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MP Charlotte Nichols visits Samantha Sam, who we support to live independently in Warrington invited her MP, Charlotte Nichols to visit her at home. Charlotte started off by explaining the difference between local and national government and the different responsibilities they have. MP Charlotte Nichols (left) and Sam (right) Sam was keen to ask her why support workers are paid less than nurses. Sam said: “My support workers are counsellors, cleaners, medication administrators, cooks, wellbeing advisers and `wear many hats’; I don’t understand why they don’t get paid more. Charlotte explained that the NHS has a grading system based on the skills and experience of staff which doesn’t exist in social care. Charlotte talked about the need for parity between the sectors so staff could work in health or social care and their skills could be transferable. Charlotte said: “It was great to meet Sam and her support workers, to discuss how we can reform social care in England to give those who need care and support and those who provide it, the best quality support. Speaking to Sam, it was clear how her support makes a difference to her life – supporting her independence, enabling her to pursue her interests and hobbies, looking out for her emotional wellbeing, and providing continuity, safety and stability. Her support workers love their jobs but pointed out that it’s getting increasingly difficult to give the quality-of-care Sam has to everyone who needs it due to sustained co
Dimensions Chief Executive Rachael Dodgson response to the current riots and violence in parts of the UK In light of the recent incident in Southport, where three young girls tragically lost their lives and others injured, the country is going through a period of unrest, triggering a spate of violence and riots taking place in parts of the United Kingdom. The way in which people of colour are being targeted and made to feel unwelcome and unsafe is abhorrent and entirely unacceptable. Here in Dimensions, 26% of our workforce identify as being from a BAME background, and we support many people from BAME backgrounds too. We stand in solidarity with everyone we support and employ, and their families. We have a zero tolerance for any type of discrimination in Dimensions, and the discrimination you witness outside of Dimensions will never be tolerated within it. Everyone should feel safe, be listened to and respected, no matter what their race, colour, disability or background; you are not alone. We have published guidance internally for our colleagues on how to keep safe, and an easy read material for the people we support. Together we are stronger, and we stand in unity with everyone from a BAME background. Rachael Dodgson, Dimensions Chief Executive
We are delighted that, in addition to our accreditation under the main Great Place to Work programme, as a result of colleague survey feedback, Dimensions group has also been successfully accredited as a UK Best Workplace for ‘Development’. This is a new category introduced in 2024 and the success can be partially attributed to 79% of colleagues agreeing that they are offered training or development to further themselves professionally, which is a higher score than other successful Great Place to Work organisations. Many colleagues have benefited from our Dimensions Academy and Aspire programme for career development and have reported extremely positive feedback, and we will work hard to ensure these opportunities continue.
People we support invite Jacob Rees-Mogg to visit On Friday 2nd February, people we support, family and colleagues in Bristol invited North East Somerset MP Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg into their home to talk about social care, problems the sector is facing…and cars and James Bond. In this particular home of some people we support, we provide personalised, full-time support to older people who have learning disabilities, are autistic and/or are on the dementia pathway. “The heartfelt attention to and encouragement of their interests by the staff is magical.” Jacob was invited by the people who live there, who asked to speak with him about the issues important to them, and for him to meet the support workers helping them live active and fulfilling lives. The people and their loved ones sat with him to share more about their experiences. The people who live in the home also asked Jacob where he lived, the car he drives, and they discussed how their rooms were decorated. Read more here: https://dimensions-uk.org/press-release/jacob-rees-mogg-mp-visits-somerset-home-people/
“We don’t want to be left on a scrap heap”: People with learning disabilities and autistic people call for their voices to be heard and their achievements celebrated On 24th April 2024, we announced the winners of the 2024 Learning Disability and Autism Leaders’ List. With 14 million disabled people and 700,000 autistic people in the UK, the winners of this year’s awards reflect the diversity of these groups, their achievements, and their hopes for building a more inclusive society in a time of rapid political and societal change. You can read more here: https://dimensions-uk.org/press-release/winners-announced-leaderslist2024/
Constructing a New Career in Social Care! Mark left university and worked in construction for six years. He’s now been working in care for nine. As part of his role, he learnt Makaton (a communication tool) to help communicate with the person he supports. You can now find him teaching Makaton workshops. “I feel as though Dimensions has put its faith in me.”
We are delighted to announce that, in addition to our accreditation under the main Great Place to Work programme, as a result of colleague survey feedback, Dimensions group has also been successfully accredited as a UK Best Workplace for ‘Development’. This is a new category introduced this year and the success can be partially attributed to 79% of colleagues agreeing that they are offered training or development to further themselves professionally, which is a higher score than other successful Great Place to Work organisations. Many of our workforce have benefited from our Dimensions Academy and Aspire programme for career development and have reported extremely positive feedback, and we will work hard to ensure these opportunities continue.
Adult Social Care Training. Learn more about our new induction process for all Support Workers and watch our Introduction to Induction video!
We’re one of the UK’s Best Workplaces – for the sixth year in a row!
More Than A Provider – support providers join forces to call for social care change More Than A Provider is a collaborative of six non-profit learning disability and autism providers that share the same values. It is made up of MacIntyre, Choice Support, Dimensions, Certitude, United Response and the BrandonTrust, which have more than two hundred and forty years of experience between us. Our members work with more than 80% of local authorities in England and Wales and support more than 12,000 people. From bringing people out of institutions into the community to delivering employment programmes that bring economic investment to local areas; the group is determined to support government across key areas of policy – to be more than just providers of social care. The Social Care Future vision to ensure that people with a learning disability or autism live a ‘gloriously ordinary life’ inspired the collaboration.
