Care and Support Assistant – TWW

Looking for a job where you are paid to have fun? hours are 3 per week or can be arranged to be 6 every other week.

Support is to take me to the park, activities etc.

Hours will be after school or at weekends

Completed application forms and CV’s can be emailed to PA-Recruitment@s4il.co.uk  Please indicate which vacancy you wish to apply for.

About Me

I am 13 years old and live with in Leominster with my Mum and siblings. I love football being sociable. And enjoy going to places like flip out and the cinema.

Job details

Your role will be to take me out and about to activities. After school and weekends.

I have a Learning Disability, I like routine and struggle with changes and new things.

About You

Previous experience of similar work is desirable but not essential,

I am very active and you will need to keep up with me

You must be able to understand the importance of confidentiality, be patient, calm, and have a good sense of humour.

You will need to be a car driver/owner

About Direct Payments

Direct payments are available from Local Authorities for people who have a care and support plan in place following a social care assessment. An amount of money is allocated to purchase the assistance and care needed to live independently.

I should stress that my Mum will be your employer and have full responsibility for recruitment, contracts, supervision, pay, training etc. A support service assists her in meeting her responsibilities as an employer.

Job Type: Part-time

Part-time hours: 3 per week

Salary: £11.00 per hour

GB Paralympics team rewrite history books in Tokyo


The British team won medals across 18 sports and finished second behind China at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games .

ParalympicsGB  had a phenomenal medal haul and reached the podium in more sports than any other nation at a single Games.  226 athletes competed in the 12 day competition held in Tokyo after an extremely difficult 18 months as the COVID pandemic brought the world to a standstill.

Team GB won 124 medals overall, including 41 gold, 38 silver and 45 bronze.

ParalympicsGB’s traditionally strong sports, such as cycling, rowing and equestrian, once again proved to be the best in the world.  There were also outstanding performances from the wheelchair fencing, judo and table tennis squads.”

Every member of ParalympicsGB’s 20-strong cycling squad won medals in Tokyo, spearheaded by Dame Sarah Storey who became Great Britain’s most successful Paralympian of all time, winning three events to reach 17 golds in a stunning career.

In the dressage arena, Sir Lee Pearson moved to third on the all-time list of ParalympicsGB medallists with three golds in Tokyo.  This was his 14th medal across five Games. Joining the him on the podium was Georgia Wilson, one of 48 Games debutants in the ParalympicsGB team who return home with silverware.

Swimmer Reece Dunn won  five medals – three golds, a silver and a bronze – making him the most decorated athlete in the ParalympicsGB squad for the Tokyo 2020 Games.

There were medals too for British athletes in taekwondo and badminton, new additions to the Paralympic programme for Tokyo 2020.  Beth Munro, Amy Truesdale, Dan Bethell and Krysten Coombs all reached the podium.

ParalympicGB’s wheelchair rugby team struck gold for the first time at their sixth Games, beating three-time champions the USA 54-49 in a thrilling final. Kylie Grimes, the sole female in the British squad, also made history as she became the first woman to win wheelchair rugby gold.

Experience also paid off for table tennis player Sue Bailey who, after competing at six Paralympic Games, secured her first Paralympic medal alongside teammate Megan Shackleton. Para canoe’s Jeanette Chippington was ParalympicGB’s oldest medallist with bronze out on the water in the women’s VL2 event. The 51-year-old first pulled on the British vest at Seoul 1988 in a remarkable Paralympic career that has spanned five decades.

Meanwhile 17-year-old swimmer Ellie Challis, ParalympicGB’s youngest athlete in Tokyo, exemplified the star quality of the next generation of young athletes with silver in the women’s 50m backstroke (S3).

Summing up the performance of the team over the last 12 days, Chef de Mission Penny Briscoe OBE said:

“The performance of the athletes will live long in the memory and their impact will transcend these Games – inspiring the next generation, giving hope and happiness, and positively influencing change through what they have delivered on and off the field of play.

Have you been inspired?

If you are living with a disability and have been inspired to try out a new sport try these websites for clubs in your area:

parasport.org.uk/

getoutgetactive.co.uk/

disabilitysportwales.com/

rda.org.uk/ Riding for the Disabled

At the heart of our challenge is the importance of exercise on mental and physical health so even if you can’t become the next dressage olympian you will be boosting your health.

SIL 25k mile challenge update

As we head into September and the 6th month of the Challenge we have racked up over 5000 miles.  We have a very long way to go so please don’t forget to send in those miles.  You can let us know via the email sil25k@s4il.co.uk.

Don’t forget that we are also raising funds for Megan Baker House and you can donate at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/sil-25k-challenge

August – Olympic Inspiration

Olympic Inspiration


With Great Britain currently (as of 2nd August) 6th in the medal table and having won a fantastic 33 medals are you inspired to get sporty?  Do you suddenly feel like taking up Taekwondo or high diving, or even being part of a mixed relay team?  It seemed in the early days of the 2020 (but actually 2021) Olympics that if your name was Tom you were guaranteed a medal! If you like to keep up to date with all the medal winners you can find them all here:  https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/  It’s great to now see so many more medals being won in a huge variety of sports and the mixed sports helping to raise the profile and equality of women in sport.

Even if you aren’t up to Olympic standard, any kind of sport or activity is great for your physical wellbeing and whilst being enjoyed at a lower level it is great for your mental health.  Sadly, we’re seeing an increasing number of elite sports men and women that are suffering with mental ill health as a result of the pressure and responsibility of competing at that level.  That aside; starting a new sport, picking up an old sporting hobby, dusty tennis racket or long forgotten googles; or trying something out for the first time will no doubt be good fun and help to release those feel good endorphins whilst giving your heart a kickstart too.

Paralympics

As the Olympics closes later this week we don’t have to wait long for our next sporting fix!  The Paralympics kicks off on the 24th August with events in 22 different sporting activities.  The Paralympic Movement offers sport opportunities for athletes with physical, vision and/or intellectual impairments that have at least one of the following 10 eligible impairments: Impaired muscle power, Impaired passive range of movement, Limb deficiency, Leg length difference, Short stature, Muscle tension, Uncoordinated movement, Involuntary movements, Vision impairment, Intellectual Impairment.

During all of the events you’ll see amazing athletes who show that disability isn’t about what you can’t do but what you can do.  Our strength-based and person centred ethos supports this idea by focusing on what you can do and what you want to do.  Throughout the Paralympics you also see innovative modifications that make the sports accessible and awe inspiring.  Our service users show us everyday that so many activities are adaptable to all kinds of ability and they don’t let anything hold them back.

Holidays

Meanwhile, we are now into the second full week of the school summer break and summer holiday season is in full swing.  Has your step count risen accordingly with day trips, touring the visitor attractions and keeping the kids entertained.  If any of these is true for you we’ll be glad to hear about your miles for our 25k totaliser….

Send in your July miles

It’s time to let us know how many miles you did it July as we flip over the calendar into August.  Please send us an email with your count for July to the usual address SIL25k@s4il.co.uk.  We would love to see your photos too of places you’ve visited, recommendations for walking, running or cycling routes and see what you’ve been up to.  Remember it doesn’t have to be miles travelled; you could be using a static machine, doing aerobics or gardening.  As long as it gets you moving or out in the fresh air it all counts.

Donate

As part of our challenge we are raising money for our charity of the year Megan Baker House,  if you would let to help us support Megan Baker House please donate here https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/sil-25k-challenge

July – Sports Focus

July – we’re a quarter of the way through our challenge


As we move into our 4th month of the SIL 25k it seems that July is a key month for sport.

Football

The Euros are in full swing with the quarter finals kicking off tomorrow Friday 2nd July and to the delight of England fans we are part of this stage having fought off Germany.

I’m not about to turn football pundit, we’ve got the sports channels for that but did you know that during a football match they travel about 6 -10miles so if you are a keen footballer check out your miles during a match and let us count them towards our challenge totaliser.

Even if you don’t cover as much ground as a professional footballer research suggests not only are you fitter if you take part in team sports (people who exercise in groups do nearly twice as much activity as those who exercise alone), but it’s better for emotional health, too.  A report shows that being part of a team is beneficial to your working life, helping with goal-setting, focus and grit. It also boosts your motivation, makes you happier, improves feelings of social-connectedness and peer-bonding – which all help to reduce stress, anxiety and depression.

Cycling

The Tour de France 2021 has also started and participants will continue to contest the wearer of the famous yellow jersey until 18th July.

Cycling is a great sport option because it is low impact – it causes less strain and injuries than most other forms of exercise.  Cycling uses all of the major muscle groups as you pedal and it is good for strength, stamina and aerobic fitness which all help towards your overall physical health.

The greatest benefit for the SIL challenge is that you can rack up lots more miles per hour compared to running or walking.  Our CEO Euan, a keen cyclist, has been totting up his miles on the bike and recently cycled 100 miles in one day.  WOW!

Tennis

The Tennis Championships at Wimbledon have also kicked off, which sees the worlds best tennis players come together to fight for the titles at probably the most famous tennis competition in the world.

In 2020, Fitbit reported that according to their user data, an hour of singles tennis generates around, on average, 10,680 steps, while an hour of doubles tennis generates 7,980 steps. That’s an equivalent of about 4 to 5 miles of running and 3 to 4 miles respectively depending on your stride length.

Whilst tennis is more high impact all the same physical and mental health benefits are true of tennis as well and you’ll tot up the miles without having to travel great distances or even realising.

and lots more

And last but not least the Olympics start! Another event that had be delayed due to Covid will commence on Friday 23rd July. With so many different sports involved, including skateboarding for the first time ever, it’s hard not to be inspired.

So whilst sporting professionals and olympiads take their sports to the extreme we hope you manage to get out and do a little too.  With proven physical and mental health benefits you really will feel better for it – the hardest bit is getting started.

Make it count!

We can’t offer world titles, gleaming trophies or gold and silver medals but we would really like it if you would join us as we take on our own challenge – the SIL 25k.   Join us in trying to achieve 25,000 miles between 1st April 2021 and 31st March 2022 as we celebrate our 25th year of delivering care and support in Herefordshire. We would welcome anyone who is a SIL supporter, Staff, Trustees, people we support, family and friends to take part.

You don’t need an app, you don’t need to run or be a professional – just let us know how many miles (no proof required)  you do each month by emailing sil25k@s4il.co.uk.

For more information on why exercise is so good for you and how you might join in even if you don’t do miles read all about it in The Warm Up

and if you could send a little donation to https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/sil-25k-challenge to help us raise money for Megan Baker House, our Charity of the Year.  If you would like to know why we are supporting Megan Baker House read more here