The Willows, Warminster, Wiltshire
Dating from Saxon times, Warminster lies to the south west of Salisbury Plain, amongst chalk downland with its abundant flora and fauna, and at the head of one of England’s best kept secrets – the Wylye valley with its attractive villages and historic landscape. The town boasts many historic attractions of its own and has a wealth of interesting and beautiful places to see within a thirty mile radius.

Conveniently situated close to the centre of the former market town of Warminster. The Willows is ideally located for Service Users who wish to become involved with the local community. Shops, restaurants, clubs and associations, a sports centre, and a swimming pool are all within close proximity of the Home. Further afield but still accessible attractions include Longleat, the historic town of Bath, and the Wylye Valley, providing excellent venues for the many outings that are organised by the Home.

The home is registered with the Commission for Social Care Inspection to provide social care for eight younger (18-65) adults with learning disabilities who may present mild to moderate challenging behaviour.

Steve Tayler is the Manager designate for The Willows. Steve has over 14 years experience in working with children and young adults with severe Learning Disabilities, challenging behaviours and/or complex health care needs. Steve is qualified to NVQ level 3 & 4 in care, is an NVQ Assessor (A1) and is currently undergoing his Registered Managers Award. He has also undertaken all relevant mandatory courses and other training to increase his knowledge base.

Everything at The Willows is aimed around Rights, Independence, Choice, Opportunity and Inclusion emphasised in the Governments White Paper "Valuing People: a new strategy for learning disabilities in the 21st century" (2001).

Steve feels that it is very important that the Service User group are involved and are active members of their community. Steve's aims for The Willows are to continue providing a warm, welcoming, relaxed environment that will empower the Service User group to achieve their full potential, with the support and encouragement of a professional and dedicated support worker team.

The Willows is a Victorian property which has been sympathetically converted into a care home and retains many original features. It has high ceilings and large sash windows, which give the home a light and airy feel throughout.

Service Users’ personal living space is on the first and second floors. All ten bedrooms have washing facilities and all exceed 14 square metres – the largest is over 20. They have all been individually decorated in consultation with Orchard Interior Designs & Contracts Ltd, a company with expertise in colour psychology. Service Users are also involved in the choice of decoration to ensure that their personal likes and dislikes are taken into account. The aim is to provide an environment in which they feel safe and secure.

Communal living space includes two lounges and a dining room with French windows leading to the large, south-facing garden . One of the lounges is very large and the other, smaller, one is a quiet room for residents who want a more peaceful environment. There are televisions in each lounge and a computer with Internet access is available for residents’ use.

ASDAN Centre

We have recently registered as an ASDAN (Award Scheme Development and Accreditation Network) Centre (Registration no: 30091) thus enabling our Service Users to gain recognised qualifications within a wide range of programmes suited to their individual abilities.

ASDAN is an educational charity committed to recognising and rewarding the achievement of individuals regardless of their age or ability. ASDAN developed form a pilot work with the University of the West, Bristol in England.

ASDAN programmes blend activity based curriculum environment with a framework for the development assessment and accreditation of a wide range of personal social skills and competences. As a QCA approved awarding body, ASDAN has developed a number of formal qualifications, which can be assessed through its tremendous range of curriculum programmes.

Here at The Willows we are registered for the following programmes:

• Towards Independence/ New Horizons
• Workright/Transition Challenge
• Literacy & Numeracy
• Life Skills: Entry Level

The Oaks, Malvern, Worcestershire
This home opened in November, 2002. It is located in Malvern Link overlooking the common and is a short walk from Malvern Link railway station and adjacent shops and local amenities. Malvern is famous for its stunning scenery and the Malvern Hills, which are less than a mile away, can be seen from the windows of the home. The town has many attractions and a lively cultural life – Malvern Theatres have three large auditoriums which attract internationally renowned performers, and there are many events of interest in the area throughout the year. Malvern is also famous for its spring water and as the home of the Morgan sports car, and is conveniently located close to the M5 and M50 motorways.

Originally a substantial Victorian private house, the Oaks was for a number of years a retirement home with a capacity of seventeen residents. The home is now registered with the CSCI to provide social care for ten younger (18-65) adults with learning disabilities who may present mild to moderate challenging behaviour. The building has plenty of space: in addition to normal domestic offices, the ground floor contains a sitting room, a dining room, the Home Manager’s office (where Service Users can discuss matters in private with the Home Manager), and three bedrooms, which thus makes the home accessible to clients with restricted mobility. The first floor has three bedrooms with en-suite facilities, a sitting room and a further bathroom and WC; and the second floor has three further en-suite bedrooms, a standard bedroom, another bathroom and WC, and a third sitting room.

All the bedrooms benefit from attractive views, either over the common to the front or over the gardens to the rear. They are also spacious, ranging in size from 12.5 square metres to over 20.

Doreen White, the Home Manager, has over thirty years experience working within the care sector. She has worked with young adults with learning disabilities and challenging behaviour, the homeless, family units, and with people with physical disabilities. She also has experience in day centres for people with enduring mental health problems, and specialist units for children with complex needs. She is a qualified social worker (Dip.S.W.), an N.V.Q. Assessor (A1/A2), and a qualified manager (RM).