Plan submitted for SEND improvements

Following the Cumbria Local Area SEND inspection earlier this year, work has been ongoing to develop Cumbria’s response to the inspection findings. A major milestone was reached last week when the Cumbria SEND Improvement Programme submitted its Written Statement of Action to Ofsted/CQC.

The WSoA sets out the action Cumbria will take over the next 2 years to address the inspection findings and improve SEND services. A regular e-newsletter for stakeholders has also been produced giving details of the programme and how we will be involving parents/carers and children/young adults in the work as we go forward.

+ Read the Written Statement of Action

+ Read first stakeholder e-newsletter

+ Sign up to receive future SEND Improvement Programme e-newsletters

Recruiting now for our new children's homes

New posts for the Children's Residential Homes in Penrith and Kendal were released on Friday and we are encouraging anyone who is enthusiastic about making a difference to the lives of young people of Cumbria to get in touch.

The new homes will help to support our looked after children and young people by ensuring more are able to live in Cumbria, closer to their home communities. The Kendal project is due to be complete by December 2019 and the Penrith project is due to be complete by Spring 2020.

If you are interested and would like an informal discussion contact Alison Glanville

The deadline for applications is 12th September

+ CCC JOBS PAGES

Cumbria Care's countywide recruitment drive continues

The recruitment drive for roles in Domiciliary Care continues. These roles provide a brilliant opportunity to make a real difference to the lives of vulnerable adults in Cumbria. Successful candidates will be welcomed into Cumbria Care’s Reablement and Domiciliary Service and provided with development opportunities, training and support within their new role.

Take a look at the Cumbria Care jobs pages to find out more and please share to help us raise awareness.

+ WORKING FOR CUMBRIA CARE

‘Tiny Tablets’ will stimulate care home residents and library customers

Residents at the recently opened new care home in Whitehaven, The Gables, were presented with an interactive ‘Tiny Tablet’ recently.

A Tiny Tablet is a fully integrated, portable and adjustable interactive touch screen table, used in the same way as an iPad or smart phone, but specifically designed for use in a care home or early learning environment. The tablet can connect to WiFi, making it an ideal resource to be used in group activity settings or on a 1:1 basis.
Tiny Tablets are also now available in several Cumbrian libraries – ideal for youngsters and library service customers who can enjoy a variety of learning activities, puzzles, and guidance on how to access and use the internet.

+ Read more

Organ Donation Week 2019

This year’s Organ Donation Week is held between 2nd-8th September 2019. This national awareness week provides the opportunity to highlight the generosity of donors and the incredible impact that they have on transplant recipients. The week also helps the NHS to educate, inform and inspire people, to save and improve more lives.

In support of the week and to help in raising awareness buildings and landmarks are illuminated pink. If you see a building or landmark illuminated pink for Organ Donation Week, share a photo on social media to help us to raise awareness and get people talking about organ donation. If you want to register as a donor or to find out more go to the NHS organ donation website (link below).

In the last Newsroom we highlighted the incredible story of one of our own People employees, Teresa Morgan, donating a kidney to her colleague's daughter, Fiona. This inspiring story really highlights the importance of this life changing procedure.

Organ donation is a crucial step on the road to recovery, but unfortunately it is not always the final 'fix'. The recipient continues to require various monitoring, medication (often with undesirable side effects) and rejection can kick in at any point. We would like to take this opportunity to wish Fiona and her family all the best throughout the difficult recovery journey.

+ READ THE NEWSROOM ARTICLE 

+ WWW.ORGANDONATION.NHS.UK

Safeguarding Fortnight

Cumbria Safeguarding Children Fortnight is taking place from 9th to 20th September 2019.

We will be holding a series of learning events, across the Cumbria, to highlight that safeguarding is not just being about child protection intervention, but also has a place in the wider community.

The fortnight will be used to share information and engage with practitioners about the new partnership arrangement for safeguarding children.

+ Read more

‘#BeWellFest: The Lost Art of Living’ - Sunday 6 October 2019, 9am to 2pm at The Forum

This free community festival is for people of all ages and will provide an opportunity to have fun and think about ways to improve health and wellbeing. There will be lots of information on how people can receive support and how they can support each other.

+ FIND OUT MORE.

Famous faces to visit Carlisle for a fantastic programme of events

The Borderlines Book Festival returns to Carlisle from Thursday 26th September to Tuesday 8th October, 2019.

Events will take place across Carlisle, in the Crown & Mitre Hotel, Carlisle Library, Cakes and Ale Café, Tullie House Museum, the Tithe Barn, and Stanwix Arts Theatre. The festival welcomes well-known names like BBC Breakfast presenter Louise Minchin, former Liberal Democrat Leader Tim Farron and author Razwan Ul-Haq.

Tickets to this brilliant event are now available and can be purchased online (see link below) or at Bookends Bookshop, Castle Street, Carlisle. For more information visit the website.

+ VISIT BORDERLINES BOOK FESTIVAL WEBSITE

PAT Testing

The testing of electrical equipment, or Portable Appliance Testing (PAT), is important to ensure that the equipment that we use is safe and in good condition. That's why the Property Team are continuing to run a schedule of equipment testing across the county. When a PAT scheme is being carried out in your workplace, it is important that you bring in any electrical equipment you have. Please see below list of up and coming dates:

• West Cumbria House - 12th-16th August 2019
• Cumbria House - 9th-20th September 2019
• Parkhouse Building - 23rd September-4th October 2019

Please ensure that laptops and phones are fully charged before handing in chargers for testing. If you are unable to attend then please advise your manager so they can arrange for you to attend another session or make arrangements for the equipment to be tested on your behalf.

Improving health and safety in the workplace

The roll out of staff Health and Safety events continues with the dates below. Pop along to any of the below events to help us improve Health and Safety in the workplace.

• County Hall, Kendal - 12th September 2019, 9am-12pm
• Bridge Mills, Kendal - 12th September 2019, 1pm-4pm
• Cumbria House, Carlisle - 25th September 2019, 9am-12pm
• Parkhouse, Carlisle - 25th September 2019, 1pm-4pm 

+ READ THE LATEST HEALTH AND SAFETY MESSAGE OF THE MONTH

LGPS Pension Surgeries

Towards the end of the year Your Pension Service will start
to hold a series of pension surgeries across Cumbria. Staff
from Your Pension Service will be available for you to speak to
regarding your LGPS pension queries or if you want some
information about joining the scheme.

You can book an appointment at any of the sessions listed below:

• Barrow Borough Council, The Forum, The Ante Room, 28 Duke Street, Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria LA14 1HH - 03 Oct 2019
• Cumbria County Council, Conference Room A, Cumbria House, 117 Botchergate, Carlisle CA1 1RD - 28 Oct 2019
• South Lakes District Council, Bindloss Room, Kendal Town Hall, Kendal, Highgate LA9 4DL - 05 Feb 2020
• Copeland Borough Council, Bainbridge Room, The Copeland Centre, Catherine Centre, Whitehaven CA28 7SJ - 19 Mar 2020

+ BOOK YOUR APPOINTMENT

New round of work shadowing

Work shadowing gives the People Assistant Directors (ADs) an opportunity to see first-hand the great work that you do. It also provides you with an opportunity to share your insight directly with your AD, and get their views on the challenges that you and your team face.

The People Assistant Directors are;

• Fiona Musgrave, Assistant Director Integration & Partnerships
• Colin Cox, Director Public Health
• Cath Whalley, Assistant Director Adults
• Lynn Berryman, Assistant Director Children & Young People
• Dan Barton, Assistant Director Education & Skills
• Pam Duke, Assistant Director Provider Services
• Jo Atkinson, Assistant Director Strategic Commissioning

Let us know if you would like to invite any of the above to shadow you or your team. They can visit you for a couple of hours, half a day or you might want to invite them with you to attend a special event or meeting. Use the link below to share your invite with the Communications Team, please specify who you would like to invite and confirm your preferred date and time (if you have one).

+ INVITE YOUR AD TO SHADOW YOU OR YOUR TEAM

Cath Whalley Assistant Director Adults visits Claire McCulloch, Senior Enhanced Rehabilitation Officer Visual Impairment (ROVI)

Cath Whalley

It was my pleasure to spend the afternoon at the ROVI team meeting. This small service consists of just five ROVIs, one of whom takes the professional development lead, and Geoff Wharton, Driver/Support Worker. Geoff provides Access to Work support to two of the team members who are themselves blind. 

I would like to share with you a fantastic example and insight into the work that the team do and the difference that they make to people who become blind/visually impaired because of trauma, age or illness. 

Carol Hopcroft told us about the new Loose Ends Group in the West of the County that was set up to support those who do not want or need access to traditional formal services, like Day Services.

The Loose Ends Group provides support to people with visual impairments to allow them to access the community. The group promotes awareness of the risks associated with loneliness, and highlights the impact of visual impairment on an individual’s health, wellbeing and confidence.

The group has eight members who all have sight loss in common. The group meet at the library and use social media to keep in touch. They have also been offered time at the local baths; the baths have offered to close off two lanes of the pool on Adult night so that the group can join in and enjoy swimming safely. Another group member wanted to be able to run – Carol contacted Active Cumbria and five volunteer runners have come forward to offer their support as Guide Runners, he is now registered for a Park Run! The group are also planning a trip next May to a test track driving experience.

I was really enthused and inspired by what I was hearing – fantastic work that is going on, quietly, under the radar, breaking down barriers and bringing people together. The group was clearly having a positive impact on the physical, mental and emotional wellbeing of its members. I loved the reason behind the group name - because prior to coming together members felt they were at a ‘loose end’. The plan is to expand Loose Ends to another area in West Cumbria, and then who knows; Loose Ends Cumbria?

Thank you so much to Claire, Martin, Jane, Carol and Geoff for a really great afternoon, and I am very much looking forward to doing whatever I can to raise the profile of the great work that you do.

Claire McCulloch

It was our pleasure to welcome Cath to our monthly County ROVI (Rehabilitation Officer in Visual Impairment) meeting.  It was an opportunity to showcase some of the work ROVIs do that goes under the radar.

We told Cath about some of the work we do that is rarely documented, such as Low Vision Clinics around the County. These are used as a ‘one stop shop’ of information for people with a visual impairment.

We also talked to Cath about the sensory awareness training we provide in conjunction with HITES (Hearing Impairment Technical Equipment Services). This is a full days training available to both internal and external staff, where we cover the effects of sight and hearing loss to the customer and give ideas of how to assist someone with a sensory impairment.

We explained about the small project work we do. Carol set up the Loose Ends Group in West Cumbria using her insight and knowledge of the needs and demands of the local area. The group has been a huge success and shows how people can be encouraged to be part of their community and support each other. It has also triggered a separate ‘sport and leisure’ project and Carol continues to consider sport and leisure opportunities for visually impaired customers throughout the county.

Thank you Cath for coming along and I’m glad you were able to see a small part of the important work we do.