Our Strategic Plan
Developed in consultation with people we support, families, staff and supporters, our strategic plan directs everything we do.
Our Strategic Plan
Developed in consultation with people we support, families, staff and supporters, our strategic plan directs everything we do.
Strategic Plan
Developed in consultation with people we support, families, staff and supporters, our strategic plan directs everything we do.
Our Strategy
2026-26 Strategic Plan
Our strategic aims
- Ensure the people we support and their families receive consistently good services.
- Improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the charity through digital innovation.
- Manage our data well and make informed decisions based on evidence.
- Demonstrate to staff, people we support, their families, and wider society that we value fairness and inclusiveness.
- Encourage environmental responsibility in our work.
Ensure the people we support and their families receive consistently good services.
- Offer excellent training to staff.
- Review our training offer to identify outdated content or emerging gaps.
- Embed CALM training and monitor its effectiveness.
- Support staff to achieve the qualifications required to meet registration conditions.
- Ensure the views of people we support, their families, our staff, and professionals are heard by us and others.
- Conduct annual surveys with stakeholders to measure our performance and identify areas of concern.
- Develop forums to engage key stakeholders and influence our decision-making.
- Work with the Coalition of Care and Support Providers in Scotland (CCPS), Unite the Union, and others to campaign for improvements in social care.
- Achieve Care Inspectorate grade 5s or above.
- Support managers to undertake self-evaluation and identify areas for service improvement.
- Intervene quickly when things go wrong to understand and learn from our mistakes.
- Monitor key data including accidents, incidents, and safeguarding referrals to identify patterns or trends and take action.
Improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the charity through digital innovation.
- Establish digital leadership.
- Identify a trustee to challenge Sense Scotland to become digitally enabled.
- Form a digital team to drive change and implement our first digital strategy.
- Upskill staff.
- Provide digital training to staff from basic to advanced level.
- Create a supportive environment to enable staff to grow their digital confidence.
- Provide the resources, tools and technology.
- Exploit our current systems.
- Explore digital solutions to reduce costs and increase efficiency.
- Secure funding to ensure innovation is not limited by cost.
- Strengthen our cybersecurity.
- Achieve Cyber Essentials Plus.
- Prepare robust business continuity plans.
Manage our data well and make informed decisions based on evidence.
- Provide robust guidance on data retention and destruction.
- Implement a retention schedule and audit programme to ensure compliance.
- Reduce our storage costs by embedding digital archiving practices.
- Create a data warehouse.
- Build on the Force for Good project by creating a secure, central repository for the collection of data.
- Explore opportunities to link our existing systems to provide seamless data sharing and analysis and a better user experience.
- Embed service dashboards and visualisations.
- Develop and refine our data dashboards to provide an accurate picture of service quality at local and organisational levels.
- Use visualisations to inform key stakeholders about Sense Scotland, our achievements, and our challenges.
- Inform decision making.
- Provide data to local managers, senior managers, directorate and trustees to enable better decision making for the benefit of the people we support and staff.
- Use data to inform growth and targeted fundraising campaigns.
Demonstrate to staff, people we support, their families, and wider society that we value fairness and inclusiveness.
- Monitor the diversity of our workforce.
- Develop a data collection framework for current and prospective staff.
- Compare our EDI data against other social care providers and set targets and priorities accordingly.
- Embed EDI principles in our policies and communications.
- Review our policies and ensure compliance with legal and regulatory requirements.
- Use inclusive language and ensure our communications meet accessibility standards.
- Promote inclusiveness.
- Deliver comprehensive EDI training for all staff.
- Audit our practices.
- Conduct a cross-departmental EDI audit and identify any potentially discriminatory practices.
- Embed EDI considerations in departmental planning.
Encourage environmental responsibility in our work.
- Foster an environmentally aware culture.
- Develop a culture of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and ensure environmental impact is considered in the decision making process.
- Raise awareness of our commitment to the environment and reflect this in all relevant policies and procedures.
- Reduce our costs and implement sustainable procurement.
- Undertake an Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) audit and implement an ESOS action plan.
- Work with CSR suppliers and those listed on the Scottish Government Framework to realise cost savings whilst being mindful of our environmental impact.
- Increase recycling and reduce waste.
- Implement a paperless office by providing support, guidance and technology to staff.
- Offer projects and activities to enable people we support to participate in environmental initiatives.
- Improve fleet efficiency.
- Introduce driver training based on job role and implement clear guidance for the maintenance of fleet vehicles.
- Explore practicalities and costs of replacing current fleet with electric vehicles and pilot.
Introduction
Our 2023-2026 strategy is built to tackle the challenges of operating in a post-COVID world and navigating the ongoing social care crisis.
Despite the difficulties, the organisation remains dedicated to being innovative and aspirational, willing to try new models to better support those in need.
Quality and safety are of the utmost importance, and the voices of the people we support, their families, and staff are central to this strategy. The organisation consulted extensively with these groups to ensure that their perspectives and needs are reflected in the strategy, allowing us to continue to provide high-quality services and support to those who rely on them.
Our vision
An inclusive and accessible society where everyone lives their best life.
Our mission
Support individuals and their families to live their best lives by providing innovative and sustainable services.
Our strategic aims
- Establish Sense Scotland as a leader in the provision of specialist services for people with complex communication support needs associated with learning and/or sensory disabilities.
- Ensure our social care services are sustainable and evolve to meet demand.
- Support carers to access breaks and explore new short break models.
- Deliver programmes and projects to enhance the lives of people with communication support needs and their families across Scotland.
- Generate new and sustained sources of income.
- Nurture social care leaders of the future and value, recognise and reward our staff and volunteers.
Establish Sense Scotland as a leader in the provision of specialist services for people with complex communication support needs associated with learning and/or sensory disabilities.
- Invest in the creation of a learning and development academy to enable staff to develop skills and competencies required for their role.
- Offer specialised assessment(s) for people with sensory impairments and learning disabilities to improve their independence and quality of life.
- Increase our public profile through media opportunities and participation in sector-specific groups.
- Establish a working group to define who we support and communicate this to families and professionals.
Ensure our social care services are sustainable and evolve to meet demand.
- Establish innovative engagement methods to connect with families, commissioners and others to ensure need and demand is understood and met.
- Trial new service models including evening, weekend and holiday provision to address unmet need.
- Undertake analysis of our services to ensure full cost recovery is achieved and rates reflect the specialist nature of our services.
- Invest in technology and digital systems to improve the efficiency of our organisation and services.
Support carers to access breaks and explore new short break models.
- Pilot an activity holiday for people we support and use the learning to inform future provision.
- Develop a working group to explore new models of respite learning from provision in other countries and sectors.
- Work with others to influence government and decision makers to ensure carers’ right to a break is upheld and properly funded.
- Explore opportunities for families to enjoy a break together in holiday accommodation managed by Sense Scotland.
Deliver programmes and projects to enhance the lives of people with communication support needs and their families across Scotland.
- Undertake consultation to identify programmes and projects we should start, stop, grow or reduce.
- Strive for greater geographical equity in the delivery of our offer.
- Utilise a wider range of advertising and marketing approaches to raise awareness of Sense Scotland and promote our programmes and projects.
- Work in partnership with local authorities, particularly education, to enhance statutory provision and support at key transition stages.
Generate new and sustained sources of income.
- Explore opportunities to utilise our buildings in the evening and at the weekend to increase service and programme delivery.
- Initiate new fundraising programmes and campaigns to grow direct debit giving, increase corporate donors and sponsors, expand our trusts and grants income and encourage legacies.
- Offer accredited learning and development and training courses externally for a fee.
- Where staffing allows, submit tenders for new services and programmes.
Nurture social care leaders of the future and value, recognise and reward our staff and volunteers.
- Appoint a volunteer co-ordinator and develop a strategy to promote and grow volunteering.
- Extend our staff training programme to offer a wider range of courses, mentoring and secondment opportunities, and enhanced induction.
- Review staff pay, benefits and rewards to ensure these are competitive and show staff they are appreciated.
- Revise structures to create career pathways and support staff to progress and develop.
Our aim
We will continue to deliver and develop good quality, safe, sustainable and impactful social care and charitable services, while strengthening and improving our infrastructure to monitor improvement, support growth and respond to the external operating environment.
Our strategy
Developed in consultation with people we support, their families, our staff and supporters, our 2022-23 strategic plan will direct our work as we emerge from the pandemic. The strategy contains three strands: we care, we connect, we communicate.
We care
- about the health, safety and wellbeing of our workforce, the people we support, families, volunteers and customers at all time
- about the quality, breadth and specialism of our services, how they are delivered, and continually improving them
- about our staff and volunteers, and want to retain them
- about the environments we operate in
- about the rights of people supported, staff, volunteers and families
- about our donors, customers and supporters
- about our staff and volunteers, and will ensure they are well-trained, competent and confident
- about efficiently generating income and realising value for money and sustainability
We connect
- by working collaboratively across the organisation and with partners nationally and internationally
- by consulting and seeking feedback from our families and the people we support
- by responding to feedback
- by having a strong presence on our website and social media
- by providing a helpline to access Sense Scotland
- by working together to identify and realise funding opportunities
- by developing roles to champion our specialisms
- by working with regulators to ensure the quality and safety of our service delivery
- by developing and effectively using our ICT and systems
- by offering our expertise externally
We communicate
- to listen and respond to the wishes and needs of people we support, allowing everyone to live their best lives
- to build greater awareness of Sense Scotland
- to attract staff
- to be part of, and benefit from, our local communities
- to work collaboratively across the organisation
- to understand need and impact and provide evidence to our funders
- to thank our donors and supporters
For more information on our strategic plan, please contact us on: