Annual Review 2024
"The Wheel of life really sums up what The Action group is about. And I am delighted that in this Annual review you will see what we have achieved for, and with people in their wheel of life, empowering them to be the best version of themselves and make their life count. " - Linda Tuthill
Welcome to The Action Group’s Annual Review 2024
The Wheel of life really sums up what The Action group is about. And I am delighted that in this Annual review you will see what we have achieved for, and with people in their wheel of life, empowering them to be the best version of themselves and make their life count.
We have had a great year- The Government’s commitment to the Living wage for our staff at £12 per hour, although far from enough was still welcome and we are delighted that everyone has been paid more, for the vital work they do. This helps our staff to have a more positive wheel of life too.
I believe TAG exists to fill the gaps that impact on people having a good life. For example, our Advice services making sure everyone gets their entitlement to benefits is crucial to a better financial context for every individual and family, and without this it is hard to have good health, a social life, and leisure opportunities. One cannot happen without the other This shows how much of what makes a good life is connected- and great services and support is a key part of these connections. The people in this annual review can tell you better than I can, how their wheel of life has improved, by their own efforts and through our support and services.
Everything in the wheel of life is connected, great support leads to better x, y an dZ. The prentice centre and the Falkirk studio, the playschemes allows friendships and connection to thrive.
The economic, political and world context has been challenging in the last year and this will continue to be the case over the next year. It has meant that Council budgets have been under more pressure and as always, the most vulnerable people are not given the protection they deserve when it comes to cuts in services. We will continue to work with everyone who is part of The Action Group, including parents and carers to make sure we protect people’s rights to the support they need. We will also continue with our Digital strategy to broaden our offer on digital support and tech that can make life easier and better. Our service changes through TAG evolve will have fully started when this Annual review is published and this is part of us getting it right for everyone, through more community-based support teams and focused leadership. All of this to improve our service support and to ensure people’s lives improve even more- in all areas of their personal wheel of life.
Board Report:
The other day I was at the local supermarket to do my weekly shop. I grabbed hold of a trolley and rushed into the shop and realised it had a wobbly wheel. My weekend was about to start so I was in a hurry and pushed this wonky trolley picking up my groceries on the way round. It didn’t take long before this wonky wheel started to annoy me, and despite persevering for a few minutes hoping it would improve, eventually I lost my patience and gave up the shop!
This year’s Annual Review looks at the diverse range of services across The Action Group. The wheel has 8 spokes and it struck me that as a charity involved in social care with responsibilities to support individuals, we must pay equal attention to all these spokes. There are few businesses with such a profile and requirement. The road on which our ‘wheel’ has to travel along also changes and can be full of diversions and potholes.
Working with the Senior Management Team the Board has been focussed on building a stronger wheel and avoiding potholes. We all struggle to do well in all the wheel of life categories but the teamwork within The Action Group has been able to design several solutions.
The cost-of-living crisis has hit everyone, and we were pleased to be able to support our staff with an additional bonus and shopping vouchers and hardship payments for those we support who were experiencing difficulties.
At the start of the year the recruitment difficulties many organisations faced meant staff were working harder and we had to employ agency workers to fill some support sessions. Not ideal, but I’m delighted this has now improved with a dedicated focus on showing The Action Group is a great place to work.
We have set up new live in services, additional core and cluster opportunities and finished the year looking to expand the number of people we support in East Lothian. The new management process (TAG Evolve) will improve the quality of how we run our services and can focus on delivering better support for everyone.
At the start of the year, we decided to invest in making our wheel even better and allocate some of our reserves to pay for this. This was in the face of uncertainty regarding social care funding and political instability. This has been achieved responsibly and we look to maintain this approach in the coming years.
We have hit a few potholes during the year but become better balanced, unlike my shopping trolley! What has been shown during this last year is that within the core of The Action Group’s Wheel of Life is an axle of care, compassion, and commitment which is solid and dependable whatever the road ahead.
Wellbeing and Organisational Changes: In our fast-paced lives, it's easy to lose balance and overlook important aspects of our wellbeing, especially when we're focused on stressful projects at work or the impacts of home life, for example, the impact of the cost of living. Many of us have experienced this over the past few years. At The Action Group, we want everyone to lead fulfilling lives, but achieving this requires thoughtful self-reflection and a strong belief in yourself, which can be easier said than done...
We've identified areas for improvement to support everyone in the organisation, and we've begun actively working towards enhancing balance at The Action Group. Our annual review's theme, "The Wheel of Life," highlights the importance of reflecting on and focusing on various crucial areas. It's fascinating to see how this concept aligns with our approach to supporting people within our organisation.
Over the years, and particularly during our pandemic recovery, we've been listening to our staff and the people we support through various forums. This feedback has revealed gaps and areas needing more attention.
As a result, TAG Evolve turned into one of our main workstreams for 2023/2024. Our overarching goal is to transform our organisational delivery model to achieve consistency, improve staff well-being and performance, and lay a strong foundation for delivering high-quality services to the people we support. The quality of the service we provide to people in supported living, advice services, real jobs, and the quality of our customer service from our infrastructure services is very important to us. We are always looking to improve this, continually learning new and better ways to do things as well as embedding the good practices which we already have.
We are on a journey, and we may not always get it right. However, the senior team and I are committed to continually striving for balance and enhancing the quality of life for everyone involved at The Action Group.
