About Us

We support disabled people with learning disabilities and/or autism and their families to improve their lives, wellbeing and health with:

• information
• advocacy
• support
• community connecting
• opportunities to get together to learn, have fun and support each other

We support organisations which provide services, in order to improve the lives of people with learning disabilities and autism with:

• co-production
• consultation
• service user engagement
• training & consultancy
• Quality Checkers

We support innovation and collaboration in order to bring about improvements in society and services.

Our website: http://skillsforpeople.org.uk/about/ 

Services

Speaking up groups

Newcastle – all people with learning disabilities

• Woman’s Zone
• Men of the North
• Geordie Mums
• Geordie Voices

North East

• AAA (All Autistics Accepted)

Redcar and Cleveland, Tees – people with learning disabilities, autism or both

• Independent Voices
• Womens self advocacy
• Advocacy is not an avocado (young people)

 (Skills for People groups take a lead on many issues from Clean Air consultation, taking a lead on the Whorlton Hall Scandal in the North East, developing training, Safe Places in Redcar and Clevleand etc)

     Engagement

• Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust (We support a group of people with learning disabilities to get feedback through groups, ward presence, exit interviews, and support wide range of staff training, recruitment etc)
• Confirm and Challenge Newcastle Local Implementation Group (Transforming Care)
• NORIG – collaborative commissioning hub
• Local go to organisation for consultation

Supporting families of disabled children

• Info advice support
• Connecting people to activities
• Peer support (inc PIOP facebook)
• Coffee mornings and events
• Courses-preparing for adulthood
• Wikis pilot
• Positive Behaviour Support training
• Families engagement worker with NTW (Shona)

Parent leadership course – part of Leading Together for a Change programme

Information and guidance adults

Information, advice and guidance, community connecting

Well-Being

Wide range of programmes to raise awareness, educate and provide peer support to help people with learning disabilities improve their health and wellbeing

• Love Life sexuality and relationship course
• Developing the Mindfulness Hub
• Developing Diabetes training
• Working with NHS on cancer awareness training

 Help and Connect Newcastle and  Redcar and Cleveland project to connect people to their local community

Easy Read – our easy read service is recognised throughout the North East and further for the quality of our easy read. Nothing is to hard or complicated for our team to undertake.

Quality Checkers and NHS Quality Checkers

• Quality Checks and training for Quality Checkers of social care and health

Creating new NHS process for NHS Quality Checks of breast and bowel screening