Space Inclusive - Good Practice In Practice

For today's blog we hand over the reins to one of the NSA Graduate Scheme Alumni.

Odunola Okeme completed the Graduate Scheme last year. During the course of the programme, Odunola was part of a research group who were looking at innovation in times of austerity and together they produced a strong report and presented their findings to a panel.

One component of this research was a series of case studies; Odunola personally looked into Space Inclusive, and she's here to tell you more:

Specialisation and Micro-enterprise: Space Inclusive

The current economic trends and reduction in Local Authority spending as a result of the Comprehensive Spending Review has led to a push for a competitive market for social care. There is an expectation that organisations will expand and adapt in order to survive. However, research has shown the benefits of maintaining small scale personalised and specialist services within social care.

Space Inclusive, a Micro-enterprise based in Nottingham has approached the current social care climate by providing a specialist and transitional service for young adults (18+) with Autistic Spectrum Disorder.  The organisation works  these young adults, who have a personal budget, with the aim of empowering them to become less dependent on benefits in the future. For each new service user, the long–term capabilities are assessed and a person-centred plan is developed to enable the individual develop the needed skills to realise his/her pre-determined goals within a realistic and achievable time frame. 

Space Inclusive is flexible and dynamic in the way it goes about working with the individual to enable achievement of their goals. It embeds the skills each individual needs to develop into activities such as music, gardening, horse riding, internet surfing, work experience, art work and social interaction events.

 For clients who have been wholly reliant on one to one support at home, the willingness of Space Inclusive to tailor its service provision to suit the needs of its client allows it to provide an intensive support outreach package (in the individual’s home) to begin with. The main aim being to increase the individuals confidence to a level where he/she can begin to access the integrated support in groups of no more than 5 per activity with a staff ratio of 1:2 or 1:3.5. The small group size and staff ratio for each activity means that undivided support is given, and the specific age group makes it easier for the service users to feel comfortable, socialise and build friendships.

 The organisation’s trendy premises, relaxed atmosphere, dedicated staff who are specifically trained to work with its client group and ability to ‘think outside the box’ has proven to be a success with its service users and is fast making Space Inclusive a point of reference among policy makers.

 Space Inclusive has an annual turnover of about £400,000. The organisation is set to open its second branch so as to retain the current standard and quality of its service provision with the increasing number of referrals it is receiving. Furthermore, the organisation’s blend of an initial intensive support with subsequent integrated support to encourage its service users to be less dependent on the service is creating savings for the Local Authority.

Considering the current climate, there are several lessons to be learnt from Space Inclusive's person-centred approach, driven by a genuine desire to see individuals become less service and benefits dependent. For more information visit the organisations website at www.spaceinclusive.co.uk

- Odunola

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From the Insight Team