The final phase of the supported living changes begun in 2002/3 – supporting those individuals in transitional arrangements to move into permanent homes – continued to progress, as suitable houses became available. A new build development was granted planning permission and work was taken forward by Progress Care Housing Association on several properties requiring alteration to suit the needs of individuals. Most people have either moved into their new homes or have a time scale in which this is expected to happen, and efforts are now heavily focussed on the remaining individuals who continue to look for accommodation to meet their particular needs.

Alongside these phased changes, the organisation has continued to demonstrate flexibility in supporting an increasing number of individuals in their own homes, with support arrangements and staff skills tailored to their needs. The management structure required to support teams in the Together Borders supported living service was reviewed earlier this year. This resulted in the first-line management role being strengthened through an additional appointment and re-focussed clearly on having primary responsibility for managing the support delivered to named individuals, with three Service Managers responsible for overseeing the operation, quality and development of service areas. In January 2005 a first appointment was made to the newly developed role of Senior Practitioner. The introduction of this position at Support Worker level was designed to provide skilled support to an individual and guidance to their support team where the person has particular needs. This was seen as strengthening capacity and continuity in building and maintaining skills in the person’s network of support, as well as recognising the career development needs of staff.

In Day Support, a new Manager was appointed in autumn 2004, leading the varied services provided by the organisation as they move through the implementation of the key themes emerging from the service review in 2003. With a strong national focus currently on the value and potential of social enterprise, work started in October 2004 to research the possibilities for developing social firms locally, including involvement in relevant networks, training events and visits to existing social firms. Alongside this, there is recognition of the need for valued training and for both supported and sheltered employment opportunities, offering choice and personal development. Regarding opportunities for individuals with complex support needs, person centred approaches have been used to build a picture of how individuals could, and would wish to, spend their time in the future, and how support might be configured to best meet their interests, aspirations and needs. Similarly, for people with learning disabilities who are older, work has been undertaken to identify the opportunities and gaps existing locally for older people to access social and recreational activities, with a view to finding innovative ways of supporting individuals to connect with and contribute to their community. A report containing recommendations for phased introduction of developments to achieve the vision of inclusive, progressive support options will be presented to the local authority in the coming weeks.
In the Care Home service, discussions have continued with the statutory authorities to determine a way forward, with the organisation contributing an updated proposal for re-developing the service in the grounds at Gattonside, and a further proposal describing an option for development on an alternative local site. During this period the local authority and NHS Borders have been involved in drawing up a strategic plan for future service provision for people with learning disabilities in the Region, as well as undergoing change towards establishing an integrated health and social work learning disability service. These commitments have impacted on the timing of engagement with the organisation to progress the future of the Care Home, which is now a pressing need.

Throughout this period investment in training, supporting and developing staff has continued to feature strongly. The organisation successfully renewed its Investors in People award earlier this year and continues to gain benefit from applying the standards. Addressing the many challenges facing the organisation in recruiting and retaining staff – widely recognised across all sectors and work roles in social care - remains a key priority requiring innovative solutions and careful consideration in all aspects of the organisation’s approach. Engaging staff across the organisation in considering what is working well and where improvements could be made in their deployment, support and ongoing development is increasingly important. The setting up of a working group earlier this year, with representatives from all areas, to take forward the "Work Positive" programme on identifying and addressing organisational stress, is an example of constructive efforts in this direction.

Beyond the organisation, we continue to foster close links with relevant bodies and services locally and nationally, including befriending and advocacy groups, shared training and provider membership organisations. We see this endeavour as assisting the organisation to work as effectively as possible in the support of individuals, and we also hope that the organisation can contribute to the wider development of opportunities for people with learning disabilities and others to fully experience their rights and pursue their aspirations. A recent development at local level has been the introduction within the planning structure for learning disability services of a forum for service providers, representatives of which will be members of the emerging Learning Disability Board and various sub-groups, alongside users, carers and the statutory authorities. This has the potential to significantly advance the engagement of users, carers and providers in the planning and development of local services.

2004 saw the organisation reviewing its strategic aims and we are now tracking implementation through regular updates by managers with lead responsibility. A key emerging issue has been the future structure of the organisation, following advice to the Trustees by the Charities Commission. It is anticipated that the organisation in Scotland will be the first to go through the process of becoming a company limited by guarantee, and we are actively engaged currently on taking this forward. Continuing to strengthen the ethos and values of the organisation while delivering support in new ways within a modernised arrangement for governance will be the challenge for the future.