Supporting Learning Disability Week

We’re pleased to be supporting Learning Disability Week this year, which is focusing on busting myths about living life with a learning disability. By showcasing the achievements of people with a learning disability, the campaign is hoping to change perceptions about their important role in our society. Our project manager Marie Lovell shares the resources we have available for care workers when supporting people with a learning disability or autism.

As the parent of someone who has a learning disability, I worry that a lack of understanding and misconceptions can lead to negative impacts on their mental and physical health. Which is why I’m encouraged that Mencap, who are running Learning Disability Week, have chosen on busting myths as their focus this year.

Through our work, we regularly engage with people with a learning disability, their families and other people who support and care about them. When we think about designing new support or updating what is already available, our starting point is that it should be shaped around enabling people to fulfil the achievements being highlighted during this year’s Learning Disability Week.

Skills for Care have a specific role in supporting the adult social workforce to develop their skills to improve the quality of care and outcomes for people drawing on their care. Much of what we do can be accessed for free, so why not take a look at other elements of our offer.

Transforming care resources

These resources aim to support adult social care employers to recruit, develop and lead their workforce so that they have the right skills and knowledge to support people with a learning disability. Our transforming care webpage includes real-life case studies to highlight how care can be shaped around the person with a learning disability.

View our transforming care webpage.

Supporting people in a digital world

Skills for Care funded Ace Anglia to produce a new resource aimed at supporting people in a digital world. The resource was designed to support social care staff to help people with learning disabilities to get online and connect with friends and family. It allows people to pursue opportunities that would otherwise be hard to access and attend health appointments such as workshops and conferences.

View the resource.

Learning disability and autism newsletter

Sign-up to our newsletter for a simple way to be kept up-to-date with our offer. The newsletter will be of interest to services directly supporting people with a learning disability, commissioners of these services or anyone who has an interest in quality improvement for this part of the sector. We include our own latest news and resources, as well as those from the Government and other bodies with a remit to support people with a learning disability, or those that work with them.

Sign-up to our newsletter.

The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism

This training, developed by Health Education England, can help social workers and care co-ordinators, people who work in safeguarding roles, and public sector workers in the justice, education and housing sector to understand more about learning disability and autism. Skills for Care have had a role in supporting the roll out of this training.

Find out more about the training.

Our workforce expert advisory group

This is a standing group of people who have a learning disability or family carers and connected to wider networks. We meet monthly to work in co-production on issues about workforce development for adult social care and we're available to help employers on a range of issues.

Chris Burns is an artist and member of our workforce advisory group. He has used his art as a means of portraying the role of people with a learning disability in our society. Below we’ve shared an example of his work, where he describes his vision for the future.

Find out more about the group.

Find further information about Learning Disability Week on the Mencap website.

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