The event, held in Thetford in December (2018), was attended by TEA’s Board of Directors and Company Members.
Chairman Gerard Artindale and Managing Director Lorna Weston spoke at the meeting, thanking staff for their hard work throughout the year and sharing information about the organisation’s outstanding accomplishments.
During the year 2017- 18, TEA supported more people than ever, gained a Care Quality Commission (CQC) rating of Good and saw an increase of 15 people it supports become company members.
The organisation also improved on the facilities and opportunities available for the people it supports at Club 82, in Whittlesey, and he Meeting Place, in Peterborough. It launched a brand new Supported Employment Project to help more people with a learning disability get a job, opened a new short breaks and community support base called Oakland’s, near Norwich, and trained two Positive Behaviour Support Coaches to start rolling out Positive Behaviour Support to its teams – to name just a few achievements.
The meeting also provided the opportunity for Gerard and Lorna to share TEA’s new vision and future aims with the organisation as a whole.
Lorna explained that TEA’s vision and focus had changed this year to also include families.
The new vision states:
We are committed to supporting people with a learning disability (and their families) to have a great life, enabling them to achieve their goals by continuously developing the opportunities we offer.
TEA’s aims for the coming year include:
- Making sure houses feel homely by providing excellent tenancy support.
- Providing reward and recognition of staff and teams
- Reducing the amount of paperwork overall
- Always striving to improve and not falling into things becoming the norm
The event also included a Christmas jumper competition with prizes handed out to the winners.
Closing the AGM, Gerard said, “I want to say a big thank you to all of you, for the amazing hard work you have put in, all the way through the year. When I meet people at events or on visits I’m always absolutely staggered at the skill, enthusiasm and general standard of care and support that you all give to everybody we support.”
Lorna added, “Thank you to you all for your brilliant hard work which has made it another successful year for Thera East Anglia.”
