A fond farewell has been said
to a Prior's Court trailblazer as
she moves on to the next stage
of her life.
Young person Ellen transitioned on
from Prior's Court's Young Adult
Provision (YAP) in August after eight
years at Prior's Court within our
School and YAP.
In 2018, Ellen became the first
young person at Prior's Court to
also become a part of our paid
staffing team, being employed by our
Housekeeping team to work within
our on-site Laundry Room. Other
Prior's Court young people regularly
gain work experience with teams
across Prior's Court but Ellen was the
first to fulfil a paid role.
Ellen went from working one day per
week within the service to three per
week, testament to her work ethic
and skills.
Jo Lovelock, manager of Ellen's
residential home at Prior's Court,
said: "Ellen's paid work placement
gave her so much confidence as she
would verbalise requests for help,
was able to cope with frustrating
incidents such as a tumble dryer not
working and was able to multi-task -
all key skills and experiences she can
take with her, hopefully into future
work."
According to the most recent
research conducted, in 2016 only
32% of UK adults affected by autism
in the UK were in any kind of paid
work and only 16% were in full-time
paid employment.
Prior's Court aims to provide our
young people with the skills and
experience to gain employment
with a growing work placement
programme.
Debbie Bradshaw, our Head of
Housekeeping, said: "Having Ellen
as a paid member of staff with us is
one of my proudest achievements.
Her time in my team goes to show
just how much our young people can
positively contribute to a workplace.
"We do miss Ellen being part of the
team, but hopefully the skills she
has learnt with us will give her a
great opportunity of getting paid
work in future which be an amazing
achievement."
@PriorsCourt
Pioneering young person
moves on
Two other young adults moved on
from Prior's Court in the summer,
with both their parents sending us
messages of thanks for how much
their children had changed in their
time with us.
Peter had been with us for 11 years.
His mum Debra wrote: "Thank you to
everyone involved at Prior's Court who
cared for him, loved him, encouraged
him, talked to him, showed him patience,
stretched his horizons, taught him new
skills and new strategies and stimulated
new interests.
"We are very grateful that you took Peter
under your wings 11 years ago when he
was so terrorised by life and we had run
out of ideas how to help him.
"We will forever be grateful that you
helped him to emerge from a dark place
so his life and love can shine and his
smile can light up every room."
Meanwhile Patrick departed Prior's Court
after seven years. His dad Ian wrote: "The
oasis that is Prior's Court has created the
launch pad for my son's future and I will
always be hugely grateful for everything
you all have done.
"We will always feel part of the Prior's
Court family and will continue to follow
your great work."
Parental thanks
Ellen, middle, with Head of Housekeeping Debbie Bradshaw, left, and Ellen's keyworker
Justyna Agacka