Forum Central - Learning Disability Awards 2024 Nominees
Doreen Kaye is a volunteer for People in Action, Leeds. Over 20 years ago, Doreen crept into Link Club after work. She started to chat to members and then joined them in activities and gradually she was hooked. The members loved her and always noticed if she was not there.
When Doreen retired at 65 she officially joined as a volunteer and is still a volunteer for People in Action. Doreen has experienced some very sad times in her personal life, in the last few years and she had a bad fall breaking her wrist and hip but within weeks she was back volunteering. Doreen admitted that she missed everyone and just being at the club lifted her spirit and 'kept her going'. The members talked to her on facetime, sending her cards and gifts, when she had been hospitalised and were delighted when she returned.
Doreen always thinks about the club and is regularly buying prizes for the Tombola and activities that she 'just spotted in the shop’. She has hardly missed an evening and will have a go at anything. Doreen is so humble and hard working and People in Action know she is shattered at the end of the evening - but this is not going to stop her. She often puts everyone to shame. Doreen will be 80 next year (2025) but she is relentless. The members and her colleagues want to celebrate her birthday with her as she has become a great friend to us all. She is one of those individuals who has definitely made a difference
Sue has been volunteering at Pyramid's weekly Legends Group for six years. Legends is a creative arts group for older people with learning disabilities.
The group's core worker, artist Cassy Oliphant, wanted to say, "Sue is the kindest, most patient volunteer you could imagine. Her years as a nurse really show in her approach, as she brings a huge amount of care and affection towards each person. She has such an intuitive way of knowing what needs to be done, and gently but directly supporting us all in different ways - through unasked for (but very gratefully received) cups of tea, to supporting members with dementia who need to voice concerns and receive reassurance. Sue is able to hold a huge amount with little direction."
Sue is always on-hand to help Pyramid in other ways, for example running the tea and cake stall at our events, and giving more of her time to help support short projects such as the Developing You employment course. Sue is a wonderful, kind, calm and reassuring presence at Pyramid and we all feel very lucky to have her with us. We would like to acknowledge how much she does for us through this award.
Hamara has been working with vulnerable people since 1997 to empower adults with learning disabilities and difficulties, and autistic people. They promote social inclusion and support them to access the wider community, to provide them with opportunities to increase confidence, to provide health information and advice.
The day opportunities service offers individual and group support to members, it is member led and person centred and is at the heart of our core values, they encourage their members to Be Brave.
Hamara promotes independence by supporting members with decision=making, learning and developing new and existing life skills and social inclusion. Members take part and enjoy a wide range of activities such as: cooking sessions, education, digital know-how, sports, outdoor pursuits and employment skills.
The HALO project at Hamara healthy living centre delivers a day opportunity service reaching the learning disability community from a south Asian background and are at higher risk of experiencing disadvantage, deprivation and health inequalities due to their health conditions, disabilities and ethnicities. The service runs 5 days per week and is a lifeline for social interaction, enrichment and most importantly friendships for its service users. The project manager, Josie Binns, is so passionate about its members and has created a more user friendly service
Sabiha Hussain has worked at Hamara and as part of the HALO project for 13 years. She started as a volunteer and progressed to paid employment. She is currently a project officer for HALO dealing with the day to day running of the project. Sabiha is passionate about her job and this is shown in her work daily. The HALO members adore being around her and when Sabiha is leading a session she really knows how to captivate the imagination of our service users. No task is too big or too small for her and this is shown in her work but more importantly the length of service with HALO
HALO supports members to access invaluable health, achievement and learning opportunities. Hamara are the GSK IMPACT awards 2024 winners for outstanding contribution to tackling health inequalities. In 2025, they will open 'The Cockburn Centre', a life skills centre for adults with learning disabilities and due to recent vocational courses undertaken in HALO, placements and employability support in service, members are working towards securing paid employment in the centre. HALO is more than a service- it is a family, it is a lifeline.
My Body, My Choice - The project was run by People Matters from Nov 22 – May 23 as part of Health Inequalities funded by the NHS. The project was commissioned by the NHS as a way of tackling some of the health inequalities that the learning disabled and neurodivergent community were at risk from, which had been exacerbated on the back of COVID.
People Matters were the lead partner in the consortium of 6 organisations, supporting each organisation with the development of member led groups with varying focus dependent on their speciality. Working as part of a larger consortium really helped to ensure we were providing a diverse range of groups that would meet the primary needs of a whole range of the community. Over 60 people benefited directly from the project with 25 external visits and talks to support learning. All groups focussed on the individual’s wellbeing, including supporting mental health. Within the People Matters group, they focussed heavily on healthy relationships, sexual health and self-awareness, something which is often woefully neglected within this client group.
Group members expressed that they now possess a deeper understanding of relationships. They have learned to recognise the signs of abusive relationships and have a clear grasp of the concept of consent and its defining features. Additionally, members have acquired knowledge of sexual health, including preventative measures, available treatments, and how to access them.
A real eye opening part of the project was around the visit to MESMAC – a number of members had no idea what an STI was, the symptoms it presents, nor how to access treatment, despite being in a physical relationship. Confidence in accessing health services has increased in 58% of group members across the whole project. This is huge given the short period that these sessions have been running.
As part of the project, a resource bank was created where project partners could share useful resources, contacts and activities for the groups. The platform chosen had the ability to view videos, pictures, and documents directly on the platform which was particularly beneficial as it eliminated the need to download files or navigate to external websites. Additionally, being able to post links within the platform allowed for easy navigation to related external resources or references. By utilising such a platform, the project partners could collaborate in real-time, exchange ideas, and contribute to the resource bank.
Overall, the platform selected was well-suited for supporting collaboration and knowledge sharing among project partners. It provided a visually engaging and accessible environment for sharing resources, contacts, and activities, contributing to the success of the project.
This ensures that the project benefits will (and have!) lived on long after the project ended. In conclusion, we are nominating the My body, My choice group as it was a group that produced information and much needed education, exceeded outcomes, worked collaboratively and will have a preventative impact in the community for a long time to come. If that’s what can happen with 7 months work, then imagine what could happen with an embedded programme into the Learning Disability and Neurodivergent community!
Please note that this is a people’s choice award, NOT selected by Forum Central (as are all the awards).
Purple Patch Arts provide innovative, inclusive and creative learning opportunities for learning-disabled and autistic people, supporting them to expand their understanding of and engagement with the world. They believe that lifelong learning should be accessible to everyone; we should all have an equal chance to learn and grow and reach our full potential. This year, Purple Patch Arts celebrates their 15th anniversary of delivering accessible, meaningful lifelong learning opportunities through our Lifelong Learning Programmes and our funded projects. Purple Patch Arts are building a community of lifelong learners that can explore, grow and learn new skills together in a fun and supportive environment.
Purple Patch delivers a variety of work across Yorkshire, including: Lifelong Learning Programmes, Move On Up (transitions project), Purple Research Group, Family and Carer Zoom evenings, and termly Zoom discos that invite everybody to enjoy a boogie! All of their work follows the Purple Patch Approach, using art, music, drama, movement, literature and multi-sensory activity to explore ideas, themes and topics in ways which are accessible, imaginative and lots of fun! Their approach allows everyone to access our work in their own way and supports people to learn in the way that best suits them.
Purple Patch Arts see the impact of their work on a daily basis, in the increased wellbeing, confidence and independence of our participants, and the ripple effects that has for their families, carers and wider communities. They run 13 weekly Lifelong Learning Programmes in community venues across Yorkshire, including 5 in Leeds, engaging 140 learning-disabled and autistic adults for 38 weeks a year. Their programmes follow a custom-written scheme of work, with a different theme each year and cover a broad range of topics such as maths, science, history and current affairs that engage and challenge participants.
What’s more, participants can return year after year, allowing them to further develop their skills and learning, and to set and meet new goals. Their funded projects meet identified needs, including: Move On Up, which supports and empowers young learning-disabled and autistic people who are transitioning into adult community services, their Purple Research Group who aim to break down the barriers for learning-disabled people to be meaningfully involved in research, and their Family and Carer Zoom evenings which enable the families and carers of our Lifelong Learning Programme participants to socialise together in a relaxed and fun environment. The voices of their participants are at the centre of everything they do. Their participant Steering Group acts as a bridge between participants and the Board of trustees.
The group uses their experiences, skills and knowledge to help us make decisions on behalf of participants at Purple Patch, gives them feedback, and advises them on best practice. Across all of their work, they ensure every participant can express their opinions through innovative evaluation methods that ensure every participant’s voice is heard.
Read what their participants have to say:
Cafe Leep - A community cafe with social purpose.
Cafe Leep is a friendly community space for people to meet and enjoy a delicious and affordable menu. Their food is freshly prepared by their amazing team of cafe trainees, who Cafe Leep provide training placements for adults with a learning disability and they are supported to gain catering qualifications and find work or other roles if they feel ready. Working in the cafe is a lot of fun! The trainee programme is innovative, practical and a well designed programme, creating opportunities for learning disabled adults in Leeds. It helps build people’s self-confidence and they learn lots of new skills such as:
Cafe Leep is an approved Highfield Training Centre with an award winning tutor. They offer training courses for anyone wanting to gain their NVQ qualifications in order to work in the catering industry. They are able to offer a bespoke training course to help people gain an Ofqual regulated and nationally recognised qualification in Food Safety.
Sapphire is a volunteer for different organisations across Leeds, these include: LEEP1, Connect in the North - Pass it On People, Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust, St Anne’s.
Sapphire demonstrates that she cares for all things Learning Disability - Leeds. She works and volunteers for so many different VCSE organisations (listed above) and offers a myriad of skills, ideas and support in so many different areas. She offers all her roles 100% commitment and she is looked up to by the learning disability community in Leeds as she spreads her skills widely.
Sapphire attends Connect in The North as a Pass It On Person. Here she attends meetings, visits and talks to different organisations to improve opportunities and scope for the Learning Disability community. Her skills don’t stop in the four walls of Sugar Mill as she always reports and shares her findings on social media (Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram and TikTok).
Sapphire also helps out at St James’ Hospital with the Learning Disability & Autism Team who provide easy read and important information for the community who require NHS services.
Sapphire has also volunteered and worked at LEEP1 providing help and support at their weekly Friendship Group. Her support and mentorship at these groups was a very helpful bridge between staff and group members. Also at LEEP1, Sapphire DJs at the monthly club nights where her set lists are a hit with those in attendance. She always plays what the crowds request which makes her a popular fixture at these events!
The COVID-19 lockdown was a difficult time for all. Sapphire continued to improve her skills over this time, where she hosted weekly Friday night online DJ slots at LEEP1 and also attended the Cafe Leep daily NVQ standard Food Safety sessions and gained her Level 2 NVQ shortly after the lockdown ended! After this she became a trainee at the Cafe. Her skills were honed there whereby she learned the job successfully and became a valuable member of the team who volunteers regularly on her non-working days and mentors less confident trainees. Her drive to help people is second to none.
Finally, Sapphire is also always on hand to lend a helping hand to St Anne’s and attend important events. The most important being the funeral of beloved Malcolm Dodd who himself was a user of St Anne’s Housing services, but also a regular fixture at Cafe Leep and St James’ with the Learning Disability and Autism team.
Sapphire is ever present in all these organisations, sharing information, knowledge and simply helping her colleagues, friends and the community at large to be as accessible and successful as possible. In short she cares and lives to help anyone who needs it.
No one has worked more tirelessly for the benefit of people with learning disabilities and their families in Leeds than Andy Rawnsley. His 38 years of service and commitment has ensured that people with learning disabilities have been given the best quality of life and opportunities, and that services for them in Leeds have been transformed into the gold standard that they are today. Andy worked selflessly with the people he supported, along with their families, to always listen and hear their voice and act in their best interest. He made a HUGE difference. Ultimately, and sadly, after years of devoted service, Andy had to retire earlier than he would have wanted to, due to the debilitating impact of Long Covid.
Andy’s career started in 1985 when he volunteered at a residential home for children with learning disabilities. This proved to be pivotal: he subsequently left his university course and devoted his working life to improving and transforming services for people with learning disabilities in Leeds. In his unique career Andy has driven through change to benefit both children and adults as a home manager, social worker, care manager, project manager, programme manager, social work team manager, service delivery manager, head of service and chief executive.
Some of his most notable achievements include establishing a new registered care home with Leeds Federated Housing, working on the resettlement programme for 100 former residents of Meanwood Park Hospital, delivering new homes for 343 people under the Independent Living Project, modernising day services and ultimately leading the largest social care spin out in the country to create Aspire Community Benefit Society. Andy was not only a visionary, but a master at getting people on board with his ideas. He has undertaken some huge transformation projects and successfully steered them to completion. Andy doesn't just 'get the job done', he does it well, achieving buy-in and dedication from not only his staff, but also the people who are impacted by the change. Whilst change is always going to make people anxious, Andy inspires faith in himself and confidence in others, and people genuinely trust him to 'do what it says on the tin'.
No-one can doubt his passion and commitment to enhancing the lives of and empowering people with a learning disability, or his desire to support people to live the best life they can. Alongside his full-time employment, Andy was Vice Chair of Tenfold, and Chairperson at Carers Leeds. His professionalism and commitment to the ethos of these two third sector organisations led to improvements in governance. Throughout his whole career Andy always remembered that the impact on people’s lives is the most important outcome. His own values of inclusion and fairness underpin everything he does. He has been courageous in seizing opportunities throughout his career to enhance the lives of hundreds of people with learning disabilities who in turn have had the chance to become true citizens of Leeds contributing to their communities and leading healthy and fulfilled lives.