Getting to the Heart of What Matters :

A two-part workshop for support workers

Paid staff can make a significant contribution to the life of a person with disability – enabling the person to live a rich life and pursue their unique goals and dreams.

What lies at the heart of the role is, however, frequently invisible. When we fall into the habit of talking about ‘hours’, tasks, routines and schedules, it’s easy to be distracted from what really matters about supporting people well.

This two-part workshop is highly interactive and offers many practical strategies to assist you in your role.

You can choose to attend one or both days of training, but you must have completed part one before attending part two. If you have attended a Getting to the Heart of What Matters workshop at CRU previously then we strongly encourage you to return for day two only.

"(Support) requires a certain humility on the part of staff, letting go of control, a willingness to follow rather than lead" Susan Stanfield

Part 1: An Introduction to Effective Support Work
Tuesday 8th December 2020 | 9am - 4.30pm | QLD Baptist Centre, Gaythorne

Part one offers an opportunity for support workers to critically reflect on the purpose of their role and the values that drive support.

We offer an introduction to effective support work that focuses on the following topics:

The purpose of support work
Getting to know the person
Valued roles
Promoting friendships & relationships
Connecting people to community
Barriers to good support

Part 2: Getting to Greater Depth in Support Work
Wednesday 9th December 2020 | 9am - 4.30pm | QLD Baptist Centre, Gaythorne

In part two we extend on foundational topics and delve into some of the complexities of support work, particularly in relation to:

Effective working relationships with people with disability & families
Extending relationship & community building
Identifying places of welcome
Developing skills & competencies
Supporting people to make choices

Please note: Completion of Part 1, or previous attendance at a Getting to the Heart of What Matters Training for Support Workers workshop, is a prerequisite for attending Part 2.

About the Presenters:

CRU has a team of experienced consultants who understand disability issues and what it takes to support someone to thrive in their community. Some team members have worked as support workers and others have engaged support workers on behalf of their family members.

Numbers are limited in line with COVID-19 guidelines.

Download the flyer here (pdf)

Download the accessible flyer here (word)

This training is for support workers who are directly assisting a person with disability to live a good life in community. Prior attendance at part one is a prerequisite for part two.

If you or your organisation wants to register more than four workers, please contact CRU to discuss this.

NDIS Participants: see the Learning Objectives below to help you decide if this is a reasonable and necessary support to help you (or your family member) achieve your goals.

Using Your NDIS Funding at CRU:

For people who are self-managing or using a plan manager, it is possible to use NDIS funding at CRU. To help you work out if this event is a reasonable and necessary support that will help you (or your family member) achieve your goals, there are Learning Objectives below. For more information about using NDIS funding at CRU, see our website. As CRU is not a registered NDIS service provider at this stage, people who are Agency managed cannot use NDIS funding to pay fees for CRU events.

For NDIS participants who are directly employing your own staff, you can use any savings in your funding to help you manage direct employment arrangements, including providing training to staff. Like all supports funded through an NDIS plan, training for support workers should contribute to the participant achieving their goals.

Learning Outcomes:

Potential links to participant goals*

Identify the elements of a good life and reflect on assumptions about people with disabilities’ right to and the possibility of a good life.

Strengthens focus on goals of participant;
Encourages critical reflection on practices that may undermine the achievement of a participant’s goals.

Begin to develop a framework for thinking about the role of a support worker in their own particular contexts.

Contextualises learning to the goals, aspirations and support needs of the participant they are supporting.

Understand Valued Social Roles and how the concept can be used to support people to have access to the good things of life.

Enhances ability to work to support greater & more meaningful social and economic participation;

Understand the importance of friendships and relationships and analyse what can get in the way of relationships for people with disability.

Enhances ability to work to support new friendships & relationships and to deepen existing relationships;
Enhances ability to work to support greater & more meaningful social participation;
Enhances ability to work to support development of informal supports.

Identify factors and strategies that make belonging in community more likely.

Enhances ability to work to support greater & more meaningful social and economic participation;
Enhances ability to work to support development of informal supports.
Strategies for supporting greater independence.

* every person has unique goals and aspirations. This information is provided to assist NDIS participants and their supporters determine whether the learning outcomes relate to the participant’s goals.

Community Resource Unit Ltd.

CRU has a 30 year track record of working across Queensland to help people with a disability take control of their lives and take their place in their community

Contact CRU if you need assistance or are unable to register online, by calling (07) 3844 2211 or email us at cru@cru.org.au

Venue and Parking:

QLD Baptist Centre is located at 53 Propect Road, Gaythorne.

There is ample visitor parking on site at the QLD Baptist Centre, however, parking is only permitted in the visitor parking lot accessed via 53 Prospect Road. Please do not park anywhere else on site. Please see the site map here.

Cancellation: To view CRU’s Cancellation Policy please visit the CRU website.