Feedback from clients has been incredibly positive, with them saying that they love the activities they do and the staff that work with them. The Support Workers are described as “helpful, kind, thoughtful and generous” by CS and as being “nice and respectful” by AD. No one reported having anything bad to say about any of the VALUES staff.
The favourite sessions reported by the clients covered a wide range; cooking, sports, fashion, animation, ‘out and about’ were among some of the top choices. They also told us they like doing maths sessions and playing in the VALUES football team. They like the rooms we have on site, describing them as “beautiful” and “really nice”.
We asked what we can do better and what else we can do. HC replied, “nothing, I am happy with it all”, while CS said he would like “more day trips” and SK said he would like “more new clients to join”.
Some of the caregivers we interviewed also desired VALUES to hold more day trips and parties. One parent said that it was occasionally difficult to get hold of us, which is something we were already aware of and have taken steps to improve; additional staff are now able to answer calls and a new phone system has been implemented that links our desk phones to our mobile phones.
Similar to the clients, parents and caregivers had a positive impression of our staff and activities. LT told us that she found our staff “friendly”, and was reassured that “everyone is checked in and out for security” as well as liking that there is “lots of choice of sessions”. JB offered a different (but equally positive) perspective, stating that he appreciates that there are “clients of different levels of disability.”
The professionals that we work with also stated that they liked working with VALUES; TE told us he liked working on projects with us and described the VALUES managers as “amenable and supportive”. Some of the support workers we asked also agreed with this, with one support worker telling us, “I love my job, this is the best place I have ever worked”.
Overall, we are really pleased with the feedback that we have been given this year. We have plans to respond to the calls for increased parties and trips now that things are starting to return to normal. For example, we already have the postponed Christmas party planned for after Ramadan and the social events group are working on plans for the first day-trip since the start of the pandemic.
