(1.1) Coaching and mentoring are both used within the setting of Church Parade. The aim of coaching is for one person to help another person to become more aware of and improve their performance, whereas mentoring aims to form an individual’s value and belief system in a positive way which models the philosophy and outlook of Creative Support. The main differences are that when mentoring, the mentor is usually more qualified and experienced than the mentee, the relationship can be on-going for a considerable amount of time, not always specified, its focus is to support the career and personal development of the mentee with the mentee setting their own agenda, which is guided and supported by the mentor. The mentor is there to take a broader view of the person within their role thus ensuring an appropriate level of support, advise and guidance can be offered when required and is not always necessary planned. The coaching relationship tends to be for a set duration of time to look at a specific task or ability. It is not necessarily undertaken by a more qualified or experienced person but by a person who knows about the identified task to be undertaken.
(1.2) Coaching as a method of supporting learning at Church Parade is used when new systems of working are introduced. On one occasion coaching was used with the introduction of a more thorough handover sheet. The changes were made based on the outcomes from an incident report and were therefore time specific and task orientated, they nominated individuals to sign to say they had read and understood the most recent plans for the person they were supporting. It had a list of people responsible for specific tasks during that shift such as medication, laundry, support in the community, support with appointments etc,. During each handover a staff member would be shown the changes, given a full explanation as to the reason behind the changes and given instructions of what they need to check and sign daily. On their next shift they would be ask to complete the form and given feedback as to what had be completed correctly and any further coaching requirements needed. This was done until each person was signed off as competent at this task.
(1.3) At Church Parade we have Student Nurses, I myself am a Mentor and a ‘Sign off Mentor’, which means I can have students for one off placements and also they can be based at Church Parade as a hub placement to be signed off by myself and their personal tutor at university as a registered Learning Disability Nurse, additional training is required for me to do this. For this I will work closely with the university, identifying any issues that may arise and putting in action plans to ensure practical tasks as well as attitude and values is assessed and addressed if necessary. There is a set time of 3 years, however sometimes assignments may need re-submitting or hours made up to ensure all areas of the workbook and practical skills required are covered. As a mentor I may observe the student personally, I may request written work and set up projects for them to complete and research. There are set tasks but also tasks that can be adapted to the service area.
(1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 1.8)
We utilise coaching and mentoring at Church Parade from the moment a member of staff joins the team. The new staff member will work alongside established staff members who coach them on a daily basis by developing new skills and enhancing existing skills, to do this they will use learning methods such as role modelling, learning by doing, self directed learning and reflection. They are mentored through the supervision process, our Induction Programme, specific training objectives and The Creative Support Competency Framework to explain and uphold the philosophies of Creative Support. The Corporate induction is a formal structured Programme where the staff members attends training away from the workplace to learn, reflect and rehearse in, what is seen as, a safe
