Embedding a culture of positive and proactive care – attending to and supporting a change of culture
There is evidence to suggest that Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) training alone does not lead to the hoped for enhanced outcomes either for the person concerned or the services that support them. This new training programme was a result of discussions across local services exploring what their workforces needed in order to enable them to develop PBS competent services. The focus was upon managing staff, more complex presentations around challenging behaviour and thinking about staff well-being. The aim was to support managers and senior team leaders, as this had been identified as a gap in the training available to services.
The East Sussex Behaviour Support Network identified a need for specialist training for managers and leaders from services that supported people who had been identified as meeting the criteria of the transforming care cohort – in that their presentation was complex and there was risk of inpatient admission or out of area placements should current provision be unable to meet their needs.
The training was a joint initiative between East Sussex County Council and Sussex Partnership Foundation Trust with funding from the Intellectual Disabilities Programme working across the South East
“ I found the mix of presentations, exercises and tools was presented in a clear way, and topics set on each agenda fit”
The content of the training was also informed by the local provider forum (East Sussex Behaviour Support Network), the PBS Competence Framework and from research suggesting that the ability to support people with challenging behaviour was increased by the presence of a setting wide approach to PBS, focusing on the importance of service culture and staff management and support.
The course consisted of three taught days and two days to develop and present a project undertaken by participants who were senior staff. Training content included slides, exercises and worksheets. It aimed to be a reflective learning experience which also allowed participants to explore how their practice had changed as a result of their learning.
Evaluation showed that the training was well received and provided a useful place to think about practice, to share ideas and to network. The project undertaken demonstrated learning and creativity and a commitment to improving the lives of people with learning disabilities and challenging behaviour. Evaluation also led to a number of changes being made to the content of the training. We have included the revised training materials and the subsequent evaluation of these revisions in our full report.
To access the full report including the evaluation and tools produced please click here.
To access the easy read report please click here
For more information, please contact the project lead details below:
Joint Project lead: Amelia Culshaw – Training Manager, ASC Training, Workforce and Development Team
Email contacts: Amelia.Culshaw@eastsussex.gov.uk
Workforce Development for & with People with Intellectual Disabilities 