Sutton employment service awarded ‘Good’ Quality Kite Mark
The Sutton Individual Placement Support (IPS) service has been awarded the ‘Good’ Quality Kite Mark by IPS Grow for their efforts helping peoplefind paid employment as part of their recovery.
The review was carried out by IPS Grow, which is commissioned by NHS England to assess the quality of IPS services across the country. Services are assessed against the IPS fidelity scale, and research identifies that higher fidelity services will achieve higher employment outcomes for service users.
The two-day review involved external reviewers conducting interviews with clients, referrers, and staff,observations, and a review of the service's outcomes. The process also enables teams to reflect on their performance, identify what’s going well, and examine what can be improved.
Paul Dorrington, Lead Employment Specialist for Sutton IPS, said:
“I’m proud of the team and what we have achieved together. The assessors were particularly impressed with work undertaken with clients and how close our employment specialists work to evidence-based practice and the difference it makes to our service users' recovery.”
“This recognition is not only a testament to the dedication and hard work of the team but also a reflection of their unwavering focus on providing our clients with the best possible service and supporting them to build meaningful working lives.”
Some of the team’s clients who were interviewed as part of the review said:
"My ES (employment specialist) found out about the whole me"
"Not just another number, I was a human"
"I think that it's been really helpful. The opportunities I've been given have been very good. It's helped me get a job and carry on in my career."
"My ES provided me with valuable support and needs to be rewarded for what X does"
"I wouldn't have come this far without this support"
Some of the team’s clinical colleagues commented:
"It's amazing the value of employment. It breaks barriers and stigma for people facing challenges, particularly during a cost-of-living crisis and people losing confidence with their mental health. To be able to be supported by someone with expertise to feel like they are contributing to society is really important."
"I think they are fantastic, a fantastic service. I do think that the importance and power of those interventions are still underplayed. It is so core to people's recovery and wellbeing, I don't think we recognise that enough. We celebrate that someone has got a job, but when you look at what that opens up for people in terms of their wellbeing, social, economic factors, it is key to everything else we're doing."
A huge congratulations to the whole team including Carloyn, Disability Employment Advisor at Job Centre Plus, for all their hard work and excellent review!
