Partners for Inclusion Open Day

Kilmarnock-based Social Care Providers Partners for Inclusion held an open day in April 2006 to formally open their new permanent office based in the town’s West Kirk. The company, which has undertaken social care provision in Ayrshire and Renfrewshire since 2000, has already gained an enviable reputation as a provider at the cutting edge of the sector. The open day provided Partners for Inclusion with an opportunity to introduce itself and its work to the wider community, with a presentation of their achievements and a showcase of their recent activities. Guests appearing on the day included local MP Des Brown, MSP Margaret Jamieson as well as players from Kilmarnock FC.

During its short but already impressive history, Partners for Inclusion has gained an enviable reputation within the sector as an innovative provider with a uniquely successful approach to care provision. An independent evaluation in 2004 found the company to be “an excellent example of an organisation offering individually tailored support. It is visionary, knowledgeable and thoughtful, unique of its kind”. This commitment to excellence was further rewarded in November 2005 when Partners for Inclusion won a National Training Award for their role in the development of a new Higher Education Certificate in Person Centred Approaches for Social Care Workers at Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh. The success of this course and subsequent demand for places on it has validated the company’s long-held belief that the Social Care Sector in Scotland was ready to embrace more creative approaches to their services.

At the heart of Partners for Inclusion’s remarkable success is its central commitment to Person Centred Planning, a fundamentally different way of seeing and working with people with disabilities. The central tenet of person centred care provision is to discover and act upon what is important to that person, to discover their aspirations and look upon ways that these can be achieved. The eventual service will be able to change with the changing needs of the person. Also important is that all views, from all the important people in an individual’s life are listened to and respected. Consulting amongst family and friends of the person with as much attention as one would listen to a professional, helps ease the transition to wider community life, an ordinary life, and most importantly, a real life. The company sees itself and its activities very much of the community, rather than merely in the community, with some recently successful community events such as a Christmas Pantomime, and an Annual Ball.

Among the events that took place on the open day were presentations from guest speakers, interactive stalls and a graffiti wall. There was also various live musical acts and dramatic entertainments including a demonstration from the company’s Christmas panto as well as other drama scenes. Free hospitality was provided throughout the day.

The Open Day was held on Friday 7th April 2006.