Feature Stories. Avalink Awards Trip. Winter 2017 Edition. 2. Larry s Message. New Rotherham Office. 4. L&D Directory. 5.

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1 Winter 2017 Edition 2. Larry s Message 3. New Rotherham Office 4. L&D Directory 5. Wider Wallet 6. Employee Assistance 7. People News 8. Customer Focus 9. Christmas Roundup Feature Stories Avalink Awards Trip Tracey s Craft Day Josh Celebrates New Rotherham Office Champion Citizen Paula 10. Paula s Amazing Youth Work

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3 Avalon in Rotherham! Having provided award winning care and support to people across Yorkshire and the North East for almost 23 years, we are excited to announce our newest branch will be opening in Rotherham in March What will Avalon bring to Rotherham? We will provide responsive, personalised care and support to enhance and enrich the quality of people in Rotherham s lives. Just as with the other localities we operate in, we will provide meaningful support packages, which do not include 15 minute or 30 minute calls, instead focusing on building great relationships with our customers as we help them to achieve their goals and ambitions. Are Avalon looking for staff in Rotherham? Yes we are! We want to build a brilliant team of support staff to direct Rotherham to great heights. This will mirror our other local teams who do such fabulous work in providing the highest quality care and support. We are holding a recruitment open day in Rotherham on 10th March, at The Spectrum, Coke Hill, S60 2HX between 10am and 3pm. Here we hope to meet lots of enthusiastic local people who want to become Avalonians. When does the service begin? The aim is for support to start from 1st April. We are taking on some existing staff from another service in Rotherham and we are currently in the process of setting up our office so that it is ready from an IT and Operational standpoint. We are very excited to grow into more of South Yorkshire, and are looking forward to meeting all our new customers in the area. Page 3

Learning & Development The new Learning and Development Directory has been published and released, covering all the courses available between April 2017 and March 2018.

4 Learning & Development The new Learning and Development Directory has been published and released, covering all the courses available between April 2017 and March You can access the directory online at our website, by visiting learning-and-development. With the development of our workforce being something Avalon prioritises hugely, we are proud to be offering more courses than ever before. Learning and Development Manager Carole Whiles said: We on the L&D team are proud to offer what we consider to be the finest selection of learning opportunities yet. I would advise all of our staff and carers to read the directory. And I hope you find something to inspire your learning over the next 12 months. Colleagues from Avalink continue to attend part of the Induction programme and also the Visual Awareness training, this provides valuable customer input for delegates attending these courses. A small number of other subjects can be delivered on a service specific basis, if you are interested in these please speak to your manager in the first instance who will then contact me to discuss requirements. If you require any further information regarding this directory either speak to your Line Manager or contact Learning and Development Team on Booking a Place You should discuss your learning needs with your Line Manager. This will normally take place during the support and supervision sessions, or, for Shared Lives Carers, at support and monitoring sessions. If formal training is required, please look through the Directory to identify a suitable course. Your Line Manager will fill in a booking form (TD100) with you and send it in to the Learning and Development Coordinator. Once we receive the booking form and there are places available, we will let your Line Manager know that your place is confirmed. Once confirmation is received, for Supported Living staff, your manager should add the course to be attended to Carefree immediately and let you know your place is confirmed. Each delegate will receive a reminder letter about two weeks before the course date, this will also provide details about the start and finish time, venue and parking. Please note, during we will be progressing towards sending course information via rather than a letter wherever possible. Page 4

Wider Wallet Time for a very exciting announcement!

Many of you will know that we are committed to the wellbeing of our workforce, and that where possible we want to go the extra mile, whilst still holding true

Simply put, it is an employee discount scheme.

5 Wider Wallet Time for a very exciting announcement! For the past few months we have been researching ways in which we can reward new and existing staff and carers at The Avalon Group. Many of you will know that we are committed to the wellbeing of our workforce, and that where possible we want to go the extra mile, whilst still holding true to our ethos as a registered charity. With that in mind we d like to introduce The Wider Wallet scheme, which Avalon are now members of. What is Wider Wallet? Simply put, it is an employee discount scheme. From 1st April every single Avalon worker will receive access to a personalised online account through Wider Wallet. This account provides exclusive discounts at numerous high street retailers and leisure activities from which you will benefit directly. Where can I get discount? The list is very long, but includes big names such as: Marks and Spencer Apple B&Q Sports Direct Boots Tussauds Leisure Group Page 5

6 How does it work? You will create your own account through a dedicated Avalon page on the Wider Wallet website. Once set up you can find details of discounts you are entitled to, and how to redeem them. In some cases you will be given a voucher code to use at a retailer, in other cases you may click from Wider Wallet to your chosen retailer, where a discount will then be automatically applied. Can I access the discounts even if I don t have access to a computer? Some of the offers can be redeemed in-store or via telephone order lines and as such Wider Wallet can give off-line access to those without computers. For queries you will be able to contact Wider Wallet directly via their dedicated helpline: When do I get access? We will be sending full details to support staff alongside your March payslips, and carers will be sent letters with the info. This will include how and where to login and create your account Employee Assistance Scheme In addition to the Wider Wallet, you will also receive access to a dedicated wellbeing service called the Employee Assistance Scheme. This gives you the chance to speak to trained, impartial advisers regarding any concerns you have. This could be a personal concern such as relationships, finances or a health matter. These kind of issues can be difficult to deal with alone and may impact your personal and professional life. The Employee Assistance Scheme will offer help which is unbiased and impartial to help you cope and overcome any problems you may be having. We are very excited to be able to give these benefits to the entire Avalon workforce, and we hope that they help to ensure you find even greater fulfilment both at work and at home. Find out more at Page 6

Qualifications Lots of Avalonians have been completing qualifications since our last issue.

Clamp. And completing their Level 3 Healh and Social Care Diploma: Shane Blakey and Lucy Blakeborough.

We would like to thank the Support Workers, Support Co-ordinators and office based staff in our Scarborough service for all their hard work whilst we were recently short of staff.

7 Qualifications Lots of Avalonians have been completing qualifications since our last issue. Passing their Level 2 Award in Awareness of Dementia we have: Lyndsay Groom, Linda Blenkey, James Foster, Clair Gell, Peter Todd, Shane Blakey, Anna Broadley, Julie Hayward, Bridget Snaith and Geoff Clamp. And completing their Level 3 Healh and Social Care Diploma: Shane Blakey and Lucy Blakeborough. Massive congratulations to everyone and brilliant to see so many people furthering their knowledge and skills. Big Thank You! We would like to thank the Support Workers, Support Co-ordinators and office based staff in our Scarborough service for all their hard work whilst we were recently short of staff. The team worked together to ensure shifts were covered and customers continued to receive their support. A fantastic example of team working and going the extra mile! Well done also to Support Co-ordinators Chris Butler and Kate Richardson who, with the support of Locality Manager Jill Farmer, have both done an excellent job in Doncaster ensuring the service runs smoothly whilst we recruit a new Service Manager. Suzanne Jones Business Administrator Harrogate Terry O Brien Policy and Performance Officer Harrogate Tina Omerod Service Manager Teesside Christina Bennett Temporary Service Manager Scarborough Carolyn Reynard PA to CEO Harrogate Alison Bradley Service Manager Doncaster Bev Wilson Deputy Director of Operations Helen Hall Temporary Service Manager York and Scarborough Sarah Gazzard Temporary Senior Service Manager - Northallerton Beth Taylor Temporary Senior Service Manager - Scarborough

8 Customer Focus Arts and Crafts in Doncaster Celebratory Dinner

9 Christmas Highlights Even though we re now well into 2017, we wanted to share some pictures from a couple of our local Christmas events in York and Northallerton. It was great to see lots of people coming together and having fun, and the Northallerton Elf Day even raised over 50 for the Alzheimer s Society. Page 9

Health and Safety Matters When it comes to Health and Safety, we take our responsibilities very seriously. It is an area which demands continual improvement and awareness.

How it works The current Health and Safety process is led by our CEO Larry Hollando, and was managed during the last year by Finance Director Sue Creeley, but going forward this will be managed by

10 Health and Safety Matters When it comes to Health and Safety, we take our responsibilities very seriously. It is an area which demands continual improvement and awareness. Over the coming year we are going to be reviewing all our existing practices and approaches in terms of fully engaging our workforce and managers in the wider Health and Safety agenda. How it works The current Health and Safety process is led by our CEO Larry Hollando, and was managed during the last year by Finance Director Sue Creeley, but going forward this will be managed by our new Policy and Performance Officer Terry O Brien who is based in the Harrogate office. Terry will be working on some new specific initiatives to ensure that our workforce and customers benefit from our ongoing innovations and improvements. Support Staff, Carers and Managers throughout the organisation already address Health and Safety issues on a daily basis, and we do have very good existing tools and organisational reporting mechanisms in place, including local Health and Safety reps in every office. The key things to prioritise Health and Safety in our organisational culture are: Everyone understanding their responsibilities under the law Knowing that support is available Regular consultation with all members of the workforce Maintaining open and supportive responses to concerns that are raised Regular discussions at local level being fed to senior management Every individual recognising the importance of Health and Safety; their own responsibilities/accountabilities and not being complacent. Our Plan Over the next 12 months we are planning some key initiatives to underpin this, including: A staff conference to focus specifically on Health and Safety issues A review of current approaches/procedures in respect of Risk Assessment Streamlining our processes in collaboration with professional Health and Safety insurers Increasing the number of local Health and Safety reps We are actively seeking any staff (particularly operations staff) who would like to be a rep or champion for their locality. If this is something you would like to do please let your Locality Manager know. Page 10

This award recognised the incredible work done by Paula in setting up Selby Young People s Co-operative, which gives

11 Paula the Champion Citizen We d like to say a huge congratulations to Shared Lives carer Paula Walter, who before Christmas was featured in the Selby Times, where she was announced as runner up in a Champion Citizen initiative. This award recognised the incredible work done by Paula in setting up Selby Young People s Co-operative, which gives young people with autism and mental health needs the chance to improve their skills and knowledge.

We have a vacancy. A RBS Group New Candidate

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