Expanding Horizons

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Welcome to Expanding Horizons

Welcome to Expanding Horizons (click here for menu)

Expanding Horizons is a new organisation established in 2005 to provide quality specialist care and support services within the social and health care sector.

The company continues to reflect current trends and developments in service provision for younger adults, working in partnership with service user groups, purchasers and commissioners to provide needs-led, person-centred services. Our current services include: Residential Care, Practice Learning Facilitation, Forensic services, Training services, Independent Social Work Reports and Accommodation Services.

We are also currently in the process of developing an extensive range and choice of flexible, high-quality services that will enable service users to be supported in their own home and community whilst retaining independence and quality of life.

About us (click here for menu)

To be accommodated in a homely environment, with individuals who are of similar age, and have similar needs and interests in life enhances the sense of belonging, enables people to establish effective relationships and builds confidence and self-esteem. Therefore, it is important that the way we provide services varies, dependant on the assessed needs of the individual.

Expanding Horizons prides itself with the provision of quality support services for people with Learning Disabilities and associated Mental Health issues. We are experienced in supporting people with physical and emotional difficulties and can offer individually tailored packages for people with challenging behaviour and intensive support needs.

Expanding Horizons mission statement is to provide quality housing, support and training services to individuals, communities, and business. We are committed to working in partnership with local authorities, communities and user groups to ensure we provide responsive, flexible, and high quality services to all our customers”. We have developed a philosophy of care aimed at ensuring the standards of service we offer remains of the highest quality. All our customers can expect us to treat them by promoting these values:

RIGHTS - Service users will be assisted to gain control over their lives by directly participating in issues that affect their lives. Service users are empowered to exercise the same rights as other citizens.

CHOICE - Service users will be supported to make informed choices which enable them to contribute effectively to the decisions that affect their everyday lives.

INDEPENDENCE - Service users are able to increase self esteem and enhance self image by gaining and maintaining skills. They will be respected as unique, individuality will be safeguarded, and opinions will be valued, listened and responded to.

Service profile (click here for menu)

Registered Care Homes
Our Registered Care homes are located in the Bargoed and Pontypool areas of South Wales. In line with best practice and the ethos of ‘Valuing People’ Expanding Horizons provides accommodation and support in small domestic style homes, which form an integral part of community life.

Service users have the comfort of their own fully furnished bed-sitting room. All rooms are well ventilated; heating can be independently controlled by the individual. People are encouraged to personalise their rooms by bringing their own furnishings at their request wherever appropriate.

Expanding Horizons aim is to provide small homes, located at the heart of the community, where people are empowered to live with peers of their own age and with similar needs. We actively promote personal friendships, and endeavour to provide services in line with our ethos of rights, choice and independence.

Expanding Horizons Residential Care Homes support Young Adults (18 -64) with:
• Learning disabilities
• Autistic Spectrum Disorder / Aspergers
• Behaviours that challenge
• Associated mental health issues
• Dual Diagnosis

Nursing Care is not provided within these homes, where the individual requires such services, they will be provided by the Generic Nursing and Medical Services

Independent Social Work
Sometimes when there are disputes between service users and providers, or where someone has a Mental Health Review Tribunal (MHRT) or Hospital Managers Review there is a need for an independent social work report. We may be able to assist. Please contact us to discuss your requirements or for an informal discussion of the services we provide.

Practice learning Facilitator
Practice learning is at the heart of the new degree in social work. Students must spend a minimum of 200 days of their training in work settings and are assessed on their performance throughout this time. This will usually be done over 2-4 separate periods, depending on the design of individual courses. Students must undertake a period of assessed preparation before they begin their practice learning, to ensure that they are ready to do so.

Students need to gain a wide range of practice experience to prepare them for a future in which social workers will be based in many different settings. All students need to spend some of their practice learning time in settings where social workers undertake statutory social work.

There is also a vital role for organisations across the public, voluntary, independent and private sectors in making sure that the next generation of social workers is well equipped to provide a high quality service to service users and carers.
We can support your organisation by providing a professionally qualified and experienced facilitator to mentor your practice teachers through the process, or if appropriate, we can provide a fully inclusive external facilitation service.

Supported Living
Expanding Horizons are currently developing its range of services to include Supported Living Support to people with learning disabilities. Supported Living is now a successful alternative for many people to residential care.

Supported Living gives people more choice about the support they receive, enabling people with a learning disability to choose a support service that meets their needs. People can choose:-
• Where they live
• How they live
• Who they live with
• Who supports them
• How they are supported

Expanding Horizons believe that the Supported Living model of service should be available to everyone, including those with the most complex needs

Forensic Services
Expanding Horizons also provides bespoke specialist Residential and supported living services for adults with mild to moderate learning disabilities and a forensic history.
We believe that people with learning disabilities and challenging behaviour have the right to have their needs met. We recognise that they may require additional help and support to overcome the obstacles their behaviour presents. Key features of the way we support people with a history of offending behaviour include the following:

• Individual assessment of need including personality, offending behaviour and other presenting problems
• Treatment programmes address specific offending behaviours and are tailored to the individual’s cognitive ability
• Drug and alcohol awareness programme
• A multi-disciplinary team approach comprising medical, nursing, psychology, occupational therapy, art therapy,
physiotherapy, speech and language therapy, education, dietetics and social work services.

Recruitment (click here for menu)

Expanding Horizons continues to grow, we are currently developing new services and opening new care homes in response to the needs of the sector. Consequently, we are expanding the range of in-house career opportunities open to new and existing employees. We are always interested in hearing from:

Registered Managers
Senior Support Workers
Support Workers
Deputy Managers
Relief Support Workers
Experience is not essential for the majority of our vacancies as full induction training (in line with the Care Council for Wales Induction Framework) will be provided, We also pride ourselves on the way we positively encourage continuous professional development within our staff teams, so you can expect to revisit current skills and develop new one’s regularly throughout the year via regular in-house and external study days. Your manager will discuss your learning needs with you on a regular basis at supervision and performance reviews.

All we ask from you is that you are committed to your role, working as part of a professional and highly motivated support team. In return you can expect:

Salaries:
Registered Managers - £18,750 - £26,000
Deputy Managers - £15,600 - £18750
Senior Support Workers - £13,520 - £14,560
Support Workers - £11,960 - £14,040
Relief Support Workers - £5.35 - 5.75 per hour

Additional benefits:
Personal training allowance
Up to 5 weeks paid Annual leave
Bonus payments for achieving NVQ qualifications
Flexible work opportunities.
Continuous Professional Development
For further information on current vacancies please enquire via the contact us page

Referrals (click here for menu)

Once referred, the appropriate service manager will work alongside the service user and/ or care manager in compiling a ‘service user profile’ to assess the needs of the individual. The information contained within this profile will determine whether or not the admission criteria for a proposed placement has been met .

If all parties reach agreement at this stage, the service manager will arrange for the person to be introduced to the other service users and staff at the home, ensuring that mutually convenient times are agreed by all parties.

At this stage, the staff team at the home will perform the following methods of secondary assessment:
• Direct observations - discussions with service users.
• Written reports.
• Person-centred planning to develop current and future support needs.
• Behavioural reports and analysis.
• Social history report highlighting person’s background.
• Multi-disciplinary meetings..

The stage 3 Assessment will determine the levels of support required to ensure the clients holistic needs are met during their stay.

Following the period of introductory visits, we will collaborate with the purchaser to reach agreement in relation fees.

Within 8 weeks of moving in a formal multi agency meeting will be held to make sure all parties are happy with the support being delivered and appropriateness of the service in meeting the service users need.

All contractual, financial matters and appropriate individual care contracts must be agreed and signed prior to a client moving into one of our care homes.

If you would like to make a referral, or if you would like to discuss your clients needs further with us to determine whether we are able to meet their specific needs please contact either of the following:

Tim Jenkins - (01443) 875000 | Wendy Walker - (01495) 767730

Quality (click here for menu)

Investor in People
At Expanding Horizons we pride ourselves on the quality of the services we provide. Along with external compliance and regulatory inspections, we have developed a comprehensive in-house Quality Assurance Desktop Audit monitoring system which appraises each service to ensure standards are met and then exceeded; we carry out monthly P.I.C Audits; and support our people by utilising the nationally recognised Investors in People’ model, an organisation with whom we are accredited.

Everyone agrees that people are an organisation's greatest asset, and we all know that for an organisation to succeed everyone has to perform well. To achieve this, people need the right knowledge, skills and motivation to work efficiently.

The Investors in People Standard gives Expanding Horizons a framework to ensure that we achieve this. The Investors in People Standard is there to help us improve the way we work. We have to meet the same criteria – or 'indicators' as other organisations. Investors in People recognise that organisations use different means to achieve success through their people. It does not prescribe any one method but provides a framework to help us find the most suitable means for achieving success through our people.

We can tell that our investment in people is making a difference because we have processes in place to implement, review and where necessary change working practices. However, the best way of finding out what impact our investment in people has had is to talk to our people to find out what difference it has made to them, their team and the organisation.

Quality Assurance Desktop Audit
At Expanding Horizons we also carry out an annual Quality Assurance Desktop Audit. This is conducted by the Company Directors who focus on reviewing and revising organisational policies and procedures, conduct stakeholder surveys, and formulate strategic and operational plans. The Desktop Audit system includes over 1000 audit points and is a rolling process that takes approximately 40 weeks to complete. Following completion of this process, the Directors utilise the information gathered during the Audit to set goals and objectives for continuous improvement that will be implemented via the subsequent development (action) plan.

P.I.C Audits
A Company Director also completes a PIC Audit for each of the services on an monthly basis. This involves a review of each service they oversee, talking to service users and staff actively observing everyday activities.
As part of this process services are appraised for compliance against a number of nationally recognised indicators. Each indicator is given a score to see how well the service is performing, ranging from ‘0 - not complying’ to ‘5 - excellent practice’.

Following the P.I.C Audit the Operational Manager writes a report summarising the findings and any recommendations that have arisen. This is forwarded to the Service Manager who is required to action any recommendations within one month.

Contact (click here for menu)

Address:
Springwells
Skirrid Court
Llanvihangel Crucorney
Abergavenny
Monmouthshire
NP7 8DQ

Tel: 01443 875000 | 01495 767730
Email: tim@expandinghorizons.co.uk | wendy@expandinghorizons.co.uk