The Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI) recently carried out a quality improvement planning inspection of The Cedar Foundation. This inspection was carried out with staff and service users from the Inclusion Works programme.

We were delighted with the report that stated:

“The Cedar Foundation is highly responsive and effective in providing well-targeted professional development for staff which impacts positively on high quality individualised learning and training experiences for the participants.  Subsequently, the organisation can demonstrate measurable improvement across the staff teams in their knowledge and skills to meet and support more effectively the participants’ individual learning and training needs.”

ETI also recognised a great effort that Cedar has put in recently around the professional development for our staff

“There is a clearly identified strategic aim to promote resilience across the staff teams through targeted staff training which enhances their skills and improves their understanding of participants’ personal development and employability needs.

 Across the provision, the well-planned tailored support and individual target-setting, particularly the use of employability and inclusion goals, are successful in delivering very good outcomes for the participants.”

Director of Employability and Community Inclusion, Elaine Armstrong, said:

“ETI have validated our Inclusion Works employment and inclusion service as meeting and exceeding all quality standards.  I am delighted that our very professional and competent staff team have received such  positive feedback.. The inspectors told us that they found all our the Cedarstaff team to be very resilient, committed and enthusiastic about their work.”

Cedar’s CEO Stephen Mathews, added: 

“To get such strong positive feedback from ETI is a great achievement. It is a fitting testament to the professionalism and the outcomes the Inclusion Works teams deliver.”

What is Inclusion Works?

Inclusion Works supports adults with disabilities who are keen to build employability skills and experience to be work ready, then moving into a paid job, college course or volunteering on leaving. Specialist physical disability, ASD and brain injury support is available and tailored to each individual and their needs. Following initial assessments, participants will build an action plan, drawn from a menu of choices to address their personal barriers and agree solutions to meet their employability and inclusion goals. Inclusion Works is person-centred, encouraging and supporting individuals to design their own programmes around their needs and aspirations, building confidence and independence.

Want to learn more about Inclusion Works?

Inclusion Works project is part funded through the Northern Ireland European Social Fund Programme 2014 – 2020 and the Department for the Economy. Funding is also provided by the Department for Communities and all five local HSCTs in Northern Ireland.

If you would like to read the entire ETI report click here. You can also connect with Cedar through Facebook and Twitter.