The History of UR First

UR First was set up with help from the Big Lottery Fund. This used to be called the Community Fund.

A team of specialists started to work with the people we support and our staff.

This team makes sure that people can have more say in what happens to them and the support they receive.

People can be involved in decisions about their lives and how we run the organisation.

Many of the people we support do not speak, read or write.

Some people we support may not understand the spoken word and written language.

People might communicate in other ways. This might be using pictures, signs or body language.

UR First and the Inclusion team supports people to take control of their lives.

UR First means we can really support people to have more influence over their lives.

Communication

Over the past four years the Inclusion team has worked with each person we support.

The Inclusion team has helped to find out how people like to communicate.

The Inclusion team has written action plans to improve communication.

The Inclusion team has helped to develop communication aids.

The Inclusion team has helped to train staff in communication skills.

The Inclusion team has shared knowledge and skills with other people.

Each person we support has their own communication profile.

This is to tell people how they like to communicate, what their support needs are and what specialist equipment they might need.

We make sure people have the tools they need to communicate how they want to. We make sure staff are trained too.

This means we can listen to the people we support and communicate with them in the way they want us to.