Kalm Living

A Message from Lord Pickles and Lord Blunkett, followed by Kalm Living's best practice article

The ability to listen and learn from one another has always been vital in parliament, in business and in most aspects of daily life. But at this particular moment in time, as national and global events continue to reiterate, it is uncommonly crucial that we forge new channels of communication and reinforce existing ones. The following article from Kalm Living is an attempt to do just that. We would welcome your thoughts on this or any other Parliamentary Review article.

Rt Hon The Lord David Blunkett

Rt Hon The Lord Eric Pickles

www.kalmsupportedliving.com

THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW

Highlighting best practice

32 | KALM LIVING

Mike, Lynda and Carl Armstrong

Our cosy cafe

Kalm Supported Living support individuals aged 16 to 65 living

independently in single-sex houses of their choice. They offer a

unique 24-hour, seven-day-a-week service, which is delivered

by dedicated support staff. Lynda Armstrong and Mike Armstrong

founded the organisation in 2008, in response to local need.

Following several meetings with social services, the agreed

methods were implemented to ensure a quality and effective

service. Lynda and Mike discuss the methods they implement.

We provide support to people with learning difficulties who live across eight privately

rented houses. All the individuals we support have their own tenancy agreements,

which they are responsible for, but if standards fall below the high expectations that

we have, staff are there to offer support. In this way we can ensure service users feel

safe while they take control of their lives and achieve their own level of confidence.

High standard of service

We founded the organisation in response to local need. We have 50 years

experience between us, and from one initial service user, who is still with the

company, we now employ 37 staff who support 32 individual clients..

There is a clear need for ongoing education to enable individuals with learning

disabilities to live as independently as possible. To this end we have created our

own “Educare Centre” where people can learn independent living skills as well as

having the opportunity to gain work experience in our café, pottery and second-

hand shop while experiencing ongoing social interaction. All service users are

encouraged to engage with the local community by attending clubs and activities,

FACTS ABOUT

KALM LIVING

»Founders: Lynda and Mike

Armstrong

»Managers: Carl Armstrong

»Established in 2008

»Based in Appledore, Devon

»No. of employees: 37

»Services: Support for

individuals to live their own

lives

»www.kalmsupportedliving.com

Kalm Living

33KALM LIVING |

BEST PRACTICE REPRESENTATIVE 2019

including the Special Olympics where

we are extremely proud of our service

users’ achievements.

One service user has been employed

full time by a local company for the last

18 months and others attend various

work-related local projects; however,

all our students are here for different

reasons and they all need support at

different levels, which is what we strive

to achieve.

Investment in staff and

technology

We have excellent staff retention

rates, with some staff having been

with the company since its inception.

This ensures continuity for our service

users, with staff training and continual

professional development resulting

in 95 per cent of staff acquiring NVQ

Level 2 or above. The staff team is the

company’s most valuable asset and

we ensure all staff are consulted and

supported as we work together to

achieve our shared goals.

KSL operates an open-door policy for

staff, service users and their families

and actively encourages families to be

involved in the service user’s life. The

location of our offices, café and shop

on the same site allows managers

to see service users on a daily basis,

ensuring we provide and maintain a

highly individual service.

As a company we are always

interested in new technology and have

researched and how use AutonoMe

to help service users develop their

independent living skills. AutonoMe

has the world’s largest library of

instructional videos to assist those

with learning disabilities including an

interactive cookbook featuring easy to

understand instructions for snacks and

main meals, and we encourage service

users to plan their own meals and

make healthy choices.

Hubba Choir

To help our service users engage in

community activities, we founded the

Hubba Choir in 2012. The following

year they took part in a competition,

the prize for which was an opportunity

to open the show for singer Charlie

Landsborough when he performed

at the Queen’s Theatre in Barnstaple.

Twenty-two service users took part and

KSL ten year anniversary

KSL operates

an open-door

policy for

staff, service

users and their

families and

actively

encourages

families to be

involved in the

service user’s

life

“

THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW

Highlighting best practice

34 | KALM LIVING

at the interval a collection was made

for Children in Need.

Each year, the Hubba Choir also take

part in Appledore Christmas Fayre,

where they entertain the public with

songs from a chosen film as well

as traditional Christmas carols. The

performances are always enjoyed by

service users, relatives, staff and the

public and taking part in these public

performances helps to build service

users’ confidence and self belief.

Overcoming industry

challenges

There are numerous challenges facing

the industry as a whole, including

financial issues surrounding the

increase in the minimum wage,

enhanced pension contributions and

the ongoing confusion over sleep-

in rates. The implementation of the

recent supported living reviews and

unrealistic timescales have placed a

large burden on both support and

office staff over the last 12 months,

and lack of communication between

governing bodies has resulted in

numerous grey areas. Staff changes

within social service provision have

resulted in lack of consistency for

service users with some having had as

many as three social workers within

the space of 12 months, which is

clearly far from ideal.

Our goals for the future include

the provision of independent living

flats which would bridge the gap

between supported living and living

totally independently. There is a need

to provide this as an in-between

stage where service users are more

independent but have the assurance

of support if required. Enhanced

independence can be achieved

together with further integration

into the community. The model we

envisage would be based on that of

current Sheltered Accommodation

Services but would not be age

restricted. Our recent registration with

the CQC will provide us with a wider

spectrum for our support services

in the future. We will continue to

support local charities through our

local shop and café, as we have in

thepast.

The

performances

are always

enjoyed by

service users,

relatives, staff

and the public

and taking

part in these

public

performances

helps to build

service users’

confidence

and self belief

“

»CASE STUDY

Jack was born with multiple health issues including

Down syndrome and his parents were advised that the

duration and quality of his life would be severely limited.

In addition, at the age of 12 Jack was diagnosed with

leukaemia and fought for his life for 18 months.

While living at home, Jack began attending Barnstaple

Ability Football where he met several existing KSL

service users and strong friendships were formed to

the point where Jack decided that he would like to

join his friends in supported living.

This was a difficult decision for Jack’s parents to come

to terms with, but they realised that this was Jack’s

dream and he should be encouraged to follow it.

Since joining KSL in 2013 Jack has grown in ability,

confidence and self-belief and for the last two years has

attended the Special Olympics, gaining medals on both

occasions. Jack also volunteers at a local day centre.

Jack with his Olympic

medals

www.kalmsupportedliving.com

This article was sponsored by Kalm Living. The Parliamentary Review is wholly funded by the representatives who write for it. The publication in which this article originally appeared contained the following foreword from Rt Hon Kwasi Kwarteng.

Rt Hon Kwasi Kwarteng's Foreword For The Parliamentary Review

By Rt Hon Kwasi Kwarteng

This year’s Parliamentary Review reflects on a tumultuous and extraordinary year, globally and nationally. As well as being an MP, I am a keen student of history, and I am conscious that 2020 would mark the end of an era. It will be remembered as the year in which we concluded Brexit negotiations and finally left the European Union. Above all, it will be remembered as the year of Covid-19.

In our fight against the pandemic, I am delighted that our vaccination programme is beginning to turn the tide – and I pay tribute to the British businesses, scientists and all those who have helped us to achieve this. But the virus has dealt enormous damage, and we now have a duty to rebuild our economy.

We must ensure that businesses are protected. We have made more than £350 billion available to that end, with grants, business rates relief and our furlough scheme supporting more than 11 million people and jobs in every corner of the country, maintaining livelihoods while easing the pressure on employers. The next step is to work with business to build back better and greener, putting the net zero carbon challenge at the heart of our recovery. This is a complex undertaking, but one which I hope will be recognised as a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Through the prime minister’s ten point plan for a green industrial revolution, we can level up every region of the UK, supporting 250,000 green jobs while we accelerate our progress towards net zero carbon emissions.

With our commitment to raise R&D spending to 2.4% of GDP and the creation of the Advanced Research & Invention Agency, we are empowering our fantastic researchers to take on groundbreaking research, delivering funding with flexibility and speed. With this approach, innovators will be able to work with our traditional industrial heartlands to explore new technologies, and design and manufacture the products on which the future will be built – ready for export around the globe.

And I believe trade will flourish. We are a leading nation in the fight against climate change. As the host of COP26 this year, we have an incredible opportunity to market our low-carbon products and expertise. Our departure from the EU gives us the chance to be a champion of truly global free trade; we have already signed trade deals with more than 60 countries around the world.

As we turn the page and leave 2020 behind, I am excited about the new chapter which Britain is now writing for itself, and for the opportunities which lie ahead of us.

Rt Hon Kwasi Kwarteng
Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy