Working at Sense – July 2024
Welcome from the CEO
Dear Colleagues,
Welcome to the July edition of our Working at Sense employee news round up.
As you know we now have a new government and over the last two months, Sense has worked hard to make sure that as many candidates as possible were talking about how they would make the country fairer for disabled people.
To-date, 13,358 members of the public have backed our ‘manifesto for disabled people’ and 70 candidates who responded to us during our campaign are now MPs, and 43 of them have pledged to be Sense Champions, including the new Minister for Disabled People.
The early signs are positive, but there are plenty of issues for the Government to tackle. However, working in partnership with government, we can do so much more to improve disabled people’s opportunities, improve their quality of life, and strengthen our society.
To read my full blog, please visit my Sense Engage article.
As an exciting Summer season is underway, we have some exciting updates, stories and announcements to share with you.
I hope you enjoy this edition,
Richard
Sense Awards 2024
Mark your calendars… the winners of our employee and external Sense Awards ceremonies will be announced in November 2024 – don’t forget to submit your nominations before it’s too late!
Our Sense Employee Awards are our opportunity to celebrate the outstanding efforts and contributions of our people and teams over the past year. We are receiving such amazing nominations, we have now extended the nomination deadline for our employee awards! The window closes on Friday 16 August, so get nominating your superstar colleagues by clicking here.
It’s the 21st year for our external Sense Awards, where we celebrate the achievements of people with complex disabilities and the people who support them. Do you know a champion who’s overcome the odds to achieve something great this year? Perhaps a carer or volunteer who’s gone above and beyond to make a difference? The window closes on Friday 2 August, show them how brilliant they are by nominating them now.
Summer Cyber Security Update
With the summer holidays upon us, our IT Team have reminded us about the cyber security risks associated with this time of year. The key message, as always, is think before you click a link or provide your details to someone you don’t know. Cyber criminals will often target organisations over the summer, particularly with reduced staffing levels and people covering unfamiliar roles. Hackers will try to target people with ‘too good to be true’ summer offers. To read the full article click here.
It’s also a great time to refresh your knowledge of phishing attacks in particular – guidance can be found here.
Headspace Highlights
Headspace has been a great tool for all our employees, helping many improve their mental health and wellbeing. Since June 2023, we’ve seen a 36.4% increase in users of the app! We now have an incredible 547 members, consisting of our people and their families.
It’s great to know that our people who try Headspace love it and are here to stay! 84%of users are regular Headspace fans and 67% say it helps them feel less stressed. We’ve also had some really great engagement across the organisation, particularly from Sense Midlands, Southeast, Sense Rotherham and Loughborough College!
Stay tuned for more highlights and information about Headspace.
Football Family Day Fundraiser
A subsidiary company of our corporate partner, Tara Group, is organising a fundraising event in aid of Sense and all are invited to attend! The Football Family Fun Day will take place on Sunday 25 August at Chasetown Football Club, in Burntwood, Staffordshire. It will be a great family day out with lots of children’s activities, a bouncy castle, food vans and a live DJ.
There will also be a football tournament taking place, with some of our very own Sense colleagues across Programmes and Engagement coming together to play as Team Sense.
A word from exec, with Cathy Still
Despite England’s disappointing defeat during the Euros final there was a great deal to be proud of in the way England performed. In any case, whether you wanted England to win or not we can all draw comparisons on the key messages of teamwork, effort and shared goals. The same can be said for Sense. We have an amazing squad of talented individuals who share a great pride in representing us – whether as an employee, volunteer or a supporter.
Click to read the full article as Cathy discusses Sense’s 70th anniversary, the UK’s new government, our employee survey action plans and the ongoing summer of sport!
Our Sensational Tea Party was one to remember
For many years we have enjoyed a special themed tea party in the Midlands. This is always a great event with plenty of tea, cakes and entertainment. This years’ theme was inspired by the Cheltenham Races and Style Wednesday, a rethink of the traditional Ladies Day.
Our aim was to truly celebrate the diverse group people Sense support and employ and what better way than in a catwalk show. The Buzz was transformed into a fashion house with clothes and accessories donated over a few weeks. A beautiful Bridgerton back drop scene was created by our brilliant staff in Basecamp for a photoshoot. Touchbase was filled with delicious cakes that staff had baked or donated.
Words cannot fully demonstrate what a joy our 2024 event was, but we are very proud of the people we support, their families, all the staff we employ and of Sense as a whole.
It’s not too late to be a Sense Engage Super User
As part of our new Internal Communications Strategy and our upcoming activity to develop the use of our Sense Engage intranet, we have been building up our network of trained users to help drive more team news, manage departmental pages and improve our communication consistency by sharing good practice.
This is a call for all those interested in joining the Engage Super User Network! To find out more information, learn about getting your own department page and to register your interest, please get in touch with [email protected].
Go green… think before you print
As part of our ongoing commitment to sustainability and cost-efficiency, we are looking to reduce our printing expenses. Currently, we are spending approximately £3,500 per month on printing with our Sharp printers alone. This is a significant expenditure that we believe we can reduce with your help.
Here are a few things to consider before hitting the print button:
- Think Before You Print: Do you really need a hard copy of that document? Could it be shared digitally instead?
- Go Black and White: If you do need to print, consider whether it needs to be in colour. Printing 1,000 black and white pages costs around £2.10, while the same amount in colour costs around £21.00.
- Be Green: Reducing our printing not only saves money, but also helps us be more environmentally friendly by cutting down on paper and ink usage.
By being mindful of our printing habits, we can collectively make a big difference. Your cooperation in this initiative is greatly appreciated. Thank you for your attention to this matter and for your ongoing efforts to help us operate more sustainably.
A day in the life of a Sense Centre – Hazel’s story
“People with complex needs can do anything you can do, I can do…there’s always a way around it.” Watch an incredible video on ‘a day in the life’ from our centre in Barnet and the friends, parents and staff that make every day there special.
The King’s speech and what it means for Sense
The King’s Speech is a speech written by the government and delivered by the Monarch at the State Opening of Parliament. It marks the beginning of a new parliamentary year and is an opportunity for the government to set out its legislative agenda for the coming months. It is also a great opportunity for Sense to ensure our services are aligned to the changing legal landscape and to champion disabled people’s voices with parliamentarians. The Policy and Public Affairs Team have put together an initial analysis document, providing us with an overview of bills relevant to Sense.
We also have an article surrounding the General Election outcome and what it means for Sense – click here to read Harriet’s blog!
Update on Mark’s journey as Stories Lead
As Stories Lead, I build our portfolio of stories, work with colleagues across Engagement and the wider organisation to help improve our communications and strengthen engagement with our supporter base. Since the start of the year, we have added more than 60 new stories to our database, a great increase of 15%.
Some key highlights of mine are: Richard’s story for Deafblind Awareness Week, Mohammed’s General Election campaign story and Sonny’s BBC Lifeline Appeal.
Key Awareness Dates in August
As we continue our summer of sport, we also have some key awareness dates we will be honouring through a range of personal stories and sharing key information – so be sure to check out Sense Engage over the next month!
Disability Awareness Day Sense Gig Recording
On 16 July, we had our Sense Gig in honour of Disability Awareness Day, highlighting on disability inclusion and the push for inclusion and equity within Sense and in everyday life. Watch the recording hosted by Anne Scolding, Chair of the Disability Employee Network and hear from our guest speakers: Tori Matthews, Maxine Hunter, Harriet Edwards and Benjamin Anim!
Contact your Mental Health First Aiders
As part of our ongoing commitment to foster a culture of wellbeing, we have introduced a Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) initiative. Our Mental Health First Aiders are colleagues based across the organisation who have volunteered and been trained by Mental Health England.
They are currently contactable via email and will arrange a Teams or phone call with you based on your preference. MHFAiders are trained to offer short-term support to colleagues experiencing mental health issues and will support in providing further information necessary for your wellbeing.
Visit the Mental Health First Aid Page and click the ‘Find your MHFA for support’ banner. Here you will be able to view all our MHFAiders and request support as you see fit. On our MHFA page you will also be able to download our new posters to support our Mental Health Initiative – please share and print these for your colleagues and teams!
Sense Wall Planners
As part of our ongoing efforts to improve communication across Sense, our Internal Communications team have produced the next batch of quarterly printed wall planners, consisting of key dates for July, August and September.
Digital copies can be downloaded and printed by clicking here. If you would like printed copies sent to you, please email your request to [email protected].
Children and Young People’s host their first family conference
The Children’s MSI Service support Children/Young People aged 0-25yrs who are deafblind/multi-sensory impaired or who have a vision or hearing impairment combined with additional needs.
On 6 July, the Children and Young People Service hosted their first “Navigating the MSI World” family conference at Sense Touchbase Pears. “Families had told us they wanted a ‘one stop shop’ where they could access support for their children/young people and themselves all in one go; activities for their children, siblings groups and also information for parents related to their children’s individual needs, plus a chance to connect with others.”
It was a great event which provided families with access to support, activities for their children, siblings groups information for parents, a chance to connect with others and much more! Feedback received so far has been very positive: “We all had a brilliant day at the conference, the support from Sense is unmatched by any other service we are involved with.”
Get £350 through the Employee Referral Scheme
Did you know that our ‘Employee Referral Scheme’ will reward you a staggering £350 for every successful person you refer?! Since increasing the bonus to £350, the referral rates have climbed massively year on year. Take advantage of this fantastic opportunity and share the vacancies link with your talented friends and family.
At Sense we are always looking for great people to work with us and believe that our employees are great ambassadors for Sense and all that we do. Please refer to our policy for full details including terms and conditions: Guide to Sense’s Referral Scheme.
Northern Ireland’s Inspirational Woman of the Year 2024
Anne McManus has worked diligently and dedicated her life to raising money and awareness for Sense NI through fundraising.
Anne’s daughter Jill was born deafblind and has very complex needs. Through her fundraising efforts for over 30 years, Anne has dedicated herself to promoting awareness for Sense NI and is committed to helping us raise funds. Sense NI has helped more than 2000 people since Anne was one of its founding members and has contributed around £850k.
Sense Diversity Networks
At Sense we are committed to equality of opportunity and promoting and celebrating diversity and inclusion. We have four diversity employee networks: Disability (DEN), LGBTQ+, Wellbeing and Ethnic Diversity (EDN).
Our Networks next meetings are:
- Disability – TBC
- LGBTQ+ – 29 August at 9.30am
- Wellbeing – 21 August at 3pm
- Ethnic Diversity – 26 September at 2pm
Our networks are dedicated to raising awareness of issues and promoting good practice, enhancing diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Our networks are inclusive which gives the opportunity for all employees to join, i.e. you may not have don’t have to be disabled to join as an ally of the Disability Employee Network. We also understand that some people may have intersections and therefore joining more than one group is encouraged.
Take a break, bake a cake in our London office
In honour of Deafblind Awareness Week our London office hosted our ‘Take a Break and Bake a Cake’ bake-off! The idea came from a conversation at the Employee Forum around different areas of the organisation coming together to celebrate during the week.
Who did our judges think was most creative, the tastiest, most inclusive and best on brand? Find out who the winners were by clicking here.
Feedback
If you have any comments or suggestions about this edition, including ideas for future content then email [email protected]