For our Shared Living team in on the mid North Coast in NSW, helping staff keep learning has strengthened teamwork, built confidence and created new ways to provide quality support.
With guidance from their Manager, Birendra Yadav, the team has strengthened their approach to documentation, behaviour support and Person-Centred Active Support.
Understanding the why
Documentation can sometimes feel like another task to complete.
Birendra saw an opportunity to help the team understand its value beyond compliance. Good documentation helps build a clearer picture of a person’s experiences, preferences and support needs.
Through coaching, active supervision and team meetings, staff have had space to ask questions, discuss challenges and work through solutions together.
Each permanent support worker became a key worker for a person they support, taking greater ownership of keeping information up to date and communicating with families and allied health professionals.
Staff are also encouraged to learn from each other and ask for help when they need it, building shared responsibility across the team.
Making good practice easier
The team has found simple, practical ways to make everyday work easier.
QR code-enabled forms and ABC data collection templates have helped staff record information more consistently.
In one month, around 390 behaviour records were captured, providing valuable insights to inform support and strengthen planning and positive behaviour support.
Keeping people at the centre
The team has also introduced photo stories linked to individual goals.
Photos of meaningful everyday activities and active support are used around the home, discussed during weekly house meetings and shared with families through monthly newsletters.
For people who communicate non-verbally, the photos provide another way to reflect on experiences, express preferences and celebrate achievements.
They also give staff a chance to look beyond the paperwork and focus on what matters to each person.
The impact
The changes have contributed to some important outcomes.
Four people successfully received changes to their funding, resulting in around $200,000 in additional annual funding to better reflect their individual support needs.
The changes have also helped reduce the use of restrictive practices, with two people no longer requiring them.
Behind these outcomes is a team that has embraced new ways of working, taken on greater responsibility and continued to learn together.
“These outcomes reflect the dedication and commitment of the entire team, who embraced the changes and remained focused on achieving the best possible outcomes for the participants we support. But while the extra $50,000 per participant has given a much-needed boost, we are still pushing for additional funding to better respond to the needs of our participants and their support teams,” said Birendra Yadav, Manager Shared Living.
Giving staff the coaching, tools and confidence to do their work well, while creating space to ask questions, share ideas and keep learning.
When our people feel supported to do their best, the people with disability we support benefit too. It’s The Right Way.
