Bethphage are preparing for their first staff conference since the pandemic. This year’s long-awaited conference will give colleagues a well-deserved opportunity to have a break from the “day job,” reflecting and learning from each other’s experiences. In acknowledgement of the impact the pandemic has had on mental health, there will be an emphasis on colleague wellbeing with mindfulness workshops and  an Inspired Mindset workshop which focuses on stress and wellbeing.

We will discuss how we can continue to improve quality in our services with workshops focussing on speaking up against wrong doing and equality and diversity, ensuring colleagues understand the rights of both staff and people we support and the mechanism’s Bethphage has in place to tackle issues around safeguarding and discrimination.  

“Embracing Assistive Technology” (AT) is one of the themes of the conference. We have AT pioneers Home Farm Trust giving the opening address, followed by Service Robotics, sharing their experiences of how AT has helped transform the lives of people with learning disabilities, fostering independence and bringing potential to life. We also have several other suppliers of AT in attendance, showcasing the range of products available and offering demonstrations.  

The afternoon will focus on reward and recognition where we celebrate successes of the past few years through our colleague awards. We have received a record number of nominations this year and are really excited to share the reasons behind some of the nominations as there really is some amazing work going on across Bethphage. 

This staff conference promises to be our greenest ever as we prepare to launch our green plan and ensure we minimise our environmental impact by making it a paperless conference, with no unnecessary waste and reducing carbon miles.  

For those that cannot attend, we will share presentations and learning after the event. We hope colleagues will enjoy the opportunity to meet up with old friends, share experiences  and learn new things.