Press Release
11th February 2009
Doing IT better: Charity celebrates three years of changing the lives of people with mental health needs
Winfield IT training combines flexibility and continuity to help people move on
Winfield, an IT training specialist for people with mental health needs, first opened its doors in Chatham early in 2006, offering people the support they need to gain new skills and rebuild their lives. This is vital given that only 1 in 5 people with long-term mental health needs are in paid employment compared with 3 out of 4 of the working age population in general.
Three years on and Winfield's flexible and individualised approach to training has become a lifeline to the 75 people who now regularly use the centre. Now run by the mental health charity United Response, Winfield has achieved an exemplary pass rate of 85% and offers training across a range of industry standard software including Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, Publisher and Internet Explorer.
Founded by people who had witnessed the damaging effect of mental illness on their relatives, Winfield will shortly be issuing its 650th training certificate. Service Manager, Sandra Hall explains the unique approach which has made Winfield such a success.
"Our students have told us that the flexible and supportive environment which we've managed to create at Winfield has made it possible for them to succeed here, when they may have struggled elsewhere. Mainstream courses usually involve short periods of intensive study. This can be difficult for people with mental health needs because they may experience poor concentration. At Winfield people are able to work at their own pace, which means there is no pressure to keep up and no sense that you are progressing slower than anyone else. We're open five days a week so if someone isn't well enough to come in then we simply rearrange their training for another day, giving them flexibility but also continuity. We also have a high ratio of tutors to students which means we can offer people one-to-one support if they need it."
Warwick Owen, aged 28, from Gillingham, was one of the first students to start studying at Winfield when it opened in 2006. Over the last three years he has gained several nationally recognised qualifications in IT and has recently secured a paid part-time job at a local clinic using his skills.
He said:
"Winfield gave me the opportunity I needed when I needed it the most.
"I had started studying for a qualification in science some years ago at a nearby college, but had to give this up in 2001 when I became ill. Eventually, I managed to get myself a job in a factory, but it wasn't what I really wanted to do and by 2005 I was so unwell that I had to leave my job and go in to hospital."
"I started doing some other courses but none of them were vocational and I really wanted to find something that would lead to work and make me independent.
"I found out about Winfield through a leaflet I picked up. What I really like about the centre is that the tutors are used to training people with mental health needs and so I felt they really understood me. To begin with I needed a lot of time off because of my illness, but they let me go at my own pace, not pushing me, but keeping an eye on me at the same time. I always telephoned if I couldn't go in to arrange another time. Knowing that someone was expecting to see me was a real motivator.
"Going somewhere where other people are studying too also really helped. It's a professional environment at Winfield. You feel like everyone is there to learn and that's a good feeling."
Sandra said:
"Everyone has different reasons for attending Winfield. Some people want to brush up or acquire new skills using the courses as stepping stones to voluntary or paid work. Others simply need the boost in confidence and self-esteem that learning a new skill brings and may move on from here to study at a mainstream college. Others still use it as a way of gaining skills which they will then use in everyday life."
Warwick explains that for him the training was about more than just gaining qualifications. He said:
"I feel that Winfield has helped me to become a better person because not only have I got the training I wanted, but I've also improved my people skills. I got my first voluntary job after training at Winfield for a year. I wouldn't have had the confidence to do this before going to the centre."
Sandra said:
"Over the last three years, I've seen Warwick's confidence soar. Like most people who come to Winfield he was nervous and quiet to begin with. But his natural aptitude for working with computers soon became apparent and it's really rewarding to see how he has been able to move on to secure first a voluntary job and now paid work."
But Warwick's plans don't stop there. Asked what his plans are for the future he said:
"I'm currently studying for my Diploma for IT Users Level 2. I'd like to finish that and then eventually get a fulltime job. That's when I'll know that I've got back to where I wanted to be before I was unwell - having my own money, being independent and standing on my own two feet."
And Sandra also has hopes for the future. She said:
"We know that what we do here at Winfield makes a real difference to the lives of our students. We just want to keep on doing more of the same."
To find out more about Winfield call Sandra Hall on (01634) 848886 or visit www.winfieldcomputing.org.uk
Ends
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
Note to editors:
1. 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.
2. People with mental health problems are less likely to be employed than any other group of disabled people. The average employment rate for the UK working age population is 74% compared to 47% for all people with a disability. But only 21% of people with long-term mental illness are in work.
Source: Office for National Statistics (2006) Labour Force Survey 2006.