New care home ‘mock room’ opens at Aspire to Be

A new simulated care home ‘mock room’ providing hands-on, practical job experience has opened at Aspire to Be, the Doncaster-based innovative employability service.

Managed by Doncaster Deaf Trust (DDT), Aspire to Be provides adults aged 19-60 across South Yorkshire who are deaf/hard of hearing, neuro diverse or those who have any other communication difficulty, with the opportunity to develop their skills and supports them into work.

The mock room replicates a room in a residential care home and will be used by Aspire to Be staff to work with Individuals to give them first-hand experience of working in a social care setting. Aspire to Be partnered with City of Doncaster Council (CDC) to acquire equipment for the room, including a profiling bed with bedrail and an air mattress with pump, to enable service users to learn the skills required such as catheter care, personal care, and how to assist an individual with their food and fluids including anyone requiring a specialised diet due to a Dysphagia.

Aspire to Be has used fundraising by registered charity DDT, including recent donations from Doncaster Junior Lawyers Division, which chose DDT as its Charity of the Year, to fund the purchase of a medical manikin to help with the training, which staff have named ‘Sam’.

Based on Leger Way, Aspire to Be now boasts eight ‘simulated work’ areas that are used by its staff to work with service users to break down tasks within a job and explain the various elements involved. The other simulated scenarios include a warehouse, retail shop, café and catering section, a hotel room, and a healthcare room that mirrors a hospital room on a ward, providing experience of working in a clinical setting.

Tina Rafferty, programme manager for Aspire to Be, said: “We are thrilled to increase our offering with the opening of the new mock room, which comes hot on the heels of the opening of our healthcare room late last year. Our heartfelt thanks go to City of Doncaster Council and Doncaster Junior Lawyers for making the mock room a reality with their crucial donations.

“Each of our service users has something to offer in the workplace, they just need to be taught the skills required and to gain experience in a way that meets their needs. The mock room – along with our other simulated areas – provides a realistic setting where they can gain vital practical experience to prepare them for work. We strive to produce strong candidates whom employers will be keen to welcome into their workforce.”

Joanne Booker, from the workforce development team, Adults Health, Wellbeing and Culture at City of Doncaster Council, said: “Due to the unique training methods used at Aspire to Be, they are able to support a unique cohort of individuals that really benefit from the tailored training methods. This is a huge advantage for them as it enhances their experience and understanding of the social care sector and starts their journey with people that deliver and manage local services. 

“I am now talking to social care providers across Doncaster about the partnership working opportunities with Aspire to Be and I have a large amount of them who are really excited to become involved with this pathway in to work which is really encouraging.”

Aspire to Be received £465,000 from South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority in 2023 to develop its provision.

For more information about Aspire to Be, please contact Tina Rafferty on tina.raffery@cscd.ac.uk