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ARC Projects underway or completed during 2006

Calling the Shots

Funded by the Big Lottery Fund in the North West, this is a three year project to train people with a learning disability to become trainers. This Lancashire project will skill and develop people with learning disability to become trainers to provide training within their own service.

Banking Matters To Me

This project funded by Friends Provident Foundation is a UK wide investigative project, looking at the problems that people with a learning disability face when opening and managing a bank account. Teams of researchers with a learning disability have conducted interviews with local banks across the UK, while providers, staff and service users have contributed both positive and negative experiences of managing a bank account. The project is producing a final report, which is due early in the New Year 2007.

Managing Medication

This project was funded by the DH and to produce training materials for staff working in learning disability services on best practice in managing medication. The completed outcome of this work is a suite of products designed to ensure that care staff are trained and competent in this area of their work. They are mapped to a range of external training standards including NVQ levels 2 and 3.

Equipping My Supporters

This project, funded by the DH until March 2007, is to produce a Training Resource list for people who use services, to equip and empower them with the skills required to attend meetings and also to develop a website and national e-forum/e-community for supporters of self advocacy groups to network and share good practice.

The National Ethnicity and Learning Disability Network (NLDEN)

Originally this was funded by a three year funded grant from the DH to establish a network to encourage the sharing of good practice, to inform policy by collective response, to provide information and opportunity for discussion, and to share training resources within Black and minority ethnic (BME) communities. A newsletter is produced four times a year and currently there are over 1000 people who have joined the network.

Candle – CAMHS and New Directions in Learning Disability and Ethnicity

A DH Project, which commenced in April 2005 and continues until March 2008, to develop resources for Tier 1 staff regarding learning disability, mental health and ethnicity. It is primarily to provide guidance to staff working with people from Black and minority ethnic communities who have learning disabilities and mental health needs.

Transition project for Young Adults from Minority Communities

The aim of this project was to work with young people to establish what information would be useful on a website, what would work for them, their families and advocacy groups, and then build a website for young adults with learning disabilities from minority communities. (This is now operational at www.movingonup.info) This combines with the National Learning Disability and Ethnicity Network to enable the development of a comprehensive forum for people from minority communities who have a learning disability and those who support them.

Norfolk BME Consultancy

Funded by Norfolk CC SSD and working in close collaboration with its Partnership Board and Norfolk Learning Disabilities service MENTER in Norfolk this programme of work, which finished in October 2006, developed support services and increased participation to people with learning difficulties from minority ethnic communities. Its main aim was to focus on increasing the voices of individuals from BME communities and ensuring services that they use are culturally competent to meet their specific needs.

Banking My Time Too

Time Banks enable members to share their time and skills. Working with Time Banks UK, and with DH funding from October 2006 for 18 months, this project will explore ways in which people with a learning disability can become active members of local time banks and contribute as well as benefit from the opportunities they can offer.

A Knowledge Centre for People who have a Learning Disability and Mental Health Needs

ARC has received funding from the DH to develop a Knowledge Centre regarding learning disability and mental health. This three year project aims to become the first ‘port of call’ for individuals, families and carers, and front–line social care staff for information and resources in this area, by signposting people to the correct resources. It is not intended to duplicate or re–invent existing resources but to catalogue them and make them readily available.

Devon LSC Project

This project is to train 25 workers in Devon to enable them to achieve their NVQ2 in H&SC, two trainers to achieve unit L113 of the Learning and Development Awards and five workers to achieve unit L14 of the Learning and Development Awards. The project began in October 2006 and will end in December 2007.

Children's Workforce Development Council

ARC is undertaking a project for the CWDC which involves scoping the training.qualifications current available for staff working with children who have learing disabilities. We have also been asked to identify any gaps in the training for new workers in the field.

LDAF Initial Award

ARC has been working with Skills for Care and a number of Awarding Bodies to develop a specific Induction Award for the learning disability sector. The Award will meet the Common Induction Standards in a learning disability setting, and will be available in 2007.

European Care Licence

ARC is involved with five European Partners (Belgium, Austria, Germany, Portugal and Romania) in developing a basic award for care staff that will be recognised across Europe. The project is funded with Leonardo monies and is managed by Skills for Care. ARC's main contribution will be to write the learning outcomes for the award.

ARC Northern Ireland

TILII Project (Telling it like it is – N.I)

Through funding from Ulster Community and Hospitals Trust and Lloyd TSB Foundation, ARC NI is supporting a group of men and women with a learning disability to run training sessions for staff. The sessions will be offered to staff in services across the trust area and will focus on the TILII Trainers sharing their views on what they want and need from staff who support them.

Train to the West (N.I.)

In 2001 the Western Health and Social Services Board commissioned ARC to develop a Board wide training strategy for unqualified staff in residential and day care services for adults with a learning disability. Following widespread consultation with service providers the Train to the West strategy was launched in 2001. Since then ARC has supported the implementation of the strategy through the work of a project leader. Meta Evans who established the Train to the West project which has provided a coherent framework over a three year period for addressing the needs of staff in private, voluntary and statutory agencies in this area. Achievements include delivery of a wide range of local training courses and support of over 150 staff through LDAF units.

POISE (Promoting Opportunities for Inclusion in Social Care Employment (N.I.)

Poise is an EQUAL ESF Project and is working in conjunction with ARC NI, Positive Futures, Ulster Community and Hospital Trust and the North and West Belfast Trust. The project will explore the changes in the care sector workforce and will ensure that new measures to improve recruitment, retention and advancement of staff will encompass equality of opportunity for new and existing staff. At present the care sector has an under representation of males in direct support roles and an under representation of females in management positions. The first part of the project will be to research the current workforce in North Down and Ards and North and West Belfast Areas to develop a profile of its composition and identify barriers experienced by individuals and groups of staff in the areas of recruitment and retention.

ARC Scotland

Our Lives

This is a 3 year Scottish Executive funded project which officially began in April 2006. The Our Lives project has two distinct aims to help voluntary providers to:

• Come together formally (through a constituted group) at a local level and gain formal representation on statutory planning groups.
• Develop more fully person centred working in their own organisations.
  

As of November 2006 we have established groups in seven local authority areas and another five areas will come on stream before April 2007.

ESF8/9/10 - Registered Managers projects 2004/2005/2006

This project was to enable 36 registered managers to study for the Registered Managers Award during each year 2004, 2005 & 2006.

National User Involvement Officer Network

This group was established in October 2006 in response to the ARC Scotland Conference on User Involvement in May 2006. Thirty organisations have applied to be part of the network, with 28 of them coming to the first meeting. The aim of the network is to facilitate the exchange of good practice in user involvement within learning disability provider organisations in Scotland.

ARC Cymru

Our Good Health / Ein Iechyd Da

A 12 month pilot project on the Isle of Anglesey, looking at the barriers faced by people with learning disabilities to accessing mainstream health promotion initiatives. The project will produce a variety of resources to help staff support people to make healthier food choices. Funded by Pfizer Foundation, Lloyds TSB Foundation and the Anglesey Health Alliance.

Active Support

A three year lottery funded project to provide training and promote a network to help embed Active Support in Wales.

Hospital Support Research Project

A six month research project commissioned by the Welsh Assembly Government to find out the nature of support provided by support staff when service users are admitted to hospital.

Learning Disability and Ethnicity Network Wales

To extend the National Learning Disability and Ethnicity Network’s (NLDEN) work into Wales. Funded by Lloyds TSB Foundation.

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