Lifeways has been successfully assessed by BILD ACT as an Affiliate Organisation!

Lifeways has been successfully assessed by Bild ACT as an affiliate organisation of NAPPI UK Limited, who are certified as meeting the Restraint Reduction Network training standards.

Bild ACT is responsible for the certification of training providers and services whose training includes restrictive interventions.

Jo Lourmpa, Lifeways’ Lead Specialist Support Manager, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to have received such positive feedback within the Observation Report. This has further demonstrated our commitment to following the Restraint Reduction Network Training Standards.”

Why is RRN Certified Training important?

Since April 2021, the Restraint Reduction Network’s Certified Training has become an expectation for services regulated by the government’s health and social care regulator, the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Failure to provide evidence to the CQC of compliance with Restraint Reduction Network’s standards can invalidate the training and be a breach of the CQC’s Regulation 18 on staff training.

As a result of our Affiliate Organisation status, Lifeways is on Bild ACT’s list of certified services under both NAPPI UK and Proact Scipr UK, which the CQC may examine when gathering pre-inspection information.

Our membership enables Lifeways to receive direct updates on government legislation and best practice guidelines around use of restraint and restrictive practices, and gives us access to tools and resources to support this ongoing process.

Individual pledges

Lifeways has been a member of the Restraint Reduction Network since May this year.

Before becoming members of the Restraint Reduction Network, Lifeways’ colleague training was already aiming to work alongside the Restraint Reduction Network’s standards.

Additionally, a majority of our Specialist Support team members have taken individual pledges with the Restraint Reduction Network.

Lifeways reduces restraint by putting the person at the centre of their support.

We achieve this by using evidence-based science to understand why behaviours happen and providing guidance to create capable environments - all with the aim of improving quality of life and reducing behaviours that challenge.

Our key framework for reducing restraint is Positive Behaviour Support (PBS). At its core, Positive Behaviour Support is based around a simple idea: that all behaviour is communication.

Thus, a support team member trained in Positive Behaviour Support aims to understand what an individual is trying to achieve with a particular behaviour.

As Jo Lourmpa, our Specialist Support Manager explained in a Lifeways podcast recorded in spring: “We all behave in certain ways when we’re trying to get something… We [as support team members] try to create environments that produce what the person needs. This takes away the need to behave in a way that might be challenging and might be perceived as challenging.”

‘If a flower doesn’t bloom…’

Jo also likes to use a metaphor to explain Positive Behaviour Support:

“if a flower doesn’t bloom, you change the environment, you don’t change the flower itself.”

“So, if an individual is having difficulties that impact the quality of life and put them and others at risk, look at the environment. Look at changing the environment, and make it work for them. Don’t try and force them in environments that don’t work for them.”

Read more about Positive Behaviour Support at Lifeways.