Annexe A
Service
Level Agreement
between
The
Isle of Wight Council
and
Relate
Solent
2002
– 2005
SERVICE
LEVEL AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE ISLE OF WIGHT COUNCIL (The Council) AND RELATE
SOLENT The Provider)
1. OBJECT OF
THE AGREEMENT
The Council
wishes to enable the Provider to provide a counselling service to the public in
accordance with the Aims and Principles of the Relate Federation.
The Provider has agreed to adopt the
Service Values and Standards as set out in Schedule 2.
The Provider has agreed that it will
aim to achieve the Targets set out in Schedule 3.
2. STATUS OF
THE SERVICE PROVIDER
It is accepted
that in carrying out this agreement the service provider, as an independent
agency, is acting in its own right and not as an agent of the Council.
It is agreed that
Values, Standards and Targets will be monitored by the Policy Team of the Head
of Paid Service’s Office or other nominated Department on behalf of the Council
as described in Schedule 5.
The Provider and the
Council agree that the Conditions specified in Schedule 5 shall apply to
the provision of the Service.
This Agreement sets out clear expectations which both parties will use their best endeavours to honour. It is not intended that the terms of the agreement should be legally binding on either party.
Certification that
the foregoing is a correct record of the agreement reached between the parties
for the grant:
Period
of Agreement: 1st April, 2002 to 31st March, 2005
Parties
to the Agreement: Isle of Wight Council
Relate
Solent
For
the Isle of Wight Council For Relate Solent
Signed: Signed:
Name: Name:
Position: Position:
Date: Date:
THE SERVICE
1. TITLE OF
SERVICE
Relate Solent
2. USER GROUP
FOR WHOM THE SERVICE WILL BE PROVIDED
Members of the
Public living, working or visiting within the boundaries of the Unitary
Authority of the Isle of Wight.
3. AIM OF THE
SERVICE
To ensure that a
confidential couple counselling and psychosexual service is available to all
adults who require it.
4. BRIEF
DESCRIPTION OF USER GROUPS AND THE SERVICE TO BE PROVIDED
Provision of
couple counselling and psychosexual therapy to the public, irrespective of
their ability to pay.
An initial
consultation will be offered to clients requesting it and booking forms will be
made available for ongoing counselling.
Weekly
counselling sessions and psychosexual therapy will be available to all who
request it.
5. SERVICE
AVAILABILITY
The main office
of Relate Solent is situated at 3 Kings Park Road, Southampton, SO15 2AT. This is also the Company Registered office
address.
Opening
Hours:
A telephone
service for booking appointments will be open from 9.00 a.m. to 9.00 p.m.
Monday to Thursday and 9.00 a.m. to 2.30 p.m. on Fridays. An answerphone is available outside of these
hours.
Couple
counselling and psychosexual therapy will be provided in Newport with a minimum
of 6 sessions per week and in outreach centres where appropriate. 3 sessions a week are currently offered at
Ryde and Freshwater. Sessions at other
venues may be possible if funding were available. Funding of recruitment and
training of additional counsellors would enable additional sessions to be
provided. The Relate Solent Isle of
Wight Business Plan (Appendix 4) gives more detailed information.
Appointments
will be offered during the evenings as well as during the day.
Every endeavour will be made by Relate Solent to
maintain this level of service provision and minimum core hours subject to
staff availability.
6. GEOGRAPHICAL AREA COVERED BY THE
SERVICE
Relate Solent does not limit service users to a
specific catchment area. However, the
majority of its users live/work within the boundaries of the Isle of Wight.
7. DETAILED
BREAKDOWN OF ESTIMATED EXPENDITURE FOR SERVICE
The Council must be
kept informed of matters relating to the use of the grant and any proposed
changes must only be implemented subject to the approval the approval of the
Council’s Link Officer.
ESTIMATED EXPENDITURE 2002/03
OPTION
1 OPTION 2 OPTION 3
£ £ £
Counsellor
Salaries & NI 5,000 5,000 5,000
Counsellor
Training
300 1,000 1,000 Counsellor
Travel
750 1,000 1,000 Education
& Training - -
1,400 Education &
Training Travel - - 300 National
Relate Fees
400 500 800 Advertising
300 400 500 Supervision
3,400 4,000 4,000 Administration
4,500 4,500 4,500 Administration
Travel 150 150 150 Premises
Costs
2,500 2,500 3,000
TOTAL
EXPENDITURE 17,300 19,050 21,650
Anticipated
Income 8,300 8,800 9,400
IWC GRANT SOUGHT £9,000 £10,250 £12,250
Comprising:
Central Funding
£4,510 £5,760 £7,760
Social
Services* funding £4,490 £4,490 £4,490
*
Social Services funding does not form part of this agreement, but is dealt with
independently by the Social Services &
Housing Directorate of the Council.
Salaries: Counsellors
Contribution towards costs of 1 x
Manager, full time and
2 x Admin. Assistants, 20 hours
weekly and 18 hours weekly
Travel: expenses are based on 25 pence per
mile.
Option 1 – Continuation of current level of service
Option 2 – Recruitment of additional counsellor giving an additional 100
counselling hours in
the first year, and a further venue
offering increased accessibility
Option 3 – Option 2 plus the recruitment of a trainer to provide Education and
Training workshops and courses for the general public and bespoke
training.
(For full explanation of Options 2 and 3 and relative benefits
please see Relate Solent Isle of Wight Business Plan (Appendix 4) and
Options paper (Appendix 5)
SCHEDULE
2
1. SERVICE VALUES
The Isle of Wight Council considers that the following
Values are fundamental to all of the services that Relate Solent provides,
arranges or supports and the Council expects that Relate Solent will hold to
these aims in all of its activities:
Dignity and Independence
Services will be aimed at enhancing the quality of
people’s lives, so that they can live as independently as possible, with as
little intervention as possible.
Participation
Listen to what people ask for and to try to meet those
requests by offering a choice wherever possible of services sensitive to the
needs and wishes of the people who use them.
Valuing People
The quality of services is heavily influenced by the
many staff who provide them. It is
essential to recognise the right to dignity, self-esteem, safety, health and
welfare of service users and all those engaged to work with them.
Equality and Rights
Services should be sensitive to the needs and wishes
of individual people in the Isle of Wight irrespective of a person’s
disability, age, gender, sexual orientation, culture, race, language or
religion.
Local Accountability
Wherever possible, services will be supplied and
decisions made at the most local level possible in response to local needs.
Information
Information should be made publicly available about
the services, what it is possible and not possible to supply and the ways in
which help can be requested.
Working Together
Those providing services will work together with
Council staff and staff from other agencies in order to deliver services more
effectively and sensitively to service users.
2. STANDARDS OF SERVICE REQUIRED BY THE
ISLE OF WIGHT COUNCIL
2.1 A
response will be made within 5 working days to all requests for a service and
some requests will require more urgent action. The response will include
information about action which will follow and when.
2.2 Every
client requesting the service will be offered a consultation with a
counsellor. At this consultation the
Service User will be informed of the couple counselling and psychosexual
therapy service available and given details of appointment times and venues. If clients then return the booking form, the
next available suitable appointment will be offered to them.
2.3 Service Users will receive the service agreed and,
where appropriate, no service will be withdrawn or changed without consultation
with the Service User.
2.4 The Relate Federation membership
policy and guidance documents form the basis of practice and standards which
underpin the operation of the Relate counselling service.
2.5 All matters relating to a client
must remain confidential to Relate Solent unless the client specifically authorises
disclosure.
3. STAFFING
The service
provider will be responsible for the recruitment and selection of all paid and
volunteer staff in accordance with Relate Federation requirements.
SCHEDULE 3
1. TARGETS FOR THE SERVICE
Each organisation
funded through a Service Level Agreement is required to include targets
describing how the involvement of service users in the running of the service
is to be achieved and how this is to be monitored (eg to establish a users
committee, to carry out user satisfaction surveys, to survey users who cease to
use the service etc).
1.1 Level
of Provision
1.1.1 Relate Solent will
provide the service not only in Newport but also from outreach locations across
the Island where appropriate.
Alternative venues are currently offered in Ryde and Freshwater.
1.1.2 Relate Solent will plan
resources to offer 500 counselling/psychosexual therapy sessions per annum
across Newport, Ryde and other venues where possible.
1.1.3 Relate Solent will open
for a minimum of 50 hours per week for telephone contact.
1.1.4 Relate Solent will continue to
provide the services as set out in Schedule 1
paragraph 4.
1.1.5 Relate Solent will
provide couple counselling and psychosexual therapy to those clients who
require it, providing a bursary scheme to assist those clients who are unable
to contribute the full cost.
1.1.6 Relate Solent will
provide these services within the agreed funding for each year of the
agreement.
1.1.7 Relate Solent will endeavour to follow good practice guidelines
identified by the Relate Federation.
SCHEDULE 4
1. QUALITY ASSURANCE AND MONITORING
1.1 MANAGEMENT
STRUCTURE
The Executive and Management Committee Structure and
Staffing Structure are detailed in Appendix 2.
User
Representation
Relate Solent seeks
membership for its Executive Committee from within the community and it
actively encourages those groups who are under-represented within the community
to participate.
Relate Solent also
ensures that there are representatives of the funding bodies on the Committee
to provide local accountability.
Relate Solent
actively involve members of the following groups in their Executive Committee:
(1) Representatives of any other organisations on
the Island, both professional and voluntary.
(2) Elected individuals (clients or ex clients who wish to become involved directly in the management and delivery of the service).
(3) Nominated members (for example the I.W. Council nominates one councillor to sit on the management committee).
The process in regard to (1) and (2) is reviewed and
new applicants sought on an annual basis, in line with Relate Solent
requirements
1.2 STAFFING
SUPERVISION AND TRAINING
All staff, on the
mainland and on the Island, including volunteers are subject to the Relate Solent
Annual Appraisal procedure.
All paid staff on
the mainland and on the Island have regular supervision meetings with Relate
Solent Manager.
Counsellors,
including Island based counsellors, attend Relate Certificate Training in
Marital and Couple Counselling which is provided by Relate Central Office in
Rugby. Ongoing Professional Development
training days are also available to all counsellors. Regular clinical supervision is provided by the Supervisor
employed by Relate Solent to all counsellors, including those working on the
Island.
1.3 COMPLAINTS
PROCEDURES
Details of the Complaints Procedure are followed in
line with Relate Federation policy documents.
1.4 STATISTICAL
INFORMATION
Statistical
information will be provided to the Local Authority on a six monthly basis
including:
Numbers of clients
Numbers of sessions
provided
Usage at each
location
1.5 FINANCIAL
INFORMATION
The service
provider shall maintain financial accounts in such a form as the Council may
reasonably require. Accounts shall be
examined independently annually in the manner prescribed by the Charities Act
1992 and by Common Law. These accounts
and accurate financial statements shall be made available to the Council upon a
reasonable request to see them. Annual
accounts will be supplied following Relate Solent Annual General Meeting.
A core budget and
details of other sources of funding is attached at Appendix 3
1.6 SERVICE
REVIEW
A Business Plan is produced every three years which
informs the Development Plan for Relate Solent.
A copy of these
documents will be provided to the Council on request.
1.7 ANNUAL
REPORT
A copy of the
Relate Solent Annual Report will be made available to the Council’s
representative as will any other interim reports, etc., relevant to the provision
of Relate Solent service detailed in Schedule 1.
SCHEDULE 5
1. AGREEMENT
CONDITIONS
1.1 INSURANCE
The Provider shall maintain with insurers adequate
insurances to cover such liabilities as may arise in the performance of this
agreement. Public Liability insurance shall be to a minimum level of £5m.
1.2 COMPLAINTS
The Provider shall operate a procedure for dealing
with complaints about the service as set out in Schedule 4 of this
agreement. All reasonable steps must be
taken to ensure that service users are aware of the details of the procedure.
1.3 EQUAL
OPPORTUNITIES
The Provider shall satisfy the Council’s Equal
Opportunities Policy Statement for the time being in force.
1.4 HEALTH
AND SAFETY
The Provider shall have regard to the requirements of
the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, the Management of Health and Safety
at Work Regulations 1992, the Electricity at Work Act 1989 and any other legal
provisions relating to the Health and Safety of its staff and customers.
1.5 USE OF
OTHER ORGANISATIONS
The service shall be carried out solely by the Service
Provider.
1.6 CONFIDENTIALITY
Relate Solent will adhere to the Confidentiality
Policy as required by Relate Federation.
Copies of this policy are available on request.
1.7 QUALITY
ASSURANCE
Relate Solent will endeavour to meet the good practice
with regard to Quality Assurance as identified by Relate Federation.
1.8 EVALUATION
AND MONITORING ARRANGEMENTS
Both parties shall together operate the monitoring
arrangements set out in Schedule 4 of this Agreement.
1.9 REVIEW
AND VARIATION
This Agreement shall be reviewed every 3 years and the
review shall cover all aspects of the working of the Agreement. The Agreement may be reviewed at such other
times as the parties agree. The
Agreement can be varied with the agreement of both parties and must be recorded in writing.
1.10 TERMINATION
Either party may terminate the Agreement upon giving a
minimum of 6 months notice in writing.
1.11 RENEGOTIATION
OF AGREEMENT CONDITIONS
This Agreement sets out clear expectations which both
parties will use their best endeavour to honour. Where appropriate, the parties will be able to negotiate
variations to achieve necessary and constructive changes aimed at improving
service effectiveness. The Council
reserves the right to renegotiate the terms of the Agreement in the event of
changes in service demand or policy.
Similarly, the Council recognises the right of the Provider to request a
renegotiation of the Agreement terms.
1.12 RENEWAL
The Agreement may be renewed through
application and approval in accordance with the formal processes of the Council
for the time being in operation.
1.13 PAYMENT FOR THE SERVICES
The agreed amounts in respect of I.W.
Council Central Funding for the three years of the agreement are included at Appendix
1. The annual amount in respect of the second and third years of the
agreement shall be reviewed and shall be increased or reduced by a percentage
equivalent to the increase or reduction, if any, shown by the “All Item” index
of Retail Prices since the immediately preceding review date or, in the case of
the first review, since the commencement of the agreement. Such increase or
reduction shall take effect in respect of the twelve month period commencing on
the relevant review date.
Please note carefully that this
agreement relates only to Isle of Wight Council Central Funding and
specifically excludes the regulation of any grant that may be made by the
Directorate of Social Services & Housing. Further, it is understood by both
parties that this agreement does not in any way imply that any grant whatsoever
will be made by the Directorate of Social Services & Housing.
1.14 PAYMENT
ARRANGEMENTS
The Council shall pay the Provider the annual sum
agreed each year in respect of Central Funding for the period of the agreement
by means of two equal and half yearly instalments. The Provider must keep full
records indicating how the funding is used, including audited accounts and an
annual report. These must be submitted to the Council on request.
Any sum underspent will be returned to the Council at
the completion of the Agreement. If the
organisation is dissolved or, in the opinion of the Council, the organisation
ceases to function, part or all of the Funding is to be repaid
immediately. Repayment will not be
sought from individuals unless there is evidence of fraud or unlawful action.
1.15 LINK
OFFICERS
The responsibilities of the Link Officer nominated by
the Council and named below include.
ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF LINK OFFICERS FOR THE
COUNCIL
- Assisting
with assessment of grant applications by the Provider, informed by the Council’s policies and procedures.
- Through Monitoring and Evaluation activities to ensure that the Provider is working towards developing and implementing appropriate policies, including Constitution, Equal Opportunities and good management, employment and service delivery practices.
-
Advising on the
development and review of basic targets for showing success in
achieving
the overall aim of the service.
-
Addressing problems
identified by the Provider or/and the Link Officer in the
management
or the delivery of the service.
- Providing advice as to how the
Provider can improve service delivery if appropriate.
-
Ensuring that the
Provider has basic financial management arrangements in place
and
is keeping record of its income and expenditure.
Until notified otherwise, the Link Officers for this
agreement will be:
FOR THE PROVIDER:
Julie Stallard
Manager
Relate Solent
FOR THE COUNCIL:
Peter Greenwood
Corporate Policy Manager
Isle of Wight Council
Rosie Barnard
Policy and Research
Officer
Isle of Wight
Council
APPENDIX
1
PAYMENT FOR THE SERVICE: 2000 / 2003
|
2002/2003 |
2003/2004 |
2004/2005 |
Option 1. IWC Central Funding |
£4,510 |
£4,510* |
£4,510* |
Option 2. IWC Central Funding |
£5,760 |
£7,010* |
£7,010* |
Option 3. IWC Central Funding |
£7,760 |
£7,760* |
£7,760* |
*plus
adjustment for inflation
Application
has been submitted to the Social Services & Housing Directorate for a
renewal of an annual grant in the sum of £4,490 for 2002/03.
Central Funding is complementary to Social Services Directorate Funding in ensuring provision of the overall service on the Island.
APPENDIX 2
Executive Committee
Structure
Hon. President
Officers: Chair*
Vice Chair*^
Vice Chair*
Hon Treasurer*
Elected members
of the public
Representatives
of Statutory, Professional and Voluntary organisations
Staff: 3 ex officio: 1
Manager*^
1
Supervisor*
1
Counsellor Representative*
* form the Management Committee
^ form the
Island Management Committee together with 2 Island trustees
Meetings:
Executive Committee: three monthly
Management Committee: three monthly
Island Management Committee: three monthly
Annual General Meeting: annually
Staffing Structure:
Manager
I
15 counsellors (part time) – 3
Island based
2 part time Admin
11 voluntary evening receptionists – 2 Island based
The Supervisor is
employed by Relate Federation
APPENDIX 3
Proposed
Income 2002/2003 (Option 1)
Isle
of Wight Council (Central and SSD) £9000
Town
& Parish Councils £100
St
Mary’s Trust £Nil
Client
Income £7950
Donations £200
Bank
Interest £Nil
Miscellaneous £50
_______
TOTAL £17300
SWOT ANALYSIS PAGE 3
ISSUES OUT OF SWOT PAGE 5
CHOICES PAGE 6
OBJECTIVES PAGE
7
IMPLEMENTATION PLAN PAGE 8
APPENDIX 1- BUDGETS
Relate Solent serves the Isle of
Wight, Southampton and the surrounding areas.
We operate an outpost in Hythe in the Waterside area, in Ryde and
Freshwater on the Isle of Wight, with main offices in Southampton and Newport. Our clients are drawn mainly from Southampton
and the Isle of Wight but we also draw clients from Eastleigh, New Forest and
Fareham.
On the Isle of Wight companies such as British
Aerospace Defence Systems, GKN Westland Aerospace and Britten-Norman lead the
way in manufacturing and technical expertise. They all take advantage of the
security on the Island, which allows sensitive businesses to operate with ease.
There is also a flourishing maritime industry, including fast ferry builders,
FBM Marine.
High-tech industry is well represented
on the Isle of Wight. In September 1997, the giant Japanese Yokogawa Electric
Company bought Cowes-based control systems and management software company
Marex from GKN, with plans to almost double the workforce and increase turnover
five-fold.
Alongside these world-renowned
companies many other smaller ones thrive, including mail order firms, printers,
and circuit-board producers. Cereal and vegetable crops are farmed extensively,
and the Island is self sufficient in milk and fresh vegetables.
With over two million visitors a
year, tourism is a vital sector on the Isle of Wight. Concerted marketing
efforts have been made in recent years to attract visitors all year round, with
an emphasis on such things as short breaks and conferences.
Both Relate Southampton and Relate
Isle of Wight started in 1947 and celebrated over 50 years in existence. On April 1st 1999 Southampton and
the Isle of Wight merged to become Relate Solent. Both centres were financially stable at the time of the merger
with healthy reserves
The Centre offers Consultations
with a Counsellor and appointments are offered within 4/5 working days. We have a waiting list for ongoing
counselling, which is on average 6-8 weeks depending on client availability and
psychosexual therapy is also available.
The Education and Training service
offers all the courses provided by Relate National and also offers bespoke
training to various agencies, as well as working within schools and at an
excluded unit. This service covers the
whole of Hampshire with the exception of Portsmouth and we are exploring a
joint venture with Relate Bournemouth Education and Training.
Relate offers couple counselling
to all adults who require it, irrespective of their ability to pay.
In May 2000, Relate National voted
to become a Federation. Membership of
this Federation is dependent upon a range of services being provided from large
Service Delivery Areas including couple counselling, psychosexual therapy and
Education and training courses as core services. Further services, such as additional courses, counselling in
primary care and Relateen may also be provided where funding and demand
exist.
The decision to become a
Federation was the culmination of years of discussions across the whole of
Relate and it was recognised by Relate Isle of Wight that they were not in a
position to offer the full range of services and thereby qualify for membership
of the Federation. Also by March 1999,
the Island had no Island based counsellors and was using its reserves to
purchase counselling from the mainland.
Therefore in April 1999 Relate Southampton and Relate Isle of Wight
merged to form Relate Solent, a Relate Centre able to offer the full range of
core services with the ability to develop additional services where the need is
identified.
The newly formed Relate Solent
acknowledged the importance of an Island presence and the post of Assistant
Manager was created to administer the counselling function at Newport and
Ryde. The reserves provided by Relate
Isle of Wight to the merger continued to be expended by the travelling expenses
and salaries incurred by Southampton counsellors travelling to provide
counselling in venues on the Island over and above their usual hours, and also
in funding the post of Assistant Manager for 25 hours per week.
Recruitment of Island based
counsellors was a priority for the newly merged Centre and by January 2000
three counsellors from the Island had been selected and were working in Newport
and Ryde. However, by the summer of
2000 it was decided, with the full agreement of the Assistant Manager, that
administration of the counselling would be more efficiently and cost
effectively handled from the Southampton office. The ensuing lack of duties for the Assistant Manager, coupled
with the high cost of providing this post to cover only 500 counselling hours
per annum, prompted the difficult decision to make the post of Assistant
Manager redundant. This change also
ensured that the grants provided by the Isle of Wight Council would be spent on
providing counselling rather than administration and management of the service.
Relate has a well deserved
reputation nationally and one of our primary strengths is that of being
associated with a national organisation which is well known and well respected
in the locality. This reputation has
enabled us to rely on core funding from local Councils in all parts of our
area. This same good reputation has
equally enabled us to gather resources from other sources and our overall
funding is spread over a broad base.
A relatively strong level of
demand for our services is being met by an experienced counselling team, with
good professional supervision. This has
enabled our reputation to be maintained by providing a viable and professional
service, both in couple counselling and in psychosexual therapy. The front-line work of the counselling is
backed by a strong management team and supportive and knowledgeable trustees.
The formation of Relate Solent has
proved successful over its first two years in operation. Good premises in Southampton and the
prospect of new premises in Newport, both in central locations, are further
important assets.
One of the local current initiatives
is the focus on domestic violence, an area where Relate has expertise. We currently have a counsellor specifically
trained to counsel couples where domestic violence is an issue and we
anticipate training another counsellor in this speciality in the near future.
Whilst acknowledging that the
counselling service is running well on the Island, we are aware that the
population in the Sandown, Shanklin, Ventnor and Lake areas need to travel to
Newport or Ryde to access the service.
This is both time-consuming and costly for clients to travel by public
transport. However, our current
workforce is too small to enable us to provide counselling in any other venues.
There is a range of Education and
Training courses and workshops available through National Relate to provide
relationship education and training to the community, young people in schools
and other settings and the commercial sector.
However, there are no Relate trainers on the Island and we will need to
recruit to enable us to provide an active Education and Training function. Colleges, schools and youth groups on the
Island would benefit from the range of courses Relate is able to offer. There may also be a role for Education and
Training in providing services to both the prisoners and prison officers on the
Island.
Our financial position on the
Island is finely balanced. The funding
we receive from the Isle of Wight Council and its Social Services Department is
now being spent on providing the counselling service. However, it is acknowledged that the Island is not a wealthy area
and that support is needed to continue providing the service. The average client payment per session at
£16.08 for 2000/01 is over £8.00 less than the £24.23 received from mainland
clients for the same period. We cannot
rely on client contributions meeting the cost of £36 to provide each session.
The chance to find better premises
for our operation in Newport will give us the opportunity of providing a more
accessible, welcoming venue.
We have already extended our
provision of counselling to include three hours at Freshwater, in a venue which
is fully funded. We would welcome the
opportunity to increase provision further by offering counselling in the
south-east of the Island.
Creative examination of new
sources of funding, such as single regeneration budgets, Community Funding and
local initiatives may enable us to provide further services to Island
residents, including working in the prisons.
Finally, we can do much more to
make our services better known through solicitors, General Practitioners,
libraries, churches, leisure centres and other multi-use venues.
There has been a national decrease
in clients, and our experience has been in line with this. There is a public perception that a right to
free counselling exists.
Burgeoning competition from a
number of other sources, including primary health care services, together with
our dependence on too few counsellors could leave us vulnerable. A lack of awareness among the general public
concerning professional standards and the speciality of couple counselling
might influence their choice of provision.
Relate Solent has identified that
its current counsellor workforce is too small to enable us to take advantage of
any opportunities to increase counselling provision. Two counsellors have already increased their hours to cover Ryde
and Freshwater.
There is no Island based Relate trainer,
so that any Education and Training work can only be done by trainers willing
and able to travel to the Island. This
necessarily increases the costs and makes it difficult to take up any
opportunities which might exist.
It has been recognised for some
time that our current base in Exchange House, Newport is not in an accessible
area for evening counselling. The
office used in Exchange House is at the
rear of the building, through a maze of corridors. Also the surrounding area is
unlit and there is no adjacent car parking.
All of these issues make it an unsuitable venue for evening counselling,
particularly during the winter.
Additional Venue - Opportunity
The counselling service has been
available in Newport for many years and this was extended to include sessions
at Ryde. With effect from September
2001, counselling sessions are also available in Freshwater, giving access to
some of the more remote communities on the Island.
However, residents of Sandown,
Shanklin, Lake and Ventnor currently have to travel to either Ryde or Newport
to access the service and it would benefit them to have a locally available,
accessible service, subject to a suitable venue being available.
Targeted funding could be sought
for specific services on the Island such as domestic violence, utilising
national funding bodies, or local initiatives.
This additional funding would provide a wider base from which to operate
and also allow service development into appropriate areas.
The promotion of our service
through solicitors, doctors, libraries, churches and others will ensure that
prospective clients are aware of the existence and location of our
services. It will also be necessary to carry
out promotion of any new service initiatives to ensure take up.
It is acknowledged that all of the
above major issues arising from the SWOT analysis can and should be addressed
by the Centre during the life of this Business Plan.
In order to be in a position to
take advantage of opportunities to develop our service on the Island, it is
essential that a trainee counsellor is recruited in the first half of 2002/03.
During 2000/01 we were able to offer 450 hours of counselling but with the
addition of the Freshwater venue in September 2001, the hours offered for
2001/02 will increase to 520. The
recruitment of a trainee counsellor would enable us to increase the hours
offered in 2002/03 to 700 with a further increase by 2004/5 giving up to 1000
hours of counselling.
It is essential that a trainer be
recruited to take up the opportunity of providing education and training
courses on the Island. Courses can be
provided for the general public and bespoke training is also available for
companies, organisations, community groups, schools and colleges. It is anticipated that networking would
commence immediately after recruitment and the first open access courses, such
as ‘New Life, New Challenge’ and ‘Taking Charge of Your Life’ will be offered
to the public within 4 months. The
number of open access courses will increase during the second and third years,
with bespoke, targeted courses and workshops offered during the second and
third years to community groups, commercial organisations and educational
establishments. It is envisaged that by
the end of the 2004/5 financial year, over 300 Island residents will have
benefited from Relate Education and Training material.
New premises in Newport are
currently being sought. It is
essential that these premises are suitable for evening counselling, accessible
by all clients and not publicised on the outside so that clients feel
‘stigmatised’ by attending. We are
currently investigating the possibility of using the premises of another
organisation for evening counselling with the benefits of multi-use occupation
that will bring, but should this not prove possible, we will be seeking to rent
suitable premises in central Newport.
We continue to see Newport as the central base for our Island
operations, with a majority of our counselling hours offered there, due to its
location and accessibility by public transport. Any new venue will be monitored during its first year of use to
ensure suitability.
Additional Venue
Following recruitment of an
additional counsellor, it will be possible to investigate suitable premises in
the south east of the Island for the provision of counselling sessions. This will enable us to extend our client
base to those living in this area who have difficulty in accessing public
transport to Newport or Ryde, either due to cost or disabilities. Again, we acknowledge that finding the most
suitable premises is a major factor in the provision of our service.
Funding Base
Additional funding for service
developments, such as work in prisons, education and training courses or
services for young people will be sought following research into the
requirements of the Island population.
It will also be dependent on recruitment of additional personnel to
deliver the services.
Marketing
It is necessary to maintain a high
profile when delivering services to clients.
The target client group of adult couples is large, but those requiring
the services of Relate at any particular time are difficult to target in
particular. However, promotion of
‘relationship health checks’ and media promotions by Relate National will help
to maintain Relate’s profile in the national arena. It will also be necessary to ensure adequate publicity for Relate
on the Island, and this may involve advertising, speakers at local meetings,
displays in local centres and the local press.
·
Increase counselling hours offered by recruiting a trainee
counsellor
·
Increase accessibility to counselling by investigating
possible alternative venues
·
Recruit a trainer to work on the Island
·
Offer a range of Education and Training courses and
workshops
·
Find suitable new venue for counselling at Newport
·
Pursue additional areas of funding, both locally and
nationally to support development of initiatives
·
Raise the profile of Relate in general and of new service
initiatives in particular
Task |
Lead Person |
Colleagues Involved |
Measures of Performance |
Target Date |
Recruit new counsellor Recruit trainer for Island work Increase counselling hours
offered Offer a range of open access and
bespoke training Monitor new premises in Newport Seek additional premises in south east Promotion of Relate services |
Centre Manager Training & Development
Manager Centre Manager Training and Development Manager Centre Manager Centre Manager Centre Manager |
Supervisor and trustees Centre Manager Supervisor and counsellors Centre Manager and trainer Island Trustees Island Trustees All |
New counsellor in post Trainer in post 700 hours offered 800 hours offered 900+ hours offered Networks formed and 2 open
access courses offered Networking, 4 open access
courses and targeted training for
schools (over 100 people attending) 6 open access courses, targeted
courses for schools and commercial sector (over 200 people attending) Suitable premises for evening
counselling maintained Additional venue for counselling Raised profile and client
awareness |
June 2002 June 2002 During 2002/03 During 2003/04 During 2004/05 During 2002/03 During 2003/04 During 2004/05 Jan 2001 2002/03 2002/05 |
Relate Solent is currently
providing an accessible, cost effective service and will be part of the Relate
Federation, with the benefits of service developments, national media coverage
and access to Government policy which that will bring. If Relate Solent continues to receive its
current level of grant funding from the Island Council it will continue to
provide the basic counselling and psychosexual therapy service in Ryde, Newport
and Freshwater.
However, there is the very real
opportunity to provide more to the Island residents, particularly those
requiring counselling who live in the south eastern areas of the Island and the
many people who would benefit from the training courses and workshops that
Relate is able to deliver.
Relate is also keen to extend its
available counselling hours, enabling more people to take up the service. Adult couple relationships form the
foundations of our society and their breakdown has repercussions across a range
of services. Domestic violence, abusive
relationships, separation and divorce affect service provision across the board
from housing, police and legal services to social services and schools.
Government thinking is aimed at
prevention rather than cure and Relate has a major part to play in enhancing
the quality of couple, parental and family relationships, helping them to
withstand the pressures leading to breakdown, and where necessary limiting the
damage caused by separation and divorce.
Relate Solent remains committed to
providing an efficient, cost effective, accessible service to all Island
residents and will continue to work with the Isle of Wight Council, Rural
Community Council and other relevant bodies to this end. Additional secure funding will allow us to
increase the range and availability of this service to the benefit of all.
APPENDIX 1
2002 2003 2004
£ £ £
Client income 9,000 10,500 12,500
Education and Training Income 100
1,500 3,500
IOW CC 12,250 11,800 12,250
Fundraising and Donations 100 150 400
Counsellor salaries & NI 5,000 8,000 10,000
Counsellor training
800 500 500
Counsellor travel 1,150 900 1,000
Education and Training 1,400 1,000 1,750
Education and Training travel 300 500 1,000
National Relate Fees
150 175 200
Advertising 500 1,000 1,000
Supervision 4,750 3,000 3,000
Administration 4,500 5,000 5,500
Administration travel 150 175 200
Premises costs 2,500 3,500 4,000
APPENDIX 5
RELATE SOLENT
OPTIONS
FOR DEVELOPMENT 2002/05
The basic counselling and
psychosexual therapy service is maintained at a standstill grant with only
inflationary uplifts. The grant
required for 2002 at a standstill rate is £9000. This will allow us to continue to provide approximately 600 hours
of counselling per annum across Newport, Ryde and Freshwater.
Recruitment of an additional
counsellor will necessitate an increase in the grant of £2,100 over two
years. This will allow us to provide
additional hours in the venues currently used, increasing counselling hours to
700 during 2002/03.
Coupled with this is the
opportunity to offer the service at an additional venue on the Island, possibly
in the southeast. An additional venue
will increase the accessibility of the service and allow the current workforce
to increase the number of hours they work, if they so wish.
The cost of this option will
include an element for rental of premises for an additional venue which will be
ongoing, but may be slightly offset by an anticipated increase in client
income.
Take up of this option will ensure
the provision of an education and training service on the Island, including
open access courses such as ‘New Life New Challenge’ and ‘Taking Charge of Your
Life’. Anger Management and Stress
Management courses can also be provided for the general public or tailor-made
to organisations’ requirements. Other
bespoke training can be arranged, particularly courses for schools, colleges
and prisons etc.
The cost of providing this service
is £5,950 over three years but it is anticipated that income achieved by the
end of the three years will enable this to be a self-financing service on an
ongoing basis.