Concerns about the costs and lack of customer satisfaction with a meals on wheels service led to local authority managers commissioning an evaluation. A survey questionnaire was designed to gather the views of the 400 very frail older people who made use of this service. The 80 per cent response rate spoke volumes about the value of this service, although our analysis suggested it wasn’t so much the food as the daily human contact that was significant. The idea of a weekly frozen food service got the thumbs down, but our investigation found an alternative local meals supplier at lower cost and improved quality.
Interviews organised with families who had been through the experience of a child protection investigation give an evocative insight into their perceptions, hopes and fears. As part of a wider research project commissioned by a local authority social services department looking at child protection services, our case studies of families were subsequently used to train social workers on using Family Group Conferences as a means of empowering families to find their own strengths, resources and solutions.
“….. it is a salutary experience to read them; not because they are negative but because they convey the reality of the work.” Department of Health official.
A well established local youth project was going through a period of uncertainty about future direction, staff were moving on, and the trustees of the charity commissioned an assessment of the immediate and longer term issues they needed to address. Following our report, the trustees were able to take steps to manage the current situation, and agree a positive strategy for the longer term. The outcome has involved transfer of the service to a larger charity with similar aims and objectives, ensuring a secure future for the project and continued provision for young people in the area.
We are proud of our track record of raising over £300,000 for charities working with young people at risk, special educational needs, and mental health issues. The series of fundraising gigs known as Juice on the Loose were particularly memorable. Our concept and orchestration of these events made use of a well-known music venue, and a line up of local bands known to staff of the charity involved.
“extravaganza of local talent …. party atmosphere …. never a dull moment… “ Portsmouth Evening News.
“It was a top night all round.” Venue manager
A structured programme for working with young people with issues around anger management was designed and presented in the form of a handbook for practitioners working in a voluntary organisation. Based on a solution focused approach, the eight session programme provided practical exercises to help reduce anger provoking situations, look at coping mechanisms, achieve reductions in stress and give young people the skills to express their emotions in different ways. We set up training workshops to equip workers with the skills and understanding to carry through the programme with young people, and provided an evaluation after Cool Down had been piloted with a number of young people.
One young person found the relaxation exercises helpful “as it gives me ‘time out’ when I get angry. I go to my room and do them. Its given me a new way to deal with my anger.” Another said the programme “helped me recognise what sets me off and gave me ideas about how to step back”.
A Learning Resource Network, responsible for coordinating professional social work education, needed very specific information collected and analysed about the future demand for student placements in agencies so as to plan their strategy for the next two years. We provided the data required in an accessible and straightforward report, including a clear analysis of the key findings and a summary of issues.
Three local authorities were working together to deliver learning programmes in deprived communities, funded by the Learning Skills Council. A project was commissioned to gather direct feedback from the people accessing the courses provided, and to look at what they had gained from this. Following a series of focus group exercises with over 40 adult learners, the findings were presented at a conference for managers and course tutors across the areas involved.
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