and administeredby Shared Care Scotland.
Staying in South Lanarkshire, we have alsobeen awarded a grant of £10,000 from the BigLottery Communities and Family Fund to createStanmore Early Years. The project will deliverplay sessions for young disabled children underfive, and their parents andcarers, in and aroundLanark. This early opportunity to access formaland informal support will make a real differenceto parents with young disabled children.
Meanwhile, we will also be able to deliver agreater level of advice to disabled people aboutbenefit changes thanks to a grant from theScottish Government. The award of over £9,000will make it possible for 250 Capability Scotlandstaff members to be trained so that they can offerguidance to disabled people in their services whoare affected by changes to the benefits system.
Partnership to crackdown on hate crime
Disabled people in Scotland will have extrasupport to report crime thanks to a newpartnership between Capability Scotlandand Police Scotland.
Capability Scotland’s Advice Service will beacting as a Third Party Reporting Service forthe force. This will allow disabled victims, whoare anxious about going to the police directly,to report crimes in confidence via CapabilityScotland. It is hoped that thepartnershipwill encourage more disabled people tocome forward about hate crime.
Doran review author joinsCapability Scotland
The title of PeterDoran’s report for theScottish Governmentsummarised his visionfor services. This wasthat all children andyoung people withcomplex additionalsupport needs andtheir families wouldhave access to‘The Right Help atthe Right Time inthe Right Place.’
Capability Scotland is delightedto have enlisted Peter Doranto undertake a piece of workwhich will help us ensure that ourservices to children, young peopleand their families fulfil the visionoutlined in his report.
Capability Scotland’s rootsare in the education of childrenand young people with complexneeds. We can evidence that thequality of our current education,care and therapy services arevery good and the organisationremains committed to providingthe highest quality of learningprovision for current and futureusers of services.
Stanmore House andCorseford schools are at theheart of our services but bothhave experienced reducingrolls over a period of years.As a consequence, the schoolsare heavily reliant onScottishGovernment funding whichthey receive through the GrantAided Special Schools (GASS)programme. This funding isdue to end in the next three tofive years. After that, serviceswhichreceive national fundingwill be strategically planned andcommissioned.
The good news is that CapabilityScotland is well placed to playa major part in the developmentof national services within a newfunding model. The future shapeof our services will, however,needto fit with the outcome of theproposed strategic planning andcommissioning process.Consequently, Peter has beengiven a brief to review our currentprovision and advise Capability
Scotland on how best to respondto the policy developments andresulting changes to fundingwhich we will face.
He will be working withmembers of the ExecutiveManagement Board (EMB)as they meet with the ScottishGovernment to discuss thedevelopment of a strategicplanning andcommissioningprocess. They will work closelywithrepresentatives of otherGASS funded schools andother agencies on areas ofmutual interest.
Peter will spend a substantialamount of his time in theschools,and in meetings withkey stakeholders including staff,parents and local and healthauthorities. He will report to theEMB and Trustees in June andfurther develop his proposals forour learning services over therest of the year.
Wish you were here
“At the age of 47 I swamin the sea for the first timein my life it felt great!”These are the words ofAnne McCulloch talkingabout her first ever holidayabroad. Anne, who hasa learning disability, wassupported to take the tripby Capability Scotland’sCommunity Living ServiceSouth and West.
However, Anne isn’t theonly person being supportedby Capability Scotland to go on holiday. Throughoutthe organisation customers
and their families are beingsupported to get away.
This trend looks set tocontinue as individuals gainmore control of their financesthrough Self-DirectedSupport and choose tospend some of their moneyon a well-earned break.
Choice caught up witha few Capability Scotlandholidaymakers to findout more.
“We can relax on holiday becausewe know Paul’s having a great timeat Stanmore.”Denise & Matt Creaney, ParentsFor the last few years Denise and MattCreaney have been able to take a wellearned break abroad while their son Paulenjoys some holiday fun of his own atStanmore Residential Service’s respitebungalow. Paul is a lively 13 year-old whohas alobar holoprosencephaly – a condition which affected theformation of his brain. His disability means that the Creaney’sfamily life has to be meticulously planned around Paul’s care needsand, although they have a great network of support, there’s littlescope for spontaneity or spur of the moment activities.
Denise explains: “Although we miss Paul we really valuethe one week of the year when we can get away, chill outand do as we please. Of course, we can only do this becausewe have built up such a good relationship with the residential teamat Stanmore. We trust them to give Paul the best care possible.It makes it so much easier for us to enjoy the sunshine becausewe know Paul is happy and having a great time too.”
“I had the time of mylife at Dalraddy chalet”Upper Springland customer,Liz Donnachie, enjoyed anAutumn break at DalraddyChalet in Aviemore.
Liz foundthat Capability Scotland’s fullyaccessible holiday home was ideally kitted out to meet herneeds. She said: “I was able to move about the chalet easilyin my wheelchair. There was a big ramp leading inside andalso round to the balcony area where I could sit and watchthe birds.”
Liz was accompanied on the holiday by support worker,Seonaid Cameron, and the pair spent lots of time beforehandplanning for the trip. Liz said: “It was the best holiday I havebeen on and I would love to go back soon with a coupleof friends for a girlieweekend.”
“Pupils really grow inconfidence during their weekaway” Fiona Catterson, Headof School, Corseford SchoolIt wasn’t all fun and gamesfor six Corseford pupils whenthey went off on a week-longtrip to Aberfeldy Lodge. Aswell as enjoying a packeditinerary which included sailing, swimming and zip wiring,the pupils also learned life skills which would help themto become moreindependent such as meal preparationand cooking, making beds, cleaning and laundry.
Fiona Catterson, Corseford Head of School, said:“These annual getaways, or ‘independence weeks’,give pupils a chance tobroaden their horizons and learnnew skills in a relaxed, fun, holiday environment.”
Dalraddy chalet
The Capability Scotland owned logcabin-style chalet is located in DalraddyHolidayPark, four miles south of Aviemorein the Highlands of Scotland.
The chalet is fully accessible. Features include: three twin bedrooms, a modern, fully-equipped kitchen, walk-in shower room, digital freeview tv, dvd player, stereo system, and parking for up to three cars. A hoist, shower trolley and cot sides are available on request at no extra cost.
Access all Areas
Since 2009 Capability Scotland has been working withVisitScotlandto tackle the barriers encountered by disabled tourists in Scotland.
In March this year VisitScotland held an accessible tourism conferencewhich brought the tourism industry and disabled people together to talkabout the issues in more depth. VisitScotland’s Equality and DiversityManager, Chris McCoy, told Choice more:
VisitScotland’s inauguralAccessible Tourism Conferencein March was a spectacularsuccess and welcomed280 people toEdinburgh’sInternational Conference Centre.
The Conference was designedto “open up the dialogue”between customers withaccessible needs and Scotland’stourism industry. VisitScotlandis suggesting that the tourismindustry looks at AccessibleTourism in a different light.
Research has shown that itis an under-serviced market.After 20 years of disability rightslegislation across most of thewestern world, there is a plethoraof accessible infrastructurebut sometimes a lack ofinformation available to thevisitor with a disability, the oldertourist, and those who travelwith families and young children.
The accessible market hasconsiderable spending power,currently generating around £325million for the Scottish economy.
Currently access is enshrinedas a compliance issue, not amarket issue. Older people andthose with accessible needs areregarded as problems and partof a risk management solution,ones that may require expensiveadjustments and investmentin infrastructure, but not asvalued customers who needto be looked at in an entirelydifferent way.
At the conference, I talkedabout the ‘elephant in the room’for businesses serving disabledcustomers, which is the fear ofmaking a mistake or causingoffence. The main barrier isthe low level of awareness anddiscomfort when dealing withdisabled people.
‘Political correctness’can get in the way of humancommunication. Tellingemployees that there are‘10 things they can’t say and10 things they can’t do’ makespeople afraid of doing anything.Some employees are scaredof saying anything to disabledcustomers who, in turn, avoidraising concerns for fear ofgiving offence.
In fact, as already highlighted,catering for the accessibletourism market makes goodbusiness sense and can attractloyal customers who will usehotels and attractions againand again. They will also spreadrecommendations by wordof mouth.
We at VisitScotland are gratefulfor the major research projectthat Capability Scotland did forus last year, which highlightedthreemain barriers for disabledand older guests. The barriersare: attitude – the way peopleare treated; lack of informationon websites and literature; anda lack of access.
We need to ask the followingquestions:
1. “What do you need me todo in order for you to changeyour mind about us?”
2. “What do you need fromme to enable you to makeinformed choices?”
Only then will we be ableto provide real equality fordisabled people.
At the Conference,VisitScotland provided theenvironment in which bothdisabled people and the tourismindustry listened to each otherin a way that they had probablynot done before. What emergedwere clear, well thought-outdiscussions and a strategy formoving forward, from whichwill come major changes to theaccessibility of Scotland in thefuture, enabling Scotland’s onemillion disabled people to takea holiday at “home”.
Scotland is preparing towelcome the world in 2014,with Homecoming, theCommonwealth Games inGlasgow and the Ryder Cup atGleneagles. The foundations laidat the VisitScotland AccessibleTourism Conference will ensurethat we are in a better positionthan ever before to provide awarm welcome to everyone- no matter what their disability.
For more information onAccessible Tourism in Scotland,please contact Chris McCoy
Capability Scotland researchshowed that the three mainbarriers affecting disabledtourists were:
• Attitudes
• Lack of information
• Lack of physical access
Spotlight on our playschemes
Capability Scotland’s playschemes provide a great opportunityfor us to widen the network of parents we are in contact with.Through the playschemes we often meet new families who maywell be able to benefit from some of our other services too.
Last year the young peoplewho used our playschemes inRenfrewshire and Midlothianhad the opportunity to takepart in a project which madean impact across the globe.
Capability Scotlandplayscheme staff supportedthe children to take part ina worldwide consultationled by the InternationalPlay Association (IPA).
This involved them telling theIPA about why play was suchan important part of their livesand about the particular barrierswhich can make it difficult fordisabled children to accessopportunities to play.
The barriers identified by theyoung people included ‘money’and ‘always having to relyon other people to take themplaces and make arrangementsfor activities’.
Their thoughts and ideas,together with those of otherchildren from across the world,were fed back to the UnitedNations Committee on theRights of the Child (UNCRC)by the IPA. As a result theUNCRC has clearly defined theresponsibilities of governmentsaround the world in realisingchildren’s right to play nowand in the future.
The guidelines were publishedearlier in the year in an officialdocument known as a GeneralComment (GC). Children from the Midlothian servicesattended the launch of theGC in Scotland, which washeld in Edinburgh in March.
Capability Scotland ChiefExecutive, Dana O’Dwyer,said: “I am delighted that thechildren who use CapabilityScotland playschemes wereable to get involved in sucha truly international campaign.Their views and feedbackwill help make a differenceacross the world which isan incredible achievement.”
Capability Scotland will berunning Playschemes onceagain this year in Renfrewshireand Midlothian. For moreinformation please
First person
Therapists based in Capability Scotland schools playa key role in supporting pupils to widen their horizonsand enjoy as muchindependence as possible.
When 14 year-old Stanmore House Schoolpupil, Chelsea Haliday, found herself confinedto her bed following an operation it was specialistphysiotherapist, Christine MacIver, who helped herback on her feet. Chelsea’s dad, Jim, explains howher recovery exceeded all expectations:
“Chelsea has Angelman Sydrome and in April2012 she had surgery to correct scoliosis of herspine. Before the surgery Chelsea walked in herPacer Walker and loved the independence thisgave her to explore the world round about her.
Unfortunately, after the surgery, Chelseadeveloped pneumonia. However, she was ableto be discharged from hospital to her residentialhome at Stanmore where she could be lookedafter by the service’s on-site team of nursingand physiotherapy staff.
“When she left the hospital Chelsea initially had tostay in bed which was very hard for our daughterwho loves to get out and about. Three months afterher operation, Chelsea was given the go-aheadby her consultant to progress with standing andwalking again which was when Christine and herteam started their work. Chelsea’s physiotherapyprogramme began with dailyhydrotherapy sessionswhich facilitated gentle movements and encouragedChelsea to weight-bear in the water. She progressedto daily standing at a piece of equipment known asa tilt-table and she is now able to walk once again inher Pacer walking frame.”