Winterbourne View still casts a long shadow over the support that we, as a society, offer to people with behaviours that challenge. We’ve seen the television programmes, read the inquiry reports and heard the official responses, but we cannot pretend that the sort of problems exposed at Winterbourne View will go away until we change the culture that accepts institutional care as the norm for this group of highly vulnerable people. Despite the consensus that they should be supported within their own communities, enjoying their rights as citizens, we hear very little evidence of this being played out in practice.
One of the reasons, I suspect, is that there are too few people with the right skills and experience in positions to influence those who make the key decisions about supporting people who challenge. What I mean is that we need to start prioritising skills and experience in connecting rather than regarding them as an adjunct to all the behavioural supports that people with certain labels invariably attract. In saying this I don’t mean to belittle the work of specialists in this field – they clearly have a vital role to play – but it is more a plea to address the fundamental of human existence including the need for relationships.
So here are two things you can do as the people with those skills and experiences. The first is to take part in a free event being run by The Think Local Act Personal (TLAP) and the Winterbourne View Joint Improvement Programme in London on Thursday 27th February. It is an opportunity for you as frontline connectors to sit alongside commissioners, providers, family carers and others and provide a unique perspective on what should happen from now on.
Click here for the event flyer.
You can find more details about the project on the National Development Team for Inclusion website and the TLAP website here.
The second way is by getting involved in the Engagement Reference Group that is being set up by the Winterbourne View Joint Improvement Programme. The aim of the reference group is to help people from across England get involved and again we must ensure that the right mix of views and experience are being drawn upon.
Reference group members can choose not to get involved if they are busy or it is something they do not want to work on. If you are interested in joining the engagement reference group, or would like more information, please visit the website
If you would like to find out more about the engagement plan and work, you can also get in touch with Angela Ellis, the Engagement Adviser angela.ellis@local.gov.uk.
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