Integrating employment and learning and skills

Training Materials

Take Ten People

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IntroductionThe Take Ten People resources enable you to work more effectively with individuals who experience mental health difficulties to discover their potential in learning, skills and employment. You can also use the resources to support collaboration with agencies across a range of sectors in order to make the individual’s journey towards paid or unpaid employment seamless and sustainable.

The training materials offer some sample activities to support continuing professional development using the Take Ten People resources. We hope they will prompt you to think and develop more.

Learning ThemesYou’ll find training activities presented in boxes like this one (plus there are copies you can print off on the CD-ROM). They focus on three key learning themes:

Theme 1: Using a person-centred approachTheme 2: Increasing understanding of the positive outcomes experienced by people

with mental health conditions who develop their employability skills and gain employment

Theme 3: Sustaining partnership working

All of the activities involve peer interaction in pairs, small groups or as a whole group. This is the most effective strategy for prompting high-level thinking skills and embedding ideas that encourage new ways of working. You can use them as standalone sessions slotted into team meetings or combined into longer, more formal training events. A six-hour introductory session, combining a range of activities supported by the Take Ten People resources, is available on the CD-ROM.

If you have not recently completed a staff skills audit or training and development profile, use the Take Ten People Values, Knowledge and Skills Audit to help establish priorities for workforce development related to mental health. This can be downloaded from the CD-ROM.

If you are facilitating a training session, please read the Take Ten People Introduction booklet, which explains the purpose of each resource and how to use them.

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Integrating employment and learning and skills

Learning theme 1: Using a person-centred approach

Theme 1 Activity A1. In pairs or small groups, discuss examples of the potential rewards of using a

person-centred approach when working with an individual who has a mental health condition.

2. Draw out any key learning points through whole-group discussion.

3. Distribute one or more of the Take Ten People Stories to pairs or small groups.

4. Ask participants to read the story and respond to the questions.

5. Explore whether there are any other key learning points that have emerged following discussion of the stories to add to those identified earlier. Would it be helpful to have the learning points distributed after the session?

Key learning points that might be identified in whole-group feedback are reproduced as a handout on the CD-ROM version of this activity.

Theme 1 Activity B1. Photocopy the Discovering Potential notes on page 4 for distribution or introduce

the stages of the model to participants using the notes for guidance.

2. Distribute the wheel and turn to the Discovering Potential side.

3. Ask participants in pairs or small groups to discuss whether using this model and the questions on the Discovering Potential wheel might help you when working with a client.– How does this way of working compare to others you are familiar with? – Could you use this way of working to help develop or improve a person-centred

approach?

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Take Ten People

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The Discovering Potential model Working through the stages of the Discovering Potential model (James and Nightingale, 2004) is itself a learning journey, as it supports individuals to learn how to exercise choice and control. The process is a conversation – not another ‘assessment’ with a checklist of set questions – that usually develops over more than one meeting. It involves working alongside, and in negotiation with, the person so that they can learn about what to expect, what is available, how to overcome barriers and what they need to do.

By recognising and using their own resources to set goals, plan how to achieve them and find solutions to any problems along the way, the person makes decisions as they make changes in their life. The support provided is time-unlimited and the person may need to move back and forth between stages. They are able to change their mind as they learn about what it is they want to do, what is available, and how they can achieve and ‘keep’ their goal.

ThinkingThe ‘thinking’ stage is about giving the person time and space to think about themselves and the changes they are considering. The process helps them to acknowledge the achievements they have made so far, to challenge negative thinking and any self-imposed restrictions or limitations on what they can or cannot do, and to build their self-esteem by recognising and using their own resources to think about what they want and how to get it.

GettingThis stage is about what the person needs to do to achieve their goal. For the worker it involves providing emotional support (to help them stay motivated and able to handle any knock-backs) and practical support (as they go through the maze of things to do and arrangements to make: applications, interviews, travel, childcare and money). In the Individual Placement and Support approach, this is the stage where rapid job search takes place and any pre-employment training.

It is the time to help the person look at things they want to bring together, for example telling family carers and other workers who support them what their plans are. The support the person needs from other workers may need to change and it may be helpful to share, combine or amend any written plans the person has developed with different agencies for managing their mental health.

This stage includes support to plan ahead and anticipate the next stage. It should include helping the individual to begin planning for how they will maintain their wellness and recovery in work or learning. This includes deciding whether they will declare their mental health difficulties to their employer/learning provider.

KeepingGetting on a learning programme or into a job is only the beginning. The next challenge is retaining, and succeeding in, learning and employment. The model for Discovering Potential provides continuity of time-unlimited emotional and practical support beyond the ‘getting’ stage to enable the person to ‘keep’ what they have achieved. This supports the person to deal with new feelings and any concerns or challenges that they did not anticipate before they were actually in the situation.

The aim is to enable the individual to sustain their motivation and continue to plan ahead to maintain their wellness and recovery. They may need support to put well-being and self-management strategies into practice, develop their resilience skills and plan how they will prevent, solve or minimise any uncertainties for themselves and/or their employer or teachers. It is useful at this stage to support the person to review things and begin to look forward to their next goal. Part of this review might also include whether the person’s teachers/employer need any support and how best to offer this.

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Integrating employment and learning and skills

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Theme 1 Activity C1. Ask participants, in pairs, to choose one of the Take Ten People Stories. Read the

story and create a timeline for this individual’s previous experience of learning and skills and employment based on what they have chosen to disclose about their life. What challenges does this timeline highlight? [You might want to reproduce ‘Things to think about’ in Neville’s Take Ten People story to support this activity].

2. Share timelines created for different individuals with the whole group. What do these profiles illustrate about the particular need for a person-centred approach when working with an individual with a mental health condition?

Theme 1 Activity D1. Distribute the Ups and Downs of Employment and Learning and Skills board game to

pairs or small groups.

2. Read the instruction and play the game.

3. You’ll find templates for dice and counters on the CD-ROM. Photocopy them onto white card and cut out/fold prior to the activity.

The ups and downs of the game reflect some of the challenges and rewards experienced by people with mental health conditions. What strategies could you use to offer one-to-one support that would help that individual through the ups and downs? Discuss and share any strategies identified with the whole group.

AlternativeBlank out some or all of the text on squares at the top of the ladders and bottom of the snakes with sticky labels and ask participants to fill them in with ‘ups and downs’ drawn from their own experience of supporting people who have mental health difficulties. This adaptation works well if you work with groups of people with mental health difficulties who have shared experiences or a shared sense of identity, e.g. women, or if you work in a highly specialised environment, such as offender learning or forensic services.

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Our Take Ten People partner projects found that both versions of Activity D can also be used to good effect to discuss employment, learning and skills with groups of people with mental health conditions.

It is important to facilitate the discussion and enable participants to talk about the feelings provoked by the content of particular ‘squares’, including those they have experienced in similar real-life situations. This opportunity to recognise and discuss the fact that everyone (not just people with mental health difficulties) experiences ‘ups and downs’ in learning, skills and work can be valuable in helping people not to locate the ‘downs’ as being about something they have caused to happen. Enabling people to consider, share and learn from each other’s ideas and personal strategies for coping with these ‘ups and downs’ can support them to develop resilience skills.

Theme 1 Activity E1. Distribute several different Take Ten People stories, the wheel and the toolbox.

2. Ask individuals or pairs to read a story.

3. Then, using the resources provided, discuss which employability skills the individual already has, might need to brush up on or develop. Use the employability skills key on the story to record these. Refer to the employability side of the wheel if you need to refresh your understanding of the different skills.

4. Use the toolbox employability key to identify the range of support that might be available to this individual. Which of the services identified by the toolbox would be most appropriate for this individual?

5. Present the choices you will be offering to this individual to the rest of the group.

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Learning theme 2: Increasing understanding of positive outcomesThe Take Ten People resources highlight that employability skills can be learned or developed in everyday life and experiences, and by participating in formal and informal learning. The most commonly taught skills are using language, using numbers and communication. They feature in employability programmes commissioned by the Department for Work and Pensions and are embedded in vocational learning qualifications. It can be helpful for workers to gain an understanding of how to help people to achieve positive outcomes in developing their employability skills and gaining employment.

Theme 2 Activity A1. In small groups, idea storm the skills needed to succeed in the workplace.

2. When you have discussed these ideas, check with the employability skills side of the wheel that you have covered everything. What were the gaps?

3. In the same small groups, discuss which strategies could be used to identify whether or not your client has, or needs to develop, these skills. How would you encourage development of some of the employability skills during your meetings with a client?

Theme 2 Activity BInformation and advice workers may need to support an individual with a mental health condition to make a decision about whether or not to declare previous or currently managed mental health difficulties to a learning provider or employer. For some, disclosure reinforces the positive outcomes gained by engaging in learning or employment; others may prefer not to share this information. Some initial materials to support clients to think about this decision and further suggested resources are available on the CD-ROM.

1. Use the Discovering Potential side of the wheel, the stories and the detailed Should I say? leaflet on the CD-ROM to support reflection and discussion around the benefits and challenges for individuals of declaring their mental health difficulties and how advisors can support them.

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Theme 2 Activity C

1. Give out copies of the text below.

2. Ask participants to think about the last time they worked with a person who disclosed a mental health condition. Discuss with a partner the challenges and rewards of the experience.

3. Ask participants to review the ‘Things to think about’ list below. What other points can you add based on your own experience?

4. Share additional points with the whole group.

5. Collect ideas about how to make sure that other key stakeholders that you work with are aware of the key points identified about working with people with mental health conditions. Use the Local Address Book and Action Planning resource to help you.

Things to think about

Things to think about when discussing learning and skills and employment opportunities with an individual who experiences a mental health condition:

• Give a realistic picture of the local job market and the skills required to access sustainable employment.

• Encourage self-support using e-learning and websites, as well as face-to-face information and advice.

• Be aware of any mental health user support groups/well-being groups and what they offer. Peer support could make a real difference to the client.

• If the person wants to take up learning and skills, make sure they have the right level of skills in order to be eligible to access the course or qualification. Absence through illness and lack of confidence might mean that an individual who appears qualified needs to go back a few steps before moving on. Remember to check their eligibility, particularly (but not only) with regard to funding, fee remission and how this might impact on welfare benefit entitlements.

• The most significant influence on an individual’s progress in learning is the relationships forged with their teachers.

• Decision-making is even more challenging if you are concerned about the impact of employment or learning on the management of your mental health condition.

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Learning theme 3: Sustaining partnership workingThe examples in this section support ways of using meetings and events between partners to promote workforce development by including activities encouraging communication, problem solving and team-working skills. There are also some activities suggested in the Local Address Book and Action Planning resource that relate to this learning theme.

For each individual, there needs to be a framework of support in place to meet their needs; this involves collaboration with a range of internal and external partners. Each partner will bring different values, knowledge and skills to collaborative working. The most effective partnerships respond to need flexibly because they identify and use to best advantage the strengths of each member of the team.

The Take Ten People Toolbox provides a starting point for identifying potential partners, promoting awareness of national services and different sectors. There is space on each card to add regional or local services, and additional spare cards for recording new services.

Theme 3 Activity A1. At a meeting or event where there are participants drawn from a number of different

organisations, provide name badges with colour flashes or spots identifying which sector in the toolbox they represent (health, employment, learning and skills, more and different).

2. Group participants in workshops or use information carousels or speed dating as activities so there is an opportunity for everyone to come away with:• at least one new local contact from each sector to add to the toolbox; and/or• a new card to add to the toolbox giving details of an additional/pilot or enhanced

local opportunity, or a new national programme that has been launched; and• a note of any opportunities in the toolbox that are either not available locally

or have been renamed, re-branded or discontinued/superseded by a different programme.

A template to enable you to add new opportunities to the toolbox is provided on the CD-ROM. If you do not have copies of the Take Ten People Toolbox available for participants to take away after the event, create a checklist of services using the headings on the toolbox cards for participants to complete. Remember there is an electronic version of the resource on the CD-ROM that you can email to people or upload to your intranet.

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Theme 3 Activity B1. Draw up a list of current partners. If you are part of a large organisation this may

need to include other departments within your organisation.

2. Are you clear that the way you work together contributes to the outcomes you need to achieve for people with mental health conditions?

3. Ask participants to complete the Take Ten People Checklist for Collaborative Working (on the CD-ROM), either individually or as a group activity, so each partner has self-evaluated their progress to date.

4. Compare partner feedback. Where are there identified weaknesses in the partnership and how can they be resolved?

You may need to use Activity C (below) to promote greater understanding of any key issues that emerge.

Where do you stand?Partnership working requires trust. Inevitably, there are some decisions that are difficult to agree on. This next activity can help partners to explore contentious issues. The purpose of the exercise is to understand everyone’s point of view.

Theme 3 Activity C1. Explain the issue for discussion.

2. Mark out a line on the wall or floor labelled at one end ‘strongly agree’ through to ‘strongly oppose’ at the other (masking tape for the line and A4 sheets for the labels can be useful for this activity, or several flip chart sheets and ‘post-it’ notes).

3. Either ask participants to stand on the line by their position on the issue or, if the continuum you have drawn is on paper, ask each member to stick a ‘post-it’ with their name on by their position.

4. In turn, ask participants (one from each end of the line) to pair off and discuss the issue within a specified time frame. Pairs report back to the group.

5. Identify and agree any changes in practice and partnership actions that can be taken forward as a result of this discussion.

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Integrating employment and learning and skills

Sunderland City Council, Health, Housing and Adult Services – Mental Health Division piloted the Take Ten People resource pack to support training and developmentf staff within the Partnership and to enhance partnership working with other local agencies. Activities were linked to a Work Neighbourhood Fund initiative to embed Individual Placement and Support into mental health services.

Partnership staff and employment advisors got together to discuss and review the Take Ten People pilot materials and how they could be integrated into practice. This was followed up at an event where 11 services across Sunderland (including health, social care, employment and education/training) were brought together for a two-hour session that included short presentations from a range of key stakeholders, networking opportunities with colleagues, and access to an information village. Feedback from both events was positive and new contacts were made by practitioners working ‘on the ground’. This has given a practical impetus to partnership working that has benefited both staff, who are more confident about where to signpost referrals, and clients who benefit indirectly from the better working relationships now being established.

ConclusionThree themes have been described on which to focus staff training and development activities to support workers to develop the skills they need to take an integrated approach to employment, learning and skills for people who have experience of mental health difficulties.

The activities illustrate just some of the ways that you can use the Take Ten People resources to support staff training and continuing professional development in relation to these themes.

It has become generally accepted that in order to tackle complex social issues and reduce inequalities we need cross-government working and joined-up policies and targets for public sector bodies (Social Exclusion Unit, 2004; Cabinet Office, 2006; DWP, 2009). Individuals with mental health difficulties, many of whom may have multiple and complex barriers to being able to access and succeed in employment, learning and skills, need and want joined-up local working by the sectors, organisations and individual workers tasked with supporting and enabling them to overcome the barriers they experience (DWP, 2009; LSC, 2009). Joint staff training to support the development of a shared language, understanding of the goals, problems and solutions is recognised as a critical success factor in achieving the effective partnership working that needs to underpin joined-up local working (Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health, 2000; www.hmg.gov.uk/linkuplinkin, 2010). It is our hope that Take Ten People will support you to facilitate this in practice.

(You will find a full list of references in our Bibliography on the CD-ROM.)

Copyright © NIACE 2010