 |
Wales |
Circles Network
Wales
Unit 14
Enterprise House
127 Bute Street
Cardiff
Bay
Cardiff CF10 5LE
(
029 2048 7575
Ê 029
20487575
*
info.wales@circlesnetwork.org.uk
Please click here to read the
latest newsletter from Circles Network in Wales.
Who we are
Circles Network Wales is a
national organisation that supports people with learning difficulties, their
families, friends and organisations across Wales to develop Circles of Support.
We also work on a number of other projects that focus on building an inclusive
society and empowering disabled people to achieve their ambitions. Through the
Family Empowerment Project, we meet with parents with learning difficulties and
provide individual support plans to meet the needs of each family. Through the
Equals Project, we work to raise awareness of disability issues in the workplace
and provide training to improve the accessibility of working environments. A
commitment to upholding the values of inclusion and a person centred approach
underpin all of our work. Circles Network Wales has been developing projects
across Wales for the past five years, establishing and delivering services to
people who are isolated or at risk of exclusion. Circles Network Wales has made
exceptional strides within this time to develop and expand, allowing for new
opportunities for individuals, and enabling people to undertake real dreams and
ambitions.
Since August 2001 we have
facilitated new Circles of Support for adults with learning difficulties in many
different areas throughout Wales. We are constantly developing new, innovative
projects, helping people to create individualised Person Centred Plans for
themselves, and working inclusively with a wide range of people. We also deliver
training, share our values and ethos, and provide information and presentations
on the work that our organisation undertakes. We have become one of the leading
champions of Person Centred Planning across Wales.
We aim to extend our services to more areas
across Wales, in order to deliver a range of innovative, holistic and individual
opportunities for disabled people; including individuals with learning
difficulties, mental health differences, and other impairments. We also support
families of disabled people, whilst also working in partnership and building on
established relationships with other leading organisations across Wales.
Alongside this, we will continue to promote inclusion to the wider community.
Good quality service and support should reflect
an individual’s needs and goals and take full account of the individual’s
expressed preferences. A failure to take full account of these matters tends to
result in the provision of relatively generalised service and support, which may
not be capable of adapting sufficiently to effectively address an individual’s
needs or goals. By focussing on the individual, individual planning should
encourage service flexibility and innovation; inform an authority’s strategic
service planning and commissioning processes and achieve better outcomes for
individuals.’
National
Assembly for Wales
Person
Centred Planning in Wales – The
Way Forward
It is recognised that Person Centred Planning is one of the key themes to
‘Fulfilling the Promises’ and that this will
be the future of working with people with learning difficulties within Wales.
Circles Network Wales is now recognised to be one of the leading forces within
Wales to take this forward.
Our skills and expertise in Person Centred Planning make us a strong contender
to be a ‘Champion Organisation’ who will use this to expand and grow.
Person Centred Planning approaches are based on
the ‘values of inclusion’ and the ‘social model of disability’. They put the
person first – recognising their right to power and control, seeking creative
ways of involving the person in finding out what they want and what works for
them. This form of planning recognises the qualities and capabilities of people
– instead of looking at people’s differences it looks at what they have to offer
to society and how we can support them to develop this. It recognises that we
cannot fix impairments; society needs to adapt to individual circumstances and
find ways of including those who are different.
Each member of our
dedicated staff is committed to the principles of adopting person centred
strategies within a social model perspective. They are also collectively able
to draw on a large bank of skills and experience. This diversity of career
backgrounds includes:
·
Child Protection
·
Social Work Degree
·
Experience of working with individuals and families who have
learning difficulties and a wide range of other impairments
·
Expert Witness Experience
·
Teaching Qualifications
·
Neuro Linguistic Programming
·
Disability Equality Training
·
Counselling
·
Community Development
·
Person Centred Planning
·
Sports Development for People with Learning Difficulties
·
Communication and Gentle Teaching
·
Emotional Intelligence Awareness
Debbie Hill, Wales Co-ordinator
is based in the Cardiff office, Debbie has a National remit to manage all
services across Wales, fundraise and develop new projects, support people to build Circles of
Support, deliver training/information events and create new services across
Wales.
(
029 20487575
È
07779 626886
*
deborah.hill@circlesnetwork.org.uk
Norma McCarten, Project Manager Mid/
North Wales
is based in Gwynedd, Norma
Personal Profile.
Norma has
worked in the social economy for 12 years recruiting, team building and
providing coaching and assessment for people working with older, vulnerable
adults. Her experience in supporting people with continuing mental health and
substance misuse issues, which threaten relationship breakdown and homelessness,
has involved working with people on the margins of society. Norma’s take on the
way an inclusive community works - ‘We bring our gifts to the world, our amazing
differences, often rejected. A productive community requires a cooperative
effort, we need everyone but most of all we need love and respect’
Norma joined
Circles Network in 2005; at first commuting to Herefordshire and the Midlands,
training people in Person Centred Planning and new ways to deliver courses and
training.
With work on
the Wales EQUALS Project; the development of a Ceredigion Person Centred
Planning team and working with individuals in Mid and North Wales has provided a
firm base in Wales, where the concept of community never really went away.
(
029 20487575
È
07769 972180
*
norma.mccarten@circlesnetwork.org.uk
Lyndsay Bone, Pembrokeshire
Facilitator is based in
Pembrokeshire, Lyndsay supports Families/Carers of people with learning
difficulties across Pembrokeshire who want to start their own Circle of Support.
This enables the families to receive more support and for individuals to combat
social exclusion. Within Pembrokeshire, due to a recent funding success, we are
pleased to announce that our remit also now encompasses children and young
people with mental health differences and their carers/families.
Tel: 07970 604165 Email:
lyndsay.bone@circlesnetwork.org.uk
Nathaniel Foy,
Facilitator for the Academy for Inspiring Inclusion
is based in the Cardiff Office,
Nathaniel has been a facilitator for
Circles Network since 2004, delivering training in Person Centred Planning and
Disability Equality. Nathaniel is also the
South Wales project worker for
the European funded ASAPH Project in Wales.
nathaniel.foy@circlesnetwork.org.uk
Emily Scott, Wales Administrator
is based in the Cardiff office,
Emily is the first point of contact for all your inquiries about Circles
Network Wales. She will be happy to answer any questions you have about our
work.
emily.scott@circlesnetwork.org.uk
Circles of Support
The basic idea of a Circle of Support is to help someone establish a personal
social network. A circle of support is essentially a group of friends and loved
ones who meet regularly with the focus person to listen to their dreams and
ambitions and assist them in developing a person centred plan for accomplishing
these ambitions. As the focus individual puts the plan into action, the Circle
is there to encourage and support them every step of the way.
Circles of support provide a non-judgemental, non-patronising environment where
the members encourage and support the focus individual in an atmosphere of fun
and friendship. Karaoke nights, bowling, dinner parties, and garden parties
kindle friendship, trust, and a spirit of teamwork within a circle, which allows
the focus person to become more open about discussing their personal dreams,
fears, and ambitions for the future.
People across Wales have made all sorts of life changing decisions with the
support of their Circle. They have moved into their own homes, advocated for
their rights, accessed direct payments, found employment, made friends, learned
new skills, enrolled on courses, and have become more involved in the community.
At Circles Network, we uphold the values of a Person Centred Approach, allowing
individuals to be in full control of all aspects of their lives.
Circles Network Wales holds regular gathering events where people can learn more
about our work, whilst also meeting other individuals who have a Circle of
Support. Our gatherings are open to everyone, and the theme is always fun and
friendship! We hold events such as Karaoke Nights, Discos, Christmas Parties,
Picnics, Day Trips, and outings such as nights out bowling, trips to the cinema
and meals out.
Training
Across all areas of Wales we develop links with
voluntary organisations, people with learning difficulties, parents, carers,
practitioners and professionals to deliver the message that Person Centred
Planning and Circles of Support can empower people with learning difficulties to
affect positive change in their own lives and in society. Through our training
and information events, we familiarise people with the concept of Person Centred
Planning and equip them with Person Centred Planning tools that will help them
accomplish their personal goals or provide support to others. We demonstrate how
Person Centred Planning can enable people to have an inclusive role within their
community through making choices and decisions that are right for them.
* Please see our recent training calendar
Pembrokeshire
The post of Circles Facilitator in Pembrokeshire has been ongoing since January
2003,
Blaenau Gwent
Since March 2004 we have employed a part-time Facilitator within this area to
support people with learning difficulties with all aspects of Person Centred
Planning and Circles of Support. The project itself was funded through BILD
until March 2008, to enable people in the area to advocate more effectively for
themselves. We aim to work with individuals across the county to support them in
developing a comprehensive Person Centred Plan for themselves as well as
establish a Circle of Support if they want one.
We are also working with individuals to provide a ‘focus group’ for people who
access local services. We work on building confidence and skills to encourage
people to have their say and to create a stronger voice for themselves and be
more pro-active in shaping what they would like to see happen in the services
they receive in their local area.
Ceredigion
Within Circles Network Wales, we have recently developed an exciting new
project. With support from the Welsh Assembly Government, the Supported
Independence Services within Ceredigion have established a new initiative to
organise a creative project which will place Person Centred Planning at the
heart of services.
Circles Network Wales has been commissioned to undertake the project, along with
a number of other organisations across the care sector. This project focuses on
working with 50 – 60 individuals in the county who are living with older carers
or parents. We will meet with these individuals to discuss their aspirations
and dreams for the future and assist them in planning how they would like to
move forward with these dreams. Alongside this, we will also support them on
considering their future housing needs and help them to gain access to Primary
Health Care.
The project will train volunteers and staff from across the care sector to work
as Person Centred Planning Facilitators. The newly trained trainers will be
provided with IT support and recording equipment, as well as a library of books,
videos and colourful materials to produce sensory, tactile and visual displays
of people’s gifts and dreams. Finally, we will incorporate the information
gathered to compile regular reports of actions and necessary outcomes that
individuals are expressing, which will impact on the shaping of future services
within the area.
We are very excited to be involved in this new project and hope it will make
significant changes in people’s lives within Ceredigion.
Mid/North
Wales
The Family Empowerment Project
The Family Empowerment Project was founded on the realisation that parents with
learning difficulties or cognitive impairment and their children
are increasingly going through deep, painful separations unnecessarily. Too many
parents are losing custody when, with the right kind of support, they could
provide safe, loving homes to happy and well adjusted children.
We provide support packages,
training courses, supervised contact sessions and counselling to parents with
learning difficulties or cognitive impairment, parents who have physical
disabilities and parents who have mental health differences. Alongside this, we
also undertake court requested assessments of parenting capacity, wherever
possible within the family home and local community settings.
Our aim is for
families to stay together, provided this can be achieved without putting
children at risk and to support disabled parents to be the best parents they can
possibly be.
Some of the issues we support parents with are how to;
•
Understand and
cater to their child’s physiological needs (nutrition, warmth, personal hygiene,
child development needs, age appropriate behaviour, establishing routines and
boundaries, protection from harm, health and safety etc.)
•
Develop
meaningful play with their child, positive interaction and guidance, learning
opportunities, and provide age appropriate stimulation
•
Understand
and manage a budget and attend to the practicalities of running a household, and
health and safety within the home
Equal
Supported by European Social Fund The ASAPH Project has an overall aim to remove
barriers to employment for disabled people. The life of the project is less
straightforward and involves many different areas. At present we are at the
stage of working with employers of disabled people to discover what gaps in
information, and available resources there are for employers when employing
disabled people. The plan is to firstly provide the missing information to the
employers, and then work with them to design resources that will be useful to
the employer and the employee. Then the plan is to create a framework which can
be used with other employers that employ disabled people, or organisations that
wish to employ disabled people in the future.
Cardiff and
the Vale
Wales leaflet English language (PDF)
Wales leaflet Welsh language (PDF)
ASAPH Equals Launch leaflet
Equal Information for employers
Contact us
If you would like any further information on any
aspects of our work or would like to be added to our mailing list, please
contact:
Emily Scott
Tel:
029 2048 7575 Email:
emily.scott@circlesnetwork.org.uk
Debbie Hill
Tel:
029 2048 7575 Email:
deborah.hill@circlesnetwork.org.uk
Norma McCarten
Tel:
07769 972180 Email:
norma.mccarten@circlesnetwork.org.uk
Lyndsay Bone
Tel:
07970 604165 Email:
lyndsay.bone@circlesnetwork.org.uk
Nathaniel Foy
Tel:
029 20487575 Email:
nathaniel.foy@circlesnetwork.org.uk
Circles Network
Wales
Unit 14
Enterprise House
127 Bute Street
Cardiff
Bay
Cardiff CF10 5LE
(
029 2048 7575
Ê 029
20487575
*
info.wales@circlesnetwork.org.uk
| 
