Learning Disabilities

We support over 934 people with learning disabilities across the country, working with them to find out what they really want from life.

Our approach is person centred and inclusive.

We take account of people's history and background and work with each person and their circle of support, including families, carers and advocates.

People we support are at the centre of what we do
The voice of the people we support is at the centre of everything we do. UR First is our initiative to involve the people we support in our work and in policy making.

How we support people
We work with each person and the people who are important to them to plan the right kind of support for them. This is so that people can be who they want and get what they want from life. We plan support based around people's individual goals. This could be a few hours a week in someone's own home or 24 hours a day in a registered care home. It might be in supported living, where someone has their own tenancy, or support during the day at a place of work or at college.

Involving and Consulting
We work with people to find out how they want to have their say in the organisation. We train and support people to help us recruit staff. We now recruit half of UR's staff, including directors, in this way. Several service user forums have also been set up. Many of the people we support do not speak, read or write. We work with people so that we can communicate with them in the ways they want to.

Working with families
We work with the people we support to create opportunities for them to set up and keep positive relationships with their families. In turn, we work in partnership with family members. We value their experience and skills and work together to define how involved they want to be.

Working in partnership
We are committed to working in partnership with local authorities, commissioning bodies, families and housing partners to provide people with the best possible package of support.

We aim to provide high quality, tailored solutions to meet the needs to each person we support.

Resources
We have produced some resources for and with people with learning disabilities.