To celebrate the anniversary of supported living, we held the first ever Innovate Trust takeover day!
We opened our doors and invited brilliant, creative, and hardworking individuals we support to step into 16 different roles across Innovate Trust. The results were truly inspiring.
There was so much exciting energy in our offices and out in the community as our takeover team embraced their new responsibilities.
It was a fantastic chance for everyone to learn new skills, share ideas, and feel more confident.
Getting ready for the big day
The brilliant idea for this day came from Annaliese, who had previously taken part in a similar takeover day organised by Cardiff People First members with Glamorgan Archives.
Annaliese immediately saw how well this idea would work at Innovate Trust, and she was absolutely right!
In the weeks leading up to the event, we advertised our job roles on Insight, our social media app for adults with learning disabilities, and throughout our organisation.
This gave candidates the change to look through different roles and choose ones that matches their interests and skills they had or would like to learn.
The roles were taken up so quickly!
Our takeover stars
Rhian – Officer Manager
Rhian was a breath of fresh air as our Rhondda Cynon Taf Office Manager for the day, taking over from Jenny.
Dressed smartly for the role, Rhian handled a variety of tasks. From office admin and answering phones, to filing and typing.
Her hard work and dedication were clear in everything she did.
Nicole – Health and Safety Training Manager
Nicole confidently stepped into the role of our Health and Safety Manager, taking over from Kieran.
She has a great way of teaching people. Everyone described her as friendly, bubbly, and confident, with an amazing ability to connect with others.
Nicole’s enthusiasm for the subject and for teaching others is truly infectious.
We are excited to share that Nicole will continue assisting our Training Department in the future too!
Steph – Participation Officer
Steph grew in confidence as a Participation Officer throughout the day, taking over from Kath.
Steph is supported by Mirus and is a valued member of our Wednesday social groups.
We cannot wait to see what Steph does next!
Rhys – Activity Coordinator
Rhys took on the role of an Activity Coordinator, taking over from Kath too.
Rhys is also supported by Mirus and is very active member of our community projects and activities.
Spending his time planning an inclusive activity, carefully thinking about what to include in a risk assessment. Rhys did a brilliant job at helping to research travel and accessibility for future activities.
Dean – Locality Manager
Dean stepped up to the challenge of being our Locality Manager, taking over from Mark Phillips for the day.
He handled the day with ease, carrying out a thorough audit at one of our supported living homes and enjoying seeing things from a new perspective!
Dean made the individuals living at the property feel relaxed during his questions and enjoyed a tour of the home before heading back to the office to share his feedback.
Paul – Filmmaker
Paul was a fantastic Filmmaker for the day, taking over the creative role from Nico.
Paul quickly learned the ropes, becoming skilled at framing shots, getting interviews, and making sure the sound quality was perfect. He was on his feet for most of the day, carrying equipment and following the action of our takeover day!
Paul loved the experience too.
Morgan – Participation Officer
Morgan was thrilled to take over the role of Participation Officer from Richie.
He had not tried anything like this before but was excited to learn from Richie and even shared some of this own tips!
Morgan did a brilliant job at completing a Satisfaction Survey, asking great questions about our supported individual’s home and support. He even made suggestions on ways we can improve the survey too.
By the end of the day Morgan was also advertising activities on our Insight app, adding some events by himself!
Raymond – Receptionist
Raymond was a brilliant Receptionist for the day, taking over the role from Georgia at our Cardiff office. He learnt the role quickly and was not afraid to put in hard work.
Raymond used the photocopier, took calls, posted letter, and organised the office area so well. All while welcoming everyone who came into the office for their takeover roles, helping them sign in, showing them around, providing fire safety advice and handing out Easy Read information.
At the end of the day, Raymond made sure everyone signed out and got their certificates of achievement.
Andrew – Office Administrator
Andrew did a wonderful job as a Office Administrator for the day, taking over the role from Georgia at our Cardiff office. He helped organising ID cards, adding labels to envelopes, and applying stamps.
Andrew was confident in his role, showing that with the right support, he could do so well. He was very chatty but stayed focused on the things he needed to do and was very proud of his work, saying he know he would be good at the job!
Emily – Digital Resources Officer
Emily jumped at the opportunity to be our Digital Resources Officer for the day, taking over the role from Emma.
This role saw Emily taking over social media tasks. Because of this Emily arrived first and left last on the day to make sure all the important moments of the day were captured!
Emily is naturally good at making people feel comfortable when taking photos, and even had a go at turning all the day’s photos into a short film!
Emilly is looking forward to assisting the Marketing and Communications Department in the future by taking photos and videos to send to the team from activities she volunteers for!
Chris – Human Resources Manager
Chris said he enjoyed reading through and marking people’s job applications. Human Resources Manager, Christine, was impressed with Chris and his ability to get through a long list of tasks she had set aside for him.
Hannah – Training Manager
Hannah truly excelled as our Training Manager for the day, taking over from Donna.
Catherine – Participation Officer
Catherine eagerly took over the role of Participation Officer from Naomi. Her excitement was infectious as she helped run a Yoga class in Rhondda Cynon Taf, taking the attendance register, and went back to the office to take photos.
Catherine also invited people to an event and shared posters throughout our office to help advertise!
Annaliese – Chief Executive Officer
Last but not least, Annaliese took over as CEO for the day from Nick.
After suggesting the idea of a takeover day, inspired by her experience with Cardiff People First, she snapped up the role of CEO. And rightly so!
Annaliese spent the day approving holidays and annual leave, signing off payments for tax and national insurance, and planned finances ready for a Board of Management meeting!
Feedback from our teams
The positive feedback did not just come from those who took over roles. Many Innovate Trust employees shared how the day truly re-emphasised why they do what they do.
This sentiment was echoed across the board.
A huge success!
Our first ever takeover day was an incredible success! It was a day for learning, connecting with each other, and celebrating what people can achieve when they are given supportive opportunities.
It was great to see the amazing potential and talent within the Innovate Trust community. We cannot wait for the next one!
