SeeAbility Achievements:

Welcome to the SeeAbility achievements page. We hope you enjoy reading the articles below which highlight some of our success stories. Do come and visit this page again as it is updated on a regular basis.

SeeAbility's Longest Serving Staff Member, Sue Dunipace Retires After 41 Years!!
Finding Out The Views of People Who Use Our Services & What They Told Us in 2006-07
SeeAbility Meadowmead Support Sevice - Five Years On
SeeAbility Fir Tree Lodge - One Year On
SeeAbility Exeter Support Service and Shared Ownership Housing Scheme - One Year On
SeeAbility Woodlands - Celebrating 8 Years of Success!
Pilot Short Break Scheme In Devon 2003-2005

SeeAbility's Longest Serving Staff Member Retires After 41 Years!

Marking A Special Achievement

On Friday 31st August, SeeAbility said farewell to its longest serving employee, Sue Dunnipace, who takes a well-deserved retirement from her role as Finance Officer, after clocking up an amazing 41 years' service for the charity!!

In an event to mark Sue's retirement, held on 17th August at SeeAbility's Epsom Office, colleagues past and present gathered to pay tribute to Sue's valued contributions over the years and her erstwhile support.

SeeAbility's Chief Executive, David Scott-Ralphs thanked Sue for all she had done for SeeAbility and said:

'Sue will be missed as she has been a valuable source of advice and support to many people over the years'. He went on to quote an example from Tony Perkins (Deputy Manager at SeeAbility Exeter Support Service) who had praised Sue's patience and knowledge: "Without Sue's support and knowing that she was always at the end of the phone to provide a listening ear and sound advice, I may not have survived the steep learning curve in my first few months at SeeAbility".

Sue leaves SeeAbility with good wishes and thanks from colleagues past and present and from the people who use SeeAbility services.

Farewell - - or Is It Au Revoir!!

Saying farewell, Sue said: "I am going to miss everyone at SeeAbility even those I have never met because I have talked to so many people on the telephone with lots of friendly banter. I have enjoyed working in an open friendly atmosphere and I feel honoured that staff felt they wanted to talk to me and let me help solve their finance queries.

After 41 years at SeeAbility (with a short break for child care - it would have been 45) I think I deserve a rest, but BEWARE you may see me back on Bank staff"!

Recalling History - In Her Own Words

In a career spanning 1962-2007, Sue has experienced and contributed to great change in the charity and before leaving shared some of her abiding memories of her time with SeeAbility. To find out more, please click here.

Finding Out The Views Of People Who Use SeeAbility Services & What They Told Us in 2006-07

It is important for us to find out the views of people who receive SeeAbility services and their relatives & friends about the services that SeeAbility provides.  This helps us to know what people are happy with or concerned about and assists us in continuously seeking to improve the services offered. 

One of a range of ways in which we seek people's views is to conduct an annual satisfaction survey with these stakeholders.

Annual Satisfaction Surveys

During 2006-2007 the following satisfaction surveys were conducted:

• Relatives & Friends of People Who Use SeeAbility Support Services (April 2006)
• People Who Use SeeAbility Support Services (July 2006)
• Relatives & Friends of People Who Live In SeeAbility Registered Care Homes (Nov 2006)
• People Who Live In SeeAbility Registered Care Homes (March 2007)

What People Told Us

There was a combined response rate of 60% for the four surveys that were conducted during 2006-07. The majority of people who took part in these surveys reported a positive experience of SeeAbility services and accommodation and 85% would recommend SeeAbility to other people.

Some summary information of the combined findings of the four surveys undertaken during 2006-07 are outlined below:

Things We Do Well

Helping People To Learn or Do New Things:

• 82.5% stated that they or their relative 'had been supported to learn or do new things'.  
• "SeeAbility has helped me to be more independent".
• "My relative has learnt to make his own tea and sandwiches and be more independent".
• "I like the fact that I have the opportunity to be independent, but assistance is on hand if required"
• 87.5% stated they are happy with the activities they do and the help they get to do them.
• "Completely satisfied - my relative appears to be very happy with the services provided and certainly seems to be living life to the full".
• "My relative has a varied and exciting social life ---- her care worker understands her and tries to make life as interesting and varied as she can".

Providing Satisfaction, Putting Individuals First & Meeting Complex Needs:

• 87% were 'satisfied with the support service provided to them/their relative by SeeAbility'.
• "The support and service are of a consistently high level, always putting the individual's needs first".
• "The level of service goes well beyond the requirements set out in the Support Plan".
• "We feel extremely lucky to have such a caring and appropriate service, particularly as meeting the needs of people with a variety of needs is a difficult proposition".
• "My relative's needs are many and varied, especially the need for a real home and these needs are met to a remarkable level.  I am most grateful for all that is done for and with him, which enables him to lead a very full and happy life".

Maintaining A High Standard of Accommodation:

• 93% felt that where their 'accommodation was owned/managed by SeeAbility it is maintained to a good and safe standard'.

Areas For Improvement

On the whole, concerns expressed or suggestions made for improvement related to specific individual or local issues and these have been addressed appropriately.

Communication With Relatives & Friends:

• Whilst 93.25% of respondents felt that 'staff are polite, informative and welcoming on phone/in person', 29.5% of relatives/friends felt that the 'level/type of contact/information they received from staff' could be improved.

Developing The Ways In Which We Gather the Views of People Who Use the Service:

People who use the service are enabled in various ways to participate in these surveys. Questions may be transcribed into preferred formats (Braille, audio, pictures etc) and assistance to complete surveys/observe people's responses is provided by volunteers, advocates or relatives.  However we recognise that for some people the completion of a survey, particularly those who do not use speech, is not the most appropriate means of gathering their views. This is why surveys are only one of the ways in which we engage with individuals and why we acknowledge the need and continue to strive to enable people to express their views if differing ways.

SeeAbility Meadowmead Support Service  - Five Years On

In 2002 SeeAbility opened Meadowmead Support Service to provide an accommodation-based supported living & domiciliary care service for eight people with visual impairment and a learning disability in Eastleigh, Hampshire.  This was the culmination of a collaborative venture between SeeAbility, Atlantic Housing, and Hampshire County Council to offer a secure housing right and a specialist support service designed to meet individuals' housing-related, social and personal care needs.

'A Home of My Own'

All of the people who took up the tenancies of the eight one-bedroom self-contained flats/bedsits that formed part of a new social housing development, experienced for the first time living in their own home. The accommodation at Meadowbank, which is owned by Atlantic Housing, with SeeAbility as Managing Agents, offered individuals the opportunity to move out of their family home or a residential care home and the support service enabled them to establish a new lifestyle in the local community.  Seven of the original occupants at Meadowbank remain living there today, enjoying the freedom and security offered, with one new tenant moving in last year, quickly filling a vacancy that arose.

Changing Lives

The people using Meadowmead Support Service during the past five years have experienced many changes in their lives as they have been supported to take on the responsibility of managing their own homes, take control of how they spend their time and make links in their local community.

Some examples of individual achievements include:

• Two people can now travel to the local town independently accessing the bank, shops and café's. 
• Three people have been enabled to have their own vehicles through motability and personal ownership. This has meant they can have flexibility in their lives and can plan travel and activities without the anxieties and time constraints imposed by public transport.
• One tenant who expressed a keen desire to find employment now has paid employment spending one day each week at a garage workshop and half a day at a "Mailing Service" where he collates leaflets for distribution.  He also undertakes mail-shots for local theatres and the church.  In doing this he has found fulfilment and a productive structure in his daily life. 
• The newest tenant has been supported to develop the skills necessary to manage his needs as a diabetic independently. As part of this his health has improved through a more appropriate diet, which he is involved in by planning his meals, shopping and cooking.  This has also given him more confidence and his mobility has improved no end! 
• All of the people living at Meadowbank and receiving support services from SeeAbility have been able to widen their experiences and develop new interests including horse riding, dancing, bowling, therapy sessions, cinema, attending football matches, local leisure centre for the gym and swimming, as well as maintaining their friendships and family contacts. 
• One tenant is currently being supported to move on and purchase his own home in the neighbourhood where he will continue to be supported by SeeAbility Meadowmead Support Service.

Developing A Quality Service

Over the past five years SeeAbility Meadowmead Support Service have adopted a culture of continuous improvement as the trained and dedicated staff team have  strived to deliver a flexible, quality service. Some examples of their development and quality achievements include:

• Meadowmead Support Service has expanded its reach to provide an outreach service to people with a learning disability and a visual impairment living in the Eastleigh locality.
• Through SeeAbility's 'Social Inclusion Programme' two support workers at Meadowmead Support Service have received enhanced training in working with people with a visual impairment to develop skills and challenge the barriers to social inclusion.  An external evaluation concluded the social inclusion programme "has contributed greatly to enabling SeeAbility to provide a more unique rehabilitative service".
• Through annual self assessment against Supporting People Quality Assessment Framework (QAF) the service has evidenced steady improvement in standards, with their most recent external verification confirming they have attained levels A & B in the Core Objectives.
• The outcome of the Commission for Social Care Inspection's last inspection of the domiciliary care service in May 2007 advised a quality rating of good-excellent.
• In the most recent annual Satisfaction Survey undertaken in late 2006 with people who use the service, 100% of respondents stated 'they were satisfied with the service' and confirmed that 'the service had helped them to learn or do something new'.

 To download a brochure about Meadowmead Support Service, please click here

1st July 2007

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SeeAbility Fir Tree Lodge  - One Year On!

When Fir Tree Lodge opened in May 2006, it was the end of a detailed consultation and planning process and the beginning of a new way of life for six young people who have a visual impairment and multiple disabilities. In the twelve months since, the young people aged 17-26, have been supported to settle well in their new home, make the transition to a new environment and support provider and explore new opportunities.

Moving In & Building Relationships

With individuals moving to Fir Tree Lodge from various settings including family home, residential education, hospital and another SeeAbility home, and each having their own unique and complex needs, the transition was managed gradually in line with individual needs and wishes and in close conjunction with relatives and carers. During the first few months, the newly formed, highly trained staff team spent time getting to know the people living at Fir Tree Lodge, building relationships with them and their relatives and finding out how best they could be supported. The success of this process was summed up in a comment made by one relative when completing a Satisfaction Survey in November 2006: "The standard of care at Fir Tree Lodge is excellent. After initial teething problems my relative has settled well and is obviously loved and cared for, with a high standard in every respect. The staff were wonderful in helping my relative and I make the transition as easy as possible and we would like to thank all at Fir Tree Lodge for their care and provision which is excellent".

Expanding Opportunities

Fir Tree Lodge was officially opened by HRH The Duchess of Gloucester on 14th July 2006. This enjoyable day, which attracted local publicity, marked the close of the settling in phase as people living at Fir Tree Lodge felt established in their new environment and went on from there to explore new opportunities. Highlights recalled of some activities that people have been enabled to enjoy include: a barbeque with family & friends; going to the musical Billy Elliott in the West End; singing along with Lionel Ritchie in concert at Wembley Arena; enjoying the circus at Newbury; taking on the challenge of sailing; and a regular favourite - ten-pin bowling. Individuals are currently looking forward to a forthcoming Rock Concert at Highclere Castle and are actively making plans to take summer holidays.

Some Early Achievements

For each person living at Fir Tree Lodge, there have been various achievements and benefits noted during the past twelve months with some examples being:

• The majority have seen improvements in their general health, responding positively to the level and quality of individual support offered.
  
• Two people have experienced a reduction in seizure activity, perhaps benefiting from the more flexible, individually tailored provision within an adult service.
  
• One person has made immense progress in developing his skills and is now able to eat his own lunch, uses some speech to communicate, has made notable improvements with his mobility and is enjoying attending the local gym.

100% of relatives & friends who participated in a Satisfaction Survey in November 2006 stated they were satisfied with the services provided by SeeAbility at Fir Tree Lodge, with one comment reflecting this: "Fir Tree Lodge is welcoming and homely. It is a lovely, relaxed environment for the young people living there, with quality of care and good sense of fun".

In a Satisfaction Survey undertaken with people living at Fir Tree Lodge in February-March 2007:

• 83% stated 'the service has helped them to learn or do new things during the past year'.
  
• 100% stated 'they like living at the home and are happy with the help they get from SeeAbility'.

The people living at Fir Tree Lodge and the staff team who support them are looking forward to building on the positive foundations formed during the past year and to achieving more of their potential in the months/years ahead.

 To download a brochure about Fir Tree Lodge, please click here

1st May 2007

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SeeAbility Exeter Support Service and Shared Ownership Housing Scheme - One Year On

When the first occupant moved into Willow Way in Exeter on 23rd March 2006, they were taking up a unique opportunity that enabled people with a visual impairment and a learning disability for the first time to part own and part rent their property - thanks to a pioneering shared ownership scheme and support service developed by SeeAbility in conjunction with Signpost Housing Association and Devon County Council.
In the twelve months that have followed, SeeAbility has provided an enabling support service to assist seven occupants in meeting their housing-related, social and personal care needs and have seen individuals flourish as they have become established within their own homes.

A Home Of My Own
As people settled in they personalised and made their self-contained properties home.  As one person described shortly after moving in:  "It's very nice and very cool! I like it." Many, having moved away from the family home for the first time into their own home, have gained a greater sense of self-assertion. With encouragement and assistance from SeeAbility support staff individuals have developed skills and confidence in managing daily living tasks, making choices about everyday matters and planning how they spend their time. Provided in line with individual needs and wishes, the support service has been flexible and responsive, adjusting to changing requirements and enhancing individual choice and control.

A Sense of Community
Alongside each person enjoying the freedom to take greater control over their lives, people have developed a sense of community, making use of the communal lounge, conservatory and garden at Willow Way and interacting with immediate neighbours. A generous donation from The Band of The Royal Marines based at Lympstone was to put to good use in furnishing the conservatory and providing a large barbeque that was kindly installed with a paved patio area by relatives and volunteers. A party was held to celebrate with family, friends and neighbours.
Participation and involvement within the local community has also expanded. Some people attend local colleges and are currently being supported to explore how they will spend their time when they finish full-time education. Others are already accessing various community resources and engaged in meaningful activities and some are being supported to seek paid employment.
It's been an exciting first 12 months for people living and working at Willow Way. A new service has become established and the occupants of Willow Way have started realising the benefits of living in their own home with specially tailored support. With their home secure and roots put down in the local community, they are now looking forward to achieving more personal outcomes in the months/years ahead.

 To download a brochure about Exeter Support Service, please click here.

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SeeAbility Woodlands opened in October 1998 in Horley, Surrey, to provide a residential home for 7 adults with a visual impairment and additional disabilities. With its' philosophy to promote independence and through the skills and support of a dedicated staff team, SeeAbility Woodlands has enabled people to explore their potential, make choices and achieve the outcomes they want. Some examples of the successes achieved during the past eight years include:

People Realising Their Goals and Moving On To Greater Independence - Three of the original occupants living at Woodlands have been supported to move on to live in their own homes and enjoy the choice, security and fulfilment this offers.

Social Inclusion - Through SeeAbility's 'Social Inclusion Programme' two support workers at Woodlands have received enhanced training in working with people with a visual impairment to develop skills and challenge the barriers to social inclusion.  An external evaluation concluded the social inclusion programme "has contributed greatly to enabling SeeAbility to provide a more unique rehabilitative service" to the people living at Woodlands. In real terms this expertise, supported by a Senior Rehabilitation Practitioner, has enabled individuals to achieve personal goals ranging from joining a local gym to learning to use information technology to maintain contact with friends and family.

Engaging With The Local Community To Expand The Facilities - With help from the local community and the staff team, the people living at Woodlands have realised their plans to expand the facilities available. In 2003 an accessible sensory garden was developed with the support of volunteers from Barclays Bank. In October 2006 a Craft Studio was opened in the grounds, which is fast becoming a valued resource. The additional space and equipment are already being put to good use by people at Woodlands for activities such as Braille training, computer studies and keep fit sessions, with plans to extend opportunities to include craft and woodwork. The craft studio has recently hosted a demonstration of CCTV equipment which helps people with low vision to get more from their remaining sight by displaying printed information from crosswords to photographs on a TV screen, and will soon provide a venue for a local community friendship club.

A Positive Outlook:
Building on its' experience, the future for SeeAbility Woodlands is looking very positive:

• Two people are actively being supported to part buy their own property through 4ability's shared ownership scheme, with the social inclusion team playing an integral role in supporting them to develop skills to manage in their own home.
  

• The potential of building additional accommodation in the grounds is being explored, enabling SeeAbility to provide much needed specialist services to more people, supporting them to fulfil their potential.
  
  Everyone is looking forward to exciting times ahead!

 To download a brochure about Woodlands, please click here

Pilot Short Break Scheme In Devon 2003-2005

SeeAbility's family-based Short Break Scheme for young people with a visual impairment and learning disabilities began in conjunction with Devon County Council in April 2003.

SeeAbility developed the innovative Short Break Scheme as a pilot project. This was in response to research findings that young people with complex needs welcomed opportunities to spend time with people away from their families to develop social contacts and interests. In addition, families of people with disabilities placed a very high value on having breaks from the daily rigours of caring for their relatives.

The Devon Short Break Scheme enabled 20 young people throughout Devon to benefit from family-based short breaks.

SeeAbility matched every young person seeking a short break with a carefully selected carer family. We matched their goals, needs and lifestyle with the skills, experience and personality of the carer.

SeeAbility supported the carer family with appropriate specialist training. The result is a match that promotes access to community facilities, development of meaningful relationships and social inclusion.

The pilot scheme in Devon ended in March 2005 and was subject to an external evaluation. Click here to see the Evaluation Report of Devon Short Break Scheme

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