Resolve Care, which has bespoke homes in Bishop Auckland and Spennymoor, has achieved the Autism Specialist Award Advanced Accreditation. The award was given in recognition of the provision’s excellent autism practice - staff have a working knowledge of evidence-informed approaches associated with good autism practice and they adapt these specialist approaches so that support is personal-centred and tailored to individual abilities, interests, preferences and challenges. The award was made by Stephen Dedridge, the National Autistic Society’s Autism Accreditation Manager.
Autism Accreditation is an autism-specific quality assurance programme. It was set up by the National Autistic Society in 1992 to improve the support available to autistic people in organisations throughout the UK and across the world, including local authorities, NHS trusts, education authorities, schools, colleges and more. To gain accreditation, organisations must meet a standard of excellence and follow a framework for continuous self-examination and development. Over 500 organisations are now accredited.
Anne Graham, Director & Service Manager from Resolve Care said: “We are delighted to be given Advanced Accreditation status which builds upon the Accredited status we achieved previously. This recognises the hard work and dedication of everyone at Resolve Care and we are proud to be able to offer the highest quality of care to the people we support with autism.”
Stephen Dedridge, Accreditation Manager at the National Autistic Society, said: “Resolve Care should be exceptionally proud of their achievement”.
The National Autistic Society’s Autism Accreditation programme was launched over 25 years ago and sets extremely high standards, which the provision has worked incredibly hard to meet.
Stephen continues: “There are approximately 700,000 autistic adults and children in the UK, as well as their three million family members and carers. Autism is a spectrum condition. This means autistic people have their own strengths and varying and complex needs, from 24-hour care to simply needing clearer communication and a little longer to do things at work and school. Without the right support or understanding, autistic people can miss out on an education, struggle to find work and become extremely isolated. Autism Accreditation highlights good autism practice and we are very pleased to be here to mark Resolve’s achievement. It is a great thing in itself and, we believe, will inspire other organisations and services to improve the way they support autistic people.”
Resolve Care provides residential care for male adults with learning disabilities, employing a staff team of over 30 people. In 2016, Directors Anne Graham, David King and Dr Celia Harbottle were the authors of a published academic paper, which outlines Resolve’s Model of Care. This demonstrates how the highest possible levels of care can be delivered to people with autism and a learning disability, enabling a meaningful and good quality of life. Both homes are inspected by the Care Quality Commission and continue to be rated as ‘Outstanding’.
Find out more about Autism Accreditation on the National Autistic Society website: www.autism.org.uk/accreditation