Press Release
15th October 2008
United Response goes from 'Good to Great' through winning National Training Award
United Response has won a National Training Award, a major nationwide accolade, for its 'Good to Great' training programme in the North West.
'Good to Great' - a partnership with Helen Sanderson Associates - is an innovative training programme aimed at transforming the lives of the people supported by United Response but which has also given a massive boost to support staff's own job satisfaction.
Embracing the best of international practice, 'Good to Great' emphasises the importance of teamwork and empowers staff by providing a set of simple and clear tools to help them take a creative approach to problem-solving. It embraces a commitment to continuous improvement, with a constant focus on evaluating what’s working and what’s not working so that successes can be built on and learning shared.
Initially rolled out in the North West, 'Good to Great' won United Response a regional award at last night's gala reception held at The Palace Hotel in Manchester. Run by UK Skills on behalf of the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, the National Training Awards are universally recognised as being the number one in their field. The awards are particularly prestigious as they pit third sector organisations against private companies. To win the award United Response had to meet a set of rigorous criteria, including a detailed application process, formal interviews and a visit to the North West by assessors to see 'Good to Great' in action.
United Response's Chief Executive, Su Sayer, said: "This award is all about recognising the incredible achievement of our staff who have worked so hard to make this training programme a success, which in turn has made a real difference to the lives of the people they support.
"Following our success in the North West we are now rolling out 'Good to Great' across the country. "People are our most important asset and we will continue to invest heavily in them."
Earlier this week United Response was also shortlisted by the Third Sector Excellence Awards for two further awards in the categories of Best Employer and Best Annual Report.
For more information, please contact Sarah Bartlett or Jaime Gill in the United Response Press Office on020 8246 5237 or 020 8246 5122 or emailsarah.bartlett@unitedresponse.org.uk or jaime.gill@unitedresponse.org.uk
Notes to editors:
United Response is a national charity that works with people with learning disabilities or mental health needs - including some of the most vulnerable people in our society.
We provide everything from 24 hour care to a few hours of support a week. United Response is community based, working in many localities across England and Wales.
Our mission is to support people with learning disabilities or mental health needs to take control of their lives. We design our care and support around each person and work with them to achieve real inclusion, independence and citizenship for all. We support people across the whole spectrum of learning disability and mental health and have developed a range of specialisms in working with people with the most complex needs, particularly person-centred active support.
We are working towards a society where people with learning disabilities or mental health needs are equal participants and have access to the same rights and opportunities as everyone else.
We have won several awards for our pioneering work and for being a top employer. In 2007 alone, we were highly commended by the Charity Awards for our 'Good To Great' approach to providing support, while the Charity Times named us one of the best six charities to work for in the UK. We are experts in the development of accessible communications.
United Response was founded in 1973 by chief executive Su Sayer. We are a top 100 charity, supporting more than 1,500 people throughout the UK at any one time and employing more than 2,000 staff.