Colin Poole, Chief Executive, OptuaLouise Pennell, Big Splash Co-ordinator

   Optua Leisure Service -  Enabling and empowering disabled people to take part in the sport

and leisure activities of their choice.

*Access Groups * Homecare ** Advice and Advocacy ** Leisure Opportunities * * Community Transport * * Volunteering * Training *

* Supported Housing *

We are a User Led Organisation, governed by disabled people, for

disabled people. This is an important dynamic.

Who are Optua? Optua provides a wide range of services for disabled

people across Suffolk and beyond, including:

• Leisure Service

• Activity Groups

• Learning through Leisure

• Suffolk Disability Sport Academy

• Teaming Up

• Big Splash

Optua Leisure Service

• Leisure Service

• Activity Groups

• Learning through Leisure

• Suffolk Disability Sport Academy

• Teaming Up

• Big Splash

Optua Leisure Service

• Leisure Service– Cinema Club– Day trips (London Theatres,

Thursford, Duxford)– Adapted Bikes– Football– Fishing– General Leisure opportunities

Optua Leisure Service

• Leisure Service

• Activity Groups

• Learning through Leisure

• Suffolk Disability Sport Academy

• Teaming Up

• Big Splash

Optua Leisure Service

• Activity Groups– Fortnightly club– Appeals to people who enjoy

gentle activity– Carpet Bowls, yoga, pottery– Includes option of a meal– Never been more popular

Optua Leisure Service

• Leisure Service

• Activity Groups

• Learning through Leisure

• Suffolk Disability Sport Academy

• Teaming Up

• Big Splash

Optua Leisure Service

• Learning through Leisure – Short breaks service for family carers– Breaks at the time of the choice of the

carer, sort of break is the choice of the cared-for person.

– Monthly clubs– Weekenders and Midweek breaks

Optua Leisure Service

• Leisure Service

• Activity Groups

• Learning through Leisure

• Suffolk Disability Sport Academy

• Teaming Up

• Big Splash

Optua Leisure Service

• Suffolk Disability Sport Academy – Raise participation in disability

sport by improving access to it– Raise the profile of disability sport. – Support existing disability

provision.– Develop new sporting opportunities

for people with disabilities.

Optua Leisure Service

• Leisure Service

• Activity Groups

• Learning through Leisure

• Suffolk Disability Sport Academy

• Teaming Up

• Big Splash

Optua Leisure Service

• Teaming Up– Learning social and

independence skills through leisure opportunities

– 10 week programme– Builds a cohort of friends– Confidence for family

carers

Optua Leisure Service

• Leisure Service

• Activity Groups

• Learning through Leisure

• Suffolk Disability Sport Academy

• Teaming Up

• Big Splash

Optua Leisure Service

• Big Splash– Supported swimming sessions– 8 municipal pools across

Suffolk– On the timetable– Supported by volunteers in the

water

Optua Leisure Service

• Provide a product people want to spend their Personal Budget on– Active Lifestyle Survey– Demos report

• Support for carers– Temporary respite moves to regular respite and potentially to no

carer duties

• Attracts external investment– Sport and culture provides attractions to investors who do not

see social care as relevant to them.

• It is a lot cheaper than traditional day care

How we contribute to Adult Social Care

• Marketing Approach– Who is the customer:

who makes the buying decisions?• Commissioners• Disabled person and their relatives

– What do they want to buy?• Feedback

– How can we provide it to the specification?• Understand the customer – what influences their

buying decision?– How do we communicate what we do?

• Invest in PR

How do we ensure our services are commissioned?

• Access– Physical and attitudinal barriers

• Solutions– Lobby for improvements

• Access group for Suffolk

• Mid Suffolk Access Group

• East Suffolk Focus Group

• Representation on planning groups

– Commercial pressure• Buying power of disabled people

• Publicity

What are the barriers?

• Carefully– Is the local authority structure of social

care really a good seedbed for developing these services?• Great people with the skills and knowledge to do the work but…

– Hamstrung by bureaucracy, can’t get decisions made– Changing priorities and staff, particularly now– Risk averse, impact of making mistakes can be intimidating– Restricted view of the marketplace

• Signal clear intentions to the market• Decide whether you want to be a provider or purchaser

• Independent providers will respond to demand

How can we develop services together?

• What happens after 2012?– The opportunity to make big differences

on the back of London 2012 is time-

limited. • Sustainability

– Optua uses over 200 volunteers to provide services

– We use mainstream clubs to provide sporting pathways

• Paradigm shift– Enabling and empowering people, not

social care

The future of sport and culture in social care