Joint Professional Development Conference

A blog by Alison Smith, Workforce Development Lead, IAAP programme

Last week I went along to the Joint Professional Development Conference for Adults and Childrens’ social care in Lincolnshire which was hosted at Bishop Grosseteste University. 

I took along some great resources and was able to share information with social care colleagues regarding the It’s All About People personalisation programme but also about Our Shared Agreement.  I had some really great conversations with people about the importance of not being afraid to do things differently, of talking to people rather than about them, and especially about seeing people as experts in themselves. 

the importance of not being afraid to do things differently

Several of the social care workforce talked about the real change they had seen by focusing on a persons strengths using the Strengths Based Approaches model, and about how they felt able to consider different opportunities for people, which was fantastic. 

It was also really great to meet some of our IAAP Champions face to face, and also talk to people about their positive experiences at the recent IAAP conference.  There was a real buzz in the room all day and it was clear that there was a hunger for change. 

As well as the marketplace there was also an opportunity to learn from the guest speakers.  First up were some fabulous young people who are Lincolnshire County Council Young Inspectors.  They complete audits and inspections of LCC services and provisions, and suggest improvements that should be made.  It is great to see our young people so passionate about improving services for themselves and their peers.  My thoughts immediately went to how we can make co-production more appealing to our young people in Lincolnshire as they have such a lot to bring to the table.  Something to think about?!

great to see our young people so passionate about improving services

We also heard from Andrew Whitehouse about his ADHD journey (you may have met Andrew at the IAAP conference).  It was great to hear from someone with lived experience who was able to help the workforce in the room to really think about how to meet the needs of people who are neurodiverse.  Andrew’s story is really inspirational and some of his advice was, “If you make me happy and comfortable then you will get more out of me” and also “embrace my difference!” 

Finally we heard from Carol Allen, who said a lot of things that struck a chord with me.  She was talking again about neurodiversity and communication, but a lot of what she said was transferable to any situation where we are having conversations with people.  She talked a lot about building up relationships and trust, she suggested that we all “Listen, understand, act” and reminded us of the need to be “present”. She talked about the difference between a universal offer and a community based offer – meeting people where they want to be met and thinking differently about our approaches.  A lot of what she said linked very closely with the OSA 5 Foundations and reminded us to use our “curiosity” to find out what people want, and then “create a provision around the person, as opposed to matching the person to the provision.”  

meeting people where they want to be met and thinking differently about our approaches

Does OSA start to give us that permission to do this? 

Watch this space to find out more about how some areas of Lincolnshire are doing this already!