Congratulations to Jackie Mann, the Manager of numbers 2 & 8 Kingsthorpe Grove, who has been shortlisted in The National Learning Disabilities Awards.

The Awards celebrate excellence in the support for people with learning disabilities and aim to pay tribute to those who excel in providing quality care. Jackie has been shortlisted in the Manager Award category and was nominated because of her dedication to improving the lives of service users. She manages two homes registered for 18 adults with learning disabilities and is absolutely committed to maximising people’s potential and ensuring they have the best quality of life.

Jackie was recommended for the Award by a parent of one of the service users at 2 & 8 Kingsthorpe Grove who said: “The management of the home is truly excellent. The culture and ethos developed and maintained makes the residence a real home (as opposed to an institution) for the residents, all of whom are adults with severe learning difficulties. I visit the home frequently and witness the exemplary quality of the care provided. Under Jackie’s leadership the company is always able to recruit and develop excellent staff and the very high staff retention is a very important measure of this leadership. This consistency of staff is crucial in allowing the residents to build genuine relationships with staff.”

The care provided in our homes is totally person centred and service users are empowered to follow their interests and goals in life. Most of the service users under Jackie’s responsibility are difficult to place with behaviours that challenge, so she has a busy role, but always ensures that the interventions recommended by the multidisciplinary team are followed and reviewed. Since starting her role as Manager, Jackie has made many excellent changes including the homes becoming a registered centre with ASDAN. This enables the service users to develop skills for learning, employment and for life whilst achieving qualifications.

The most recent CQC inspection in Oct 2013 found that the homes were achieving in all areas inspected. A recent inspection by Northamptonshire County Council found the homes to achieve 100 per cent, which they said was rare.

We are proud to work with Jackie and wish her every success in the final of The National Learning Disabilities Awards, to be held in May.