Well a warm hello to everyone from Amy and myself and welcome once again to our monthly newsletter. We’re hoping that you are keeping toasty warm as winter seems never to end at the moment! Roll on spring and the warmer weather.

Our office was very busy this month with lots of different training courses being undertaken and we would like to thank to all our staff team and trainers for their hard work and enthusiasm. It made for a very noisy and active office and it was lovely to have the opportunity to see so many of the team together learning and having fun.

For those of you on half term holidays we hope you had the chance to enjoy some fun activities as well as to have a well-deserved rest, even a lie in if you were lucky. We’ve had reports of staff members getting very stuck in the mud on the Stick Man Trail – much to everyone’s amusement.

Our new website continues to receive fabulous feedback from far and wide and we must say how photogenic you all are!!! So much so that we’ve just noticed River Island clothing has launched a new campaign celebrating diversity and Amy and I think we should consider starting a model agency as a side line as you’re all such wonderful models!!!

We will continue to update it with our latest news

There is an exciting announcement below which explains why Amy has been exceptionally busy in the last four weeks!!!!  We’re very much hoping that we can post some photos   in our next issue of the newsletter

Mary

              Baby News 

We are excited to announce that on Sunday 18^th February Amy and Brian welcomed a beautiful little girl weighing 7.5lb! Her name is Maddie Ann Brid Jenkins and Mum and baby are doing very well.

We wish them the best of luck as a family for four, we know that Noah will be a fantastic big brother!!

                                       Employee of the Month 

Our February Employee of the Month is Kate McCarthy.

 Kate has been working for Access All for just under a year and has been chosen for the support she has provided to one of the families she works with as well as the support she has provided to the management team when things have been very busy. She has preempted things that are going to happen and used her initiative to find solutions. Thank you, Kate, for all your hard work.

Please remember any can nominate anyone of our team leaders or carers for employee of the month 

 All you need to do is send us an email or give us a call to let us know who you would like to nominate and what they have done to go above and beyond that month. The successful nominee will be revealed in the newsletter each month and the successful employee will receive a voucher. 

                                    Monthly Focus 

Each month our management team will be looking at one of the CQC standards to ensure we are effectively meeting their requirements.  We will be undertaking audits, spot checks, surveys and reviewing policies and procedures so we can ensure we are gathering information to reflect the views of our families and staff teams

Throughout February we have been looking at what makes us an Effective Service. This focuses on how we deliver care support and treatment to all of our service users. We will be looking at the full report at the next management meeting and implementing any changes over the coming weeks.

If you would like to see a full copy of the audit report please send us an email. 

For the month of March, we will be looking at what makes our service Responsive.

Come together to campaign against the social care cuts in Redbridge. It’s so important that we show Redbridge Council how much opposition there is to cuts impacting on Disabled people, older people and carers. More information can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/oneplaceeast/

Mencap have launched a health campaign name Treat me well. It aims to improve the treatment of people with a learning disability in hospital. Watch their campaign film, sign up to hear more and see how you can help here: http://mencap.org.uk/TMWsignup

Christine’s Corner

With so much to celebrate this month, there’s no shortage of things to do! From Holifest – the festival of colour and celebration of the Spring equinox-  to Saint Patrick’s Day, and of course a day dedicated to all our wonderful mums who put up with us, March is sure to be a colourful and wholesome!

Colour: The Rainbow Revealed

See how colours shape our world at the iconic Horniman Museum! Through interactive games, mood rooms, and light installations, discover how animals use colours as a defence mechanism, how the spectrum represents different things to different cultures, and how certain shades tempt our taste buds - and lots more!

Holi Colour Party 2018

The Magic of India are putting on a family friendly Holi festival that includes drummers, dancers, DJs, dry colour play and dance workshops to give you a feel of what it could be like to experience the real thing! Hot food to

Swiss Cottage, 3rd Mar, 11am to 3pm

And if that is not enough dancing for you, join the family friendly party company Big fish little Fish and come together on a dance floor filled with bubbles, balloons, glitter and topped by the parachute dance.

There will also be Captain Cookie Craft tables with giant mural, themed crafts and playdoh table.
Did I mention there is one being held on Mother’s day? Oh yes, mums have something else to rave on about!

Tie-dying

https://www.nymetroparents.com/article/instructions-to-tie-dye-t-shirts-with-food-coloring

In the theme of colour and new beginnings here are some great ways to spruce up old bits of clothing with somethings as simple as food colouring! There are many techniques to be learnt.