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Heading off to the sandy beaches of Bournemouth for a summer get-away, Mary-Anne enjoyed a fantastic 5 days in June making memories, soaking up the lovely weather, and tucking into plenty of yummy ice-creams to cool down! Having a blast last summer on Bournemouth beach, it was only right to return to her favourite place to have another summer full of fun. Riding trains, visiting museums, and of course, building some castles on the sandy beach, Mary-Anne really did enjoy every moment and is already eager for her next holiday. Perhaps Bournemouth for a third year running? We'll see what adventure is in store next year! Read all about Mary-Anne's fun-filled holiday here;
Meet Sophie, the winner of our 'Best Support Act' Award; recognising a member of our central support team who shows us what being a team player really means and is always there to offer support, a listening ear or a smile. Sophie has been described as a literal ray of sunshine, with one of her nominations saying, "Sophie is ready to turn anyone's day around. She's great at giving advice and her passion to get every single person and service involved in wellbeing initiatives is wonderful." Thank you to Sophie for bringing your kindness and compassion to everyone at hashtag#TeamConsensus Read all about the amazing ways Sophie supports our colleagues to be healthy and happy here: 👇
It takes 80 years for a crisp packet to decompose. And with the team at Heather Holmes munching their way through plenty of crisps, Support Worker Heather came to the group with an incredible idea on how they could utilise their crisp packets to help those in need. Finding a charity that turns crisp packets into survival blankets to help those that are facing homelessness, Heather started a collection station so that all their crisp packets could be donated, and we think it's a simply wonderful idea. The box is already starting to fill up with everyone getting involved in making a difference. One crisp packet at a time, Heather Holmes are taking steps towards a sustainable future, all whilst making a difference to people's lives.
Meet Jo, the winner of the 'Fish Philosopher' Award at our annual leadership conference; recognising someone who lives and breathes the four simple principles of the philosophy: Be There, Play, Make Their Day and Choose Your Attitude. Our 'Princess of Positivity' embodies every part of this, one of her nominations said, "“Jo has embraced the FISH philosophy from the beginning and has showed case this new approach with her new team which has helped with team building and integrating our new colleagues into the new service and their new company.” Thank you Jo, for bringing some fun and play to #TeamConsensus Read all about Jo's experiences as a new service manager and how the Fish Philosophy helped her build a fantastic team by clicking on the article in the comments 👇
Today is Samaritans Awareness Day - reminding everyone that no matter what time it is, what you're going through, or how you're feeling, the Samaritans are here 24/7 for anyone who is struggling to cope. With the simple message, 'Talk to us, we'll listen'. It can be hard reaching out to someone in a moment of crisis, so to share some advice we've been speaking to a few of our qualified Mental Health First Aider's at Consensus, including Val who is also trained and volunteers for the Samaritans; 💚 "My advice to someone struggling would be to not feel ashamed about it, find someone to speak to and to not let it define you." - Sophie 💚 "There are resources available for every situation in life, the first step (to pick up the phone or approach someone) is always the hardest but it is amazing how good it is just to share a problem with someone else." - Val 💚 "I encourage the person to talk to me or someone else they comfortable with, and reach out when in need." - Emily Taking the first step is never easy, but the Samaritans are always here to listen. At Consensus we prioritise mental health within our wellbeing strategy, ensuring every colleague has someone to turn to with our 53 qualified Mental Health First Aiders. Learning more about their roles, advice, and raising awareness on Samaritans Talk to Us day, find out more here;
If you need to know one thing about Ty Hendy, it’s that they’re rarely sat still! A visit from Kate and her new baby boy, Luke taking a trip to Harry Potter World, and a trip from the ice-cream truck - there's never a dull moment! Always finding the next activity or trip to get stuck into, the team at Ty Hendy are always finding ways to spend quality time together, making even the small moments into wonderful memories. Smiles, fun, new experiences, find out what else the Ty Hendy team have been up to recently;
Exceptional kindness, care, and outcomes throughout; Valley House have achieved a 'Good' rating following their latest CQC inspection, and receiving an 'Outstanding' rating in the Care category. “It was abundantly clear people were being supported to live full and enriching lives. Staff empowered people enabling them to be independent and make choices in every aspect of their lives. Staff were exceptionally kind and caring when supporting people.” Highlighting a small glimpse of comments that truly showcase the kind and caring nature of every colleague throughout; 💫 ‘‘The best indication of how great the staff are is that [family member] feels so at home there and sees them as their family.’’ 💫 “The staff team are truly wonderful as since [family member] has lived here the change in them has been incredible." 💫 Staff went above and beyond to make sure they supported people in as kind and compassionate a way as possible. It was clear when speaking with staff that they truly cared for people and wanted what was best for them. Well done to every single person at Valley House for making every moment matter - the kindness, compassion, and exceptional support shines throughout. Head on over to our website to smile at Valley House's CQC report, and read incredible comments from the inspector and family members;
A big congratulations to Philip, who has been crowned our Sustainability Champion for July! ♻️ It's not just his contagious smile that's making a difference at Windsor Avenue, it's his commitment to ensuring every single piece of recycling is disposed off correctly. Innovation at it's finest, Philip makes sure everyone is flattening their cardboard boxes before they get recycled by running over them with his electric wheelchair and getting the whole team involved jumping and squashing them down. 📦 Not stopping there, Philip also ensures all the light switches are turned off throughout his home and looks after all the plants on the patio. Thank you Philip for making Consensus a greener place to live and work, one piece of recycling at a time 🏆
Our Learning & Organisational Development team have been developing the 'Resilience Programme' - a new addition to the Leadership Academy at Consensus. Designed to help our service managers build their resilience to better support themselves and their teams to navigate the demands of working in social care - we're supporting colleagues to ensure they can provide consistent, high-quality care to the people they support. Supporting service managers to thrive in their roles, so far colleagues that have completed the training have rated it 100% 'Great' for course enjoyment - making learning fun, interactive, and engaging. Focused on enhancing resilience in managers so they can foster a positive, stable workplace, that ultimately reduced burnout and improves overall colleague wellbeing, find out how we're supporting service managers to flourish at Consensus;
From Turkey to France, the Perrywood group have been exploring everywhere! You might have remembered their trip back in March 2023, where on their arrival home, their sights were already set on a trip to Disneyland Paris in 2024... well, those dreams have become a reality. Heading for a 4 day extravaganza, they managed to squeeze in; 🏰 Exploring every inch of Disneyland 🎢 Riding too many rollercoasters to count 🛥️ A boat trip along the River Sein 📷 A trip up the Eiffel Tower 🥐 And too many yummy meals to count! Dreaming big and making fantastic memories, read all about Perrywood's magical trip to Disneyland;
