Leisure Workshop Minutes February-2013

Staffordshire
Learning Disability Partnership Board
(LDPB)
Leisure Workshop
Wednesday 20th February 2013
At Rising Brook Baptist Church, Burton
Square, Stafford, ST17 9DH
MENCAP
Self Advocacy Group Members
E-mail: Liz Watling
Elizabeth.Watling@Mencap.gov.uk
1. Welcome and Introductions
Paul Carter welcomed everybody to the
Workshop and went through the house
keeping rules.
2. Why we are here
The workshop was to talk about leisure.
What it means to you and if you have the
right amount of leisure activities in your life.
1
At the Mencap self advocacy meetings
around the County a subject that often
comes up is, “What people are doing in
their leisure time?”
It became very clear that people didn’t go
out much in the evenings or at weekends.
They said that in the day time they were
very busy with lots of different activities.
They went to college, gym, art and craft,
volunteering, drama, cooking classes and
work.
But in the evenings and at weekends they
didn’t go out much and they didn’t spend
time with friends.
Many people said they wished they had a
choice of what to do and a chance to try
different things
2
Some people said they often felt bored and
lonely staying at home all the time.
They said they would like to go out with
friends more often as it made them happy
and they had fun.
We thought it would be a good idea to get
the leisure experiences of people with
learning disabilities from around the County.
A questionnaire was made and then filled in
by members of the eight Mencap Self
Advocacy Groups and the Reach
Parliament.
The form asked lots of questions such as:
What do you do in the evenings and at
weekends?
What leisure activities would you like to do?
What stopped you from going out?
3
We heard different leisure experiences of
people and organisations from around the
County.
3. Beth’s leisure experience introduced
by Clare Bateman.
Beth and Clare both attend the Burton Self
Advocacy Group.
Beth lives in Burton on her own with her cat
Minnie.
Beth likes her independence, she is
supported a few days a week to gain
independent skills.
Beth goes to Burton Day Service three days
a week. She does activities like going to the
gym or working at the Brewhouse Café.
On Saturday afternoons Beth visits her
mum. They go to the local garden centre for
a coffee, she then goes to her mums for
tea.
Apart from going to the Day Service, visiting
her mum or going for a walk on her own,
Beth hardly ever goes out.
4
One of the reasons Beth doesn’t go out in
the evenings or at weekends is because
she is too scared people might bully her, as
she has been bullied before.
Beth used to go to the Crest Club in Burton
but was hit by another girl and so doesn’t
go anymore.
Beth said she really enjoyed the activities at
the Crest Club and meeting up with people,
but as she doesn’t go now, she never gets
to see her friends.
We asked Beth, “If we had a magic wand
and she could choose to do anything at all
in the evening or at weekends what would it
be?”.
She said “I would like to go to the pub with
friends, that would really make me happy,
that is what I most want to do”
We thanked Clare for presenting that
information that was very interesting.
We also thanked Beth for giving us her
views on leisure.
5
4. Leisure experience from the
Community Connect Team.
Paul introduced to us the team members from
Community Connect.
They told us about some of their success
stories from around the County.
We thanked the Community Connect Team
for presenting that information and peoples
experiences.
For more information please contact List of
Community Connect Workers and e-mail
addresses.
5. Antony’s leisure experience
introduced by Andy Smith.
Anthony is a member of the Newcastle Self
Advocacy Group.
Anthony likes to help his dad around the
house, bird watching and astronomy.
At the weekend Anthony helps his dad around
the house.
He also watches TV and surfs the Internet.
Anthony feels that he cannot go out in the
evening because he is worried about going
on buses on his own at night.
If he could practice going out with someone,
he might be able to travel in the evenings.
6
Anthony also said that he doesn’t go out
because he is not sure what is available in
his area to go to.
Anthony said he would like to go out in the
evenings and at weekends because he
would like to meet new friends and try new
activities.
We thanked Andy for that presentation that
was very interesting.
6. Friends 2 Friends
Paul introduced members of the Friends 2
Friends Group and Alison Wellon who
supports them.
They told us about what they do and what
they are about.
Friends 2 Friends opened in May 2012, at
Cruck House in Lichfield.
It is a user led service, supported by a
leader and volunteers.
There was a need for a service that opens
at weekends as well as in the week, with
more people living independently
7
The aim of Friends 2 Friends is to give
adults with a learning disability confidence
and control of their own lives
Although Friends 2 Friends has not been
open long, the members are growing with
confidence.
They have organised events and days out.
Attended courses and improved on life
skills.
They have their own meetings, and are now
putting a committee together.
Opening at the weekends has been one of
the main reasons Friends 2 Friends has
worked so well.
Members enjoy the fact that they can come
and socialise, relax and have fun
independently with people they regard as
good friends.
Kylie goes to Friends 2 Friends and she has
learnt to be more independent and
confident.
It has given her new experiences.
Kylie has learnt sugar craft where she made
a teddy, penguin and a snowman.
8
Friends 2 Friends gave Kylie the ability to
organise a project called Graffiti Art.
Kylie has learnt how much she can do by
herself and this makes her feel very proud.
Kylie has enjoyed meeting new people who I
class as good friends.
It is wonderful that it is open at weekends
where more people can come and share in
the great activities.
It is wonderful that it is open at weekends
where more people can come and share in
the great activities.
Before Kevin came to Friends 2 Friends, he
was part of the Say Group in Stafford and the
Mencap Self Advocacy Group.
Kevin enjoys going to these groups, and he is
able to interview people sometimes which he
has always wanted to do.
Kevin goes to Friends 2 Friends everyday.
Kevin has done different things such as
drama, cooking and art.
He had designed and made the official
Friends 2 Friends calendar and Christmas
cards.
They have been bowling, going for pub
lunches and have been to the Garrick
Theatre.
9
At the moment Kevin is learning to swim
and to use a computer.
Kevin thinks life is better for him since he
joined Friends 2 Friends, Instead of being
bored, he get involved more.
Kevin mix with other people doing different
activities and he had made more friends.
Before Antony came to Friends 2 Friends
he didn’t have many friends. He went to the
youth club in Tamworth.
Now that Friends 2 Friends is open he has
made lots of friends who he sees every day.
Antony now spends his weekends with his
friends instead of being all the time with his
family.
Antony helps out as a kitchen manager at
Friends 2 Friends on a Saturday and is
learning to horse ride at the moment.
Antony enjoys helping the group organise
fundraising events likes the sponsored walk
and they held a Halloween party for
Children in Need.
Friends 2 Friends are looking into opening
more in the evenings, so activities can be
arranged for night’s out.
10
We at Friends 2 Friends believe that
everyone should have the opportunity to
live life to the full by having the choice of
how to spend their time.
7.
Break.
We had a break for tea and coffee.
8.
Easy Read Purple Pages.
Sarah Taylor told us about the Easy Read
Purple Pages.
We thanked Sarah to keep us updated
about the Staffordshire Ceres Website.
For more information, use the leaflet.
9.
Feedback from the Leisure
Questionnaires.
These are the results of the questionnaire
about peoples’ evening and weekends
leisure experiences in Staffordshire.
83
77 members of the Mencap Self Advocacy
group and 8 members of the REACH
Parliament completed the questionnaire.
A total of 83 people.
Some of the questions we asked were…
“What do you do in the evenings and at
weekends?”
11
Many people said they didn’t go out in the
evenings or at the weekend.
Most of the people who didn’t go out,
mainly watched the television or listened to
music.
Only a few people said they were happy
staying in and did not want to go out in the
evenings or at weekends.
That is a lot of unhappy people!
Few people regularly went out in the
evening and at weekends.
Of these most of them went out with their
carer or family.
Only very few people went out on their own.
12
We asked:
“Why don’t you go out in the evening
and at weekends?”
Many people said, they were too scared to
go out at night.
They said they were afraid of being bullied
or attacked.
Many people said they did not go out as
there was no support or help if something
went wrong, this worried them.
Many people said they did not go out as
there was no transport and they were
scared of travelling on their own.
10. Comments and Questions.
What can we do about these problems?
How can we enable people to get out more
and have a good and happy life?
13
We had some time to think of how we can
improve the social lives of people with a
learning disability.
We worked together as a group, to answer
Some questions in our tables.
The questions were:
Question 1:
People said they did not go out in the
evening and at weekends because they
didn’t have transport. They did not have
the confidence to travel by bus or train
alone.
What ideas can you come up with to help
solve this problem?
Question 2:
People said they didn’t go out in the
evening and at weekends because there
was not enough to do.
What ideas can you come up with to help
solve this problem?
Question 3:
People said they didn’t go out in the
evening and at weekends because they
were scared of being bullied or attacked.
What ideas can you come up with to help
solve this problem?
14
Question 4:
People said they didn’t go out in the evening
and at weekends because there was no
support or help if something went wrong or
was worrying them.
What ideas can you come up with to help
solve this problem?
Question 5:
Many people said they did not go out as
there wasn’t much to do where they lived.
Others said it was because they did not
have enough money to go out.
We asked…
“If you could do anything in the evenings
and weekends, what would you like to do?”
Most of the people said they would like to go
to the pub, the cinema or theatre.
People also said they would like to do
activities such as:
bowling, karaoke, drama, cycling, singing,
swimming, go out for a show, boxing, a meal
out, car racing, horse riding.
They want to be able to do what most
people do.
They said their lives would be so much
happier if they could go out more, meet
friends and have fun.
15
The Learning Disability Partnership Board
will collect all the papers and look at your
ideas. We will take them back to the self
advocacy groups and discuss your ideas.
People with learning disabilities want to
lead ordinary lives and do the things that
most people take for granted.
They want to work, learn, get about, enjoy
leisure activities, meet people and be part
of the community.
We will ask the commissioners, managers
of services for people with a learning
disability and the Learning Disability
Partnership Board to look at these ideas
and work together with members of the self
advocacy groups to solve these problems.
16
11. Lunch and Finish.
We thanked everyone who attended the
Leisure Workshop and the ideas you gave
us to work on.
Thank You!
We thanked Shelly Gould for graphic
facilitating the workshop and everyone who
took part in the presentations.
The group had lunch and the workshop
ended.
For a copy of the minutes contact
Rosie Batho on:
Email: rosie.batho@staffordshire.gov.uk
Phone no: 01785 854016
17
People who attended the Leisure Workshop
Wednesday 20th February 2013
David Ward
Rosie Batho
Joan McKinlay
Bob McKinlay
Jo Quick
Jane Bailey
Anoopa Gupta
Lee Kelly
Robin Taylor
Alison Wellon
Antony Bryan
Kylie Clewer
Kevin Pudney
Gina Parker
Patty Smith
Michael Gregory
Andy Smith
Charles Scrivener
Mike Booth
Lisa Ronson-Cox
Alison Biddulph
Sarah Ball
Paul Carter
Irfan Hussain
Claire Bateman
Paul Hincks
Sue Trevatt
Shelly Gould
David Kingsley
Alan Lake
David Gill
Ben Farnell
Kieron Jones
Susan Lintern
Kevin Lacey
Mencap
Learning Disabilities Commissioning Team
Carer, Stafford
Carer, Stafford
Carer, Stafford
Mencap Member
Mencap Member
Mencap Member
Friends 2 Friends
Friends 2 Friends
Friends 2 Friends
Friends 2 Friends
Friends 2 Friends
Mencap Member
Mencap Member
Mencap Member
Self Advocacy Group
Self Advocacy Group
Mencap
Mencap
Leek Day Centre
Leek Day Centre
Mencap
Mencap
Mencap
Mencap
Mencap
Mencap
Mencap
Reach MP
Codsall Day Service
Cannock
Mencap
Chase Day Service
Mencap
18
People who attended the Leisure Workshop
Wednesday 20th February 2013
Mandy Morris
Antony Trexon
Helen Griffiths
Julia Bain
Tina Westwood
Toni Lines
Anita Bostock
Sarah Taylor
Marie Coley
David Horton
Sarah Holland
Edward Franick
Colin Percival
Richard Meakin
Heather Townsend
Karen Webb
Wayne Combe
Glyn Nixon
Graham Tarry
Nigel Roberts
K Antoniv-Thompson
Warren Smith
Joanne Heath
Oliver Wood
Lizzie Morerton
Rose Hamilton
Lee Turner
Alex Thirtle
David Raby
Jane Baggley
Gary Mevelle
Mark Evans
Liz Woolly
Margaret Clough
Julie Clough
Mencap
Mencap
Community Connect Worker
Community Connect Worker
Community Connect Worker
Leek Area Office
Leek Area Office
Learning Disabilities Commissioning Team
Tamworth Day Service
Tamworth Day Service
Tamworth Day Service
Tamworth T.U.F.
Moorlands Day Service
Moorlands Day Service
Moorlands Day Service
Staffs County Council
Staffs County Council
Kidsgrove Day Service
Kidsgrove Day Service
Kidsgrove Day Service
Kidsgrove Day Service
Stone Day Service
Stone Day Service
Stone Day Service
Stone Day Service
Stone Day Service
Lichfield Advocacy Group
Reach MP
Reach MP
Reach Project Co-ordinator
Reach MP
Reach Worker
Reach MP
Volunteers for Changing Places
Volunteers for Changing Places
19
People who attended the Leisure Workshop
Wednesday 20th February 2013
Tony Clough
Simon Meyrick
Matthew Thacher
Ray Dingle
Robert Jones
Volunteers for Changing Places
Rockspur
Rockspur
Rockspur
Rockspur
20