Our Clients
We’ve worked with many organisations, across a diverse range of projects. Our clients are happy to provide feedback on our service.
Client: Alcohol Services for the Community, Bedfordshire
Service provided: research and evaluation – alcohol-related domestic violence.
We assisted in the establishment of a groundbreaking project, which required substantial research to explore best practice in the delivery of interventions to clients who experience alcohol-related domestic violence. The report’s recommendations were accepted and the pilot project is now underway; the evaluation is scheduled for autumn 2005.
Service provided: staff training for the company’s ‘Supporting People’ programme.
Craegmoor Healthcare is a private company that provides care and support services to individuals within the social and health care sector.
We designed, delivered and evaluated a four-day training programme for support staff. The programme was written in line with the competency areas identified in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister’s ‘Supporting People’ quality assessment framework, and covered four key areas:
Service user involvement
Support planning.
Introduction to anti-discriminatory practice.
Team culture and service delivery.
Service provided: Policy writing
In line with Craegmoor’s organisational framework & current legislation we wrote policies for the company that covered:
Protecting Adults from Abuse
Staff Code of Conduct
Lone Working Risk Assessment
Service provided: ‘Training the Trainer’ delivery & portfolio assessment
We designed the training materials and delivered the OCN accredited Training the Trainers programme to a group of community workers working in a variety of setting across Norfolk. The key learning objectives were:
To understand the importance of learning outcomes and be able to formulate these with an agreed plan
To be able to understand and integrate diversity into training planning and delivery
To be able to deliver and evaluate training events
Service provided: Team Building
We delivered a team-building event to staff at Rosemary Lane Resource Centre, shortly after the arrival of the new centre manager.
Further organisational developments are planned within East Suffolk Mind the wider host organisation itself. We have been commissioned to deliver a one-day experience to all resource centre managers to help them consider their role and what the expected changes may bring in September 2005.
Client: Financial Services Authority
Service provided: research, analysis, evaluation and reporting
Research was undertaken and subsequently published (June 2005) which explored the needs of young adults with regard to their financial capability across England Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland who are not in education, employment or training. The research included the mapping of organisations working in this area, identifying key issues for organisations and young adults and making recommendations to take this area of work forward.
The methodology used included desk top research, telephone / face to face interviews, the design, distribution and collation of survey questionnaires and focus groups.
The full report is available on the FSA’s website: ‘Helping young adults become financially capable’
Client: Great Yarmouth Community Trust
Service provided: change management and organisational development.
We established a dialogue between senior managers and the trustees of the organisation. This allowed the two groups to acknowledge the growth of the Trust’s activities and consider the changes required to meet the new capacity requirements which reflected a growing demand for services.
Client: Great Yarmouth Community Trust
Service provided: policy writing
As a newly established organisation we developed and wrote policies for the Trust these included:
Staff training & development
Supervision & appraisal
Equal opportunities
Staff code of conduct
Volunteering
Service provided: Staff training – Developing skills in designing learning opportunities & Developing facilitation skills
Working with staff who would be delivering ‘ practice development groups’ to colleagues within the organisation we designed and delivered two training courses:
The key learning objectives for the ‘Developing skills in designing learning opportunities’ course were:
Understand the benefits of undertaking session planning within a structured framework
Explore how development needs are identified
Understand the importance of applying SMART learning outcomes within your session plan
Practice developing appropriate training / development materials on your selected topic
Consider how you integrate diversity issues into all session planning
Identify a range of methods that can be used when delivering a development session
Explore suitable tools that can be used to evaluate learning
The key learning objectives for the ‘Developing facilitation skills’ were:
Consider how to create a safe environment for learning
Identify their own skills base and areas for development as learning facilitators.
Consider the challenges they may face when facilitating learning and devise appropriate strategies
Deliver an element of a training and reflected upon the experience
Client: London Borough of Camden, Department of Law & Administration
Service provided: Myers Brigg Type Indicator (MBTI)
Using MBTI as a tool for individuals within a team, staff were worked with to facilitate them understanding their preferred ways of thinking and engaging with their work. The focus was twofold:
Individual development – identifying individual profiles and preferred style of working and identifying strategies to become more effective in the workplace.
Team building and team development – using individual profiles working to improve team communication and enhance the effectiveness of the team in meeting organisational priorities.
Client: London Borough of Lambeth, Corporate Human Resources.
Service provided: training-needs analysis for the Environment Directorate.
Our brief was to assist the Environment Directorate in developing a needs-led staff-training programme to include three corporate-training priorities: best value; management development; and customer care and equalities.
Client: London Borough of Lambeth, Housing Department
Service provided: evaluation of Five Year Homelessness Strategy.
We worked with Business Unit managers to facilitate a review of the effectiveness of the borough’s current homelessness strategy. We evaluated which objectives had been met, and identified those that needed to be taken forward into the five year strategy.
As part of this work we highlighted potential gaps in the strategy, and put forward ideas for additional measures. We also ensured that all of the strategy’s outcomes were achievable, realistic and measurable.
Client: London Borough of Lambeth, Supporting People
Service provided: stakeholder consultation for the Borough’s ‘Supporting People’ programme.
We facilitated and evaluated an event for stakeholders as part of the Borough’s consultation on the key strategic objectives of its ‘Supporting People’ programme.
We were also asked to act as consultants for the Borough’s audit by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. Here we provided information on the role of service providers against the Key Lines of Enquiry.
Client: Milton Keynes Council, Youth Information Service (YIS)
Service provided: Service development
We facilitated two workshops, which brought together the diverse strands of this service: counselling, advice and information. These sessions attracted a variety of participants: full-time YIS professional staff; the service’s volunteers, administrators, and trustees; and young peoples’ representatives.
Client: Ormiston Children & Families Trust & Great Yarmouth Community Trust – parenting Strategy
Service provided: Training the Trainers – Master module
We were commissioned to provide a learning opportunity to experienced professionals from across a range of agencies in the Great Yarmouth area as part of their continuous professional development. The participants’ commitment upon completion of the course is to contribute to the delivery of parenting education to a variety of groups and organisations within the area.
In order to meet this need we designed the course to become a component module within the University of Luton’s MSc in Professional Development (Clinical Leadership). The aims of the module are:
To develop a critical understanding and appraisal of the theories underpinning adult learning and link these to their practice.
To explore and practice the range of methods that can be utilised to enhance adult learning.
To work productively with others through the delivery of learning opportunities
To develop reflective skills, and to develop an understanding of the role of a reflective practitioner
To recognise the opportunities for growth, development and learning that exist within their organisation
To manage a learning environment and reflect upon this experience.
To understand the organisational and personal constraints that may exist when attempting to embed a culture of learning.
Service provided: organisational development, contract negotiation & project management
We have undertaken several areas of work for Roselodge Group these have included:
Identifying new business opportunities through research and consultation meetings.
Tendering for and negotiating new business contracts with both central and local government.
Establishing and managing project management systems to ensure new business contracts have clear milestones, are achievable and meet all required key performance indicators.
Client: Social Care Institute of Excellence (SCIE).
Service provided: design and delivery of supervision and appraisal training.
Staff assuming new line-management responsibilities underwent a one-day supervision and appraisal training session. This tailor-made experience was designed to meet the requirements of the SCIE’s new supervision and appraisal policy.
Client: Sure Start Great Yarmouth
Service provided: staff training – anti-discriminatory practice
A one day course was delivered to introduce staff to working within a framework of equal opportunities and to understand their responsibility to Sure Start’s Equal Opportunities Policy and the legislative framework. The key learning outcomes were:
Explore the issues of stereotyping, prejudice and the relationship between power and discrimination
Explore how life experiences and socialisation affect our prejudices
Understand how discrimination and inequality is maintained
Identify legislation that provides a framework for equality
Transfer a theoretical understanding to practice in the work place
Client: University of Luton, Foundation Degree in Youth & Community Studies
Service provided: designing and delivering teaching materials
As part of the National Youth Agency’s (NYA) professionally endorsed programme we deliver a variety of teaching sessions and workshops to participants on the programme. These have included, but are not exhaustive; sexuality awareness, group work, multi-agency working, management of people and resources, youth culture and identity.
Client: Watford Area Youth Service (WAYS).
Service provided: team development.
Partnerships are often challenging, and we helped the WAYS organisation – which incorporates staff from both the Borough and County Council – to look at new and effective ways of working together to enhance service delivery.
Client: Wise Monkey Financial Coaching
Service provided: Strategic development
We facilitated a day to enable the company to identify their business priorities, strategies to achieve them and undertake a business impact assessment.