Past Events

Venue: Vision Products, Coedcae Lane Industrial Estate, Coedcae Ln, Pontyclun CF72 9HG

Information: Petra Kennedy

Presenter: Alison Thwaite, WorkFit (Down's Syndrome Association)

This workshop will offer an overview of how WorkFit makes use of workplace buddies/mentors in place of a job coach. WorkFit supports a small number of workplace buddies in each location to effectively train and support their colleague who has Down’s syndrome. The workshop will describe the processes used by WorkFit and how they enable natural workplace training to take place without the need for a job coach on site.

Boooking information: Eventbrite

Presenter: Melanie Walls (BASE)

The workshop will discuss the operation of TESG and the recent changes following lobbying by the Supported Business Steering Group. It will also look at how businesses are responding to Covid-19 and future support needs. Topics to be covered include:

• TESG funding for operational and furloughed staff
• Interpretation of DWP’s definitions (released recently), queries and feedback you would like to share
• Understanding the long term implications for TESG employees officially 'shielding'
• What the next 6 months could look like
• Challenges for Supported Businesses with a vulnerable workforce
• Development of a strategy for the next 18 months / 2 years and how you can influence the agenda

Booking information: Eventbrite

Presenter: Mark Parrin (Kent Supported Employment)

This session will give you an opportunity to hear what The Education People’s specialist employment service, Kent Supported Employment, is currently doing during Covid-19 to support current and new businesses and how supported employment organisations are adapting to the current climate.  There will also be an opportunity to share ideas and good practice between workshop participants.

Booking information: Eventbrite

Presenter: James Whybra (The Castle School, Newbury)

This will be a very practical workshop so please come along to share your good practice, resources and questions in relation to the following areas (and any others that you want to talk about):

• Current challenges and how we can overcome them
• Employment EHCP outcomes and how to get them in to EHCP's
• Gatsby Benchmarks and the Careers and Enterprise Company Hubs  
• Employer Engagement and how to keep those relationships in these challenging times

Booking information: Eventbrite

Presenters: Kathy Melling and Huw Davies (BASE)

How do employers know how good your services are?

This workshop will describe the Supported Employment Quality Framework (SEQF), a self-assessment tool for monitoring the quality of Supported Employment provision. The framework was used to assess model fidelity within the DWP Proof of Concept and will feature in the forthcoming Supported Employment trailblazer. BASE is now awarding 3-year kitemarks to organisations whose audited self-assessments achieve a score threshold.

The workshop will describe how SEQF can be used to assess quality and feed into quality improvement planning. We will discuss how to prepare for a self-assessment and how the external auditing works.

Booking information: Eventbrite

Presenter: Mitch Mitchell (Kent Supported Employment)

Kent Supported Employment has been supporting Kent Community Health Foundation Trust with the NHS 5-year pledge to employ more people with learning disabilities as part of their Workforce Disability Equality Standard; particularly in recruiting more staff from a neuro diverse background.  This session will focus on the collaborative work undertaken and training delivered to the Trust which has led to in excess of 20 paid opportunities for the clients our service supports.  The session will cover:

• how we initially engaged with the NHS Trust
• how we supported and influenced the Trust
• training delivered to Trust personnel
• The outcomes achieved
• Covid-19 considerations

Booking information: Eventbrite

This meeting has been postponed. We will give notice of an alternative date soon.

Details and log-in: Rachel Jones

Venue: This meeting will take place on Zoom and starts at 10am.

Information and joining details: Ramsay Taylor

Venue: This meeting will take place on Zoom and is open to all BASE members in London and the South East of England.

Information and joining details: David Stenning

Venue: This forum takes place on Zoom and starts at 10am.

Information and the Zoom link are available from Alistair Kerr.

Venue: This forum takes place on Zoom and starts at 10am

Information and the Zoom link are available from Rachel Jones

BASE members are invited to join the 2020 BASE AGM. Registration is via Eventbrite and our accounts and annual reports are available to view at www.base-uk.org/official-documents.

This meeting is open only to staff employed by BASE member organisations. Registrations will only be accepted if the booking is made using a work email address.

Following the AGM we will have short presentations from a range of external speakers:

• Hugh Pullinger (Head of Disability and Work Opportunities Division, DWP)
• Katharine Davies (Team Leader, Preparation for Adulthood, DfE)
• Matt Wood (Owner of Millwood Servicing)
• Huw Davies (BASE)

Your registration will be noted and the organisers will send you a Zoom link around 23rd November.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/base-annual-general-meeting-tickets-124282824273

Venue: This forum will take place on Zoom and starts at 10am.

Information and the Zoom link are available from Ramsay Taylor.

Venue: This meeting takes place on Zopom and will start at 11am

Information and the Zoom link are available from David Stenning.

Venue: This meeting takes place on Zoom and will start at 10am

Information and the Zoom link are available from Alistair Kerr

Venue: This forum will take place on Zoom and starts at 10am.

Information and the Zoom link are available from Ramsay Taylor.

This workshop is aimed at raising awareness of the need for quality assurance within Supported Employment services. Employers, jobseekers and funders need to understand the quality of service provision. The lack of inspection means that it is very difficult for them to do just that.

BASE has worked with European partners to develop the Supported Employment Quality Framework (SEQF) and this is now being adopted in a number of European countries. BASE has adapted the framework to provide a model fidelity self-assessment that gives an insight into the quality that customers and commissioners can expect. We offer an independent audit of your self-assessment and we're now issuing quality kitemarks to organisations that meet the criteria.

This training event is free to attend but is only open to staff working for organisations that are members of BASE. Registrations will only be accepted if made using a work email address.

You'll find booking details at https://www.eventbrite.com/x/quality-assurance-in-supported-employment-services-tickets-146581686771

The 12th Annual Meet the Buyer 2021 will take place as a live, virtual event on 8 June 2021. Headline partners include the Scottish Government and Scotland Excel.

Meet the Buyer 2021 is the event of the year for engagement with buyers as the public sector turns towards economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Year on year, the Supplier Development Programme consistently facilitates suppliers with access to the public sector, and though virtual, Meet the Buyer 2021 will provide suppliers with the ability to raise your
profile as a business, as well as learn more about and prepare for upcoming bidding and supply chain opportunities.

Businesses will be able to meet procurement teams from local councils, alongside other public and private sector buying organisations, with new buyers still being confirme

Meet the Buyer 2021 is aimed at all micro, small and medium size organisations from across Scotland. Wherever you are based, and however big your business is, there is something useful to be found at this national Meet the Buyer event!

All suppliers, including non-SMEs, are eligible to attend and must register an account with SDP https://www.sdpscotland.co.uk/register/ to book a place.

Venue: This meeting takes place on Zoom and will start at 10am

Information and the Zoom link are available from Alistair Kerr

Venue: This meeting takes place on Zoom and will start at 10am

Information and the Zoom link are available from Dean Atkinson

The BASE annual general meeting will take place online on 4 November at 2pm.

Details have been sent out to member organisations and our accounts and reports can be found at www.base-uk.org/official-documents.

Members can register to attend at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/base-annual-general-meeting-2021-tickets-184603763827

Apprenticeship training providers are invited to join Dynamic Training's fully funded webinar, delivered on behalf of the Education and Training Foundation, on 17th November 2021. 

There will be a focus on the training provider perspective and the importance of ensuring that your apprenticeship offer to employers is inclusive. 
To book this webinar, click the link that will take you to the Education and Training Foundation booking system:

https://lnkd.in/dkqJKpe5
 

Venue: This meeting takes place on Zoom and will start at 10am

Information and the Zoom link are available from Alistair Kerr

Venue: Online

Information and the meeting link are available from Raph Taylor

In the next  Job Coach Cafe online meeting we'll be discussing that evergreen subject : Access to Work.

We'll be joined by BASE National Lead Mel Walls, who recently presented an interactive workshop about Access to Work at the BASE Conference in Leeds.

To register for the meeting please click on the link Job Coach Café | Groups | LinkedIn

Hosted by Hilary Fertig from Employment Autism and Judith Kerem from CareTradeUK 

Venue: This meeting is online (MS Teams) and will start at 2pm.

Open to BASE members who are in the Wales Region

Any organisation or individual who is interested in joining BASE we're happy for you visit a regional meeting to get an insight into what BASE does, please contact Gillian Parker to arrange this 

The joining link for members is available from Petra Kennedy.

David Barker was voted one of the UK’s top social entrepreneurs in 2022 by the Social Entrepreneur Index for innovating Techcentre Training, a social enterprise tackling UK unemployment in new ways.

He was also one of the UK’s first internet entrepreneurs in the early 1990’s, working with clients including Intel, Microsoft, Oxfam and Amnesty International.

During this excellent workshop,launched at the BASE Conference in 2022, David, will share insights and learning from his career journey as an entrepreneur and innovator in both business and social enterprise.

Utilising strong case studies, workshop attendees will learn to

• Identify and overcome challenges when trying to innovate
• Develop new ventures within long- or newly-established organisations
• Build successful business models to exploit new opportunities
• Take new approaches to stakeholder management, governance and funding
• Develop robust but flexible plans for strategic execution

BASE members can reserve a free place here  

Venue: Online 

Open to BASE members who are in the Midlands Region

Any organisation or individual who is interested in joining BASE, we're happy for you visit a regional meeting to get an insight into what BASE does, please contact Gillian Parker to arrange this 

The joining link for the meeting is available from Julia Green 

Venue: Online ( Teams) 

Open to BASE members who are in the North West Region

Any organisation or individual who is interested in joining BASE, we're happy for you visit a regional meeting to get an insight into what BASE does, please contact Gillian Parker to arrange this 

The joining link for members is available from Rachel Jones 

Venue: Online 

Open to BASE members who are in the South West Region

Any organisation or individual who is interested in joining BASE, we're happy for you visit a regional meeting to get an insight into what BASE does, please contact Gillian Parker to arrange this 

More information is available from Alex Seddon

The world of work has seen many changes over the last few years, including a pandemic and a cost-of-living crisis. Disabled people, especially those with multiple and learning disabilities, are finding it harder to obtain meaningful employment, with fewer accessible jobs and increased barriers to work.  When thinking about non-traditional career opportunities, self-employment is often a serious consideration for disabled people but there needs to be a lot of support in place to make it sustainable.

Sam Everard founded SAMEE, a charity which meets the needs of disabled people and creates opportunities for them to fulfil their full potential. This lunch and learn session is about SAMEE’s journey into delivering entrepreneurship support which is relevant as well as our discovery into how the holistic needs of disabled people are just as important as the formal self-employment support on offer.  

Sam is also Chair of the South West Regional Stakeholder Network for the Disability Unit in Cabinet Office and is studying towards a PhD with the Centre of Seldom Heard Voices, Faculty of Health and Social Sciences at Bournemouth University.

The learning outcome is practical tips to consider when exploring next steps for those leaving supported employment or those considering a self-employed role.

More info about Samee's Steps Into Self-Employment programme

This session is open to BASE members only and you can reserve you place here (eventbrite) 

The Supported Internship Quality Assurance Framework: how it can help you.

Join Lily Beyer, Project Manager for Inclusive Trading working in partnership with the British Association for Supported Internship, to learn more about the newly published Supported Internship Quality Assurance Framework (SIQAF) and how it can help you and your supported internship (SI) provision.

Background to the SIQAF:

As part of the Internships Work programme the Supported Internship Quality Framework, developed for the Department for Education by the Education and Training Foundation and their centres for excellence in 2022, was reviewed and amended, after being trialled with ten SI providers. The revised version has now been published and is available to be used by all SI providers and their delivery partners.

The revised SIQAF has been designed as a self-assessment tool to support you to determine the quality and success of your SI programme. It will highlight your strengths and should be used as an annual continuous improvement tool.

For educators and SI providers and partners this session will outline the revised SIQAF, the new scoring system, using the new self-assessment tool and how you can use it to support your continuous improvement efforts. For local authorities, the session will help you understand how the SIQAF self-assessment process can be used to support your local action plans.

This session is also running on Tues 16 May and Weds 31st May visit our Eventbrite page and reserve your preferred dates Book tickets 

Become an Internships Work Peer Reviewer

In this session, Lily Beyer, Project Manager for Inclusive Trading working in partnership with the British Association for Supported Employment (BASE) will outline the benefits of becoming a peer reviewer for the Internships Work programme and how you can get involved.

Context:

As part of the Internships Work programme a revised Supported Internship Quality Assurance Framework (SIQAF) has been published. We will be delivering over 200 peer reviewed self-assessments using this new SIQAF between April 23 and Mar 25. To deliver these we are looking to recruit peer reviewers.

Peer reviewing is an opportunity to develop your professional practice, build networks and share learning across the sector.

This lunch and learn will be delivered online and is designed for anyone involved in delivering Supported Internships who is interested in learning more about the Peer Reviewer role.

This free session will run on  Tuesday 23rd May 2023 12-1 and is open to non-members.

Please via our Eventbrite page