How do the Welcome Values Work?

During a Welcome Values review, a team of stakeholders are supported by one or more facilitators to carry out visits to a sample of people who use a particular service over a 12 month period. A stakeholder can be a person who uses services, family member or member of staff from a provider.

At the first workshop the group come together to learn how to conduct a review and collectively come up with a set of values by which the services will be evaluated. ?Each member of the team then spends time visiting one person who uses a particular service, ideally carrying out four visits including one in the evening visit and one at the weekend.

At the next workshop they discuss what they have found and whether the standards are being met. ?Support is available at the workshop and in between workshops via phone and email from the facilitator(s).

At the third workshop they write action plans for both themselves and the provider to help them work towards achieving the values for that particular service.

The final half-day workshop is a celebration event where participants assess progress and revisit the action plans. ?They also make a return visit at the end of the review to discuss their findings with the person and the provider and end the formal process. ?In order to achieve on-going progress the process may be repeated over and over again.

The review process is planned and organised by the facilitator(s) with a commissioner / provider manager and/or project team. Mentoring of key personnel during the process ensures sustainability after the first review has been completed. The cyclical nature of the process is outlined in diagram below:

The key activities involved in delivering a Welcome Values review are:

1. Recruit people who use services and family members to be volunteer reviewers.

2. Recruit service providers to participate in the project.

3. Co-produce the Welcome Values with learning disabled people, family carers and providers.

4. Run training courses to prepare participants to carry out reviews.

5. Put policies in place to ensure the safety of participants and, if they witness abuse, to support them to report it appropriately.

6. Support participants to visit services on a number of occasions at different times of the day and on different days. This will include an introductory visit to explain the purpose of the project, a number of visits to observe how the service is delivered and a final visit to review these observations with users.

7. Feedback the results of the review to the provider and give them the opportunity to respond.

8. Hold regular supervision sessions to support participants to undertake reviews and further develop their skills.