In 2011 a BBC Panorama documentary exposed the physical and psychological abuse suffered by people with learning disabilities at Winterbourne View private hospital. The Care Quality Commission had received previous warnings from staff that abuse was rife in the hospital but hadn’t taken up the complaint and investigated. 6 people [...]
Wrong! Bullying is a term that's often associated with children in schools and adults in the workplace, but when we were talking at The Smart Enterprise, we realised that it can also be prevalent in day services and group homes for people with learning disabilities or autism. This week it’s [...]
How do you decide who to vote for at the general election? Perhaps you carefully consider all the party policies, and vote for the one that best meets your ideals? Perhaps you vote for a particular party based on one key issue? Maybe you're following a strong family tradition of [...]
It's rare that a TV programme will move me to write a blog! On the rare occasion that it does, it's probably as a result of some social care horror story being highlighted in a documentary, or because someone's attitude has really annoyed me. But not this time - this [...]
Some of you may remember that we posted an Open Letter to Vince Cable a few months ago, on the subject of zero hours contracts. There had been so many horror stories about them, that we were worried the government may consider banning them altogether - and that would have [...]
New data was released yesterday after more than 4500 people gave answers to the largest independent survey into social care. The Care and Support Alliance, which is made up of 75 of the leading UK older and disabled people charities, commissioned the survey via YouGov. This survey highlights the public's [...]
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has been in the news lately due to an apparent loophole in provider registration requirements. It turns out that England based agencies that are not providing ‘ongoing direction or control of the service’ are exempt from CQC regulations. This means, that an organisation who matches [...]
One person will win a free place worth £120 to our More than words training course in London on September 11th. Just 'like' us on facebook before the 1st September to enter the draw. Find us on facebook here You'll find more details about the course here [...]
I've trained many people over the years - if I'm honest, too many to remember! It's sometimes quite embarrassing if I bump into a former delegate, who recognises me immediately, and I have no clue who they are or when I trained them! However, there are certain delegates that stick [...]
What is Makaton? Makaton is a language programme that's commonly used with children or adults with communication difficulties or disabilities. It uses signing, symbols and speaking to communicate and it's really effective because it's easy to learn, it makes sense and it works. Makaton is used in lots of nurseries, [...]
