Listening and Acting On Workforce Voices

Premise


Can listening to and engaging with a workforce make a positive contribution-we believe it can as long as it is honest, authentic and can show that a "difference for the better" has emerged. We also believe that this will work in any organisation-large or small-providing the process is well managed.


Here are 3 areas for consideration

1. Principles
2. Benefits
3. Challenges

Principles of Listening to Workforce Voices:


o Mutual respect given and received between and within the workforce 
o All adults have equal worth in the workplace
o Communication is open, honest, valued and provides an exchange of ideas and views between workforce
o Investment in the future – accepting that all members of workforce are entitled to express their views about things which will affect and determine their future
o Meaningful active involvement where any decisions about workforce are made with them
o Working relationships are sustainable, effective and responsive
o Equal opportunities exist for workforce to be involved in a range of activities/development processes
o Workforce participation, involvement and voice are continually evaluated and reviewed.


Benefits of Listening to Workforce Voices:


o Gives additional information and insight into what the workforce thinks of structures/management etc
o Helps to strengthen partnerships between workforce and management
o Helps workforce members work out what is best for themselves and their colleagues
o Enables the workforce to gain better understanding of the things that really matter to colleagues
o Helps to create a listening environment
o All workforce members feel valued, respected and treated like equals
o Helps to develop reflective thinking 
o Increased confidence, self esteem and aspirations
o Enables the workforce to become more motivated to get involved in their jobs 
o Strengthens the feeling of community
o Develops teamwork
o Promotes more creative thinking
o Increases effective communication between workforce 


Challenges of Listening to Workforce Voices 


o Some of the workforce may be anxious about criticism of their work/leadership/communication skills
o Some of the workforce may be wary of the unpredictability of comments and views
o Some of the workforce may have reservations about voicing their opinions/blame culture
o Some of the workforce may worry about the loss of authority in their department
o Some of the workforce will not be prepared to accept the opinions of others
o Some of the workforce may use the opportunity to “take over” or dominate discussion areas
o Managing the initiative will call for careful planning/time constraints etc

It Is With Anger and Disbelief!!

The link takes you to an article published about a 16 years old girl called Dana. She had been

• Sexually abused since she was 13
• Groomed for abuse in a classic manner, by someone in authority and with credibility: someone she should have been able to trust
• Removed from what is reported as a successful Foster Placement
• Allocated multiple social workers (12 in 18 months)
• Known to self-harm
• Known to attempt suicide
• Disbelieved

http://tinyurl.com/6dody59

I urge you to follow the link and read the story: whether you work directly with children, young people or vulnerable adults or not, take a couple of minutes and read not only what is said but (crucially), what is left unsaid.

We train professionals in Safeguarding and they are left in no doubt whatsoever as we deliver our programme-believe the child.

Dana found a friend in a trainee teacher who was told by the School’s Child Protection Officer that Dan was an attention seeker.

Without best guessing the outcome of the serious case review it seems that we are once again failing to protect the most vulnerable in spite of a series of what anyone, with the most basic awareness in Safeguarding would recognise as “classic indicators” of a potentially abusive or dangerous situation.

For the trainee teacher who Dana had befriended it is my hope that she/he is able to reconcile that they did the right thing and spoke to the right people: the responsibility for what transpired is shared elsewhere.

A NEW DEVELOPMENT TO MEET OUR PARTNERS’ NEEDS

We now have access to a highly experienced and qualified Children’s Support Worker/Children’s Bereavement Counsellor who brings an extensive background of first-hand experience in supporting Children and Young People traumatic and challenging periods in their lives including:

• Bereavement
• Loss through separation/divorce
• Working with terminally ill Children & Young People
• Working with anger issues

We anticipate that the major benefit to Children, Young People and their Families will be option to access a skilled professional in partnership with their school.
For schools, colleges, academies and training organisations we feel confident that access to this development will enable them to enhance their existing support to young people in distressing circumstances.-we have developed training packages that can be modified to meet your organisation’s needs

Domestic Violence: Child, Young Person or Adult.

Domestic Violence: Child, Young Person or Adult.

Background:

We are about to embark on a launch of our development programme which can be adapted for the all employers, training organisations, schools, academies and colleges and training establishments.

If you would like to find out more about how we could work with you, here are our contact details:

enquiries@coadyconsultants.co.uk 

Telephone 0121-602-7191 (UK)

Mobile 07984409937

or of course, use the comment section on our Blog.

Domestic Violence-Awareness Raising.

Premise

In 2001 women represented 44% of the working age labour force. This figure is set to rise to 48% by 2012. In some specific areas, women will form the majority of the workforce.  It is estimated that 1:4 women will experience domestic violence from men known to them and between 1:8-1:10 will have experienced it within the last year. A woman is at her most vulnerable at the point of leaving a violent relationship.

The Programme

Our programme is drawn from a nationally recognised (Home Office Approved) format providing practical approaches and in doing so establishes:

• Domestic Violence accounts for almost 25% of violent crime
• It crosses social and cultural boundaries
• There are critical events when the targets of domestic violence are at their most vulnerable
• Teachers, Mentors and other colleagues in the Education Workforce may be confided in by parents, carers or co-workers who have been the target of Domestic Violence and are at a point where they need informed assistance
• The targets of Domestic Violence , their colleagues and managers need access to recent information, including signposting to support networks and practical steps for employers
• Misinformed actions or suggestions may exacerbate an already dangerous situation

Members of the Education Workforce are ideally placed to recognise patterns of behaviour that may suggest a child, a parent/carer or an employee is under duress. We believe that we all place worker safety, safeguarding and security at the heart of our Duty of Care to their learners, parents and employees and would wish to develop a positive approach to supporting those who are/have been the targets of domestic violence. We also recognise the impact of Domestic Violence on Learner Achievement, Parental engagement and the investment lost to organisations in terms of skills and expertise when experienced colleagues leave their jobs at short-notice either as a direct or indirect outcome of domestic violence. Our programme will enable participants to

• Acquire a working understanding of the processes targets are subjected to
• Develop overview of perpetrator behaviour
• Understand to support colleagues at the point of disclosure.

Learning Styles

• Participative.
• Presentation & Video Materials (Please note-video materials are “acted” and free from “Shock Tactics”)

Segregate or Integrate: Early Choices Challenge Inclusive Practice

The Times Education Supplement (1/7/11) headline makes for sad reading: “Infants Expelled to Pupil Referral Units”. http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=6092105&navcode=94 The headline is depressing enough: professionally it could have been written twenty years ago. What we saw at that time was an increased number of younger pupils being referred to off-site provision (later to be designated as PRU’s) pupils with a seemingly increasingly complex range of social, behavioural and emotional difficulties, (SEBD).

The terminology was different and the evolution of the descriptor SEBD would have been more helpful had it helped to engage some clearer thinking along the lines of “Now we’ve given it a name, what shall we do with it?” Here’s what I mean. The complexity is in the title: the child has social needs and cannot socialise: the child has behavioural needs and can not behave: the child has emotional needs and is not nurtured, secure or biddable to a point from which they might begin to engage with the needs of others

The notion that the above complexity of needs and the accompanying requirement to produce and deliver long term, sustainable intervention and support programmes when, to quote the article “The units are often used as a temporary “fix”….” is risible,: If this weren’t enough, the PRU’s role is made more complicated because, and to quote again, “Pupils at risk of exclusion are sent to PRU’s for specialist support that it is hoped will see them return to mainstream schools”

We have now what we began twenty years ago: Special Education on The Cheap. The establishment costs of PRU’s are lower than those of Special Schools and the relatively “assessment free” entry requirements means that (as ever) capacity will always be outstripped by demand.

It has been my privilege to be a Head Teacher in two PRU’s: secondary ones admittedly and to manage Behaviour Support Services in two Local Authorities. One of the more painful aspects of the former of the two roles was to tell parents that we were at a point in their child’s programme where we could consider seeking a return to Mainstream. The news was often unwelcome, with parents and carers stating that since being with us, their child had changed, was more settled, less problematic and that home life had improved for the better. They saw a return to Mainstream as an unwanted return to the very environment that had been the reason for their referral to our Centre.

The Advisory Centre for Education advocates that children’s needs should be assessed within the normal mainstream environment. Too often the peaks of extreme behaviours mean that this environment is far from normal as it responds to children whose anxieties are the product of circumstances outside of school. Children are as a result sometimes almost entirely unable to deal with the multiple inputs, instructions, constraints and relationships that feature in the “normal” classroom: the result is that the classroom and its relationship with the child is far from normal: it might be regular, it could be usual but let’s not fool ourselves, it is not normal.

In closing, I observe with some sadness that what we have in place at present is not working. It is neither segregationalist in its intention nor inclusive in its practice. Perhaps we need to reconfigure our thinking along the lines of “as much integration as is possible with as much supportive discrete provision as is necessary” and think about what the approach might mean in terms of developing high impact strategies based on a well focussed assessment of the child’s needs, the family’s circumstances and the adjustments and implications for reintroducing the child to mainstream or retaining him therein.

Our Domestic Violence Awareness Raising Programme: Evaluations

What we have here is combined evaluation of the above, taking the results from the Customer's Evaluation and a slightly different approach, where participants are asked to write a couple of lines on a post card, detailing what the event meant to them: Thanks to Matt for your help in getting all of this together!

A West Midlands University February 2011: Human Resource Officers – Violence against Women by Men They Know – Domestic Violence and associated factors.

We were asked to run a development session regarding the implications of domestic violence and how it affects people in the workplace. It was an important session because statistics suggest that at least one in four people suffer domestic abuse at some point in their lives – which, for the participants, means that it is statistically probable that victims of domestic violence include people they know, and people they work with. The greater majority of the participants of the event wished to obtain a greater understanding of the issues that relate to domestic violence, not least of which the signs of what to look out for from somebody who may be suffering from it. From this; they would like to be able to listen to and offer guidance and advice to the relevant people. This in turn would help them in their job role as Human Resource Officers, though it was suggested by one participant that disclosures are not common.

Most of the participants agree that almost all of the objectives – both the objectives of the event and their personal learning objectives – had been achieved, one of which commented that the course “has covered all of the areas of domestic violence.” The constructive criticism that we received suggested that there wasn’t enough time to cover every aspect of such a large topic, particularly where it relates to recognising the signals that would point to signs of abuse. It was also specifically suggested that it would be useful to spend some time discussing how, as Human Resource Officers, domestic violence issues should be discussed when a member of staff discloses them. This comment will be taken into account when planning future presentations on this domestic violence; however it is recognised that it relates to the work objectives of this particular group.

We also use evaluations to monitor the quality of the materials used for the event. In this situation, there were some comments made about the case examples that we used, but the statistics that highlight the number of cases and the extent of the problem were seen as the more significant factor in increasing and improving the understanding of domestic violence amongst the participants. We received many comments describing the events and statistics as “eye opening,” expressing their surprise of how common and widespread the situation is. They also recognised the quality of John Dooner as the facilitator for this event, who was described as “Informative, tactful, sensitive to DV issues and [the] group,” and generated an active interest amongst the participants to this difficult topic.

We have some interesting and fair responses from the human resource officers. We have improved the understanding of issues of domestic violence with the people in the organisation who are in a position to act should it arise in the course of their duty. While we had very little control over the time constraints of the event, we ultimately feel that the content was arranged and delivered in the best interests of the people involved, and we hope to see the results of the impact we have made on their perceptions and conduct in issues of domestic violence.

"ONE LINE RESPONSES"

• Having access to the information delivered in this programme can only make me more supportive and effective in my role.
• A thought provoking session for all HR professionals (anon)
• An eye opener for those who think life is perfect
• I think that this course is definitely an eye opener as to what is going on in the real world. I found this course very helpful and informative.
• Very useful and informative
• Very informative, was surprised at the numbers involved.
• Eye opening
• A very eye-opening session! I didn’t realise how common this topic was until I saw the statistics.
• Course provided an excellent overview of the subject and increased awareness of the feelings of the target and why they may behave in certain ways.
• The course increased my understanding of the prevalence and “symptoms” of domestic violence, and how it can impact on ‘target.’
• The percentage of women affected by domestic violence is a real eye-opener. It makes you realise that a large percentage of the workforce are affected. This training helps to give you a greater understanding of how you could support staff who are seeking help from someone.
• It was an eye opener to find out how many women are abused/part of domestic violence and the behaviours of the perpetrators.
• Very thought-provoking and challenging stuff, but a very valuable course.
• A good comprehensive overview into the key issues of this thought-provoking area.
• Very difficult topic – sadly more prevalent than you would anticipate. Thank you.

December Newsletter 2010

THIS ACADEMIC YEAR

We have continued to deliver direct support to Children and Young People who are experiencing challenges that impact on their behaviour, attendance and performance we have worked alongside Leadership Teams, Mentors, Attendance Specialists and Data Managers

A NEW DEVELOPMENT TO MEET OUR PARTNERS' NEEDS

We now have access to a highly experienced and qualified Children's Support Worker/Children's Bereavement Counsellor who brings an extensive background of first-hand experience in supporting Children and Young People traumatic and challenging periods in their lives including:

• Bereavement
• Loss through separation/divorce
• Working with terminally ill Children & Young People

It is intended that our new Associate Consultant will be available to work in existing partner schools and to extend our work to others from January 2010-more information will be available early in the new term.

We anticipate that the major benefit to Children, Young People and their Families will be option to access a skilled professional in partnership with their school.

For schools, colleges, academies and training organisations we feel confident that access to this development will enable them to enhance their existing support to young people in distressing circumstances.

Motivating Trainees.

The following write-up of our work was received after a Workforce Development Programme with Trinity Training, Wolverhampton. Excellent communications with Trinity Training resulted in our delivering an event that matched trainee and instructor needs.

http://www.trinity-training.com/


“We approached Coady Consultants in May 2010 seeking assistance in the development of an improvement plan relating to behaviour and classroom management.  Since that  time, John Dooner has worked with us, providing advice and resources to enable the views of all parties – staff and learners – to be obtained and analysed, and delivering staff training relating to the concerns that had come to light. We have been very impressed by John’s willingness to adapt his materials to suit our particular needs- he seemed to have an instinctive understanding of our requirements - , his attention to detail and his enthusiasm.  The staff training day resulted in an on-going action plan and we may well seek John’s assistance with the implementation of this in the future.”

Janette Clough
Staff Development Manager

SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN YOUNG PEOPLE AND VULNERABLE ADULTS

A West Midlands University:

December 2010: Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable Adults

As part of our on-going working relationship with a local university, we have worked with H.R professionals to develop Safeguarding Policies.  Faculties and activity area have each nominated a Designated Representatives as a “first point of contact” for their particular area. Comments received from participants are heartening; most of who were looking to improve their understanding of Safeguarding issues, particularly with regard to policy and procedures.

Most felt that the objective of the event had “achieved stated aims,” the event being informative with “effective contextualisation and group discussion.” We have taken on board the small number of constructive comments

Participants felt that the course did much to improve their understanding of Safeguarding issues. They all responded positively, including one individual who was heavily involved in the drafting of the University’s current policy.

For many, the course reinforced knowledge that they already had, while at the same time increasing their confidence in dealing with such matters. One person who is relatively new to teaching commented that they found the event “Enjoyable, informative, thought provoking – left me reflecting on my practice.” Most of the participants agreed that attendance on the course would help them to achieve their work objectives. One of the participants who deals with these issues on a regular basis commented that while our course doesn’t answer all of the questions, it was “very useful indeed.”

All of the participants gave positive feedback regarding the delivery of the event, describing the tutor John Dooner as “knowledgeable, engaging [and] interesting,” with a “very friendly but clear delivery.” We have a significant pride in delivery quality of our presentations, and we were pleased to see that this occasion was no exception.

All in all we were very encouraged by the responses from the university. We have improved the understanding of these very serious issues with a substantial number of people who will now feed this information back to their relevant departments. We found such criticism as there was to be fair and constructive, and we’re looking forward to implementing the development points that they implicitly provide for us.