Paralympian gold medallist John Cavanagh joined the award-winning charity Bromley Mencap at its 24th annual general meeting (AGM). John Cavanagh has competed in archery at international level for over 16 years and attended the event at Bromley United Reformed Church, in Widmore Road, Bromley, on October 10. The four-time Paralympian

discussed his experience of the London 2012 Games and his memory of winning a silver medal at Beijing and gold atAthens.

He was joined by Bromley Mencap service users, including Laura Mitchell and Barry McDonald who were torch bearers for the Olympics and Daniel Haywood and Sally De-Laurey who were Games-makers.

November/December 2012

Paralympian attendsBromley Mencap AGM

BULLETIN

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26TH Nov 2012: Monday Afternooners Quiz Durham House, Durham Avenue, Bromley, Kent BR2 0RD (Members of the Monday Afternooners only)

3rd Dec 2012: Adult’s Christmas Party (Age 30+)Admission by ticket only St George’s Church Hall, Park Road, Bickley, Kent BR1 2BE (By personal invitation only)

11th Dec 2012: Outdoor Activity Club Evening Christmas Walk (Ages 18+) – London (For flyer and registration form contactthe office)

14th Dec 2012: Older Carer’s Lunch (+60 years)St Augustine’s Parish Church, Southborough Lane, Bromley, Kent, BR2 8AT (By personal invitation only) If you are over 60, would like to attend but do not receive an invitation, please call 020 8466 0790

2nd Jan 2013: New Year Activity Workshop (age 14 to 19) Coney Hill Baptist Church, Coney Hill Road, West Wickham, Kent BR4 9BU (Admission by ticket only)

3rd Jan 2013: New Year Children’s Party (age 13 and under) Oakley House, Bromley Common, Bromley, Kent BR2 8AH (By personal invitation only)

4th Jan 2013: New Year Activity Workshop (age 20 to 30) Coney Hill Baptist Church , Coney Hill Road, West Wickham, Kent BR4 9BU (Admission by ticket only)

For more details contact Lynda Bunce at the office on 020 8466 0790

Family Services Events

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First and foremost I would like to say how excited I am to be your new Editor for Bulletin. I applied for this position as I felt it was the perfect opportunity to use my existing skills and expertise within my community in a rewarding but non-profit manner. A little about me...I am self-employed and come from a web/graphic design background. I also freelance within this industry. I recently became a first time mum to a lovely baby boy. The values and ethos of this organisation where disabled people, families and carersare given support, opportunities, guidance and services to help build confidence, enable more independence and improve quality of life is a cause that I strongly share. Therefore, I am really looking forward to being part of this great organisation.

Laura Quailey Editor

laura@flhbeauty.co.uk

Hi Everyone!

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Family Services Events

NEWS OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING PG 6

CHIEF EXECUTIVE REPORT PG 4

YOUNG FOCUS GROUP PG 7

SUMMER ACTIVITY DAYS PG 11

OLYMPIC INSPIRATION PG 12

BETTER INFORMATIONPLANNED FROM NHSLONDON PG 13

MEET HAYLEY HUNWICKS PG 15

PERSONAL HEALTHBUDGETS PG 18

FAMILY SERVICESEVENTS PG 2

CHIEF EXECUTIVE REPORT PG 4

PANORAMA’S REPORTON WINTERBOURNE SCANDAL PG 8

CHILDMINDINGNETWORK PG 12

COOKERY &ART CLASSES PG 14

LEARNING DISABILITYPARTNERSHIP BOARD PG 16

CHIEF EXECUTIVE REPORTEDDIE LYNCH

Over 100 people attended our Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 10th October to hear about the work we have done over the last year and our plans for the future. Although we traditionally have a high turnout at our AGM we are fairly confident that our Gold Medallist Paralympian special guest, John Cavanagh, was the main attraction this year.

John recounted his experience at the London 2012 Paralympic Games where he was a Quarterfinalist in the Men’s Individual Compound W1 as well as his achievements in winning a gold medal at the 2004 Athens Games and a silver medal at the Beijing Games. John attended with his gold and silver medals and his full archery equipment was on show. John’s presentation was followed by interviews with 4 local disabled people who had voluntary roles

at this year’s Olympics and Paralympics. They were Barry McDonald, Laura Mitchell, Daniel Haywood and Sally de Laurey. Laura and Barry were both Olympic Torchbearers and Daniel and Sally were Games-makers and all the guests provided a photo opportunity for the audience. A Summary Report of the past year is included with this Bulletin which highlights all the achievements over the last 12 months. Despite government spending cuts and increased competition for funding from Trusts Bromley Mencap had another very successful year. Some of the highlights include:

Jobmatch Jobmatch continues to get new jobs for disabled people despite the recession and challenging jobs market. Last year 21 new jobs were secured for disabled people and

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we supported 143 disabled people to sustain their jobs and stay in employment.

Social and Leisure Activities We increased short breaks and respite opportunities by providing childminding for 53 disabled children and their families. In addition we provided 82 different social and leisure activities for 401 disabled people – plus 206 sessions for young disabled people through our buddying scheme to access leisure opportunities.

Brokerage Service Demand for our brokerage service continued to grow this year and 370 people have benefited from the preventative nature of the service through support with housing, health and leisure. Brokerage now brings in over £10,000 per week in welfare benefits for people with learning disabilities living in the borough representing £500,000 annually.

Police Stand by Me Pledge Over the last year we continued to work with the police and other partners around disability hate crime which led to the signing of the Police Stand by Me Pledge. Transition Fund Our one-off Transition Fund grant enabled us to do a lot of the work we needed to address including:

• We held a very productive Away Day in March which looked at personalisation and how changes to services and government policy is beginning to impact on what we do now and how we will need to adapt for the future

• To help promote ourselves and market our services at people with personal budgets we have produced a newly

designed leaflet and folder. The grant funded a new database which is helping to administer our growing membership and to communicate more effectively to our members through our fortnightly E-news and Bulletin newsletter. 81 new members joined us in the past year and we are fast approaching 2,000 members

• The Transition Fund grant helped provide more capacity for fundraising and as a result of this we were awarded a grant from the National Lottery to help fund our family support work for disabled people, in particular people with complex needs, their families and carers

• Through the Transition Fund grant we successfully registered with the Care Quality Commission to become a Domiciliary Care Provider and this has enabled us to run a new small scale home based respite sitting service for people with complex needs and their families

Children & Young People Now AwardThis year we are delighted to have been shortlisted for another national award. Out of 400 entries in total we have been shortlisted in the Early Years category for a Children & Young People Now Award. The nomination is for our Childminding Network, which is funded by Bromley Council, and the Awards ceremony will be held in London on 29th November. Congratulations to everybody involved in our nomination.

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NOTE: This timetable may be subject to change.

Telephone Helpline and Brokerage ServiceFinally, our Telephone Helpline and Brokerage service are being inundated by callers worried and confused by the wide range of government changes to welfare benefits. The media is full of stories about the changes, their complications and the impact on disabled people and families. For a clear summary of the main changes and the proposed dates that are being introduced please see the timetable below:

October 2012: New penalties for providing incorrect information Civil penalties imposed where someone negligently makes an incorrect statement or representation, or negligently gives incorrect information or evidence. January 2013: Child benefit withdrawal Households where someone is earning more than £50,000 a year will have the value of their child benefit reduced through a tapered income tax charge.

April 2013: Benefits cap Total weekly benefits (jobseekers allowance, income support, employment support allowance, housing benefit, child benefit, carers allowance and later the new universal credit) will be limited to £500 a week for lone-parents/couples or £350 per week for single claimants. This benefits cap does not apply to households where someone is claiming working tax credits or getting disability living allowance. April 2013: Community care grant and crisis loan transfer to LAs Community care grants and crisis loans for general living expenses (including rent in advance) will be abolished and replaced by new local provision. The new provision will be administered by local authorities in England and the devolved administrations in Scotland and Wales.

April 2013: Crisis loan scheme replaced. Crisis loan alignment payments and other crisis loans paid due to issues with benefit will be replaced by a new national scheme of Short Term Advances. This will be administered by the Department for Work and Pensions.

April 2013: Housing Benefit. Local housing allowance rates will be uprated in line with consumer price index. Housing entitlements for working age people in the social sector will reflect family size.

FUTURE CHANGES A timetable of forthcoming benefit and tax credit changes Compiled by Disability Right’s UK webmaster: Martin Inch

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April 2013: Local support replaces council tax benefitUnder local support for council tax local authorities will have a duty to run a scheme to provide support for council tax in their area.

April 2013: Tax credits in-year risesThe level of in-year rises of income that will be disregarded from calculations of tax credit entitlement will decrease from £10,000 to £5,000.

October 2013: Universal credit roll outBetween October 2013 and Mid 2014 those making a new claim may receive universal credit in place of jobseekers allowance, employment support allowance, housing benefit, working tax credit or child tax credit. All new claims to these old benefits will be phased out by April 2014, with new claims to housing benefits and tax credits being the last to end in April 2014. Existing claimants will also be moved onto UC if they are already receiving one of these benefits and their circumstances change significantly.

April 2013: Personal independence payment introducedWorking age disability living allowance (DLA) to be replaced by a new personal independence payment. This will be piloted in April and apply to all new claimants from June 2013. April 2013: Universal credit pilotLaunch of universal credit pathfinder to demonstrate how the new scheme will work.

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Panorama’s Report on the Winterbourne Scandal: Take ActionIt’s hard to forget the video images of abuse happening at Winterbourne View. ‘Out of sight’ is the new campaign report by Mencap and the Challenging Behaviour Foundation. It tells the stories of James, Chrissy, Joe, Emmanuel and Victoria and in the report their families talk about the terrible neglect and abuse their loved ones have experienced in institutions like Winterbourne View, often far away from home.

‘Out of sight’ comes one year on from the BBC’s Panorama programme which exposed shocking abuse of people with a learning disability at Winterbourne View, an assessment and treatment unit near Bristol.

The report shows what can happen when people with a learning disability and behaviour that challenges don’t get the support they need to live fulfilling lives in their community and end up in institutions like Winterbourne View, where they are at particular risk of abuse and neglect.

We are calling for the phased closure of all large, institutional-style services for people with a learning disability and their replacement by appropriate local services.

Take Action: Please send the ‘Out of sight’ report to your MP and ask them to take action to make sure things change: http://e-activist.com/ea-action/action?ea.client.id=78&ea.campaign.id=15946

Read the ‘Out of sight’ report - full and easy read versions: www.mencap.org.uk/outofsight

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Proposed Changes to Special Educational Needs Provision On Monday 3 September the government published its draft ideas on improving the special educational needs (SEN) system.

Their main ideas focus on ensuring that local authorities and health must work together when commissioning services for children with SEN in their area. They are proposing to replace statutory assessments and statements of SEN with education, health and care need assessments and education, health and care plans (EHCPs) and that the new EHCPs extend statutory rights into the further education and training sector for the first time.

There are no new duties on health and social care in relation to delivering the content of an EHCP and the plan will cease when a young person is no longer in education and training. This is now out for consultation and any changes will be incorporated into the Children and Families Bill which is expected to be introduced into parliament in the New Year.

Mencap has set up a website page on the issue which gives information on key concerns and which has more detailed information outlining the scope of the changes being proposed to the SEN system. You can find the page at: http://www.mencap.org.uk/campaigns/what-we-campaign-about/children-and-young-people/sen-clauses-children-and-families-bill

Community Fundraising

Grand Raffle, 1st prize £150, 2nd prize a Christmas Hamper, 3rd prize £50 John Lewis/Waitrose voucher plus many more prizes.

Enclosed with the last issue of Bulletin were 2 books of raffle tickets. If you have not already sold your tickets it is not too late as the draw is not until Saturday 15 December. When you have sold the tickets please return the completed stubs together with a cheque, made payable to Bromley Mencap, in the envelope provided. More tickets are available from the office if required. Just call: 020 8466 0790. If, for any reason, you feel unable to sell the tickets please return them in the freepost envelope. If all the tickets are sold we should raise at least £3,000.

On Sunday 9 December at 5.00pm the Salvation Army are holding a Community Carol Concert in the Great Hall, Bromley Civic Centre in aid of Bromley Mencap. Tickets are free and can be obtained directly from the Salvation Army on 020 8466 0790.

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Christmas is always a very busy time for us all and particularly for charity fundraising.

By the time you are reading this we will already have undertaken collections at both Ruxley Manor Nursery and Sainsbury’s, Locksbottom and also distributed our Christmas soft toys into local outlets for them to raise funds on our behalf.

Salvation Army Carol Concert

Community FundraisingChristmas Cards and Christmas Puddings

Please see the enclosed/attached order form.

Wanted

We still need paperback books and any magazines for Bob to sell on his stall. We also accept old mobile phones and printer cartridges which we can convert into cash. We would also be delighted to receive any unwanted christmas gifts for our various events throughout the year.

Help is still urgently needed at our two December events. Just one hour will make a huge difference:

On Thursday 6 December, Bromley Primary School choirs from across the borough will be singing Christmas songs and carols from 10.00am-7.30pm at The Glades Shopping Centre. We need help with the cash collection.

On Saturday 15 December we will be holding our Annual Gift Tombola outside Mothercare in Bromley High Street. Help with selling the tickets is needed. Susanne Dowswell, Corporate and Community Fundraiser Contact details: Email susanne.dowswell@bromleymencap.org Tel 020 8466 0790

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If you have not already ordered your Christmas cards or puddings please do so as soon as possible on the order forms that were enclosed in the last issue of Bulletin. You can also buy cards from the Bromley Mencap offices or at the Christmas Card Shop in Community House which will be open until 14 December.

Help needed

Childminding NetworkChildren’s Autumn Activity

On Wednesday 31st August 30 families arrived at Coney Hill Baptist Church for a fun filled morning of activities.

Jolly Dinosaurs Music Club

The Jolly Dinosaurs Music Club provided the entertainment and kept 59 children busy with a lively, interactive session full of singing, dancing, action songs and musical instruments.

The children enjoyed a well deserved break with drinks and biscuits - a great time was had by all.

The smooth running of these events is due to the Family Services Team who are all more than happy to help out at these events and throw themselves into all the activities, and also to our wonderful group of volunteers – they come along each week – a huge thank you to them all – we couldn’t do it without them.

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Family Services Team

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Jolly Dinosaurs Music Club

Family Link

We are a Youth Club that provides activities for children and young people with complex and physical disabilities.

We run every Saturday from 10 am to 4 pm. It costs £15 for the day and we provide taster sessions from 10-1, which costs £7.50 or £5 with a carer. A taster session enables you to get to know us and us to get to know you in order to check we can meet your needs.

We are called Family Link for a reason as we allow brothers and sisters to come! The family can be together. Each additional place costs £7.00.

Contact us via email:askfamilylink@gmail.com Or by phone: 07778655093 Web address: http://familylink.org.uk/

Charity number: 801156

Activities for children and

young people

Following on from our very successful Art and Cookery sessions held earlier this year, we have applied to PersonalDevelopment and Community Learning (PCDL) for funding to run some more courses.

We are delighted to say our application for funding was successful! The courses will be for people aged 19 years and over, with a disability and will run between February and June 2013. The courses will each run for 3 hours, one day a week, for 5 weeks.

Course 1 Basic Cookeryshowing you how to prepare and cook a series of simple and nutritious meals, on a budget. This course will probably run in the Penge area. Course 2 Cookery Plus for those who have a little more cookery experience or who have been on previous courses with us. Again the focus will be on preparing simple, nutritious meals on a budget and this course will probably run in Penge.

Course 3 Art for Beginners focusing on craft and culture. This course will probably run in the West Wickham area.

Course 4 Art Plus for those with a little more experience and those

wishing to develop specific areas of their expertise. Again this will

probably be based in West Wickham.

Each course can cater for 10 people, and you can onlychoose one course. You must attend all five sessions, to get the full benefit from the courses.

If you would like to register your interest in a

course please contact:

Caroline Stone on 020 8466 0790

or by email at caroline.stone@bromleymencap.org

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Would you be interested in coming along to some cookery or art courses in the New Year?

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Are you a family carer? Would you like to sit on Benefit Tribunals?Exciting job opportunity to have your say at benefit decision appeal tribunals

314 job positions across England, Scotland and Wales opened for applications on 27th November as a “Fee-paid Disability Member of the First-tier Tribunal (Social Entitlement Chamber)”

The Judicial Appointments Commission have said applications from family carers of a person who has a disability will be welcomed.

In this role, you would sit on a panel with a judge and a medically qualified person, to contribute to a decision whether to uphold a person’s appeal against a decision made about their social security benefit, which could include Disability Living Allowance.

Job details: You will be needed for a minimum of 15 days per year hearing cases at the tribunal, and a further 15 days doing other tribunal business, with the option for more work. Tribunal hearings are normally held on week days and you would not be needed for more than 3 days in any one week.

You will be appointed to a primary venue close to your home and a secondary venue to be agreed with the tribunal.

The fee is £192 per day and all travel costs are paid.

There is flexibility around the dates you will be required for hearings and personal circumstances and commitments will be accommodated wherever possible. Initial and on-going training is provided.

You can speak to a member of the Judicial Appointments Commission for more information by email: jaas@jac.gsi.gov.uk Or telephone: 020 3334 0123

When was the last Partnership Board?

The Learning Disability Partnership Board met on Friday 28th September 2012. The meeting was followed by a workshop in the afternoon about personalisation. What happened at the Partnership Board? The Partnership Board heard presentations about...

Learning Disability Partnership Board Update

Hayley Hunwicks Inclusion Officer

Teresa also made a presentation updating everyone on who all the reps are and what services they represent. What was the workshop about?

The workshop was about personalisation. At the workshop there were activities about making our own choices from simple things like having our favourite food to choosing our own support workers. We were told more about personal budgets and we did activities around how we would spend our money. There was a video showing how personalisation was working for different people in Bromley.

When is the next Partnership Board? The next Learning Disability Partnership Board will be on Friday 7th December 2012.

Contact me: For more information about the Partnership Board please contact me on

020 8466 0790 or hayley.hunwicks@bromleymencap.org

My working days are Monday afternoon, Tuesday and Wednesday 9am-5pm.

- Hayley Hunwicks, Inclusion Officer

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Hello Everyone

My name is Alice Oyemade. I am a final year student of Learning Disability Nursing and Social Work at London South Bank University. I am currently on a 100 day work experience placement with Bromley Mencap (Jobmatch Team).

I became interested in the course to build on my personal experience of caring for people with learning disabilities, and to acquire a relevant qualification in order to improve on my theoretical knowledge at University.

I am getting to know the staff and have been overwhelmed by the help and support from everyone in the office especially my mentor. I have been made to feel a valued member of the team, and I am looking forward to working with candidates and meeting them at the Job Clubs. I am prepared for any challenge and will embrace the knowledge, experience and skills that I will gain from this placement.

Outside of the placement, when I am not at the University, I enjoy Sudoku, dancing, cooking, sewing and spending time with my family. I also love watching Eastenders and game shows.

I hope this placement will enable me appraise all the options open to me at the end of my course.

Meet Alice Oyemade

The theatre will be working on a visual storyboard covering the key points of the theatre visit for this particular event; if anyone booking needs a storyboard please let the theatre know at time of booking and they will arrange for this to be sent on. Wheelchair users or anyone requiring a transfer seat are advised to contact the venue in advance to ensure your needs can be met.

The theatre is delighted to be able to offer a special price of £14 per ticket (regardless adult/child).

To book, patrons can either come into the theatre and book in person or book through Groups on 0844 871 7696.

It is not bookable on the web or via the usual ticket line number.

You must quote

RELAXED14 when booking to qualify for the £14 ticket price. Please book early to avoid disappointment. All sales including, but not limited to, tickets, promotions, discounts and concessions are subject to terms and conditions of sale and availability.

Unless stated, offers cannot be used on premium seats, in conjunction with any other discount or applied retrospectively. Churchill Theatre, Bromley High Street, Bromley, BR1 1HA

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Peter Pan relaxed performance on Wednesday 5th December @ 1.30pm

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Buddying Support

One of our candidates, who is on the autistic spectrum, has a voluntary role, for 2 hours a week, working in a charity shop close to Bromley South Station. The shop is run by Scope.

The session is on Thursday afternoons from 2 until 4 pm. Our candidate currently works on the jewellery display putting out new items and ensuring the display looks attractive and is well organised.

Support is needed throughout the session so the shop manager does not have to oversee our candidate and buddying is needed to encourage the volunteer, keep her confidence levels up and to assist when she is asked to undertake new tasks.

Our Job Coach would work alongside the Buddy and the candidate initially.

If you feel you could assist us please contact Jill Baughen at the Jobmatch Office.

Copy deadline for January/February 2013 is 2nd January Editor: Laura Quailey, email: laura@flhbeauty.co.ukPublisher: Bromley Mencap, Rutland House, 44 Masons HillBromley Kent BR2 9JG TEL: 0208 466 0790

Copyright © Bromley Mencap Charity Number: 800685

The opinions expressed in Bromley Mencap Bulletin are thoseof the individual contributors and not necessarily those of Bromley Mencap. We reserve the right to edit articles before publication.