A highlight of the TPS calendar, this year’s TPS Connects conference has drawn to a close as another resounding success!

Established in 2011, the TPS Connects conference is a biennial two-day event for people supported by TPS learning disability services.

Fast forward to 2018’s TPS Connects conference, a total of 147 people attended and the programme included presentations about the organisation’s strategy 2018-2021, being part of the TPS Connects Committee and Make it Happen.

Each day saw a series of both fun and discussion workshops which people could choose to participate in. Fun workshops included singing, dance, cake decorating and yoga.  A hand massage therapist was available both days and on the evening of the first day there was karaoke and disco following the evening meal.

The role of a support worker and manager workshop was facilitated by an Operations Manager who hosted a panel of 2 service managers and a service co-ordinator and took questions from participants. The panel were given some questions in advance (things that people asked during the consultation about what people would like to hear at the conference) and questions from the floor.

The TPS Connects workshop was split into 3 activities: a discussion around ‘What is TPS Connects?’, a voting exercise where people could vote to keep/change elements of TPS Connects and finally, an exercise that gave people an opportunity to come up with ideas for the future of TPS Connects.

The politics workshop included TPS panellists taking on roles representing the 3 main political parties in Scotland – SNP, Conservatives and Labour, to answer questions from the audience.  A small but passionate group of TPS Connects delegates put the panellists on the spot about their positions on some of the hot topics of the day.

Inclusion and Access Co-ordinator, Aileen Reid said: “TPS Connects is about involving people in their support and Turning Point Scotland as an organisation.  There were opportunities at the conference for people to sign up to be involved in Quality Assessment and/or to join the TPS Connects committee.  6 people want to be involved in quality assessment and 11 people want to join the TPS Connects committee.”

When asked about their thoughts on the conference, one of the delegates commented:

“I really enjoyed every single bit of the conference, it’s fantastic, it’s very good to be here.”