Meeting the
MATRIX Quality Standard
The Brothers of Charity Services has been highly successful in reaching
the standards of several quality assurance frameworks over the years. You may have
heard about Investors in People or Charter Mark and about ISO 9000 but now
there is a ‘new kid on the block’, so to speak…
The Matrix Quality Standard is a unique quality framework for the
effective delivery of information, advice and guidance in learning and work.
The emphasis is always on delivering a quality experience from the perspective
of the ‘user’ and ensures the needs and well-being of the individuals being
supported is at the forefront of Service delivery.
The Brothers of Charity Services Social Enterprises and Jobspec
(Supported Employment) were successful in jointly reaching the requirements and
were awarded the standard on 22nd July 2009. The Assessor (Alison McIntosh),
spent two days visiting the wide selection of Social Enterprises the Service
currently offers, spoke with many people and experienced the variety and
effectiveness of the information, advice and guidance being offered. She noted,
in her report, that ‘the enthusiasm of
staff for what they do was palpable’ and was equally impressed to realise
the Service clearly ‘recognises the
importance of people having aspirations’ and develops the appropriate
mechanisms to support them. She also pointed out that the Service had
particular, specific, strengths including the information offered around the
range of available Services and that ‘provision
is made for people to tour the various services’ and ‘tasters can be arranged to help take things a bit further prior to any
commitment’. She also commented that Brothers of Charity clearly ‘recognise the value of feedback from their
Service users and have identified methods tailored directly for them’.
Nicola Howell,
Regional Director of Services said, on receiving the Assessors Report, that ‘it was great to receive such positive
feedback about not only the standard of the application but also emphasis that
the organisation is commendably person-centered in approach (particularly at
the point of delivery, where it matters)’.
Richard Stowe,
Head of Specialist Day Services and Social Enterprises spoke with the Assessor
and reflected on some of her observations and added that ‘what was most pleasing from my point of view was
the consistent feedback that she (the Assessor) received from everyone she
talked to about how we identify, plan and help people work towards their agreed
goals and aspirations, and how effective everyone found the Vocational Profiling
process, the monthly monitoring and how it feeds into the Person Centred Review
process’.
The Matrix standard simply endorses the quality of the information,
advice and guidance offered but this is not where the work stops. It is true
that a huge amount of time and effort has been invested in the training of the
staff who work in the Social Enterprises and Jobspec and the systems and
processes they employ. It is also true that an increasing number of people with
a learning disability are actively engaged in developing new skills and
attributes within the enterprises (some with an aspiration to progress towards
volunteering and paid employment). The future will see the enterprises continually
growing and developing to meet the needs of the people they support. The staff,
the support mechanisms and the resources being utilised will be even more accurately
focused on the quality of the information, advice and guidance they offer to
the people they support.
Acquiring the Matrix quality framework standard is just the start of
things to come…