Manor Community Blog

My name is Lauren and I have been working at Manor Community since 2021! I started here as a Business Administration Apprentice and I am now a General Administrator and Trainee Finance Administrator.

How to support team members through difficult times

Members of the Manor Community team give their thoughts on working at Manor Community Care

Hello, my name is Saung Hnin Wai but I mostly go by my name Nicole. I am an IT student at UWE and currently interning at Manor Community for my summer internship 2025 as a Project Support Intern. I am in my final year at UWE and have only been in the UK for a little over 3 months. When I first came, I was overwhelmed by the fact that I had to look for an internship straight away to be ready for my summer internship. The word “Intern” itself was a big deal for us final year students. I did not expect much but still tried my best to apply for internship positions that are related to my major and interests. Outside of my studies and internship, I have a deep passion for cooking and just taking a stroll around my neighborhood to relax my mind and just have some time away from the screen. 

I was totally lost on how to spice up my CV, but luckily, UWE offers a Professional and Academic Writing class. As part of the course, we learned how to write the best version of our CVs. I did not waste a second after the lecture ended to apply for internships using our school website (InfoHub). There, “Manor Community” caught my eye. It’s not only the role but the community itself that looked appealing to me. Manor Community is a care company that provides care and support services. I was beyond happy to know that I would be an intern at a place that provides such help to society, and with my interests in management, the role as “Project Support Intern” was a perfect match for me. I would be learning so much here not only for my role’s responsibilities but also to learn more about care homes and the social support system here in the UK. I am gaining insights into the social support sector in the UK (Bristol) and look forward to furthering my understanding while also improving my skills as a Project Support Intern.

Today we are going to be sharing our training focus this month, with our Training and Development Lead Jeannette. 

As a care worker, caring for individuals living with dementia can be both challenging and rewarding. Understanding the condition and providing the right support are crucial aspects of delivering quality care. In this blog, we will explore some essential training tips that will help you provide the best care possible for those with dementia.

 

1.     Develop Comprehensive Understanding of the Different Dementia Types

Dementia encompasses various conditions, each with its unique challenges. Take the time to understand the most common types of dementia and their associated symptoms:

Alzheimer's Disease: Trouble recognizing people, communication difficulties, and impulsive behaviour.

Frontotemporal Dementia: Excessive emotions, shaky hands, and problems with balance.

Lewy Body Dementia: Inability to concentrate, muscle rigidity, and reduced facial expressions.

Vascular Dementia: Hallucinations or delusions, misplacing items, and poor judgment.

By understanding these conditions, you can better tailor your care approach to meet the individual's specific needs.

 

2.     Top ways to tailor your care approach:

Simplify the Environment!

Creating a safe and easy-to-navigate environment is essential in dementia care. Here are three simple steps to simplify the home:

Remove Potential Hazards: Eliminate objects that can cause confusion or stress, particularly in hallways, to reduce the risk of falls and accidents.

Maintain a Clean and Comfortable Environment: A tidy and clutter-free home can help the individual feel more at ease, enabling them to remain sociable and inviting to friends.

Use Labels and Post-Its: Assist the individual in finding things and remembering appointments by strategically placing labels and post-it notes around the house.

A simplified environment can significantly reduce confusion and enhance the overall well-being of the person you are caring for.

 

3.     Utilising communication skills

  Communicating with individuals with dementia requires patience, empathy, and understanding. Follow these communication tips to enhance your communication skills:

Speak Calmly and Reassuringly: A soothing tone can help them feel more at ease during conversations.

Use Clear Language: Keep your language simple and straightforward to avoid confusion.

Utilize Physical Prompts: Incorporate gestures and visual cues to aid communication.

Maintain Eye Contact: Eye contact fosters connection and makes them feel valued.

Remember, effective communication is key to establishing trust and rapport with the individual!

 

4.     Encourage Meaningful Activities

Engaging in activities that align with the person's interests can improve their overall well-being and provide a sense of purpose. Here are some activities that provide visual stimulation:

Painting: Artistic activities can be incredibly therapeutic and enjoyable.

Gardening: Tending to plants can be a calming and rewarding experience.

Completing Jigsaw Puzzles: Puzzles can stimulate the mind and enhance cognitive abilities.

Playing Board Games: Simple board games can encourage social interaction and fun.

Activities play a vital role in the treatment and care of individuals with dementia, so ensure you incorporate them into the daily routine.

Thank you for reading and we look forward to next month!

Hello! Welcome to this new monthly update, where I, Gabriella, will be giving you the lowdown on any important updates happening in social care!

 

Government updates:

It was only last week that the NHS workforce plan was announced. This plan is the governments first ever long-term workforce plan, set to improve recruitment and retention over the next 15 years in the NHS. However, the government has not committed to developing a workforce plan for social care. This has been heavily criticized as a missed opportunity, as both sectors share crucial staff groups, and face the same urgent need for long-term investment to improve staffing recruitment and retention, to be able to provide good quality care. Read more about this here!

A new bill has been announced ‘Social Housing (Regulation) Bill) to improve the quality of social housing, also known as the ‘Awaab’s Law’ after the tragic death of 2-year old Awaab Ishak. Read more here.

Consultation alert: The government are seeking your views on visiting in care and health settings to inform their decisions around making visiting rules mandatory. Read more and submit your response here.

Campaigns you should know about:

 

‘My Time to Care’ is a campaign that starts local carers in Somerset. Six new videos have been launched to empower carers and showcases the strength, resilience, courage, and selflessness of care workers. Watch the videos here.

 

A new campaign ‘The Social Care Superpower Campaign’ launched last week, run by the Cygnet Social Care division. The campaign aims to highlight the extraordinary people who work in care, showcasing the incredible skills and work they do. Learn more here.

 

Age UK are now running a campaign called ‘We can’t wait for care’, putting a call to action for help to end the long wait for care. Learn more about this important campaign here.

 

We're still buzzing from the talks at the second and final day of the Health+Care Conference in London. Expecting a quieter day than the first, our team thought we might get away early, but stayed right until the exhibitors started packing away due to some fantastic panel discussions...

It’s the last week in June, so of course we’re back at the Excel in London for the Health+Care annual conference where professionals from local authorities, NHS, providers and government come together to present ideas, thought leadership and share local initiatives on improving the health and care sector.

Here is my assessment of the first day:

The main themes were technology, social prescribing and more technology. Both of which were being touted as enabling collaborative working and effective care, with the main challenge being changing embedded cultures and habits.

At Manor Community we are passionate about highlighting the amazing talents of our team and people we support.

We will be doing regular short  spotlight blogs on the talent within our organisation. This first blog is about Jane who’s is a Care Co-ordinator within the organisation. More recently, Jane has found a passion in 5D Diamond Painting.

We frequently hold 'Coffee Afternoons' and other opportunities to get the people we support together. Skills for Care had approached us about filming a short video case study and wanted it to be done whilst we were doing an event or activity, so we thought this could be another great opportunity for a fun gathering.
So we decided on an event,  Manor Community's Got Talent !

So on the 28th March, we invited everyone we support to come into our offices and if they wanted, to perform any talents or skills. We had loads of great performances including musical talent (guitar playing, singing and rapping), poetry, active art and much more!

We were amazed by what everyone brought to the table. We couldn't choose one winner so everyone was awarded with certificates and medals!
The Skills for Care filming crew made sure everyone was involved by doing a fun exercise to discuss positive experiences in our care.

When the people involved were asked what they thought of the day, a respondent said "It was a great success all-round."
It is always great to bring the people we support together to have some fun and celebrate their talents and we hope to run another similar event in the future!

Go Team(s!!)

Some people might have been caught by surprise a bit recently when emails and notifications started pinging around saying Skype is going to be replaced by Microsoft Teams . If you personally or professionally use the messaging service, then it might be a bit of a shock that your method of communicating with everyone is going to suddenly shut down.

But what is Teams? And what are you meant to do with it?

Teams is basically like Skype but there’s a load of new collaborative functions to play around with and the whole thing has more of a group chat, ‘Whatsapp’ feel to it. It is still designed for work, there’s a range of apps to choose from that vary from very serious spreadsheets and scheduling tools to some more fun things like polls and picture sharing. Plus, you can design the groups they each bolt on to so it best reflects your particular organisation’s structure and culture.

I think that if Skype was like a very functional phone switchboard churning away in the basement of industry, then Teams is like suddenly getting trendy smartphones to hand round and make the factory feel like some sort of Google office or a cool, virtual coffee shop.

The truth is that the handover has actually been a long-term plan, and instead of suddenly shutting down, the Skype platform will hand itself over around the world to the new digital communication app allegedly completely seamlessly.

Why should I CARE about Teams?

We are aware that Teams replacing Skype has been planned for a while because of an innovation project we completed in association with Skills for Care . We at Manor Community are now well seasoned experts in all the possibilities and pitfalls of setting up Microsoft Teams for Health and Social Care, and we have developed an easy to pick up and use guide for any provider to install Teams in their organisation. Details of the project are available in our innovator’s page and case study , but plans are being made to get the instruction guide we have made (that is both fully informed by practical experience and appropriate for a range of accessibilities) available online free and instantly.

The Good, The Bad and The Difficult.

Like anything new (and digital), it did take a little playing around to get the hang of how Teams was going to work. However, once you have a feel for the functions and who should be in what group chats, then it can quite quickly and easily be put in place for people to start chatting like they would on Skype, email or text.

Some of the apps and hardware confused things a bit. But again, once a little playing around happened then it wasn’t much work to start people doing some of the more proper tasks (like making funny backgrounds come up on video calls). Setting it up for the clients will depend completely on the specific needs of those receiving an organisation’s services, although there are a couple options to work with to speed up how to appropriately and safely get everyone involved in digital conversations and online group activities.

Participation is the difficult part. It takes a dedicated small team to get Microsoft Teams ready for your whole team. So, if even some of your team do know Teams, the others may need some prompting to get in the habit of understanding and using the new digital communications platform regularly.

Summary

Generally, Teams is simply a more informal and fun version of Skype, it is fairly easy to navigate and offers a few ways to do some genuinely interesting things. It does require some tailoring to your specific context. There will be massive benefits to all communications being brought together into one place, rather than having confused texts, emails and messages flying around, although Microsoft are open about the development progress still being ongoing to make the evolution from Skype as beneficial as possible.

However, if it is done right then the horizontal structure, open nature and intricate tools do make this platform a properly powerful opportunity to let more varied voices and diverse groups contribute to decisions and cultures across all of social care. It can strengthen people’s voices across the industry, particularly those voices who should absolutely be listened to the most but are often listened to the least. This could happen instantly and easily for everyone, injecting co-production right into all the little decisions and actions that make up our routines. Either way, they’re binning Skype so you might have to get on board anyway!!

Today (10th April 2019) I attended a round table event on developing practical approaches to improve workforce race equality in social care. The event was held by Skills for Careand led by Karen Linde from the Centre for Citizenship and Community and Roger Kline from Middlesex University Business School and chaired by Skills for Care’s interim CEO Andy Tilden. The workshop was convened in anticipation of research carried out by Roger and Karen on race inequalities within the workforce. It looked at  tackling inequalities such as unconscious bias (aka racism) and lack of representation of certain ethnic groups in higher positions.

Initially, whilst I was inspired by being given an opportunity to provide feedback on an important piece of work, I was also worried about being amongst like-minded people and effectively preaching to the converted. However, Skills for Care pulled together a fantastically inspirational group of men and women from various ethnic backgrounds. My biggest regret was that the whole thing wasn’t filmed! (maybe next time?). 

One of the most inspiring parts of the session was when Tricia Pereira , Pam Rowe and Sharon Jennings were given the floor. These inspirational women chose a different approach to presenting by holding a discussion about the issues they face and potential solutions. They left a spare seat next to them for members of the audience to join the conversation at any point. So simple, so effective. An exemplary way of showing the power of diversity of thought, practice and perspective.

Joining Instructions for Free Webinar for advice and guidance submitting consultation responses to update the Mental Capacity Act Code of Practice

We did it! Manor Community have won a National Skills for Care Accolade for Best Employer of Between 51 and 249 Staff!

At the end of another year, we’d like to take a look back at some of the great work and achievements that have happened over the year of 2018 at Manor Community. So, here’s a quick rundown of some of the events that have made this year great.

We are delighted to say that we have been announced as finalists for two of the categories in the Skill for Care Accolades 2019!

The two categories are “The Best Recruitment Initiative” and “The Best Employer of Between 51 and 249 Staff.” We were chosen from over 20,000 adult social care employers in England that it was open to, so this is a great achievement!

The winners will be announced at the Accolades 2019 Gala Event on Thursday 31st January 2019 at the ILEC Conference Centre in London and will be hosted by TV dance legend Anton Du Beke.

The Accolades are like the Oscars of the adult social care sector, so we all have our fingers crossed.

*Documents to be available soon*

What Making It Real is?

TLAP (Think Local Act Personal) is a national partnership of more than 50 organisations committed to transforming health and care through personalisation and community-based support.

Hi I’m Alice, a PR student at UWE and I’ve spent my Summer as an intern at Manor Community. I used to think ‘Intern’ was a fancy word for the office tea-maker but my time here has been everything but.

From day one, I had projects lined up which gave me the flexibility to practice old skills as well as learn new ones. I had first day nerves but was greeted with so many ‘hellos’ that I knew I was going to be looked after. I jumped straight into working on social media, posting content and learning how to increase followers. I loved how I had to think on my feet and communicate with others about what was happening.

Summer has arrived and it’s Hot Hot Hot! Most of us spend all year wishing for better weather, but it’s very important to know how to enjoy the sun in a safe way and be prepared for a heatwave. High temperatures can be dangerous to our health, especially for those more vulnerable like older people and people with disabilities. This weekend is set to be another scorcher, so we’ve put together some tips for everyone to help stay safe. Keep up to date on weather and weather warnings on the metoffice website.

As the summer progresses and the weather continues to surprise, we think it's important to take a person-centered approach when preparing for the possibility of a heatwave. This form helps to identify which persons are at increased risk during times of high temperature, the signs to look out for that signal heat related illnesses and what actions to take to decrease these risks. 

Our residential care manager gives an honest & heartwarming reflection on the Challenges of Outstanding care which is featured by @CarePodcast - The Road To Outstanding, a podcast series for people working in care. 
Some great quotes from the blog include:
"It's time to look at the person not the disability or illness"
"If people are happy at work they tend to get on better"
Care Plans: 'Keep it Simple!

On Tuesday 17th July 2018, Manor Community hosted a summer open day, which was open to clients, staff and the public. The day comprised of an expressive art theme, followed by a Hate and Mate crime workshop, organised by Bristol Hate crime and discrimination services.

What a fantastic day! Ending with the football and beginning with a great Co-Production Festival in London.

Today’s Co-Production Festival hosted by SCIE was a great experience. We attended with people we support and staff. The workshops, discussion panels and shows were inspiring. A highlight of course, was meeting the very talented @LostVoiceGuy, Lee Ridley.

Here is some of our account of the day:

Workshop 1

We attended a workshop led by Tina Coldham which included shared information on:

• Innovation
  
• Communication
  
• Partnership working
  
• Funding and budget cuts
  
• Understanding what co-production is
  

People felt that awareness was increasing, but co-production by local authorities is patchy and could benefit from unified thinking and approaches. Yet, there should be a balance to ensure that defining co-production doesn’t stifle creativity and decrease innovation.

There was a focus on understanding illnesses AND individuals and recognising that emotional support is a care need.

This week the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE ) is celebrating Co-Production Week from 2nd to 6th July 2018. It is a great way to recognise good practice in social care which helps people make their own decisions and turns the doctor/patient relationship on its head. Here we reflect on how that journey links in with philosophy and Human Rights.

                                                                       

Since 2016, two days in late June have been consistently blocked out in our diary, for the   Health+Care Conference in ExCeL London, attended by over 10,000 people involved in health and care. This year’s conference has outdone its predecessors with great talks on everything from Paul Burstow, Andrea Sutcliffe and Izzi Seccombe discussing the effects of Brexit on care and the anticipated Green Paper. Andrew Heffernan from UKHCA on how understanding care data can inform business strategy. Discussions on how NHS and Social Care can work better through Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STPs), Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) and digital transformation.

If you couldn't make it, here are our best bits:
(P.S. This 'summary' is long! but scroll down for some useful pictures of slides)

STPs and ICSs ….

Talks on STPs and ICSs were some of the busiest forums, particularly filled with NHS, Commissioners and Local Authority delegates. Susannah Howards (STP Programme Director for Suffolk and North East Essex STP) pointed out the need for flexible systems and to ‘engage the neighbourhood’ . We learnt that the Care Provider Alliance has money available from the Department of Health and Social Care for STPs to ensure providers are ‘engaged’.  We took an action point to find out about this for our area and check that our local authority’s Market Positioning Statements are aligned. You can access more information here . If you have connections with a STP please alert them to this! E ngagement is key .

There was a lot of buzz around an innovative Dutch model of care called Buurtzorg , which has decreased bureaucracy and allowed more face to face care time. You can find our more on their website and I have found that The Guardian has also done a blog.

Engagement was a big theme and it seems that the large public sector organisations are struggling to engage effectively with their populations. A talk by Richard Stockley @thenakedcitizen highlighted the importance of ‘representative engagement’. His message to those organisations was not only to engage with those who respond well, but to reach out to those who don’t normally engage. Their insights will be invaluable. 


Care Data – Use it!

Steve Sawyer from Access UK and Andrew Heffernan from UKHCA had some hard-hitting facts on social care delivery. Much of which is well known, but still makes you quiver on seeing it in numbers. Such as: 

• 30 minute calls in homecare are probably loss making and 
• 15 Minute calls are definitely loss making. Not only in profit but also in quality. 

Also from Steve’s research, due to the difference in pay to providers from privately commissioned work and work commissioned by local authorities, workers working 20 hours on State Funded care visits are likely to be paid around £371 per annum less than if they were paid for visits made to privately funded individuals. So, potentially people who pay for their own care are subsidising those who have their care paid for by the state. There was also an emphasis on ensuring that every aspect of care is accounted for in hourly rates ( see slide below ). 

A further message to commissioning authorities – Travel time adds 22% on top of workers’ pay to the cost of care. 


NICE Guidance

As a care organisation we are always looking at increasing standards whilst keeping costs down. So, we were particularly interested in the talk by Jane Silvester (Associate Director, Social Care and Leadership at NICE) which highlighted the availability of funding for products companies are developing or want to develop, which help implement their guidance. This is the Nice Endorsement Scheme and more can be found here .

NICE (and CQC) love to see providers ‘map’ the quality of their care with NICE guidance  #tip!
NICE also have some really useful  guidance for Quick Guides for time strapped care managers.
Please take time to access them here.


Other Bits

A great talk by Issac Theophilos on how to get the ‘Outstanding’ rating in Care. We met Issac at another conference and he is great at providing those practical examples of how to achieve the aims of the KLOE’s. He’s also produced a book on how to get to Outstanding which should be available on amazon next month. He’s trawled through 100+ Outstanding CQC reports and has managed outstanding services himself. In his words, he’s ‘done the hard work for you’. Should be an interesting read.

For those wanting tips on recruiting staff : Sophie Coulthard @judgementindex and @carepodcast woke us all up with an enthusiastic and immensely thought-provoking talk on recruiting on values , creating a career in care and having a ‘wellbeing policy’. Also helpful were talks by Neil Eastwood at Sticky People Ltd. 


The Future of Adult Social Care

The headline act of course, was left to Thursday morning, where Izzi Seccombe OBE (Chair of the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board), Andrea Sutcliffe (Chief Inspector of Adult Social Care, CQC), Aidan Kehoe (Chief Executive of Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospital NHS Trust), Michael Adamson (Chief Executive, British Red Cross) and Paul Burstow (Chair of SCIE) spoke on a panel regarding the future of adult social care. Roy Lilley chaired the session. Some of the key messages included:

•  Almost unanimous feeling that the Green Paper was not going to add hugely as a solution to health and care issues. In fact, we already have the tools with e.g. the Care Act, the Better Care Fund and section 75 of the Care Act 2014, clarifying funding for after care services under Mental Health Act 1983. What, unsurprising was needed is extra funding.
  

•  Andrea argued that it was  'not just about money but how the money is used'. Her criticism of the green paper, as it stands, was that there is too much of a focus on services for Older People and that there is a significant amount of younger people using services who also need to be brought into it. Izzi backed this up with the statistic that 50% of spend on services is for younger NOT older people. A telling statistic!
  

• Michael emphasised that there are commissioning gaps and people are ‘falling through the gaps’. He suggested a read of a book that analysed 25 health systems around the world – I believe it’s this one by Mark Britnell called ‘In Search of the Perfect Health System’. Here’s a link on amazon. But if you just want a summary, here’s a blog from The Guardian
  

• Worryingly Paul Burstow later surmised that there could by a 200,000 shortfall of care staff by 2020 and that any funding for care from the green paper was unlikely to materialise within the next 2 years.
  

Experts by Experience is an initiative by care quality commission and are people who have personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses health, mental health and/or social care services. The process involves going to other care homes and hospitals to see if there are any areas that could be improved or are really good.

We are pleased to say that one of the people we support has recently been taken on board. We asked him a few questions about the process and here’s what he had to say.

Question: what made you want to get involved?

‘I first got involved when the manager suggested I go to a meeting at the main office about the whole process ... I went along to see what it was about.’

 

Question: How was the process, what was hard and what was good ?

‘The process was not an easy one. My support worker helped me a lot, I had to get a DBS, complete some online training and create myself an email address, she encouraged me to get all of the work done and helped me through it.’

Question: What are you looking forward to?

 ‘I’m looking forward to getting paid for my time, the manager has told me what I will be doing, I have to check my emails every day as the work will be sent through to my email and my support worker helps to remind me to do this.’

 

We wish him all the best of luck! And will post again after his first inspection. 👏

As part of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) Manor Community has updated our Privacy Policy. Here is our Easier Read Version of the Privacy Policy. Contact on GDPR@manorcommunity.co.uk for more information. Click here for download.

As part of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) Manor Community has updated our Privacy Policy. Please see the latest version here. An easier read version is provided in a later blog post. Click here to download.

Recently Manor Community staff have been nominated for awards at The National Learning Disabilities & Autism Awards 2018. We have had two of our amazing staff members who have been shortlisted as finalists! The awards will take place in Birmingham on June 29th.

Debra Vowles our residential care manager has been nominated for one Award.Debra has led two of our services to a CQC Outstanding rating and is a pioneer of person-centered care. A much deserved nomination!

Lucy Britton is one of our care and support workers and has also been nominated for one award. Lucy has done some great work with some of our clients and is a well deserved finalist!

We are very proud of Debbie and Lucy for being shortlisted as finalists for the Awards, and want to wish them the best of luck!

Today is 50th anniversary of the death of Martin Luther King. Reflecting on his influence we are remembering some of his quotes, many of which as relevant today as they were then resonate in #socialcare. Some of them are below. Which is your favourite Martin Luther quote? #MLK50

I have been working at Manor Community for almost a year, and I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here. I found the apprenticeship through an agency called T2, and they supported me during the application and enrolment process. Working here has given me the opportunity to learn lots of new skills, such as auditing files, call monitoring, diary management, and organising the event calendar. This has allowed me to gain a large breadth of experience and achieve my Level 2 QCF in Business Admin. I also work closely with one of the senior care managers and this has allowed me to gather a strong understanding of the services we provide outside of the office. During my apprenticeship at Manor Community I believe it has also helped me gain a lot confidence in myself, especially when it comes to answering the telephones. I am very grateful that I was given the opportunity to work for Manor Community and I am proud to be a part of an amazing team.

I have been working at Manor Community as an apprentice for nearly a year and a half. I found the apprenticeship through an agency and once I was offered the job I was really looking forward to gaining experience and learning new skills. I work closely with the company director and administrative staff. I have learnt lots of new skills and increased my knowledge of tasks such as: diary management, designing the company newsletter, administering the company intranet, organising events, call management, managing customer service and more. I also occasionally help in the admin office answering and logging calls on our monitoring system. I feel like I have gained lots of experience since working here and my confidence has grown in areas which I wasn’t that confident in at the start. I would definitely recommend an apprenticeship to both employers and employees.

As part of internet safety week we have developed a short but helpful booklet for people to use. It is hoped that this will inform people how to stay safe whilst enjoying the many benefits of the world wide web. Click on the documenty cover to access and download the document.

If you have any feedback on the document please email edits@manorcommunity.co.uk

Experts by Experience are people who have personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses health, mental health and/or social care services. A few weeks ago, we had a session with Sue from Remploy who are managing the initiative. Sue gave us more information and talked through with one of the individuals we support, how to sign up for the programme. The individual had a few questions to ask such as:

‘Will we have to inspect places we have been involved with in the past?’. The answer was ‘no, you would not be asked to inspect places you have been involved with in the past, the reason being your findings may be biased and the environment may be one you don’t feel comfortable with’.

A huge positive about the programme is that it will get people using care services involved in the quality of those services as equal partners. Part of their report could be used in inspection reports! It also seems to be a great opportunity to meet people and discuss experiences of care. One of the people we support has recently signed up and is now moving on to the next steps!

This year our team is nominated for 7 awards at th Care and Support West Care Awards 2017. The ceremony is to be held this Saturday in Bath. We'd like to take this opportunity to congratulate the team and their nominations and to wish them the best of luck at this year's awards ceremony.

Summer has finally arrived, with avengance.

We have created a simple easier read leaflet on how to keep yourself safe in the sun so that you can enjoy it:

Click here  to download. 

Thank you to everyone who took part in our Voting Information Forum a great success with Election Bingo, Wordsearches and support for last minute registration.

The great work we've been doing to support people was also featured on 22nd May Points West and Episode 83 of Made In Bristol's the Crunch News at 29 minutes. A great way to raise awareness of the rights of people with mental health and learning disability to participate in the voting process.

YES!  -  is the answer  to the question of whether people in care have a right to vote.

Please click here  or the the Voting Rights document image  below to download.

This photo shows a person in a wheelchair going to vote and being faced with a flight of stairs. It is from the cover of a book  by Michael Oliver , and portrays how people with disabilities can face barriers to enabling them to do the things that people without disabilities do without thinking.

We believe that one of the roles of those who provide support, is to support people in exercising their right to vote (or not to vote, whatever their choice may be).

At Manor Community we will be encouraging our support workers to provide people with unbiased information and ways to access that information to help them make their decision for the Metro Mayor Election on 4th May and the General Election on 8th June. We will provide transport, accessible information and organise support to enable people to make their vote on the day. We have encouraged people using and working in the organisation to proactively consider issues of accessibility and information and to suggest ways we can help. We will be sharing ideas as they come.

After gathering ideas from staff and people living at our latest Community Living Project, creative juices got flowing today and the gardeners and landscapers from greenerdesigns.co.uk  continued their transformation of the garden, putting those ideas into reality. A new pond has been scoped out and updating the space into an orchard and kitchen garden is well underway. Check out the before and after pictures, which include an old tree stump transformed into a lovely bird table.

People living and working at the project have suggested painting the new orchard area with individualised designs themselves!

Just pond plants, a polytunnel and more veggie and herb planting to go!

Great suggestions from people at the project:

Congratulations to our new worker Maya who was nominated for an award at  C are Focus South West (CIC) Care Awards  2017. It was a wonderful evening to spend with so many amazing care workers nominated for doing fantastic work in the care industry. It was touching to hear so many testimonials of how care workers make such a wonderful, inspirational and positive difference in peoples lives.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our  Easter Coffee Afternoon. Well done to the winners of the cupcake competition, egg decoration and bingo competitions. We also enjoyed a visit from some furry bunnies! Happy Easter all!

Congratulations to the team at Manor Community Domiciliary Care Agency  who have just been rated as Outstanding by CQC.

The DomCare Agency joins Manor Community Care Home  in being one of the first in the area to get the highest overall rating from the regulator, CQC.

Comments from the report included from clients:

• "We really cannot fault the service we receive, the girls are exceptional in every way"
• "They are all good as gold, ten plus carrot gold"
• "All staff are excellent and go out of their way, they have the patience to listen which helps those who are lonely"
• "It's reassuring I have the same staff who visit me because they know my needs so well"
• Staff were mindful they were 'privileged visitors' and respected this
• With an emphasis on teamwork amongst all staff at all levels
• "I like that they don't take over, they respect and understand what I can do and then they help me with the rest"

We have focused on quality of service and general overall wellbeing, despite the challenges within the care sector and this has really shone through. We are delighted that the regulator has recognised the hard work, dedication and commitment that the team show every day.

Click here  to read the report.

Well done everyone!

Keep up to date with us on our blog , twitter  and facebook

Taking Tips from Denmark on Hapiness

This week saw the publication of the new Bill on the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS), renamed as the Liberty Protection Safeguards. The bill is important as the DoLS aim to protect people who lack mental capacity, but who need to be deprived of liberty so they can be given care and treatment. For moreinformation on how a bill is ‘passed’ and made into law visit http://www.parliament.uk/about/how/laws/passage-bill/

The Law Commission is an independent body that reviews the laws of England and Wales. It was asked by the government to examine current safeguards after local authorities experienced a large increase in applications to deprive people of their liberty, following the Supreme Court’s Cheshire West judgment. The Cheshire West judgement widened the number of vulnerable people considered to be deprived of their liberty.

The Law Commissions report , published on 13 March 2017 sets out their recommendations for changes in the current law. The final report and draft Bill recommends that the DoLS be repealed soon and recommended a replacement scheme for the DoLS – which they have called the Liberty Protection Safeguards. In addition the draft Bill makes wider reforms to the Mental Capacity Act which ensure greater safeguards for persons before they are deprived of their liberty.

For those with a interest to learn more, visit http://www.lawcom.gov.uk/project/mental-capacity-and-deprivation-of-liberty/  or a summary on the follow website http://www.communitycare.co.uk/2017/03/13/law-commission-reveals-deprivation-liberty-safeguards-replacement/

In Honour of International Woman's Day we are remembering women who made a particular difference in the disability sphere. One of those is Helen Adams Keller (June 27, 1880 – June 1, 1968) an American author, political activist, and lecturer. She was the first deaf-blind person to earn a bachelor of arts degree. Helen proved to the world that deaf people could all learn to communicate and that they could survive in the hearing world. She also taught that deaf people are capable of doing things that hearing people can do.

As we get ready to close the door on 2016 and open new opportunities, activities and ideas in 2017, we look back on the last year and forward to those new initatives in our latest Newsletter. Happy reading!

Click here  to download newsletter.

It is the first day of Winter today. NHS Choices has some tips on keeping well and warm this winter @NHSChoices. See:  http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/winterhealth/Pages/KeepWarmKeepWell.aspx

Congratulations to everyone who participated in our Great Company Bake Off last Wednesday. We had a fantastic turnout with people from all the services baking everything from Strawberry Sponges to Reindeer Cupcakes. It was great to see people in festive outfits and joining in on the karaoke - we even discovered that one of our clients is a budding rap artist! A great thanks to the judges and staff who organised the event and a great thumbs up to all the winners.

check out pictures of the event at @manorcommunity and https://www.facebook.com/manorcommunity/

It was lovely to hear Manor Community Care Home mentioned on the news on the lunchtime bulletin for BBC Bristol. Check out http://bbc.in/2hKZ7bK  to hear our brief but warming mention.

Today will see fun, games, music and cake eating as many of the individuals we support, their family, friends and staff take part in our Company Bake Off. The lucky judges will have the opportunity to sample some great creations and we are looking foward to posting the results and details of the day here.... to be continued!

Please be aware of the Met Office's warning about increased likelihood of fog. Allow extra time for your journey, drive safely and let people know if you are running late to save a last minute rush.

For more information see the link below or search the Met Office's website.

  http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/fog-warning-in-place-while-bristol-is-set-for-a-cloudy-and-wet-day/story-29975936-detail/story.html

Dads, brothers, sons, nephews, grandads, uncles – we need you! It’s that time of year again when we ask you to grow a beard throughout December and raise money to support vital research and lifesaving work to stop bowel cancer. - See more at: https://www.bowelcanceruk.org.uk/support-us/fundraise/decembeard/#sthash.bKwrEdEY.dpuf

https://www.bowelcanceruk.org.uk/support-us/fundraise/decembeard/

Check out this link for ideas on how to add even more scrummy food to Christmas Dinner

http://www.msn.com/en-gb/lifestyle/deliciouschristmas/24-of-the-most-indulgent-recipes-to-make-for-c...

So it's the 1st December and we're all in Christmas mood. Christmas trees in our homes are being dusted off, re-sparkled and dressed in baubles.

To get even more into the Christmas Spirit we are holding a Christmas Company Bake-Off  on 14 December. Clients, staff and friends are encouraged to get involved and our regular baker and a surprise guest will have the lucky task of tasting all the cakes and picking a winner! We'll also be holding games, raffles and dressing in our favourite christmas jumpers.

Get in touch  if you want to know more.

Reverse mentoring

Originally championed by Jack Welch when he was chief executive of General Electric, Reverse Mentoring is a concept which has been around for about 15 years. In contrast to the traditional idea of Mentoring which sees a more experienced colleague giving advice to a less experienced colleague, Reverse Mentoring reverses this idea.

You may read about reverse mentoring in terms of age specifications – often put simply as the young teaching the old about technology. However, we are considering using the concept in terms of experience and skills - social media, new forms of media entertainment such as Netflix, virtual meetings on Skype – are a few examples. We are looking at supporting our less experienced staff e.g. apprentices or those new to care, supporting more experienced staff on how to use social media, benefits and risks. This useful information can then be passed on to our service users.

We love the idea and are developing a policy. If you have any experience of it or just want to know more, get in touch admin@manorcommunity.co.uk  or www.manorcommunity.co.uk

Hi All,

Wrap up warm and support others to keep warm as temperatures are set to dip low from tomorrow onwards. The mild Autuminal weather we have seen recently is due to take a tumble, leaving many people at risk of severe cold and the health issues which sometimes accompany sudden changes in weather. Keep abreast of weather warnings and stock up on blankets and hot tea!

http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/get-out-your-hats-and-scarves-its-going-to-be-freezing-in-bristol/story-29939610-detail/story.html

Congratulations to everyone at Manor Community Care Home. The home has just this week been rated Outstanding by the Care Quality Commission.

Reading the report, it shows how dedicated and caring our staff team are and our emphasis on creating a homely enviironment which helps people achieve their goals and develop their potential is represented throughout.

Here is a link to the report.

Some of the highlights included:

"We saw various examples where acts of kindness and care had a positive impact on people's lives and wellbeing"  and

"Staff demonstrated a determined, postive committment to people and would always go that extra mile"

Well done!

According to reports this year will be the warmest since records began. Check out this article by the Bristol Post

www.bristolpost.co.uk/2016-set-to-be-the-warmest-since-records-began-150-years-ago/story-29905799-detail/story.html

Don't forget to look out for the Supermoon tonight. Send us your sightings @manorcommunity.

Congratulations to Stacy who is nominated for an award in the category of Home Care Manager at the Great British Care Awards to be held in the Marriott Hotel on 12 November 2016. Stacy has done some great work in helping our growing team to provide high levels of care and compassion in the community. She has helped the team provide some much needed assistance and goes the extra mile to ensure that vulnerable individuals, who often have few other people to turn to, are supported to live comfortably within their own homes.

Good Luck Stacy!

From everyone at Manor Community

In, Out, Shake it all about - Time to vote in the EU Referendum on whether the UK should leave or remain as a member of the European Union.

Unsure where to vote?  use www.bristol.gov.uk/voting-elections/polling-stations  to find your nearest polling station

Unsure about the vote?  here's some information www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-32810887

Salaried / Hourly pay Senior and Junior Care Workers required in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire - Domcare, Residential & Supportive Living roles available

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR:

Applicants must have a caring, considerate and organised personality. Experience is preferred but not essential. Applicants must have a driving licence and access to their own vehicle. Good English Language skills essential. Work available during the Day and Night.

Candidates will need to have a passion for helping individuals with a range of abilities to live more independently e.g. those with Mental Health, Learning disability, older people, physical disabilities or challenging behaviour.

+ Someone available for 1 sleep-in per week equivalent
+ 16hrs per week +

WHAT WE PROVIDE

• Access to 25 + Training courses
• Training and support to achieve the New Care Certificate
• 28 days paid holiday pro rata
• Excellent career development
• Overtime
• Mileage paid

If you are an experienced Care Worker, have registered with the DBS update service and can evidence that you have successfully completed the Common Induction Standard Programme, we may be able to fast track you through the recruitment process though we would still need to apply for references and assess your learning needs before you are able to work alone.

To find out more information please complete our job enquiry form.

Salaried or Hourly paid Senior and Junior Care Workers required in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire - Domcare, Residential & Supportive Living roles available

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR:

Applicants must have a caring, considerate and organised personality. Experience is preferred but not essential. Applicants must have a driving licence and access to their own vehicle. Good English Language skills essential. Work available during the Day and Night.

Candidates will need to have a passion for helping individuals with a range of abilities to live more independently e.g. those with Mental Health, Learning disability, older people, physical disabilities or challenging behaviour.

+ must be available to do 1 sleep-in night also 30Hrs per week + available

WHAT WE PROVIDE

• Access to 25 + Training courses
• Training and support to achieve the New Care Certificate
• 28 days paid holiday pro rata
• Excellent career development  Overtime
• Mileage paid

If you are an experienced Care Worker, have registered with the DBS update service and can evidence that you have successfully completed the Common Induction Standard Programme, we may be able to fast track you through the recruitment process though we would still need to apply for references and assess your learning needs before you are able to work alone.

To find out more information please complete our job enquiry form.

Today marks the start of Mental Health Awareness Week 2016. This year's theme is a focus on the impact of relationships on our mental health. We will be marking the week with tips on our social media and also a family's day at our care home in Bristol.

Thank you to everyone who joined in and helped out at our Easter Event yesterday.

Want a career in care? Come to our RECRUITMENT DAY on WEDNESDAY 29 JULY 10AM – 4PM at Gladstone House, Gladstone Drive, BS16 4RU. Meet the team and discuss your career options – you might even get an interview on the day!

Manor Community Care Home, part of @ManorCommunity is opening its doors for @CareHomeOpenDay on Friday 19th June - Come along and say Hi !

The awards dinner is organised by Care and Support West. The award scheme is now in its third year and aims to provide organisations and their staff working in the ex-Avon area an opportunity to congratulate and value people who have demonstrated they have both understood and welcomed models of dignity and personalisation in their particular care setting and use (and promote) those values in their everyday working lives. Jane has worked for Manor Community for many years as a support worker and recently progressed to being a supervisor. It is therefore with great pride that we congratulate Jane in receiving such an accolade!

Salaried or Hourly paid Senior and Junior Care Workers required in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire - Domcare, Residential & Supportive Living roles available

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR:

Applicants must have a caring, considerate and organised personality. Experience is preferred but not essential. Applicants must have a driving licence and access to their own vehicle. Good English Language skills essential. Work available during the Day and Night.

Candidates will need to have a passion for helping individuals with a range of abilities to live more independently e.g. those with Mental Health, Learning disability, older people, physical disabilities or challenging behaviour.

+ must be available to do 1 sleep-in night also 30Hrs per week + available

WHAT WE PROVIDE

• Access to 25 + Training courses
• Training and support to achieve the New Care Certificate
• 28 days paid holiday pro rata
• Excellent career development
• Overtime
• Mileage paid

If you are an experienced Care Worker, have registered with the DBS update service and can evidence that you have successfully completed the Common Induction Standard Programme, we may be able to fast track you through the recruitment process though we would still need to apply for references and assess your learning needs before you are able to work alone.

To find out more information please complete our job enquiry form.

Full Time Senior Care and Support Worker Job in North Somerset Available.

Salaried or Hourly paid Senior Work available in North Somerset

Applicants must have a caring, considerate and organised personality. Experience is essential. Applicants must have a driving licence and access to their own vehicle. Good English Language skills essential. Work available during the Day and Night.

Candidates will need to have a passion for helping individuals with a range of abilities to live more independently e.g. those with Mental Health, Learning disability, older people, physical disabilities or challenging behaviour. And be comfortable doing supervisory roles.

WHAT WE PROVIDE

• Access to 25 + Training courses
• Training and support to achieve the New Care Certificate
• 28 days paid holiday pro rata
• Excellent career development
• Overtime
• Mileage paid

To find out more information please complete our job enquiry form.