Southampton Learning Disability Partnership Board

My name is Leon and my job is to manage a Team of Social Workers in Southampton.

My Team are responsible for assessing the needs of people with a learning disability who live in the City. This means that we try and get to know the person well and find out what would be the best way to help. Often this involves talking to other people who know the person well i.e. Family and Carers. We aim to set up a care plan that helps the person live more independently in the community but also keeps someone safe from harm.

In my day to day job

• I talk to my staff about how they are working with people with learning disability and their families and carers. It is one of my jobs to ensure that my staff provide a good standard of practice.
• I try to ensure that my Team works within the money and resources that it has been given by the City Council. This is often very difficult because services are expensive and we have to spend the money on those people who have the greatest need. We use the Fair Access to Services Eligibility Criteria to guide us.
• I work alongside my colleague, Steve Cavil who is the Manager of the Health Care Team. We are working together to improve our service to people in Southampton, by integrating our services. This should mean that we can respond to people in difficulty much faster and more effectively.
• I am involved in trying to get more housing available to people with learning disability in the City. This is something that I do with other people within my Team but also through the work of the Housing Steering Group.

I have been a Manager for 9 years now and I have learned a lot and changed a lot in that time. I have worked in Southampton for 20 years in the learning disability services, starting at Southampton Day Services in 1986. I qualified as a Social Worker in 1988, and shortly after started work in Southampton as a Specialist Social Worker working with people with a learning disability.