Growing employment opportunities (Farm Fresh)
Your next gourmet meal might be topped with herbs grown and cultivated by people with disabilities, thanks to a new social enterprise launched by our NSW team.
Nutrient-dense micro herbs like broccoli sprouts and radish shoots grown by supported workers are popping up at supermarkets, farmers’ markets, and restaurants throughout NSW.
Launching in 2022, the Farm Fresh venture provides more variety and upskilling opportunities and ensures people with disabilities have ongoing, meaningful work and can continue to participate in the economy.
Daniel White, a Supported Employee, has thoroughly enjoyed the new challenges of farming.
“I’ve been working my way up doing jobs that take a bit more thinking – I started out here packaging coffee pods, but this work is different,” Daniel said.
“You get to put some soil in, seeds, water and put them out there [in the shipping containers] at different stages [of growth].” Daniel and other Farm Fresh growers are also recognised for their hard work.
A handy QR code on each pot enables curious clients and chefs to find the faces behind their Farm Fresh herbs.
Stephen Price, General Manager of Scope’s Packaging Solutions, said Farm Fresh is a wonderful opportunity to see employees participate in meaningful and enjoyable work.
“Our growers manage every step from planting the seeds to harvesting the plants – it’s been amazing to see how involved and enthusiastic everyone is.”
“Programs – like Farm Fresh – that keep people with disability gainfully employed are essential because it means more choice, control and fulfillment in their lives.”
“Our growers have their own stories and interests, and it’s great we get to celebrate and showcase them through the QR codes.”
Locally grown, ethically produced and socially conscious, the operation is currently running out of two 12-metre shipping containers at our Braemar packaging factory that employs people with disability.
Farm Fresh partnered with Urban Fresh who provided guidance on how to transform the shipping containers into hydroponic, temperature-controlled facilities free from pests and environmental damages.
Farm Fresh has sold over 21,000 pots since the initiative began operation in July 2022.
Supporting clients with complex care needs
To address the increasing number of clients with complex care needs in Supported Independent Living, our Quality and Safeguarding team launched the Supporting Clients with Complex Care Needs project.
With a goal to strengthening the knowledge of our staff through training and increased support of the complex needs of clients, the team have developed a wrap-around approach in support of improving the safety, quality, and the client experience.
Commencing in early 2023, a team of four registered nurses embarked the pilot project, visiting 30 Supported Independent Living homes and with support workers and clients developed digital health plan summaries. From this, opportunities to improve practices in medication management, mealtime support, health deterioration response, and preventive health screening were identified. A key driver of the pilot was to ensure our support workers had the necessary training, resources, and support to implement standardised medication delivery and health monitoring.
Other outcomes have included:
- Collaboration with the Communication and Inclusion Resource Centre (CIRC) has identified clients benefiting from communication aids and tools.
- Introduction of health support programs including access to Virtual Emergency Department. A Victorian Government Initiative enabling 24 hours access, seven days a week access to non-emergency consultation.
- Establishment of a significant partnership with the Cancer Council Victoria, trailing cervical screening self-collection.
Following the success of the pilot, in June, the nursing team expanded to seven, and continue to support our disability support workers.
Being Brave: an effective approach to feedback
At Scope we encourage the reporting of all incidents, compliments, and complaints. As a leading national disability provider, we can set the standard for others to follow.
We instil with our staff to be brave with reporting incidents, to listen to feedback and act where necessary.
Guided by NDIS Quality and Safeguarding Framework and NDIS Practise Standards, over the last 12 months Scope has strengthened and streamline oversight of reporting on incident management and feedback and complaints management. It is our objective to not only meet the requirements of NDIS Practise Standards for incident and complaints management but exceed them.
Guided by the strategic Amplify Standardise and Improve Project our quality teams across Victoria and New South Wales have come together and redesigned the Incident Management Framework and Feedback and Complaints Procedure. Informed by extensive consultation with staff across Scope and clients, the new framework and procedure standardises and streamlines processes in support of reporting, reviewing, and actioning outcomes to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our clients and employees.
The implementation of the new framework and procedure ensures a consistent approach to managing incidents and complaints and supports a culture of reporting.
Designing Scope of the future
Scope is committed to achieving its purpose and vision with the full participation of clients, to the extent that they can and would like to.
Client participation in service development is identified by Scope as being fundamental to its ability to deliver an excellent client experience; engaging with people with lived experience of disability, and in particular clients, is not just good practice, but is essential to achieving strategic and operational outcomes.
In developing a new Client Participation Framework, we have worked to strengthen our capability in participatory practice, shared decision making and co-design/co-production with our clients.
The Framework is designed to increase client participation, influence, and over time, leadership in decision-making, experience/service design, continuous improvement, organisational performance evaluation and governance. It does this by providing guidance and governance for client involvement in processes that bring about change, ensuring clients have power and voice and how change happens.
To achieve the vision of the Framework, we have established a Client Advisory Panel (CAP) to be the main client representative body for Scope. The CAP support Scope by providing a sustainable and reliable mechanism for co-design and shared decision-making with clients on policy and strategic decisions, as well as a defined pathway for clients to gain vocational skills, deepen their participation, and lead change and improvement on behalf of their peers.
Supported by the Client Strategy Team, CAP members have developed a clear engagement model. Beyond providing their feedback, members are actively involved in the formation of the CAP, including the development of onboarding and training opportunities.
Areas of focus for the CAP to date have included the provision of insights regarding Scope’s Disability Action Plan. Their ongoing focus will be on Scope policies and procedures requiring client expertise and perspective.
