Personalisation

VAS offers information and support to local voluntary and community organisations so they are fully aware of the implications, and opportunities, around personalisation.

Background
Useful Information
Resources at Sheffield City Council
Links
Skilling Up for Personalisation

Background

Personalisation and the introduction of self-directed support requires voluntary and third sector service providers to consider some important questions, and make appropriate changes in order to maximise opportunities available through personalisation:

  • think radically about what service provision and support is available locally, how it is delivered, and what difference it makes to people's lives
  • ensure that all staff training and development is informed by the principles of personalisation, and promotes person-centred and relationship-based working
  • building open, co-productive relationships with the people using the service, commissioners, local authority care managers and the wider community is key to succeeding in this changing environment
  • agree a ‘personalisation statement' for your service with everyone involved, including frontline staff and people who use your service, and use this to evaluate current delivery and identify areas for improvement
  • you may need to think innovatively and make continuous improvements in partnership with people using the service, and their carers.

Useful Information:

New model for Carers Support
Sheffield City Council and NHS Sheffield are changing the way they commission support services in the voluntary sector for carers from April 2012.  The new proposed model will have three key parts;
1) Short-term intensive support
2) Longer-term support
3) Flexible short breaks.

If you or someone you know would like more information, or would like to let the Council and the NHS know what types of support you currently receive which help you to carry on caring, please contact:
- Cherry Daniels, Sheffield City Council - 0114 273 4746 / cherry.daniels@sheffield.gov.uk
- Elise Gilwhite, NHS Sheffield - 0114 305 1074 / elise.gilwhite@nhs.net

Reports

Understanding Personalisation - Main Report 

Understanding Personalisation - Research Briefing

Understanding Personalisation - Summary Report

VAS Report - Personalisation - Surviving & Thriving in the VCS

SCIE (Social Care Institute for Excellence) - Personalisation: A Rough Guide


Resources at Sheffield City Council

If you know or come across people who may be in need of the Council's Social Care help, then first contact the Council's Access team, 0114 273 4908, to arrange for an initial assessment to see if they are eligible for support to meet their needs. 

The Council's Self Directed Support website is regularly updated and it's worth keeping up with any changes.  Go to: http://www.sheffield.gov.uk/caresupport/adults/gethelp/asc.  On that website, you'll find an Introductory Leaflet to Self Directed Support as well as the latest news on Self Directed Support.  For details of how Self Directed Support and Support Planning work, then find copies of the Toolkits at: http://www.sheffield.gov.uk/caresupport/adults/gethelp/asc/supportplanning/sptoolkit .

If you have any queries regarding Self Directed Support, then please email your question to: selfdirectedsupport@sheffield.gov.uk. Your question will then be logged and answered as quickly as possible.  If you don't have access to a computer, then ring the Self Directed Support team on 0114 273 6837 or 0114 273 6704 or the Self Directed Support Helpline, 0114 273 6837 (the Helpline is open Monday-Friday 10am-12pm).

If you'd like people who receive their own budget through Self Directed Support to know about your group and the services you offer, then you can enter details on the Help Yourself website. This website will be one of the main ways in which individuals, carers, support planners, social workers find out about services so it could be helpful to get your details on there.  You'll need to make sure that you think hard when describing your service about which words you want to make ‘keywords' (those words that people looking for a service might use to search on) - one way to do this would be to ask your existing group members which words they would look for to describe the group.

Links:

Sheffield City Council - Self-Directed Support

In Control

Skilling Up for Personalisation

On 17 September 2010, VAS held a conference designed to address the issues for VCS organisations around personalisation.  Below are the presentations and information provided at this event;

Event Report

Presentation - Luke Morton, Sheffield City Council

Presentation - Chris Dayson, Centre for Regional Economic & Social Research

Summary Report - Understanding Personalisation

Workshop - Effective financial planning

Workshop - Marketing, and knowing your customer

Workshop - Legal structures - choose the right one for your organisation