Having a Good Day?

The Study

‘Having a good day? What needs to happen to get it right for people with learning disabilities’ has been commissioned and funded by the Social Care Institute for Excellence. Evidence will be gathered through a research review, visits to services, and regional workshops which will involve people with learning disabilities and family carers.

The project team would like to hear from people who know of:

• Unpublished evaluations of community-based day services, employment schemes, social firms, learning and leisure projects serving people with learning disabilities from across the UK;
• Services considered to be delivering ‘good’ models of community-based support that help people with learning disabilities to do the things they want to do;
• Projects working in mainstream community settings with people with learning disabilities from ethnic minority communities, and those who need high levels of support.

Barbara McIntosh, Co-Director of the Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities, says: "The research will assist services to manage and achieve the changes required by the Valuing People policy agenda. It will also be used to develop a practice guide to inform day service modernisation strategy and implementation, demonstrating some of the steps that can be taken to achieve successful employment and community-based day opportunities for people with learning disabilities."

The evaluation will produce a final report in February 2006.

People who would like to contribute materials or ideas, or who simply want to know more should contact Angela Cole on 01621 869340 or email angela.cole11@virgin.net

Alternatively, write to Angela Cole at The Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities, 9th Floor, Sea Containers House, 20 Upper Ground, London, SE1 9QB.

Additional Information

The research is to be carried out by the Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities and the Norah Fry Research Centre.

For more information, contact Laura Gibson or Fran Gorman on 020 7803 1130 / 020 7803 1128 or email lgibson@fpld.org.uk / fgorman@fpld.org.uk

The Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities promotes the rights, quality of life and opportunities of people with learning disabilities and their families. We do this by working with people with learning disabilities, their families and those who support them to:

• Do research and develop projects that promote social inclusion and citizenship;
• Support local communities and services to include people with learning disabilities;
• Make practical improvements in services for people with learning disabilities;
• Spread knowledge and information.

The Norah Fry Research Centre is part of the University of Bristol. Our staff carry out research studies which aim to make a positive and practical difference to people’s lives. We mainly work in the area of Learning Disability.

• We specialise in policy-related research.
• We work to find new ways to include people with learning disabilities and their families in the research process.
• We provide easy information about research.

For more information about the Norah Fry Research Centre, and its partnership work on the Having a good day? project, email Val.Williams@bristol.ac.uk