Doing things differently Leaflet - March 2020

Doing things differently

A guide to how POINT will deliver services in
a different way to maintain safe practice for
Service Users, Staff, Volunteers and Partners.

Information, Advice, Support and Empowerment
for families of children, young people 0-25
years with SEN and Disabilities.

Explaining changes to service
delivery

At POINT we take the safety of our families, their
children and young people, our staff, volunteers
and partners extremely seriously.

As you will be aware, we all face uncertainty due to
the ongoing Covid-19 (Coronavirus) outbreak and
we are following UK Government advice to ensure
that we can maintain safe and effective working
practices.

It is important to POINT that our support services
continue to deliver an effective service, however
like all of us, POINT are being asked to make
changes in the short term so how we do things
may look different.

This information leaflet is designed to help you to
understand any differences in service delivery that
you may experience.

We know that these are anxious times for
everyone, however your patience and
understanding during this time is greatly
appreciated.

Remember!

Stay Safe…Be Responsible…
Be Patient

To access the latest information on coronavirus
visit:
https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-
events/coronavirus-covid-19-uk-government-
response

Attending the POINT Office

The majority of POINT Service Staff will be moving
to remote working from Thursday 19th March 2020
and therefore you should not attend the office
unless you have a confirmed appointment.
Ability Wheelz is currently open as usual.
We ask that you do not attend any of POINT’s
services under any circumstances if you, or
someone you have been in close contact with shows
any signs of coronavirus. As a reminder here are the
symptoms to look out for:

Will response times be affected?

The current situation is unprecedented. POINT will
update our families and partners regularly where
increased response times are incurred.
POINT appreciate that access to timely support is
vital for many of our families, however we would ask
you to be patient at this time as our staff and
volunteers may need to self-isolate and we are
anticipating increased levels of staff and volunteer
absence during this time.
Please use the contact details for our services as
detailed on the back page of this information
leaflet. This will ensure that POINT’s teams can
prioritise contacts and respond as quickly as
possible.

Meetings and Group Activities

Service delivery will continue as usual, however
some of the ways we do provide support will
change to reflect UK Government advice on limiting
non-essential travel and non-essential activities.

To help with virus prevention and protection
measures, all non-essential face to face meetings
and activities will be cancelled.

Wherever possible alternatives will be put in place,
for example conference calls, online meeting
facilities and webinars however this will not be
possible in all instances.

How will I know if my meeting or

group activity is taking place?

If you are due to attend a meeting or activity, you
will be contacted by a member of our team to
confirm if this is going ahead or to discuss
alternative arrangements. We will contact you in
order of priority to make any alternative
arrangements so please do not contact our team,
they will contact you.

For any future meetings the POINT team member
will be able to advise on available support options.

This will be based on the latest UK Government
advice and POINT’s working protocols to keep both
you and our teams safe.

Doing your bit to keep yourself

and others safe

It is really important that we all play our part in
reducing the spread of the virus. If we don’t take these
preventative measures seriously then the impact on
services could be longer than needed, so please ensure
you follow the government advice below.

An easy read version is available via POINT Website
and Social Media channels

How to contact POINT

The contact details for all of our services are listed
below.

Remember: It is reasonable to expect some delays
as we may have staff absent from work if they have
to self-isolate or contract coronavirus.

By Telephone:

Oldham SENDIAS Service: 0161 503 1540

Oldham Parent Carer Forum: 0161 503 1555

SEND Workshops & Training: 0161 503 1551

Ability Wheelz: 0161 503 1556

General Enquiries: 0161 503 1547

In Writing:
Chadderton Court
451 Middleton Road
Chadderton
Oldham OL9 [email protected]

Online self-support available at:
www.point-send.co.uk

POINT is a registered charity No 1161596. Our registered office is
Chadderton Court, 451 Middleton Road, Chadderton, Oldham OL9 9LB

Last updated: 17th March 2020