Take Ten People: Integrating employment, learning and skills for people who have experience of mental health difficulties

To promote greater equality of social, health and employment outcomes for people who have experience of mental health difficulties by supporting an integrated approach to employment and learning and skills, which will give each individual (who wishes  to) access to the best possible opportunities to gain and sustain employment and develop transferrable employability skills as part of their personal recovery journey.

We used two complementary approaches to develop Take Ten People, social marketing and action working.

A national oversight group helped us develop the approach to integrated employment and skills and the resources in the pack. Members of this group contributed practical support and specialist information and advice. We also worked in partnership with providers working in different sectors in 7 of the 9 English regions to develop the resources. These providers volunteered as pilot projects - road testing our draft version of the resources pack over a period of several months.  Their expertise and views helped to re-shape the final published pack. Their frank and open feedback about their experiences of using the resources, as well as their critiques and the differences of perspective and opinion these revealed, have we believe, strengthened both the approach and content of the resources.

The national oversight group and pilot projects both included and actively involved people who have personal experience of mental health difficulties and experiences of problems in getting into and/or keeping employment because of their mental health difficulties. Along the way, they have shared their own stories and aspirations with us - helping us to understand more clearly the barriers individuals can face and the kind of help that people find most useful. They have also challenged our thinking and freely contributed their ideas, which we have of course included.

To support managers and practitioners to work more confidently with people experiencing mental health difficulties who face multiple barriers to participate in learning and employment.

It is relevant to all organisations that deliver information, advice and guidance services in employment, education, health and social care settings; and as a workforce training resource to improve the quality of current practice and promote greater understanding of cross-sector collaboration.

We particularly hope this pack helps staff working in Integrated Employment and Skills pilot services and the Adult Advancement and Careers Service.  It will also be useful for skills brokers, in services for people with dual diagnosis and those in the criminal justice system.  It can also support people in other vulnerable groups of adults, such as those with learning difficulties, who may also have mental health difficulties.

Once published we will disseminate Take Ten People in partnership with service providers.  We are offering a support programme that will enable the resource pack to be used to deliver workforce training, support local partnership working and be available as a practical tool for relevant frontline workers.

We can report that many people are expressing an interest in this resource, which has been developed and refined in partnership with practitioners and people with personal experience of mental health difficulties. 

In January 2010 one resource form the pack, the Take Ten People toolbox, was successfully used by the North East Mental Health Regional Employment Team as a tool to promote sub-regional and local cross-sector working amongst information and advice practitioners.

Documents
	Sample case study taken from the Take 10 People Resource Pack

Take Ten People has been developed to support and contribute to:

1. [Headline action no. 6] of the LSC National Mental Health strategy (2009)
2. Implementation of the Leitch Review of Skills (2006)
3. Delivery of the following cross‐government Public Service Agreement targets (PSAs) for 2008‐11 

• Promote better health and well-being for all (PSA 18)

• Increase the proportion of socially excluded adults in settled accommodation and employment, education or training (PSA 16-mental health)

• Maximise employment opportunities for all (PSA 8)

• Address the disadvantage that individuals experience because of their gender, race, disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief (PSA 15)

• Build cohesive, empowered and active communities (PSA 21)

• Deliver the conditions for better success in the uk (PSA 6)

There is a good operational fit between the content and approach promoted in the resources and the following new national mental health and employment policies and reviews published at the end of 2009:

New Horizons is the Department of Health's new framework to enable England's strategic health authorities to deliver their regional plans for improving mental health and mental health services.

Working Our Way to Better Mental Health - A framework for action - The first National framework for mental health and employment.

Realising Ambitions: Better employment support for people with a mental health condition, an independent review led by Rachel Perkins.  Work, Recovery and Inclusion forms part of the Government's response to this review.

Work, Recovery and Inclusion was published on 7 December 2009, alongside other reports on mental health which collectively set out the Government's new approach on mental health.

Delivering Race Equality's (DRE), this summary review looks back at DREs work as its five year plan comes to an end. DRE has carried out an extensive programme of work and this review describes some of the key challenges, successes and learning. It also outlines how DREs work will be taken forward under New Horizons.