Sam is a registered social worker with 25 years of extensive experience working in regulation, health and social care as a field worker, commissioner and provider. She has an MSc in the regulation of health & social care. Sam is currently doing consultancy work for In Control, NHS England, NDTi and NEW Devon CCG. She spent the previous four years working with NEW Devon CCG on a project carrying out person-centred ...
Read Full BioI am a Mum to a teen with autism and his typical younger brother and together with my husband, we have set up our own special school for children with autism www.brightfuturesschool.co.uk. Our school brings a new approach to autism education in that it seeks to help young people address the difficulties at the heart of autism. We use the principles and practice of Relationship Development Intervention (RDI) ...
Read Full BioJulie is one of the founding members and chief executive of In Control. In Control is a national charity working for an inclusive society where everyone has the support they need to live a good life and make a valued contribution. Julie has over 25years experience in the health and social care sectors. Julie studied at Huddersfield university business, management and leadership with a strong particular focus on managing ...
Read Full BioJane Byford has worked all her working life in the care sector. She started in residential and nursing care and eventually qualified as a manager with a registered 5 qualification with Ling Trust. Since those days she has been one of the major hands on managers with many people coming out of assessment and treatment units, providing hands on help and support and getting people back into the community. Jane is highly respected ...
Read Full BioLes has a son with a learning disability and has been involved in developing support mechanisms since 2000 when his family and three others first received Direct Payments. At that time the local authority offered no support, so the four families decided to design their own support system. Since then Les has been involved in assisting others to form their own groups in the UK, where he has worked on Direct Payments and ...
Read Full BioHello I am Andrew Bright and I have been working to promote Self Advocacy for 23 years starting out as the co-ordinator for People First London Boroughs. In 1997 I began working as an Information Worker for Values into Action where I developed my training skills and in 1998 I became an Official Consultant for the National Centre for Independent Living. By 2000 I had set up my own Training Company Bright Enterprises delivering ...
Read Full BioGav and Karen, experts in nothing but experience of lots. Gav and Karen have both previously worked in Adult Social Care and have tried to change the system from the inside. We have experience in negotiating and managing the journey through adult care to health including continuing health care. This includes using and managing a direct payment using a personal budget within adult social care and we now manage ...
Read Full BioSarah Maguire BA (Hons), M.A, CIPD, Fellow of Centre for Welfare Reform Sarah has worked with people with learning disabilities for almost 30 years. Her work began supported people with challenging needs to move out of long stay institutions in the 1980’s. Sarah has worked as a training manager where she pioneered new initiatives to take training into the work place. Following completion of her MA in Applied ...
Read Full BioI have worked alongside young people since starting out as a worker at Kettlewell Youth Hostel in the Yorkshire Dales when I was 16, supporting children and young people funded by a Gingerbread group in Bradford, taking them climbing and down caves and generally having a good time! Work and life has been very varied since I finished college….working on an organic smallholding, painting pictures, taking NVQ’s ...
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