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Getting to Grips with Graphics Courses

**** NEW COURSE DATES ****

Getting to Grips with Graphics is a one-day introductory course that comes highly recommended by previous participants:

"Excellent day - informative - well presented"

"Great fun - good chance to get lots of creative ideas to make group facilitation more interesting and memorable"

"Good mix of fun activities, working with others - course was interactive so felt involved throughout"

People from many walks of life attend these courses and discover the power of graphic facilitation - trainers, facilitators, consultants, mediators, support workers, managers, teachers, community workers, youth workers...


The next open course will take place in Edinburgh on Friday 4 June 2010.  Please contact Envision if you are interested in reserving a place on this course.

 

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Dare to Dream - Facilitating MAP and PATH

Envision has worked jointly with Edinburgh Development Group (EDG) to develop this four-day person centred planning facilitation course.  We have now run three very successful sell-out courses and we are looking forward to announcing dates for the next courses to run in 2010.  Watch this space or contact Envision for further details.

Comments from previous participants:

“This was the best course I have been on in many years...Have alreadystarted to use it and will continue to use it in various ways – hopefully throughout my career – am developingideas from your ideas...” – Paul Anstee, MENCAP

“I feel more confident to undertake the planning process ...The relaxed adult style works well with the blend of more fun, light-hearted exercises” – Miriam Leighton, ARK Community Networks

“Excellent – gave me real strength to identify goals for both professional and personal life” – Marion Smith, Oaklands School

“Fantastic, eye-opening, fun, social, networking, challenging” – JocelynGlebocki, Camphill Blairdrummond

“I thought the course was fantastic – really enjoyed all aspects of the course both personally and for my job... I feel much more confident to facilitate and graphic plans –for people with learning difficulties and for anyone...  Best training course I’ve ever been on.”  - Jodie Louden, Fife Council

“The trainers worked very well as a duo and made everyone feel relaxed.  I would recommend this course to other facilitators.” – Sharon McAulay, STAR Project

Follow this link to download a flyer:

Dare%20to%20Dream%20III%20Flyer

 

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Know What I Mean...? - Maximising your Communication Skills

Communication is the cornerstone of all human relationships. Yet, many people lack techniques required for effective interpersonal communication. They may not understand how they come across to others, nor how to interpret other people’s intentions. This can seriously affect a team’s performance.

This course explores key components of effective communication, focusing particularly on:

- Listening skills
- Understanding and developing assertiveness
- Overcoming communication barriers
- Clarity of language
- Frameworks for giving and receiving feedback
- Problem-solving tools for teams

The emphasis during the course will be on developing self-awareness through experiential learning and reflection. You will have the opportunity to work in a supportive group environment to develop your own communication skills and think about how to apply these within the context of your own team, your work and your life.

This course is regularly run as part of EVOC's ongoing training programme.  Please contact Envision for further information.

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Recent Projects

  • Envision and Edinburgh Development Group have just launched a year-long programme of work with St Joseph's Services in Midlothian.  The programme includes Dare to Dream training, the Big Plan, training in person centred support planning, as well as mentoring, coaching and Action Learning Sets. 
  • Renfrewshire Women's Association recently invited Helen to facilitate their away day to help them look at their vision for continuing their work.  It was a really creative and inspiring day - sharing stories and renewing energy for the work ahead.
  • Helen was commissioned by My Choice My Voice to help them and their organisation (Support for Ordinary Living) think about how people supported by the organisation could be more fully involved in staff recruitment. 
  • Helen continues to be a member of the tutoring team on the award-winning Higher Education Certificate (HEC) in Person Centred Approaches, where she is leading modules on Essential Lifestyle Planning and Planning for Inclusion.

    Bringing together the philosophies of the Person- Centred Approach and Person Centred Planning, this accredited and innovative learning experience is designed for people who support others to lead valued and inclusive lifestyles based on individual choices and preferences. The HEC in Person Centred Approaches for Social Care Workers is recognised by the Scottish Social Services Council as an appropriate qualification for the registration of staff in the categories Housing Support and Care Home Services for Adults.

    The HEC in Person Centred Approaches for Social Care Workers is a collaboration between Altrum, (a group of around 10 organisations providing person centred support or consultancy services), Queen Margaret University College, and the Scottish European Social Fund Objective Three Partnership. The quality and value of the course was recognised in 2005 by a Scottish Award from the National Training Awards and a Lifelong Learning Best Practice Award from ESF Objective Three Partnership. www.personcentred-learning.org.uk


  • In Paisley, Helen worked with the STAR Project to facilitate a process of project user engagement in the direction of the organisation.
  • On behalf of Stevenson College Edinburgh, Helen undertook a programme of intensive staff training for Newbyres Village - a new service for older people in Gorebridge run by Midlothian Council - aiming to engender the philosophy and practice of person centred support.  Subsequently, the same training programme was rolled out across all older people's residential services run by Midlothian Council.
  • Helen worked with the Borders Voluntary Sector Providers Group to produce a set of Guidelines for Person Centred Support Planning in the region.  She has recently been working with a group of people with learning difficulties to make these guidelines fully accessible.
  • Helen has designed a new personal development 'mapping' tool, incorporating graphics, for PhD students at Glasgow university.
  • Helen continues to offer graphic facilitation services for all kinds of events, meetings and conferences.  Below is a photograph of Helen's graphic for a conference organised by ARC Scotland and the Learning Disability Alliance Scotland on the effect of competitive tendering in learning disability services.
  • Helen worked with the Community Education Service in Falkirk on a whole-service review, involving graphically facilitated consultation exercises with all key stakeholder groups across the service.
  • Helen has been recruited by Equity in Education to be a sessional person centred planning facilitator with the Transforming Transitions project. This project will be working with children, young people and their families to support them to make plans for the future.