Charity - The Children's Trust

With over 380 staff and an income in excess of £10 million, The Children's Trust treats, cares for and educates children with complex multiple disabilities. Services include residential and outreach nursing care, rehabilitation, therapy and research. St Margaret's School provides a specialist curriculum for up to 40 children and is open for 48 weeks a year.

Cygnet partnered with The Children's Trust in a two-year programme aimed at developing management and leadership skills at all levels across the organisation. Focus groups agreed a competency framework, managers were profiled against the framework and in a series of tailored development centres and individual coaching sessions, Cygnet consultants worked with around 40 managers from both clinical and non clinical backgrounds.

Cygnet facilitated a residential conference, a strategy away day and several action learning sets which enhanced the team work and overall performance of the Senior Management Team.

The latter part of the programme concentrated on a series of practical skills clinics, accessed by deputy managers and team leaders.

Cygnet also led two INSET days for all staff at St Margaret's School and provided support for the in-house staff development programme.

Sue Kaemena, HR Director, believes that the programme has contributed significantly to decreased absenteeism, better staff retention and improved performance management.

'Cygnet and I worked in close partnership at all times. They provided an important external viewpoint whilst remaining sympathetic and understanding of the complexities of the organisation. We worked together to continuously evaluate, revisit and revise our strategies and approaches, and the partnership has been a fruitful one.'

The Children's Trust is Winner of Best Charity to Work For at the UK Charity Awards 2005. Sue comments:

'The Management Development programme and associated workshops run by Cygnet were instrumental in some of the cultural changes we have been able to make over the past few years, culminating in the honour of these awards. The Cygnet team not only delivered the programme in a professional manner but the team also developed very good relationships with Staff here at the Trust.'