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 St Blaise Appeal Our Parish Church central heating system is beyond repair, around £ 40,000 is required for the complete replace- ment. St Blaise is our essential community facility used by many parishioners for their social and recreative activities as well as worship, please donate whatever you can afford. Please contact Churchwarden Martin Woodgett on: 01235 834053 |
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The Home Farm Trust (HFT)
HFT was founded in 1962 by parents of people with learning disabilities and is a family based organisation. HFT strives to help people with learning disabilities to make informed choices about their lives.
We provide a national network of user-focused services including; supported living, registered care, day opportunities, specialist services for those with specific syndromes or complex support needs, supported employment, family carer support services, advocacy, short breaks, research and ICT (information communication technology) training.
HFT endeavours to provide inclusive services, which are individually tailored to each person’s needs and wishes. We aim for a positive, valued lifestyle which reflects the key principles of valuing people, supplemented by our own core values of care, consultation and communication; opportunity; respect and empowerment, which guide and inform our services.We promote equal opportunities. Our philosophy is to maintain continuity of support, even though a persons needs change.
HFT are committed to person centred planning and we have a quality assurance system which includes commissioning regular external evaluation of our services, to ensure our working practices are monitored to help improve and meet our targets.
HFT Day Services at Milton Heights
We offer a whole range of structured and meaningful activities throughout Day Services. We support people with Learning Difficulties from 18 to over 60 years of age, of all abilities and differing needs. We have a mixture of on and off-site activities.We use a person centred approach, at every opportunity we promote choice and independence, try to plan the sessions to be service user led where possible, and do our utmost to enable service user involvement in decision making and planning.
Some of these include activities promoting health, well being and maintaining mobility such as Keep-fit, Dance, Football, Table tennis, Multi-sports, Music & Dance, relaxing Foot baths & Hand Massage, Mixed sports, and Walking groups.
The Day Service is set in lovely spacious grounds that the Gardening Group work hard to help maintain.
We also have a Gym on site and a Jacuzzi that many people enjoy using.
There are several Speak Out groups, ‘Parliament’ where a representative from each area are included in the group, they cover many different topics and invite guest speakers to attend such as Local MP’s, Community police officers, Fire Brigade, and many more. Their recent campaign is to have a shelter over the local bus stop which will benefit the local community and avoid getting wet waiting for the bus. The Parliament has also asked for and organised a certificated First Aid course for service users that was a great success.The ‘Discussion’ group have invited different visitors, and covered other projects such as recycling and deciding the use of a local field that is owned by HFT. They have achieved a campaign involving the local community to have a crossing put in place which benefits the whole community and enables some service users to access public transport more safely.
Keep safe Group – have done some work on video Risk assessments that are in an accessible format for people to understand. They have covered areas such as how to use public transport safely, safe use of the telephone, and safe use of equipment in the kitchen.
Communication – We have a very popular signing group, where service users lead the group and teach staff and other service how to use Makaton.
We run a Newsletter group that research, interview and produce a bi-monthly newsletter, giving information about events and service users points of view on various topics.
Culture Group look at different countries and cultures, they learn languages and sample foods from different countries.
The Good Old Days is a reminiscence group especially catering for the aging population. People who have the on set of dementia particularly benefit from this session.
Numerous sessions enable people to access the local community – such as bowling. Social Studies groups go to a variety of locations, shops, café’s, and garden centres to practice social life skills including money management.
‘Out & About’ access places of interest in the community such as Churches, Museums, and workshops organised by other organisations and the Oxfordshire Partnership board.
There are many creative and expressive sessions such as Pottery, Art groups, Craft, Textiles, Model Making, Drama groups, Project group and Music sessions.
We also offer a service to people with complex needs, some of the activities they enjoy are things such as using a switch for sensory cooking, using a switch to use various computers programs and games, being able to relax and enjoy the stimulating environment in the sensory room and use the sensory equipment available, enjoy the aroma, textures and sounds in the beautiful sensory garden. Joining music sessions, and using the sound beam.Some of the sessions that we run give people work experience, where they learn skills for work that can then be transferred to use in future employment. There are numerous Garden sessions where people learn horticultural skills, and they help to maintain the grounds.
There is a Car Wash group where people are supported to clean the site vehicles and carry out simple maintenance checks.
In the front of our Coffee shop we have a small gift shop selling trade craft products from third world countries as well as local produce such as honey, jams & pickles. This is staffed by service users to give them some retail and customer service experience.
Some Service Users train in our Coffee Shop Bytes which is open to the public Monday - Friday 9am -2.30pm, they also open for Sunday Dinners on the first Sunday of every month (pre book on 01235 827606).
We also facilitate Piano lessons, and Massage treatment – we have a qualified piano teacher who gives individual lessons, and qualified masseuse.
We have very good IT facilities and a variety of equipment and programs. Each person has their own log on and password, and their own personalised desk top. There are numerous Computer groups, a Photo Project, and a DVD group.
This is just an example of the many things that are on offer, some sessions are available for purchase subject to availability.
People who are paying by direct payments or ILF can usually book via Day Service Manager on 01235 827629. Service users without agreed funding will need to contact Social Services Care Management on 01235 469615.
HFT CAN HELP YOU in a variety of different ways:
Here is a brief breakdown of the different services HFT can offer you. If you are unsure of what it means or don’t think what you want fits into one of the following sections, then please speak to one of our staff to see how we can help.
- BROKERAGE
- SERVICE DESIGN
- MONEY MANAGEMENT and ACCOUNTING
- SERVICE DELIVERY
- PROVIDE STAFF
- RECRUITMENT
- ADVICE and or ADVOCACY
BROKERAGE:
You may want the support of brokerage if you have your own individual budget and are not sure what to do or where to go to get the best from your resources.
HFT can help you understand the services available to you locally, and have staff who can help you find the best services for you.
A broker is someone who you can go to, to help you work out what you want, and find out what is available.
SERVICE DESIGN:
HFT can help you plan the services you want. They can support you to complete a person centred plan and to design a weekly plan that reflects your wants, needs and wishes.
You and your family are the ones who know you best. It is important for you to be at the centre of planning what is important to you, so that you benefit from the service you receive.
This service design is usually done initially by our broker staff but can be reviewed and redesigned with any staff once you are working with us.
MONEY MANAGEMENT AND ACCOUNTING:
HFT can help you get the most for your money.
Managing an individual budget can take a lot of time and be confusing, so we can help you manage your budget or do it for you.
In order to help you manage your budget we would need to know how much you are entitled to, and what this needs to cover.
We can also help you put together records on what money you have received and how you have spent it, as this is one of the requirements of holding your own budget.
SERVICE DELIVERY:
HFT have a great deal of experience in delivering a wide variety of different services.
We have a dedicated and skilled team of staff, who can help you receive the services you want.
To help you, we need to know what you want and need, and how and when you want it delivered (this is the service design or care plan).
HFT are innovative and creative in supporting people to achieve their wants, needs and wishes and we have established relationships with community resources. We can support you to access a range of community facilities.
PROVIDE STAFF:
As previously mentioned, HFT have a dedicated and skilled staff team.
HFT employ staff with differing levels of skills. Some staff help out with everyday activities and some staff support more complex activities. We are able to work with you to identify the right staff member to help with what you want or need.
If you already have a plan, or activity you attend - but just need staff, then you can ask us to provide you with a staff member to help you with that activity only. Or you can ask us to supply staff to help you with all areas of your wants needs and wishes.
Staff can work with you on a one-to-one basis, or you can share a staff member with friends who all like to do the same activity. When you share a staff member your budget can go further (this is an area where HFT may be able to help you make your budget go further, by putting you in contact with others who share the same interests).
RECRUITMENT:
HFT can also help you chose and employ your own staff.We have good experience in recruiting staff to work for us, so we could share that experience with you to recruit your own staff.
We can help you advertise, plan interviews, interview staff,write job descriptions etc.
ADVICE AND/OR ADVOCACY:
HFT have worked with people with learning disabilities for 45 years, and in so doing, have gained a wealth of experience. HFT can supply advice and or advocacy to support you to achieve your wishes, have a say and be heard.
Download our leaflets in PDF from here: Leaflet 1, Leaflet 2, HFT Day Services
The Home Farm Trust Limited
HFT South Oxfordshire
Potash Lane
Milton Heights
Abingdon
OX14 4DR
T 07776 066566
Contact: Dennis Visser
www.hft.org.uk
Listed in WebOxfordshire Online Directory and Great British Links.