Issuu

RICHARD WHITBY

Reflecting on Our Journey

As I write this introduction to the second annual review of my tenure as CEO, it is astonishing to realise how swiftly time has passed since I joined the charity early in 2023. This is a testament to the joy and fulfilment our work brings. The adage “time flies when you’re having fun” couldn’t be more apt.

A Year of Transition and Growth

The year 2023/24 has been a period of significant achievement and transition for us. We bid farewell to two esteemed members of our executive team, Jim Strain, our HR Director, and Louise Parnell, our Finance Director. Their unwavering commitment and service have left an indelible mark on our charity, and we extend our heartfelt gratitude for their contributions. In the wake of these retirements, we embraced change and revitalised our executive structure, welcoming Helen Bilton as Director of People and Culture, Chris Cullen as Estates & Facilities Director, and Christina Davies as Finance Director. Their fresh perspectives and expertise are invaluable assets as we forge ahead.

Bilton Director of People & Culture

Christina Davies Director of Finance

Chris Cullen Director of Estates & Facilities

“The year has been a period of significant achievement”

Innovating Our Day Services

The summer of 2023 marked a pivotal moment for our Day Services, with Angie Kemp stepping up as the Executive Lead, supported by our new Head of Day Services, Sarah Nelson.

We’ve reimagined our approach, transitioning from activity-based areas to a more holistic, personcentred model. This reconfiguration allows for a diverse range of activities – music, creative arts, physical activities – to flourish in each area.

We’ve introduced distinct streams to cater to the varied needs and aspirations of those we support:

Sensory Stream: Tailored to individuals seeking sensory-rich experiences, this stream includes activities designed to engage and stimulate, with an emphasis on outdoor involvement.

Skills Development Stream: Focused on personal growth, this stream utilises a skills pathway and individualised session plans to foster development and provide enriching experiences.

Work Skills Stream: Aimed at fostering independence, this stream presents more complex tasks, preparing individuals for the next stage in their journey.

Pathway to Work Stream: For those aspiring to employment, this stage offers personalised support, starting with volunteering and potentially leading to paid opportunities.

Helen

Recognition and Partnerships

Our commitment to excellence was recognised by the local authorities’ implementation of the Provider Assessment Market Management Solution (PAMMS), where we received outstanding feedback. Also, a heartfelt thank you to Riverside Housing for their generous donation of buildings in Bromborough Pool. Their support has been instrumental in shaping a sustainable future for the area, guided by community input.

Financial Milestones

This year, our financial standing has been remarkably robust, achieving the largest surplus in over a decade. Strategic initiatives such as reducing agency staff reliance, bolstering our full-time workforce, and expanding our services have been key to this success.

THE 5 YEAR VISION

The surplus enables us to invest in our services meaningfully – including acquiring two Residential properties – further reinforcing our commitment to excellence and stability.

Looking Ahead: Our Five-Year Strategy

For the start of 2024, our Executive and Board united to chart a new Five-Year Strategy, setting a clear direction for the charity that addresses current social care demands and ensures our future resilience.

A Year of Recognition

Our efforts were honoured last year as we were named finalists in several prestigious awards, both nationally and regionally. While we didn’t claim the top accolades, the recognition of our hard work fills me with immense pride.

A MESSAGE FROM OUR CHAIR OF TRUSTEES

IAIN CADMAN

lot about the passion that they have for the work that they do.

It is important for us to have strong finances to be able to invest in our infrastructure, when and where necessary, so it is pleasing to see that our financial position this year remains healthy.

This has been another very positive year for the organisation and thanks must go to all our people for their part in achieving this.

We are delighted that our CEO, Richard Whitby, has settled into the role and that he and the Executive Team are providing strong and positive leadership. The Trustees know that the strength of the organisation is in the care that it provides, but also know that we should always aim to improve how we do things. It is great to see new ideas and approaches coming through from our people and this tells me a

For example, our property portfolio changed significantly this year, with the addition of properties in Bromborough Pool and the need for investment at Raby Hall. Although projects can take a number of years, the funding of any changes will be high on the agenda over the next twelve months.

We are conscious of the challenges in the care sector, and we continue to embrace them and look to improve.

I know that for all our Trustees, being involved with this organisation is an amazing experience, both personally and professionally, and we all look forward to supporting and helping in the coming years.

PROGRESS AGAINST OUR STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES

1

Deliver personalised, top-quality services for individuals on the autism spectrum

In the past year, our Supported Living services and Residential homes underwent inspections by the local authority using the new Provider Assessment and Market Management Solution (PAMMS) tool. We are happy to report that all our services received at least a “Good” rating. Moreover, we launched an innovative Supported Living extra-care scheme in Wallasey, furthering our commitment to providing the highest quality service to the people we support.

Reinvest in our assets and infrastructure

We have managed to acquire two Residential buildings that we have been leasing for many years. Owning these properties enables us to upgrade and maintain them, thereby enhancing the living conditions for the residents. Additionally, we have initiated substantial improvements to the infrastructure at our Raby site. This year we have upgraded our drainage system, electrical grid, and enhanced the overall appearance of the site at Raby.

2 Enhance our autism services

The past 12 months has also seen a complete restructure of our Day Services. Our revised approach supports, stretches, and acknowledges the achievements of each person who utilises these services.

Continuing our progressive strategies, we decided to implement a new system called Nourish. This system enables real-time record-keeping, planning, and coordination of care on the move, ensuring secure and precise documentation for improved decisionmaking, and personalising care for all individuals we support.

4

We are committed to growing and rewarding our team. In the past year, each staff member got a pay rise that beat inflation, an Easter hamper, and we celebrated their achievements at our inaugural staff awards at New Brighton's Floral Pavilion. We also established a welfare fund to support staff in real need, enhanced sick pay benefits, and introduced an Employee Assistance Program by Health Assured, which includes:

• Up to six counselling sessions (additional if needed), in person or online.

• A 24/7 confidential helpline.

• A medical advice line.

• A session for life and leadership coaching.

• Access to over 1,000 perks, discounts, and wellness webinars.

• Four weeks of lifestyle change planning.

• Guidance on family issues like childcare or eldercare.

• Resources for financial and legal matters.

5 Be financially sustainable

We have experienced an outstanding fiscal year, leading to a substantial surplus for the charity. This has allowed us to buy two properties and invest in our workforce. Our financial achievements include cutting agency costs by hiring 6% more permanent employees, and through growing our Supported Living and Day Services.

6 Raise autism awareness and acceptance, and promote good autism practice

One of our main achievements this year was in being one of the first accredited providers to deliver the mandatory Oliver McGowan training to health and social care staff.

This training is named after Oliver McGowan, a young autistic man with a learning disability who died in an NHS hospital in 2016. His mother, Paula McGowan, campaigned for mandatory training for all staff who work with people affected by autism and/or learning disabilities, in order to improve their levels of understanding and support.

The government responded by publishing ‘Right to be heard’ in November 2019, which outlined its plans for introducing this training and making it mandatory across health and social care.

Residential Service

We are excited to share with you the many developments and stories from our Residential service over the past year...

The service remains committed to the charity’s unique ‘ Vision & Values’ to ensure it can offer a supportive and empowering environment.

This is evident through various initiatives and milestones achieved over the year. In the past 12 months, Michelle Seddon, Head of Residential, celebrated 20 years with the organisation. Along with reflecting on her own journey, Michelle has been considering the future of our services and how we can develop Residential to further meet people’s needs and harness the power of assistive technology to improve quality of life.

Co-Production: Elevating Voices and Shaping Policies

One of the service’s most significant achievements has been its continued development of coproduction. By engaging the people we support in reviewing our policy writing, we have ensured their voices are not only heard, but also instrumental in shaping the services they receive.

Speaking to this, Michelle said: “It has been my pleasure to attend a number of our Meeting Together Forums this year. Each one has been both inspirational and heartwarming.

“From good news stories, to reflection and shaping of the review process, the group are passionate, dedicated and should be incredibly proud of their achievements this year. These include award nominations, articles in leading publications and self-advocacy at the highest level. I have greatly enjoyed my time with the group and look forward to my next meeting.”

“...the group are passionate, dedicated and should be incredibly proud of their achievements”

Michelle Seddon, Head of Residential Services, about our Meeting Together Forum

The people we support have also been helping out with recruitment, from meeting and greeting potential candidates, to writing interview questions and sitting on the panel. Each person we support who was involved has done themselves proud, helping the People Services team make some fantastic appointments, while building their own skills, experiences, and confidence.

Skills Development: Empowering people

A focus on skills development throughout Residential has continued this past year, from a wide range of completed ASDAN awards, to the re-opening of the Raby Pool. It is heartwarming to see the photos shared by staff who have been helping the people we support achieve so much. From canoeing in open water, to theme park exertions, overnight trips on the S-Boat, to climbing to the top of Snowdon… our staff team and the people we support know no limits and show no fear when it comes to engaging in activities that might improve confidence, health, or even for the sake of just having a brilliant time.

Our staff teams have been supporting some fantastic work, helping individuals to identify their own goals,

or working towards outcomes people want, and outcomes they might need. There has been some fabulous success this year with health support, as individuals achieved long terms goals like sitting in a dentist chair for a check-up, or successfully attending their GP practices.

Support Journeys: Personalised and Holistic Care

Each person’s journey is unique, and we have been working on how best to record this, as well as plan for the future. With this in mind, we have started our digital care planning journey using a new platform called ‘Nourish’. A number of our services are now up and running, using the system each day to help with their reporting.

Our staff teams have been exceptional in their approach and we hope to be fully on stream by autumn 2024. We have also been continuing our work implementing the Support Journey, ensuring the people we support receive the right support, at the right time, in the right location. We would like to thank all those families who have helped us in some

of that work over the year, and we look forward to working with many more families over the coming 12 months. We have also facilitated a number of moves around our services, as part of our work towards optimised living environments for the people under our care.

Moving into Supported Living: A

New Chapter

Following on from this, we are very excited to report that several of the people we have been supporting in Residential services have successfully transitioned into Supported Living arrangements in the past year.

Such moves mark a significant step towards greater independence, supporting people to live in their own homes with the necessary support to thrive.

These transitions were carefully planned, with cross department working to make sure people feel comfortable and confident in their new environments. The moves have been a huge success, with individuals greatly enjoying the benefits of having their very own front doors.

Future Plans: Specialist Residential Service and High-Quality Housing

Looking ahead, we are planning to establish a specialist Residential service on-site at Raby. This facility will cater to the unique needs of individuals who require specialist support services, providing the necessary care and support in a purpose-built environment.

Additionally, we are proud to announce the purchase of two properties we had previously rented through a social landlord. Owning these properties gives us the opportunity to develop and upgrade them, providing an even higher quality of housing for the people we support.

Celebrating Success

In February of this year we celebrated our first Autism Together awards, with Residential staff members nominated in the following categories:

• Direct Support Staff Member of the Year

• Co-Production Award

• Manager of the Year

• Dedicated Service Award

Representatives from Residential won in three of the nominated categories! We enjoyed an incredible night celebrating our achievements and successes, and everyone is very much looking forward to next year’s awards.

As we celebrate the past year, we are reminded of the incredible resilience and potential of the people we support. Our ongoing commitment to co-production, inclusion, community, skills development, and personalised support has created a nurturing environment where people can thrive.

With exciting future plans on the horizon for Residential, we look forward to continuing this journey and making a positive impact on the lives of the people we support.

AUTISM TOGETHER AWARDS 2025

After the success of this year's Autism Together Awards, our second awards night takes place on Feb 7th, 2025!

It has been a very busy, enjoyable, and hugely successful year for our Supported Living team...

We have seen so many changes, which have helped the service go from strength to strength. We have greatly expanded the range of activities offered to the people we support, increased their staff teams and moved into brand new buildings.

We have seen the people we support learn new skills and have great fun whilst working toward nationally-recognised awards, with the support of our fantastic staff. They have all worked tirelessly to introduce this raft of important changes and improvements.

Achievements and Highlights

Ravenswood

Our Supported Living team has been extremely busy over the past year. We opened a new service, Ravenswood, in June 2023 – an 11-flat extra care scheme in the Rock Ferry area.

This involved decommissioning three services which were no longer meeting people’s needs, enabling seven people to attain their own flats. We also welcomed four new people to the service.

In recognition of the exceptional efforts of the staff team in the transition work involved in this huge project, they achieved the ‘Team Impact Award’ at our very first Autism Together Awards evening.

The Fountains

Not wanting to rest on our laurels, following the considerable success of Ravenswood, we started working on our next development.

The Fountains comprises two blocks, each containing six flats connected by a shared garden. Based in Wallasey, this service opened its doors in April 2024.

We firstly decommissioned an older service, in order to offer a better environment and opportunities to further develop people’s independence. We began by moving the first four people into their new flats.

The next focus was on our ‘Support Journey’ model, identifying people from our Residential services who would benefit from a move to Supported Living. We were delighted to welcome four people we support via this route, and they are settling in brilliantly to their new environment.

The final four flats were reserved for people new to the organisation.

“...we have greatly expanded the range of activities offered to the people we support...”

Provider Assessment & Market Management Solution (PAMMS) is an assessment process undertaken by the local authority.

In August 2023, they spent a month in a range of our Supported Living services, looking at our records, speaking to our staff and the people we support, and collating comprehensive reports in the following areas:

• Assessment, Care Planning & Reviews

• Service User’s Experience

• Care Worker Knowledge & Understanding

• Staff Training & Recruitment

• Environment, Equipment & General Safety

• Leadership, Quality Assurance & Management

We were thrilled to be awarded a 5-star excellent rating during the assessment.

Successes in Support

Daniel, one of the people we support, moved from a service provider that didn’t specialise in autism practice to Ravenswood in July 2023. Prior to moving into his new flat, Daniel was living in a house with multiple people where the staff were not trained to manage his needs, which meant the frequency and severity of his periods of anxiety were extremely high.

Autism Together’s management team worked with Daniel’s family to create a plan of action for him moving into our service. This involved his flat being suited perfectly to his specification, including his own entrance to the building and access to the garden.

We then recruited five members of staff who had a specific blend of autism practice and social skills that we felt would benefit Daniel. Finally, we created a full breakdown of how the day of the move would happen, to ease any anxiety Daniel might feel.

Since moving in, and thanks to the work of the team at Ravenswood and the autism practice and intervention from our in-house PBS team, Daniel’s incidents have significantly decreased and his social opportunities continue to evolve.

Throughout the year, the team has supported a number of individuals in developing their independence to such an extent that they have been able to successfully reduce the amount of support they require from staff.

Examples of this include Sion being more involved in administering his own medication, Anthony being supported to access the community after many years of isolation, while developing his understanding of money, and Alistair spending time unsupported. To achieve the latter, staff tried a number of strategies including reminder posters, prepacking a bag with what he would need to access the activity unsupported, along with a backup plan in case he needed help.

All the people who moved into our new services have had extensive transition plans, bespoke to their individual requirements and needs, which has helped ensure the moves all went smoothly.

Oliver McGowan Experts: Steven, Chris, James, Liam, Jake, Dean, Dan (l-r)

Supporting Families

Supporting the families of the people who access our services is very important to us. The Supported Living team ensures families are closely involved in transitions into our services.

The team offers drop-in sessions monthly, where families can access the Head of Service or a Registered Manager to discuss any concerns. We also hold regular events in some of the larger Supported Living houses - including barbeques, open days for new services, or just the chance to drop in for coffee and cake.

In one important case, our staff helped a person we support rekindle his relationship with his foster parents. After support from his staff team, this individual is now enjoying spending time with his family once more.

Engaging with the Community

Ensuring the people we support enjoy time in the community is key to the success of our Supported Living service.

At Ravenswood, the tenants have built up friendships groups between themselves and will often go out for meals and activities together. There are even occasions when they will go out without the support of their staff.

After a long period of isolation in her flat, Pauline has re-engaged in community activities and has recently enjoyed a holiday in Benidorm.

Following many years of only feeling comfortable leaving the house to access Autism Together’s own Day Services, Jimmy has worked with his staff team and now accesses activities in the local community three days a week.

Huge congratulations to Annabel who remarkably won a tricolour of medals in horse-riding at the Special Olympics!

Also, Kane enjoyed a family holiday in Disneyland Paris for the first time, which was a huge success.

Many of the people we support are undertaking volunteering work in the community. Alistair is working at Birkenhead Park, while Kane works in a charity shop and a local social club.

There have been countless day trips organised involving people living in different services coming together to enjoy go-karting, bowling, pub quizzes, even a visit to Alton Towers.

Enhancing Skills

Since moving into Ravenswood, there have been a number of people we support who are living independently for the first time. Of course, this means learning a raft of new skills – particularly cooking.

Rachael, Daniel, and Jamie now really like to show off their cooking skills, while Liam and Ellie baked cakes for their summer garden party. On moving to Ravenswood, Ellie has learned about portion control and the importance of building an exercise routine. She managed to lose a stone in weight and was pleased to receive an achievement certificate.

Daniel has started attending our Day Services where he has begun work on a range of projects involving photography and making films.

We are exceptionally proud of James, Liam and Chris who have all joined the Oliver McGowan training team as ‘Experts by Experience’ and are even now on the Autism Together payroll! James has also recently started driving lessons, which he pays for out of his wages.

Day Services

Area 1: Bridge Community Farm

Day Service Activity Leader Dan holding Alfie, one of our baby pygmy goats

We have successfully overseen a raft of changes to our Area 1 Day Services at Raby, with the people we support now able to access a much broader range of facilities and activities.

Animal Husbandry

As always, it has been an exciting and enjoyable period for the Animal Husbandry team, as this popular area continues to thrive and expand. To date, we have welcomed the arrival of five goat kids, born during this past year.

Firstly, mum Maisie gave birth to females Ceri and Tilly along with a male – Eddie! They were followed closely by Edwina giving birth to twins Nev and Nancy. Other new arrivals to our expanding farm this year included three sheep – Rupert, who was donated by Congleton Farm; plus Burt and Snowy, both donated by Gayton Farm.

Our daily alpaca walks remain a firm favorite for both the people we support, our staff, and the many corporate volunteers who generously give their time to the organisation.

In the not-too-distant future, we are excitedly awaiting the arrival of some exotic new species to our Autism Together Farm – capybaras and wallabies! Preparations are now in place for their arrival and, as always, the people we support will be proactively involved in the construction of housing and other facilities for these animals.

With a vast area to care for, there are always projects and tasks to complete. This would not be possible without the dedication of all the volunteers who visit Area 1 and help out with a range of tasks, including vital maintenance and construction jobs. This year, we have received assistance from a wide range of outside organisations, whose staff have donated their time and efforts to help our charity. For that, we are extremely grateful.

Recent arrival Snowy the sheep

Alpaca walks at Raby Gardens

Woodland Area and Site Projects

As with any area this size, there are ongoing maintenance and improvement projects which provide opportunities for the people we support to plan and be actively involved in helping us maximise the potential of the location for all to enjoy. Materials used to complete such projects are often donated, locally sourced, or recycled. As you can see, from the photos below, George and Henry enjoyed showing off their skills at laying cement within our Sensory Garden area to improve the pathways.

For the more noise sensitive people we support, our Woodland area provides a calming environment where individuals can choose between a multitude of activities, including kindling, weaving, path maintenance, constructing planters, and even pizza making!

Claire, Activity Manager at our farm

People we support lending a helping hand...

Arts, Crafts and Indoor Activities

Along with our full range of outdoor opportunities, Area 1 is also concentrating on increasing indoor activities which now include daily sessions of arts, crafts, and baking, all facilitated by Activity Manager Owain Roberts. As you can see from the photos, these activities are particularly popular when the weather is less favourable, and also offers people we support the opportunity to explore more of their creative talents.

Horticulture

During the winter months, an overhaul of our personal bed area kept the Horticulture team busy, making preparations for the spring and summer season ahead. As always, the people we support have been fully involved, providing much-needed skills in helping change the area into an attractive and tranquil haven, while giving the opportunity for homegrown produce and plants to grow.

In keeping with the changes to Day Services, the Landscaping and Horticulture teams combined their skills in laying new block-paving over at Giles Shirley Hall. It has been great to witness the collaboration between the teams, giving the chance for people we support and staff to work closely with other areas of the charity, making new friends along the way.

Finally, we continue to reach out and work alongside other charities and businesses. Singing Hands, Intake Farm, and Gayton Farm are just some of the organisations who have kindly offered their services or given opportunities for the people we support to access activities within the wider community.

Harvesting some vegetables

Day Services

Area 2: Bromborough Pool Village

Michael at one of our monthly discos at Giles Shirley Hall

Based within three listed buildings at historic Bromborough Pool Village in Wirral, our Day Services Area 2 has successfully transitioned from a primarily Performing Arts service, to offering a wider range of options and activities for the people we support.

The service is now based within the Enterprise Centre, while continuing to access Giles Shirley Hall and the village’s former church for music, singing, dancing and more. It’s all part of our new vision for an even more person-centred approach to Day Services.

Achievements And Highlights

One of the main achievements for Area 2 in the past 12 months has been the implementation of the new Day Services vision. Previously this area solely delivered music and performing arts sessions. Now we are able to offer a much more varied service to the people we support in Bromborough Pool.

The Enterprise Centre offers a more varied timetable, providing people we support with a fluid service and the option to drop in and out of sessions as they wish. We have introduced a new community lounge area where people we support can relax on couches and beanbags, enjoy a drink, watch television, and socialise with others. This has proved hugely successful in fostering friendships.

As part of these changes, we have successfully set up a Nail Bar, Salon, Arts & Craft Room, Fitness Area, and Dance Studio, while updating and revamping our already hugely successful Music Technology sessions. The area has expanded both its staff team and the amount of people who access this service. Staff have also expanded the range of community activities provided, to include more local visits which are beneficial and increase community engagement.

Successes in Support

Staff in Area 2 continue to encourage the people we support to gain new skills, helping promote wellbeing and independence. We have seen a wide range of individuals gaining and growing skills through fantastic active support from our staff team. These include the likes of laundry tasks, washing dishes, and preparing drinks and food.

Other successes involved people we support transitioning successfully into the service and making smooth transitions to new buildings and new activities. In addition, staff have sourced lots of new equipment right across the department in order to improve options, quality, skills, and add even more enjoyment to activities.

Recently a large outside swing was installed in the old church gardens, a patio space at Giles Shirley Hall, and a new trampoline in the Enterprise Centre. In addition, we will shortly be installing a new fullyfitted kitchen in Giles Shirley Hall, further enhancing our variety of sessions to include cooking, cleaning, and laundry activities.

Day Services

Area

& Shop

3: Bromborough Pool Cafe

(L-R) Mike Christiansen, Activity Manager, with people we support Jack and Jac, and Support Worker, Hannah Stormes

With the opening of Bridge Community Farm, there has been some change and restructuring at Area 3, which comprises Bromborough Pool Café & Shop, the Gardens behind, and the River Park Café too.

Service Manager Emma Turner and Activity Manager Mike Hughes have moved sites to oversee the successful launch and establishment of Bridge Community Farm.

In their place, Dean Ravera has stepped in as Service Manager and Chris Adler has joined from Raby Gardens as Activity Manager.

Staff and people we support at Area 3 have enjoyed a positive and successful 2024, incorporating a number of additions and innovations.

Rabbits have been introduced on site and a petting area has been created to the side of the café. Work has continued on the Sensory Garden at the rear of the site, and a new swing was installed. The space has been improved through new outdoor seating, with parasols for those sunnier days.

In tandem with Bridge Farm, we held successful activity weeks for May half term and also during the school summer holidays. Activities we offered included pizza making, ceramic painting, and a

chance to meet some of our farm animals from Raby. It was a huge success, with both sites filled with families enjoying the activities and our refreshments too.

It’s also great to see that our Day Services groups have resumed growing plants in the former garden centre beds and greenhouses again, with an emphasis on delicious fruits and vegetables. Meanwhile, the people we support who help out with mowing and landscaping continue to do a fantastic job, maintaining our properties around Bromborough Pool Village and also at our Oak House main office.

Not to forget the staff and people we support who run the kiosk and café provision at Port Sunlight River Park. Working with our friends The Conservation Volunteers, we have a fantastic partnership at the River Park, and the people we support there continue to enjoy their interactions with all the customers, while enhancing skills in customer service, food hygiene, food preparation, and improving confidence too.

Going forward, we have a range of exciting plans. We hope soon to install a 4m x 4m sun sail to protect people and rabbits from sunlight and light rain. We are looking to increase the animals we have on site to include guinea pigs and an aviary. The people we support have also been busy working on creating a chicken coop to house two free range hens.

Staff and people we support at Bromborough Pool Cafe & Shop

Area 4 Gallagher House

Left: Rachel at Start Yard. Right: Annabel shows her collage

Gallagher House has gone from strength-to-strength this year. Embracing the changes across Day Services, this Area has expanded the activities it offers to include more music and dance, and more trips out in the minibus.

There’s also been cooking, baking, alongside the more usual technology-related creative activities. These range from 3D-printing, to podcasting, film making, and model making.

We were also fortunate to be able to share the creativity of the people we support with the local community in Wirral, through a fantastic exhibition of art displayed on the gallery walls at Birkenhead’s Start Yard.

We have created a small, peaceful, external space at Gallagher House, where people we support can enjoy the outdoors and eat ‘al fresco’, if they wish to. Some of the people we support even helped to spruce up our outdoor furniture and made sure our new hanging baskets were watered and well looked after.

While the numbers of people attending the service have steadily increased over the year, staff have managed to preserve a comfortable and relaxed environment, conducive to learning and enjoying the different activities offered.

Area 5 Hardknott Road

Like other Day Services, our Hardknott Road site has been reconfigured to provide multiple activity streams.

Some of the people we support there have been trying out a new skill this year – sewing! This has been a complete novelty for many and they have enjoyed everything from cross stitching Harry Potter and cat designs, to embroidering bees onto shoes and making their own canvas rainbows.

They have been learning different stitches, counting skills, improving hand/eye co-ordination, and gaining a lot of patience. There have been some fantastic projects completed and everyone is very proud of their achievements.

Hardknott Road also has a Life Skills Room. Here, the people we support are learning to prepare ingredients, cook, bake, and enjoy simple and healthy cooked meals. As part of gaining this life skill, the people we support must research recipes, make a shopping list, go out into the community and buy the items needed. This helps in promoting social skills, organisation, and building relationships with local shops and members of the community.

Art lessons with Alex This year, we had the pleasure of taking an art lesson given by Alex, one of the people we support. Alex is a fantastic artist and spends her free time drawing, sketching, and painting. Many of her peers were commenting on her work, saying how good it was and that they would love to be able to draw like her. So, next time Alex was in Area 5 she spoke to a member of the team and asked if she could give an art lesson for both her peers and staff, with Alex giving help and guidance to anyone that wanted to join in.

Alex brought in her art books and passed staff an equipment list, so we were ready. We have now had two successful lessons, drawing dragons and then anime characters.

Gymnasium In recent months staff have been developing the gymnasium in Area 5. The gym area has been fully redecorated and fitted out with a range of gym equipment, games and activities.

The open sessions have allowed people we support to

move in and out of the gym at will, so they can drop in and try other activities happening throughout Area 5.

Woodworking People we support who enjoy woodworking have participated in a variety of projects this year, from those requested by customers to those required for use in our own properties.

Since the changes to Day Services, people we support have been mainly working on their personal projects. Some of these projects have ranged from a wheelchair-accessible work bench, a train book shelf, a windmill, Thor’s Hammer, a spice rack, and a model farm.

Soon we will be offering our Day Service areas, and other people we support, the chance to take part in open woodworking sessions and make something wonderful to take home.

Area 5 Community Groups Our Community Groups have moved to Area 5 where they have continued their activities and successfully introduced new people we support which has been a real success.

The summer months always offer great opportunities to get out and about in the community, and our groups have packed a picnic and enjoyed visiting a range of scenic locations including Holt Castle, Marbury Country Park and Horseshoe Falls. The groups particularly enjoy accessing National Trust properties across Cheshire and North Wales. Exploring these stately homes has been a huge success.

Area 6: Bridge Community Farm Day Services

Liam helping out by cutting the grass at Bridge Farm

Autism Together has taken over the operation of Bridge Community Farm, formerly Bridge Wellness Gardens, a popular community farm site near Ellesmere Port.

The site, which first opened in 2015, offers access to a community café and a range of volunteering opportunities, alongside meeting and activity spaces for local community groups.

The horticultural farm area, situated close to Overpool train station, includes polytunnels for growing plants and vegetables, a range of heated cabins, an activity dome, and an extensive orchard.

“

...A friendly location to meet people

, make

new

friends, and give back to

their community

Angie Kemp, Director of Business Development

”

Formed as a CIO (Charitable Incorporated Organisation), Bridge Farm’s focus has been to provide a therapeutic environment for people with learning disabilities, autism, and those struggling with mental health and isolation.

A range of charities and community groups already access the site, including The Boaty Theatre Company, who work with people to promote positive wellbeing through performing arts. These and other groups will be able to use a range of facilities onsite, alongside individuals from our own Day Services.

Angie Kemp, Autism Together’s Director of Business Development, said:

“We are offering a range of volunteering opportunities, to help support people that are socially isolated and offer them a friendly location to meet people, make new friends, and give back to their community.”

So far, we have held a number of successful events at Bridge Farm, including activity days during school holidays, and a ‘Meet The Managers Day’ in June, when local residents and community groups came along to chat with our management team, enjoy a coffee, learn more about the site, make suggestions about its use, and find out how to get more involved.

Prior to this, we also launched a public consultation on the future of the site, which we shared with the community and via social media.

Emma Turner from Autism Together is now managing the daily activities at the community farm and the café. Emma has ensured that the café area was refreshed and revamped with a brand new menu and seating for up to 30 patrons.

The Bridge Community Farm Café is open 11am to 2pm, Monday to Friday each week. There is onsite parking and the address is Mill Lane, Overpool, Ellesmere Port, CH66 3NE.

POSITIVE BEHAVIOURAL SUPPORT IN OUR SERVICES

Congratulations to all our support staff for their fantastic work in significantly reducing incidents of restrictive holds in our services, through PBS (Positive Behaviour Support).

The statistics were collated in the past year by Senior Behaviour Specialist Stuart Lyons, along with PBS Practitioner Sarah Williams.

They spotted a 57% reduction in restrictive holds since the introduction of the Autism Together Model (ATM) training for all staff.

The graph below shows the impact since ATM’s initial roll-out in April 2022, with an initial spike as reporting of interventions improved, followed by a massive reduction across our services, which continued

throughout 2022 and 2023.

These results demonstrate that staff are using the skills learnt through initial and refresher ATM training to pre-empt behaviours of concern that may require restrictive holds.

This shows that staff are making a huge difference every day in providing an excellent standard of care, using a PBS approach and autism practice to improve the experiences and quality of life of the people we support in all our services.

FUNDRAISING 23/24

Fundraising Sucesses

• Corporate volunteer opportunities increased

• Organised the first Autism Together Staff Awards

• Obtained Awards sponsorship to cover most costs

• Secured funding for development of Bromborough Pool Village

• Autism-friendly Santa’s Grotto event sold out in 48 hours

• Legacy campaign secured over £250,000 in future donation pledges

• Successful Autism Acceptance Month with support for schools

• Organised hampers and Christmas gift for our staff

• Gained funding for our Pathway to Work scheme

• Amazon Wishlist – almost £1,400 of donations in last 6 months

Community Engagement

• Community Consultation events about Bromborough Pool Village plans

• Bucket collections at Tesco stores in Wirral

• Attended events at Wirral Met as the College’s charity of the year

• Corporate Volunteer days at Raby Gardens and Residential sites

• Held tours of the charity for donors and corporate supporters

• Attended events as Wirral Mayor’s charity of the year

• Attended events at Wirral schools, New Brighton Floral Pavilion, Pyramids in Birkenhead, Wirral Heritage Day, Cheshire Show

• Celebrated Autism Acceptance Month with event at Egerton House, Birkenhead

Each year our Fundraising Strategy is reviewed, to ensure it is relevant to current fundraising trends, and that the Fundraising team – made up of Fundraising Manager Lisa Masters and Fundraising Officer

Chloe Jones – is attaining the very best return on investment of their time.

Fundraising targets are increased annually, which can understandably prove difficult during the current economic climate. So, despite increasing their target by 8.5%, the team still managed to beat their 2023/24 target by more than 6%. This is a fantastic achievement!

Lisa Masters Fundraising Manager

Chloe Jones Fundraising Officer

Increasing Corporate Volunteer Opportunities

A large number of companies allow their staff time away from work, in order that they can volunteer for a charity. Autism Together is fortunate to have sites that are very appealing to corporate volunteers, namely Raby, Bromborough Pool Village, and the gardens of our Residential and Supported Living properties.

Often, these volunteer days are used by companies as team building days. We always get great feedback with people impressed by our facilities and the way our staff support and look after volunteers throughout the day.

As a result, we are finding that companies are increasingly recommending our corporate volunteer days to their contacts, which is seeing a huge increase of major organisations such as Marsh, Bibby Line and M&S Bank, approaching us to lend their support.

The volunteers help with a range of activities, such as painting, weeding, clearing, strimming, and maintaining the structures that house our farm animals. This also allows us to build closer relationships with these organisations, educating them about autism, our charity, and the needs of autistic people. It also gives them the opportunity to get involved with corporate sponsorship.

Arranging the first Autism Together Awards

In February 2024, the Fundraising Team were tasked with organising the inaugural Autism Together Awards. This event recognised the achievements of staff and the people we support over the previous year. Held in New Brighton’s Floral Pavilion theatre, we invited 200 members of staff, people we support, and some families to join us for the celebration, where the Mayor presented the 10 awards to our deserving winners.

For the first time, we reached out to our corporate supporters for sponsorship, and were so grateful for the wonderful response. Those companies who sponsored our event – including Wirral Chamber of Commerce, Marsh, Gallagher, Argyle Satellite Taxis, and West Wallasey Van Hire – allowed us to cover the majority of the event’s costs, providing all the attendees with an unforgettable night.

Josie (with Julie) was a winner at the AT Awards

Volunteers from BT & EE at Raby Farm

Plans for Bromborough Pool Village

In 2023, we learned that we had been gifted three buildings in Bromborough Pool Village – the school, church and Giles Shirley Hall. Each of these are Grade-1 listed buildings, and so need a degree of conservation work carried out on them.

Whilst our Executive Team began looking at longterm plans for the buildings, the Fundraising Team began putting a strategy together, which included:

• Consulting with the local community about their wishes for the future of the buildings.

• Collecting letters of support from the public, Wirral Borough Council, local heritage societies, and MPs.

• Investigating possible sources of funding from organisations such as The Community Ownership Fund and the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

This will be a long-term project, and we look forward to seeing it develop over the coming years.

Artwork from our Legacy campaign

Legacy Giving campaign

Legacy Giving is hugely important to all charities, and something the Fundraising Team feels extremely passionate about investing in.

This past year, we entered into a partnership with Octopus Legacy, who have helped us provide two nationwide legacy campaigns over a 12-month period. With their contacts and national media promotion, Octopus Legacy are able to reach thousands of people across the UK, offering free wills and sharing the story of Autism Together.

As a result of this partnership, we have had pledges of over £250,000 worth of donations. The people making these pledges can choose whether they are happy to be contacted, which means our Fundraising Team can develop this relationship in most cases.

Whilst this Legacy income is unlikely to be received for many years to come, it is an important way of securing and continuing the future work of our charity.

SUPPORTING FAMILIES

Along with providing expert support to the autistic people we care for, we also support their families too, right across our services.

Our Children & Family team directly supports parents in a number of ways, not least in responding to a large number of email and telephone enquiries. Parents have been supported with applications for Disability Living Allowance payments for their children and through the Education, Health and Care Plan process.

The service continues to run monthly coffee mornings for parents and carers to attend, providing a safe space to share and discuss any difficulties they are having and to receive information and support.

These coffee mornings take place at Benricks, a café in Wirral. This year, service manager Lynda Maxwell began hosting similar coffee mornings at our new location Bridge Community Farm, near Ellesmere Port.

Along with helping to raise the charity’s profile in West Cheshire, it also expands our Children & Family Service’s reach into an area it previously had no presence.

We continue to offer training to parents of newly diagnosed autistic children and young people, through both online and in-person courses.

Family Fun Day at Raby Farm

Dragon Treasure Hunt at Raby Woodland

Our Activity Groups remain a popular support service for parents. The groups are setup for children and young people with an autism diagnosis, or who are on the pathway, and who have a social communication difficulty as a primary need.

The groups offer a range of different activities, which change across the calendar year, and are also split by age as follows: 6-9 years; 10-13 years; 14-18 years. The sessions are funded by the Department for Education, Wirral Local Authority, and Edsential.

For parents with children under five-years, weekly Rainbows groups are held in four children’s centres across Wirral, providing an opportunity for parents and their children to enjoy a fun play session in a safe, non-judgemental environment, whilst receiving advice and support from Lynda.

Our Day Services in Bromborough Pool Village have also been providing important support for families by sending home useful information to parents.

By providing QR codes, families are able to comment on anything they wish to raise. This can include queries, complaints, and compliments.

The service has also introduced a central email location and phone number for families wanting to get in touch directly.

SUPPORTING STAFF

Our People Services, Learning Culture, and Staffing teams have overseen an incredibly rewarding year, investing in our staff.

In this time they have introduced a new induction programme for our care staff, begun the rollout of the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training in Autism and Learning Disabilities, recruited more than 200 new staff, expanded the developmental opportunities for staff, made significant changes to our recruitment practices, reduced agency staff spending dramatically by covering 62,000 hours of care, while introducing some new faces to the team.

It has been a very busy and innovative year driving growth for the services we provide, all thanks to the team’s hard work in creating forward-thinking services to allow the charity to prosper.

Director of People & Culture, Helen Bilton, said: “I have been impressed by the sheer hard work of the team, extensive knowledge of autism practice, and their commitment to delivering high quality

services. We have another action-packed year ahead and I am excited to work with the teams to embed our new five-year strategic plan.”

Helen Bilton Director of People & Culture

People Services welcomed Helen Bilton in July 2023, while new Head of People Services Josie McKeown followed in May 2024.

Our former HR Manager, Ceri Peacock, has begun a flexible path to retirement, supporting the team with her knowledge and expertise built upon nearly 24 years managing our HR team.

The team is now known as the People Services department, to take into account the support it offers to people across our workforce, helping make a positive indirect impact on the people we support.

STORIES FROM OUR SUPPORT STAFF

Recruitment levels at Autism Together are continuing to grow, and we have worked hard to match the needs of the business with the candidates coming through. We asked some of our staff about working for Autism Together...

How do you feel your role has improved the lives of autistic people?

When I walk through the door every night, the first thing in my head is: "How do I put a smile on the faces of the people we support?" When they smile, I feel fulfilled. When I see them happy, I'm fulfilled.

What is your favourite thing about your job?

A lot - but one of my favourite things is giving the people we support a fist bump and they are excited to see me. It makes me feel connected, it makes me feel happy that I'm in the right place and I'm doing what I'm meant to do because this is where my passion lies.

You can watch the full video interviews on our

RECRUITMENT

Recruitment levels at Autism Together are continuing to grow, and the team have worked hard to match the needs of the business with the candidates coming through.

The interview process involves a great deal of admin and diary management. The team whittles down the candidates to find the very best potential staff members, successfully recruiting 216 new staff over a 12-month period, equating to over 7,000 care hours from these new staff, per week.

To support our recruitment and the online advertising of our job roles, our staff attend regional recruitment fairs. These represent a good opportunity to engage with the public, discuss different job roles, offer advice on how to apply, and talk about the different locations from which we operate.

We regularly review our benefits to remain an employer of choice. One of the benefits we have changed is Autism Together’s Employee Assistance Programme (EAP). We recently launched our new EAP to staff, an app-based service, which offers:

Unlimited access to a 24/7 confidential helpline.

Medical information line supporting staff with health conditions.

One Life and Leadership coaching session.

Access to 1,000 perks, discounts and wellbeing webinars.

Four weeks’ planning on lifestyle changes.

Family advice line on childcare or eldercare.

Supporting staff in the workplace is so important and we understand that people need different types of support. In recognising this, four members of our staff are qualified Mental Health First Aiders. Trained by St John’s Ambulance, this qualification is held for three years. Also, 10 of our staff are Mental Health Workplace First Responders, also trained by St John’s Ambulance.

The People Services Team

LEARNING CULTURE

This year, our induction process has had a complete overhaul. Our Learning Culture Team has created a successful new induction program, aimed at welcoming new support staff into their posts and providing them with the foundations needed to enter their new roles with confidence and excitement. We realise that this induction program is mainly focused on new support staff, so we have begun the process of reviewing our induction of office-based staff too.

Our Learning Culture Team continues to develop and bring through new courses, including menopause training and the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism. Several other supportive strategy training courses are also planned.

We have a vast array of continuous personal development (CPD) opportunities available to our workforce. All Autism Together staff are able to access opportunities for qualifications, further experience, and training. We have also begun to develop defined career pathways for our job roles, which will be rolled out over the coming year.

One of the major projects the team have had this year has been the launch of the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training. All members of the Learning Culture team have done an amazing job in getting this training up and running, while leaping hurdles along the way.

You can find out more at: olivermcgowanautismtogether.org or scan the QR Code

Management Development Pathway Level 1

Pathway 1

Apprenticeship

• L3 (Standard) Lead Adult Care Worker

• L3 Aspire To Lead - Team Leading/Management

Pathway 2

Diploma

• L3 Diploma in Adult Care

Short Courses for Apprenticeship & Diploma Pathways:

• Sickness absence

• Finances

• Health & Safety

• CQC & Safeguarding

IT Training:

• Cyber Security

• SharePoint Navigation

• SIP

• Dashboard Management

• Creating shifts

• Adding staff

• Managing problem visits

Competence support

Policies and Procedures

• Key Notification Management

• Reports

• Signing off

• Power BI

• Nourish

Recruitment and Induction - Able to assist with the recruitment and induction of a new team member.

Shift Management - Can create safe rotas under supervision. Can give effective feedback to other team members. Can deal with and escalate safeguarding issues. Health & Safety - Has completed the Health & Safety Masterclass training, including carrying out risk assessments. Can carry out Health & Safety Risk Assessments. Support Plans - Has completed the Person-Centred Care workshop and can demonstrate this in their day-to-day activities. Teamwork - Able to mentor new team members. Can demonstrate they can lead a

Pathway 3

Short Courses

• Sickness absence

• Finances

• Health & Safety

• CQC & Safeguarding IT Training:

• Cyber Security

• SharePoint Navigation

• SIP

• Dashboard Management

• Creating Shifts

• Adding Staff

• Managing Problem Visits

• Key Notification Management

• Reports Signing off

• Power BI

• Nourish

Management Skills:

• Behavioural Styles

• Giving Feedback

• Motivating Others

• Time Management

• Decision Making & Delegation

• Emotional Intelligence

• Equality & Diversity

• Managing Individuals

• Manging Difficult Conversations

• Personal Development & Wellbeing

• Leadership & Career Progression

• Practice Leader Medication & Standards

shift in another service, if required. Can run team meetings unsupervised. Can actively promote and implement co-production with the people they support.

Training - Can book and review training compliance as required.

Supporting People - Able to identify shortfalls in the culture and attitudes within the team and address these, in order to ensure people are being supported with all areas of the ‘Wheel of Engagement’, whilst working in an equal partnership.

Training Attendance - Attends any training that has been booked.

STAFFING TEAM

Agency Use:

Hours covered Apr 2023 - Apr 2024

61,894 hours

248 - Temp to Perm hours

Hours covered Apr 2022 - Apr 2023

96,642 hours

104 - Temp to Perm hours

A HUGE WELL DONE TO THE STAFFING TEAM!

Our Staffing Team deserves huge credit for overseeing a huge reduction in agency costs over the previous financial year – 34,748 hours less!

The significant drop in agency usage in 2023-2024 is a reflection on the team’s hard work in consistently monitoring and reducing these costs. The team ensures our Shift Picker tool is attended to daily, giving the workforce the option to pick up overtime at every opportunity. The team are also proactive in utilising staff that can be redeployed, and ensuring peripatetic staff have been allocated to a service.

They also plan for events that impact staffing – such as the deadline for use of remaining annual leave, seasonal holidays, bank holidays, and school holidays. For 2023-2024 the organisation was under budget for agency costs which is a tremendous achievement.

ADMISSIONS CASE STUDY

Earlier this year, our Admissions team helped arrange for Katie, an autistic adult, to take up a tenancy within one of Autism Together’s new Supported Living properties in Wallasey.

Carol, Katie’s mum, said: “From the very beginning, when we had that first meeting, everything was explained and any questions I had were answered. Being able to come up and see the flat really helped.

“Both myself and Katie were able to visualise it then, so that was really great and the fact that visuals were given to Kate, I know that helped her a lot. And any questions that we had or any queries were answered really well."

How helpful were the team during the admission process?

Katie: Very helpful with visuals and seeing the flat. Was everything explained well to you?

Katie: Very well, easy to understand. Did you feel okay to ask questions about anything?

Katie: Very friendly and understanding, and very helpful.

What difference has this new home meant to you?

Katie: It's made me more calm and relaxed, reduced anxiety. Happy, quieter, loving my life, having independence, and made to feel safe.

Paula from our Admissions team added: “It's been an absolute pleasure, especially to see Katie so happy and settled - that's the best thing ever!”

(L-R) Carol, Katie and Paula

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is the idea that businesses should operate according to principles and policies that make a positive impact on society and the environment.

Through CSR, businesses make decisions driven by the impact of their actions on their communities and the world at large.

CSR goes beyond legal obligations. By voluntarily adopting ethical, sustainable, and responsible business practices; companies seek to deliver benefits to consumers, stakeholders, employees, and society.

Here are some of the ways Autism Together has embraced CSR across our organisation:

Staff

• Commitment to paying Real Living Wage.

• Gender equality / equal pay – ranked 3rd best in the country for gender pay equality in care sector for 2024.

• Staff wellbeing designated fund.

• Ability to receive payment in advance of payday.

• Supported interns.

• Apprenticeships.

• Employee Assistance Programme.

• Education and skills development.

• Training in work time.

• Leadership programme.

• Racial equality – diverse workforce (COS).

• Recognition.

• Host annual staff awards.

• Length of service awards.

• Attendance gift vouchers.

• Seasonal hampers gifted.

• Staff recognition designated fund.

• Menopause training.

• Mental Health Training.

• Equality & diversity group.

• Working with British Forces Resettlement Services (BFRS) to support employing veterans.

People we support

• Holiday restricted fund.

• Crisis response – offering short term placements.

• Disability rights – member of VODG who actively campaign.

• Meeting Together Forum.

Environment

• Environmental policy & strategy.

• Limit single-use plastic.

• Waste contracts inclusive of recycling.

• Recycle redundant IT equipment.

• Commitment to ‘paperless’ processes.

• Carbon neutral website.

Community/Other

• Pathway To Work scheme.

• Free school downloads offered (inc lesson plans).

• Pre-recorded school assembly – ‘what is autism’, ‘helping a friend’.

• External autism training – OM, autism awareness.

• Sign-posting services.

• Subsidised café.

• Procurement policy to support buying local and ethical purchasing.

• Women’s empowerment - Celebrate International Women’s Day.

• LGBTQ+ Allyship – participate in PRIDE events.

• Accept volunteers.

• Host children’s school holiday activities.

• Host corporate tours to support awareness.

• Reduced space hire charges for charities/CICs.

• Free WIFI / access to computers at Bridge.

• Support appropriate research programmes.

• Family support hosted ‘coffee mornings’.

• Rainbow children’s group – free attendance.

• Host Children & Family annual funday – free admission.

FINANCIAL FIGURES 2023 2024

In April 2023, the Finance team transitioned to a cloud-based finance system, Iplicit. A smooth transition and seamless changeover was overseen, with zero downtime at the point of switch.

The team embraced the change and the challenge admirably. Staff believed in the benefits of making the switch, learning how the new system works by participating in training sessions, and investing significant time testing it to ensure full functionality.

Operations staff were fully engaged and involved in the decision-making process, while key stakeholders across all departments were identified and their buy-in and involvement was gained early in the transition.

We continue to see positive results stemming from investment in this technology. The system has achieved

Financial Review

A net surplus for the year of £2,764k has been recorded (2023: net deficit of £245k) after actuarial assessed additional costs relating to the defined benefit pension scheme of £Nil (2023: £653k).

process improvements resulting in a number of efficiencies, including shortened financial reporting cycles, reduced manual data entry and faster invoice processing times.

It has also led to improved reporting capabilities, improved accessibility to the system, better financial data, more secure data, improved customer support, and has enabled continuous improvement.

There has been a positive impact on staff productivity, while time spent on manual tasks has reduced, allowing employees to focus on value-added activities.

Reporting at cost centre level and the ability to compare results easily, month-by-month, at both summary and cost centre level, provides a greater insight into performance, aiding decision making.

Income increased 19.43% compared to last year from £25,090k to £29,965k. Income in all major service areas has improved. Income of £930k was received as a result of gifts-in-kind, relating to the donation of the properties in Bromborough Pool Village by Riverside Housing.

Income Expenditure

Expenditure has increased by 7.37% from £25,334 to £27,201k in the year. This change reflects the increase in the income. Payroll costs still represent over 75% of our income and have increased 7.7% against last year, reflective of our commitment to pay staff the Real Living Wage.

Capital Expenditure

This year we spent £414k (2023: £203k) on property improvements and equipment. Combined with the

gifting of the Bromborough Pool properties, the fixed asset additions in the year total £1,344k (2023: £203K). The improvements largely relate to The Lodge extension works, drainage works on the Raby site, and general improvement and decorating works across our property stock.

Cash Flow

After adjusting for non-cash items, such as depreciation, operations during the year generated positive cash flow of £2,158k (2023: £556k). The other contributors to cash outflow in the year have been investment in property and facilities of £414k (2022: £203k) and net cash generated from financing activities of £1,053k (2023: net cash used of £16k).

Future Issues

With the support from several local authorities led by Wirral, we have been able to continue to pay our support staff the Real Living Wage as a minimum. In order to continue to support this, in addition to inflation, we need our local authority and health commissioners to reflect this in their fee uplifts in the future and we will negotiate hard to achieve this.

INCOME BY SERVICE

CASH FLOWS

2023/2024 2022/2023

PATHWAY TO WORK

In the past year we have helped some of the people we support to access support and experience in the wider workplace.

In October 2023 we opened our Pathway to Work scheme to create a formal route for autistic adults we support who would like to join the world of work.

It was recognised that a number of individuals within our Day Services had developed the requisite work skills and experience, through the support they had received working in one of our public-facing services, helping to serve customers and working behind-the scenes.

These individuals were ready to take that next step into work in the wider community, with less support from us. Pathway to Work aims to bridge the gap between Day Services and employment. It provides individuals with a route into work, while still remaining under the Autism Together umbrella, meaning that if things do not work out, the individual can come back and rejoin our services.

Our programme works by helping each individual make a gradual transition from Day Services into a community-based work placement, with the overall aim to replace all days on Day Services with work in the community.

Each person is supported by our Pathway to Work Coordinator, Mark White, in a flexible, personcentred way – through visits, phone calls and video calls. These days would remain funded by social services but charged for at a reduced rate - less than half of the previous placement cost.

This has a number of benefits, such as increased independence and self-esteem for the individual, while the local authority in Wirral sees a reduction in reliance on funded services and a step towards their All Age Disability Strategy goal that: ‘all young people and adults with disabilities have access to employment and are financially resilient’.

We currently have five individuals on our Pathway to Work programme, with each volunteering between 1 and 3 days a week at various locations, including a local veterinary surgery, Number Seven Supermarket, Make It Happen CIC, Autism Together’s Estates Department, and a YMCA charity shop.

Three more people have been identified to begin the Pathway to Work in the coming months. All the individuals on the Pathway were originally being supported in our Day Services and funded by Wirral Social Services. The cost saving to Wirral Council is around £21k per annum.

Steven works at a YMCA store

Chris works with Sandra at Number Seven

OUR EXECUTIVE TEAM

We've had a few new additions and changes to our Board and Executive teams over the past 12 months. We would like to welcome our newest trustees Carol Corton and Neil Whiteside, who will be elected at our next AGM.