Exceptional People Needed

1. From the first steps the person (and their chosen family and friends) enjoys as much control as possible and there is a commitment to this control growing.
2. The starting point to developing great support is the person’s aspirations about where they want to live and the life they want to have; a conversation about support then follows from this.
3. Supporters (staff) are recruited by and around the individual. They don’t work across services. Staff are not a substitute for friends, community peers, co-workers and neighbours.
4. The person chooses where they live and who, if anyone, they live with. The person is the tenant or owner of their own home or perhaps they live with family. There is a clear separation of housing and support.
5. Funding is sustainable and is designed and used around the individual.
6. Small supports organisations stay with people. Change and challenges are expected so they don’t withdraw support or ‘sell’ services on.
7. Small supports organisations are rooted in their local community - in their work, leadership, recruitment and actions.
8. The organisations stay relatively small. Knowing each person well means not growing by more than three to five people a year and finding a natural size where people are known and valued, and the organisation is financially sustainable.
9. Small supports organisations are developed around these practices. Taking some of these practices and making them aspirations within large, segregated services and will not deliver the desired outcomes.

We know that ‘the system’ doesn’t always work well to support great people to establish local services so each area has been looking at how their commissioners and development people can work better. Remember that each area is different but the sort of things happening locally include:

> Information sharing sessions about small supports

> Access to experienced small supports leaders

> Access to emerging national networks

> Help with business planning

> Direct access to grants or help in identifying development funding

> Assistance with registration and local procurement processes

> Connecting new organisations with people and families interested in small supports

> Listening.

What we have noticed about people leading small support organisations is that they:

> Are led by a passion for people having great lives

> Have a background in providing or commissioning services, some are people with lived experience and family members

> Are committed to human rights

> Understand great support

> Understand community

> Want the challenge and opportunities of setting up and leading their own organisation

> Aspire to provide high quality, local support and remain small enough to ‘touch the sides’ of their organisation

> Understand when something is wrong and seek to change it.

Looking at some existing small support organisations will help you learn more. We would suggest Beyond Limits, C-Change and Positive Support for You.

Here you can find Dave, Sam and Doreen talking about the organisations they lead. And here you will find more information and blogs about the Small Supports programme.

These are the areas currently seeking to develop small support organisations. Clicking on area will link you to their website or contact information. Please remember that we are just thinking about support for people with ‘hefty reputations’.

> Birmingham and Solihull

> The Black Country (Walsall, Dudley, Sandwell and Wolverhampton)

> Bradford

> Coventry and Warwickshire

> Cornwall

> Cumbria

> Hertfordshire

> Lancashire and South Cumbria

> Leeds

> South Tyneside

> Stoke On Trent

> Suffolk

If your locality isn’t listed above, then they are not part of our Small Supports programme. That doesn’t mean that it's not worth getting in touch with them, perhaps even nudge them to join the programme (information about recruiting new sites will be added shortly).

We are a partnership of two development organisations (the National Development Team for Inclusion and the Local Government Association) working to achieve local changes alongside three small supports organisations (Beyond Limits, C-Change, NDTi, Positive Support for You) by sharing our experiences and expertise. We are financially supported by NHS England.

More information about the Small Supports programme can be found here.