Blog

January 26, 2022

Next Step Support has launched an Employee Referral Bonus Scheme and we encourage our employees to refer relatives, friends and acquaintances, who are interested in a rewarding career, to apply for a position in our company.

All applicants will be subject to the same interview, DBS and reference process, Induction and Probation.

Bonuses are due on candidates successfully passing probation.

August 12, 2021

We were delighted to receive the following comments from a parent of a service user.

“R’s flat is very well appointed with all modern accessories, kitchen appliances & furniture. R has settled very well and enjoys her flat and the independence it gives her.

The Staff are very supportive and encouraging to her.  They are also welcoming to visitors and very approachable and I know that if I have any queries or concerns I can always phone the office.

Now that COVID restrictions are easing staff are taking clients on outings which R has enjoyed.

I am so relieved to see how well R is doing and how much she has progressed. Also she is now much more motivated and willing to explore new ideas.

Also as her Mother I have seen a dramatic change in her for the better and my anxiety about her have decreased, in only six months.

I would highly recommend this service provider.”

August 12, 2021

Supporting our service users typically means working with and collaborating with other professionals to achieve positive outcomes for our clients. Sometimes this includes service user interaction with the local Police service.  

Following a visit from detectives to talk to a service user about their behaviours of concern, the detectives observed another service user experience a mental health relapse and become verbally aggressive. They were impressed by how our support team, notably Caylee Macdonald,  managed the situation and calmed the service user.  

We subsequently received an email from a Detective Constable recognising the situation and our efforts, which included the following praise ” hats off to you and your team for the work you do”.

July 21, 2021

We are delighted to be able to share this wonderful feedback from F, a care coordinator with the Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust, sent to our Service Manager in our Goff’s Oak service.  Consent to publish has been given.

 WELL DONE  EVERYONE

Dear Joey

  I just wanted to drop you a line about how impressed and touched I am by the care you and your staff have been giving to J. It is clear their work is so much more than just a job; it is a vocation. You have been so responsive, responsible, and communicative and thoughtful both with me and J. I never doubt that J is in good hands, which makes my job so much easier. I am moved by how well you all know her as an individual, how patient you are and how kind you are. I so appreciate your generosity and hard work.  Thank you for all you do.  All the best,  F

April 30, 2021 

We are delighted to receive and share another compliment about our support services. We appreciate receiving feed back and thank Nicole from the Hertfordshire Enhanced Rehabilitation Outreach Service (EROS), for  her  gracious comments. It is so rewarding for the team to know their efforts are appreciated.  Well Done Hannah and the team.  Keep up the fantastic work.

Nicole writes  “Hannah and the team at Next Step Support are fantastic in everything they do. As a Community Mental Health team, it is very important for us to have good communication with the services we work with and this team do that really well. The team always keep us updated and go above and beyond to support the service users they work with. The team are so helpful and are always very warm and welcoming.”  details published with consent  Nicole Newbery STaR worker  Enhanced Rehabilitation Outreach Service ( EROS)  part of  the Hertfordshire Partnership University Foundation Trust

January 28, 2021

To, Charlotte and the staff at Cannon Kirk

To Charlotte and team

Thank you all, for everything!

You guys have certainly helped me reach a huge milestone in my life. I'm extremely grateful I'll miss you all loads but I'll definitely keep in contact and come visit when I can!!!

Love from Jamie-Lea Jones

X

January 28, 2021

We  are always  appreciate and are delighted to receive  feedback and compliments on the  quality  of the personalised care that  our support workers and managers are providing . We have received the following compliments from a Care Coordinator,  within one of the local authorities we support.

Consent has been given to publish.   Thank you for taking the time to send in this feed back, and Well Done to the team at Shelby Court.

“Good afternoon Reshad,  I hope you are keeping well and safe at this time.  I just wanted to get in touch to offer some compliments/feedback about the team at Shelby Court.  I recently have been covering for a colleague who is off sick and have been covering one of his clients MM at Shelby Court. MM has been very unwell, in and out of hospital in recent months. This has been a very challenging situation for the team at Shelby Court and I would like to give my compliments on their tireless efforts to engage with, support and maintain the safety of this patient. Their commitment to supporting her has been evident and it has been very much appreciated on my end when we have been dealing with the pressures of COVID19 and staff shortages.  In addition, I conduct the yearly review of one resident KM. Last year her hours were increased to help her to develop her personal care skills. At her most recent review in December, I was very pleased to see the intensive work which had been done with KM over the last year and the significant progress she has made as a result of staffs interventions. In my experience, it is very rare that an increase in hours is used in such a meaningful and positive way to such a degree that at this review, her care package was reduced to reflect this positive work. Again I would like to extend my compliments to the team for the great work they are doing. They clearly work in a person centred and meaningful way with the residents and the benefit of this is clear to see  NB  Mental Health Social Worker  Care Coordinator  Intensive Enablement Team

 January 21, 2021

 Threat of  Boxing Day Floods 

Team Luton and Bedford sailed through, when potential flooding caused by Storm Bella, threatened our Rosewood service in Bedford on Boxing Day 2020. Much of Bedford had been issued emergency evacuation instructions. Although Rosewood had not, we beat the tide, and actioned swift safe informed decants, due to the high-risk of flooding from the River Great Ouse.  2020 has been a strange and challenging year globally, and whilst we all strive to excel in our roles, duties, and responsibilities, it is note worthy to highlight when our teams go above and beyond; on a daily basis,  doing our jobs the best way we can!  Returning from leave, on Saturday 26th December 2020,the Rosewood Service Manager , conducted a  handover with  the Area Manager, which included the heightening concerns posed by Storm Bella. This included consultation with the Managing Director. We went from monitoring the situation at 10.14 a.m, to considering the best strategy for the immediate situation,  discussed and agreed this on a conference call, emailed action plans, and by  lunchtime, had allocated safe places within our other services across the region, at Bedford House and Cannon Kirk in Luton,  maintaining support bubbles for clients, and by 12:17 pm it was “Thunderbirds are Go!”  Clients were consulted, consented, and supported to pack an essentials bag for 2 days, bedding, medication, all appropriate allied professionals, and family were informed including a lovely compliment received from the out of hours Duty Social Work Team  for Next Step Support being so proactive to safeguard our clients!

Part 1: Our Support Staff and Service Managers all came together efficiently and prioritised the priorities during what was a very unsettling time for clients. Clients were consulted, consented, and supported to pack an essentials bag for 2 days, bedding, medication, all appropriate allied professionals, and family were informed including a lovely compliment received from the out of hours Duty Social Work Team  for Next Step Support being so proactive to safeguard our clients!  Staffing levels accounted for, travel arrangements between sites coordinated,  health and safety checks / making safe completed and by 14:18 pm transfers were in full swing. Receiving sites were briefed about clients needs and clients were settled in and introduced to their new temporary services by 19:30 pm as the doors closed at Rosewood keeping the floods at bay.  An unusual situation, however, our teams provided fantastic continuity of care and support across the board. Reassurances and updates were provided regularly appropriately to clients throughout as we continued to monitor the threat of flooding ensuring all preventative steps had been taken and precautionary measures in place.  

Part 2: Tuesday 29th December 2020 the Thunderbirds plan of action sprang forward once again for a smooth transition for all clients safely back to Rosewood to welcome in 2021!  Well-done and a special thank you to all the teams for the commitment and dedication to our clients – Great Teamwork! 

… And yes,  the team have each been anointed with a Thunderbird character.  

• Jodi Myrie – Rosewood Manager: Virgil Thunderbird 3  
• Megan Cullen – Bedford House Manager: John Thunderbird 2  
• Charlotte Worker – Cannon Kirk Manager: Lady Penelope  
• Shereen Kassam – Area Manager: Scott Thunderbird 1  
• Reshad – Managing Director: Jeff (The Dad)

January 6, 2021 

We are continuing to follow government advice, and taking the appropriate actions  and making adjustments to keep everyone safe within our services.  

We would like to share the following compliment, sent to one  our Service Managers, by the family of one of our service users reflecting on our approach.  We would also like to add our appreciation of all our staff for their continued dedication and commitment during these challenging times.

Hi Zarak,  We just wanted to wish you all a very Happy New Year.  Thank you all so much for all that you have done during the last year to keep all the residents and staff safe.  You have done a magnificent job in managing the changing of the rules during the pandemic. We are hugely impressed and know that M and the residents are so well looked after.  Keep up the great work and thank you so much again.  I wanted to highlight how impressed we are with how you all take care of your residents and staff and we are always impressed with how well you follow the regulations to keep everyone safe. We always found Churchfield House spotless even long before Covid. At least we know M is in the best safest hands.  Best wishes for 2021.  A, G and K

November 25, 2020

We value all of our support workers and management staff and appreciate how committed, skilled and dedicated they are to supporting each other and and every client, at a consistently high standard, but with a personalised and individual approach.  

We always say thank you and appreciate compliments that we  receive from others, but we  also want to introduce a tangible means of recognising staff that have excelled during the previous quarter.  

We have launched 2 recognition schemes, commencing Qtr 3, for Support Workers and Managers respectively,  for Managers to nominate support and head office staff, on a quarterly basis, for an award for any  outstanding  achievement,  demonstrating excellence,  or going beyond what is expected.  

Best of Luck to Everyone -Keep up the good work and  Please remember to nominate.

October 7, 2020

It’s always pleasing and rewarding to receive recognition.  When clients want to share and  express their appreciation, it goes a long way to endorsing the approach that the member of staff has taken, and shows the support is  real, meaningful and personal.  When members of the support team take the time to reflect on the support they give each other, it strengthens their understanding and team work.  We are pleased to share comments expressed by a client and member of staff from one of our services in Bedford.

Michelle Lee ( support worker) received the following recognition and compliments from a client. ( their consent has been given to publish)

“Michelle as a staff member went above and beyond her duty twice last week when I was in crisis. She was patient, kind, and I feel she was honest. She gave me her time and not once did it seem like it was a chore for herself.  She helped me through crisis and by the end of it I was smiling! She spent all her time with me that she could and she just made me feel safe and her interpersonal skills were second to none. The skills and experience she has really shined as she managed to do what many have never done, tamed and managed me when I am in a heightened emotional state. She kept me from harming myself and that is the epitome doing a job well done and being a good support worker. “

Michelle has also expressed thanks for the support that she  has been shown by Charlotte and Shereen, her service Project Service Manager and Area Manager respectively.  “I would like to thank you all for your recognition of the amazing and good work that I have had the opportunity to do at Bedford House, I would also like to thank you, ( Charlotte) and Shereen personally for supporting me every time I call on you both, which has enable me to give ( the client) the best support.”

July 1, 2020 

It is always pleasing and rewarding to hear that our service user’s families feel our support is contributing to the fantastic progress their child is making and  we appreciate their taking the  time to compliment staff. It really makes a difference for us to hear it, especially from close family.

We always share feed back with our support teams and of course, especially enjoy sharing such comments as the one below.

Zarak, our Service Manager in Churchfield House, one of our services in Barnet, has received this compliment from one of our service user’s parents. We have been given permission to reproduce these comments, including all names, if we wish. All details can be collaborated in written records.

Our service user’s parents write –

“We just wanted to say a huge thanks to you, Dan and all the staff for supporting M so well the entire time he has been at Churchfield House.  We have never seen him so happy, calm and focused. He has grown in confidence since moving in and we are hugely impressed with the way you all look after everyone in your care.  I wish every young person could get the same outstanding level of care that M and the other residents get. You all support M and us so well and any question is always answered quickly.  The staff are all absolutely amazing and it means we can sleep at night.  M has interacted well with you all at a level I had always hoped for and it is your patience,  kindness and understanding that has helped him feel secure.  Many thanks to you all for everything you have done and continue to do.  Kind regards,”  

Well Done Everyone

May 27, 2020

We are delighted to announce that the Care Quality Commission has notified us of their  decision to register Mr Mohammad Shakil Kuderbux, as our Registered Manager – Personal care.  

Mohammad has worked in NSSL for a number of years as a Service Manger and latterly as Area Manager, and brings a wealth of experience, and lots of enthusiasm, to this role.  

Congratulations Mohammad.

May 18, 2020 

Further to our Blog  describing actions being taken during the Covid 19 pandemic..  

We are pleased to show the certificate received from Simply the Pests Ltd to record our Fogging Sanitisation Programme.  

All of our proprieties have been treated, with repeated applications every 2 weeks.     

Steri-7 surface disinfectant was used in all our buildings, to try and prevent the spread of Covid-19.  Steri-7 is mixed 1/10 with water and sprayed across all surfaces killing 99.9999% of pathogens in seconds of contact.

For more information about the whole STERI-7 DISINFECTANT FOGGING PREVENTION process, please visit the Simply the Pests Ltd website

April 19, 2020

I would like to share some happiness during this difficult time ….    Time is flying this year and the company continues to grow quickly and diversify.  Ocean House is the biggest 24 hr supported living I know of with 47 clients has opened and is coming together well under the management of Dan so well that Dan has kindly agreed to step away from the area manager role and take on Ocean House as the Permanent Service Manager which I would like to thank as it is a big weight off my mind and congratulate him on …………. which brings me to who will now support those who Dan was supporting.  

On that note my 2nd announcement …. I would like to congratulate Mohammad who has agreed to take this challenge on and will now be direct line manager for those Dan was overseeing from the 21st of April. I’m sure you will all welcome Mohammad into this position warmly as you did with Dan.  

3rd and finally but defiantly not last of the congratulations to Sami who has been promoted to Service Manager for the Baker Street / Wood Green services … Sami has worked with us for to many years to mention and everyone knows how dedicated he has been to the clients and company. So congratulations to Sami from 21st April ( which is his birthday )     

Reshad Khodabux Managing Director 

March 25, 2020

In these unprecedented difficult and challenging times that have  affected the daily lives of everybody, we wish to assure our clients, their families and health professionals, and our staff of the practical measures that we are taking to prevent the spread of the  Corona virus, maintain the safety of our clients and staff, and maintain our supported living service.  We also want to recognise and thank  our  Support Workers and Managers for their dedication and commitment to maintaining the supported living services to our vulnerable clients, whilst they are experiencing the same personal concerns as every other member of the public.  We  are following Government Public Health advice and have been monitoring advice from the authorities that we support.  The Key Message is to restrict the spread of the virus and we have written directly to everyone of our clients families advising of a temporary restriction on visiting policy to allow visits only in certain compassion care situations. We have also advised and will support clients to use other  forms of communication, including telephone and video conferencing.  We have informed clients and explained to them the circumstances that we all find ourselves facing and the reasons for the actions we are taking.  We have always maintained a Business Continuity Plan, but have enhanced this with the specific information that has been published to plan and implement appropriate action .  The enhanced and specific plan is extensive  to ensure the continued management functions of the service are provided in a controlled, albeit restricted, manner and  includes,

• steps to prevent the risk of the infection entering the service,  including the visiting policy, arrangements for regular Deep Cleaning, 
• and managing the  availability of Personal Protection Equipment,  and  management functions and temporary arrangements

We have commissioned “simplythepests”  to mist clean –  they call it “fogging” , to spray all of the 25 sites in our organisation with an antiseptic solution that kills 99.9999 % of pathogens in seconds, to supplement our own regime of deep cleaning.  We attach some photos of the mist cleaning activities being undertaken at one of our services in Luton.

We are continuing to work with the local authorities and CCG’s, and will continue to monitor public health announcements.  

In the meantime, please do all that you can to keep yourself, your families and everybody safe.

December 30, 2019

Next Step Support held a Bake Sale at Head Office to raise money for the Crisis Organisation over the festive period. We invited all the staff and had the service users involved in baking and purchasing cakes for the sale. We invited everyone to enjoy the treats and donate generously to the cause, as for every £28.87 raised it would cover a place at Crisis for someone who’s homeless this Christmas. The Crisis centre guests receive; advice, food, warmth, company and much more!

We started off with a Goal of £300, Our Bake Sale was such a success that we managed to exceed that tremendously by raising £1,825.50 which was enough to cover spaces for 64 people!

We are pleased and thankful for everyone’s donations and help! We had plenty of cakes and treats left over which we sent out to our services to be enjoyed by our service users.

Following the successful Bake Sale we also purchased thermal hats, gloves and scarves to give out to those on the cold streets before Christmas! A few of us headed into London and handed these out to those who were out in the cold and offered to buy them a hot meal and drink from McDonalds! It was heart-breaking to meet individuals who were out on the streets in the cold weather during this festive period however we are glad that we managed to help a little and put a smile on their faces.

We look forward to continuing to help !

July 24, 2019

Next Step Support Ltd is pleased to announce that we have been successful in our tender application to join the Hertfordshire County Council framework for providing Supported Living Services. Our plans to develop and expand our service  regionally continue and we look forward to working with the Commissioning team  and supporting clients from and/ or within Hertfordshire.

March 20, 2019

We were very pleased to receive and share the following reflection received from the parents of a service user.

“We just want to give our profound heartfelt thanks for everything you have done for our son.  The phrase ‘going the extra mile’ (or indeed extra ‘100 miles’!) must have been coined with you in mind.  We are very grateful that our son has been treated with such kindness, thoughtfulness, care and consideration by all the staff. You and all the staff are an enormous credit to ‘the Next Step Support’ organisation.”

We appreciate it when people take the time to give  feedback and all comments are shared with the staff.  We have consent to publish this information but have withheld personal details. Full details are on record and can be verified.

March 20, 2019

Next Step is pleased to announce that we have been successful in our registration to provide Supported Living services to Birmingham City Council.  

We are now included in Care Match,  the authorities procurement portal,  and we are already receiving referrals.  

We are very  excited about this new venture, which extends our service provision into new areas, and we look forward to supporting new clients.

August 16, 2018

We were pleased, that following an all day inspection, as required by our contractual Agreement, with a local authority, the inspector’s comment was this is the only home he has inspected without any Required recommendation. 

Congratulations to Sheila and her team for good job, well done and thank you for your hard work.

August 16, 2018

We are delighted to announce that Next Step Support Ltd has been successful in being placed on the London Borough of Enfield’s new Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) for Care and Support Services for people with Learning Disabilities, and we look forward to continuing to provide our  supported living service in all of our Enfield  and out of borough locations.

December 21, 2017

Next Step Support  Ltd was honoured and delighted to receive an Employer Excellence Award 2017, from The College of  Haringey, Enfield and North East London earlier this month in recognition of our commitment to train and develop staff.  Managers from the company attended an award ceremony held at the college, with other  employer, pupil and staff recipients. It was a great event, made even more special by the fact that one of our clients  had also received an award in recognition of her studies. ( separate post to follow).  We look forward to enrolling more new recruits and staff  in 2018.

The college said:-

Next Step Support has received an Employer Excellence Award from The College of Haringey Enfield and North East London (CONEL).

The Enfield based family-run health and social care provider prides itself on staff development. It has trained 20 apprentices from the College since 2015, and been extremely efficient in adapting to new systems, making payments and responding to requests for learner information.

Each year CONEL hosts is annual Excellence Awards ceremony to celebrate the achievements of students, apprentices and staff, and to recognise the contribution made by employers to support the College.

Principal Andy Forbes said:  I would like to thank Next Step Support for all their support and congratulate them and all our other employer partners, staff and students on their awards.

September 20, 2017

We are excited to announce that Next Step Support Ltd, and our associated group of family owned supported living accommodation services SGSL, Angel Support Living Ltd and Angel Support Living (UK) Ltd have moved from our Winchmore Hill office to new premises in Chaseside, Enfield.

Situated at 159a, Chaseside, Enfield, EN2 0PW, our new, larger head office provides us with great office and meeting facilities, and extra space to continue working closely with each other supporting our clients. Telephone contact details remain the same.

New Head Office address: Next Step Support Ltd 159a Chaseside 

Enfield EN2 0PW 

 020 83601240

April 6, 2017 

A special Well Done to one of our service users, who is not only learning to drive, but is sharing his experience by taking part in a television documentary series to be shown on the BBC. The series is called I’m Different: Let Me Drive and the episode will be shown on Sunday the 9th of April @11:35pm.  

The programme will also be available to view for the next 4 months on BBC iplayer.

January 4, 2017

A big thank you to Manchester Utd FC, who have made one of our service users very happy. Our client was recently diagnosed with a serious health condition and has been thinking about the things they would like to do. High on the list was to watch Manchester Utd, their lifelong favourite team. We made contact with the MUFC Foundation on their behalf, and thanks to their generosity our client has tickets for a home game in January and has also received a team photo and a card from the club. We are supporting our client throughout the day and whisking them up the motorway in style, to enjoy what is sure to be a memorable experience and a great day out.