0:00
At Elm, we support residents who have a diagnosis of a learning disability and autism.
0:06
Many also have complex needs, and most are non-verbal.
0:12
We have two residents living in Elm, whose first language is Welsh.
0:16
Once they moved in, I realised
0:19
just how important it was to bring the Welsh language into the home.
0:24
Before that, there was no Welsh at all within the company, in MHC (Mental Health Care UK), or in Elm.
0:29
And just under two years ago, that’s when we began this journey.
0:35
I think it was important to me personally, because I’m Welsh.
0:40
But also as a professional.
0:43
Our Welsh speaking residents should be able
0:45
to receive support in Welsh, just like I do at home.
0:48
So I started the process two years ago with Social Care Wales,
0:52
and the first thing I needed to do
0:54
was assess the team to understand their Welsh language skills.
0:58
A lot of staff said they didn’t have any Welsh skills.
1:01
But I wasn’t sure, I thought it was more about confidence than anything else.
1:08
After the assessment, out of 38 staff members,
1:14
only two felt confident speaking Welsh.
1:20
So I knew straight away we had a lot of work to do, because two staff members
1:25
one of them being me wasn’t enough to support the residents we have.
1:30
I was struggling myself because I couldn’t give them as much time as they needed.
1:36
They needed a Welsh speaker to support them properly.
1:39
And I was struggling to give them that amount of time.
1:42
Then last year, Tryfan joined us,
1:46
and that changed everything in Elm.
1:50
We’ve gone from having very few staff
1:53
who could speak basic Welsh from 'good morning' to 'do you want a drink?'
1:58
to increasing that within a year to 83%,
2:03
where every staff member can speak Welsh with the residents.
2:07
Whether that’s saying 'shower time', asking 'how are you?' or asking if they’re in pain, to having full conversations.
2:15
What excited me when I came for my interview
2:19
was that I could see so many bilingual materials on the walls
2:21
and that they had made a real effort.
2:24
I also noticed that a lot of the paperwork available
2:28
had a clear message saying it was available
2:31
in Welsh as well as English,
2:34
and that was fantastic.
2:35
I’ve worked in Wales all my life,
2:37
doing all sorts of different jobs.
2:39
But I’ve never felt that a company
2:42
makes such an effort to invest in the language.
2:45
Often, when you work for big companies,
2:50
you can feel a little bit like a stranger in your own country,
2:53
lLike you’re somehow the one who doesn’t quite fit.
2:57
So it’s an incredible feeling to come somewhere
3:00
that actively promotes the language
3:03
to the point where you feel such pride in it.
3:07
It’s wonderful what they’ve managed to create,
3:11
and I can already see the difference
3:13
through the skills our workers have gained
3:17
and the opportunities they have to practise them.
3:20
We’re seeing more and more positive changes since offering Welsh first.
3:25
Welsh first is the policy that fits perfectly
3:31
with the way we plan for individuals.
3:33
When we’re planning how to create plans for individuals to follow,
3:39
the focus is on the person at the centre.
3:45
Using someone’s mother tongue or first language is incredibly important.
3:50
At Elm, we have two residents who come from Welsh speaking families.
3:57
Welsh is their first language, even though they're non-verbal.
4:01
Their processing speed is much quicker in the Welsh language,
4:06
so wherever possible, we pair them with staff who are fluent,
4:10
or who have developed their Welsh to a level where they can use it confidently.
4:15
Simple things like asking if they 'want a drink'
4:18
or offering different activities,
4:23
using Welsh words rather than English ones,
4:26
and you can see the difference. When I first started in the job,
4:31
one of the residents from a Welsh speaking family
4:36
was sat in the corner, looking shy and using his iPad.
4:42
I walked in and said 'bore da' (good morning), and his face lit up.
4:45
Something shifted inside him,
4:48
almost like he thought, this is my language, this is the language of my home.
4:51
It’s interesting working in a role supporting residents,
4:57
because we see it as a workplace, but to residents, first and foremost, it's their home,
5:02
and the home language for these two residents is Welsh.
5:07
There’s something incredibly comforting about hearing your mother tongue.
5:12
I've seen such a big difference in our two Welsh speaking residents
5:15
since we've increased the use of Welsh in Elm.
5:19
One story that always stays with me
5:23
is when a resident was very anxious one day.
5:27
He was being supported by English speaking staff.
5:31
They were trying to talk to him, trying to help him relax.
5:33
You could see things weren't right.
5:35
His shoulders were up, his body language wasn't good.
5:38
The English speaking staff just couldn't get through to him.
5:43
A minute later, a Welsh speaking staff member came in gently,
5:49
started speaking Welsh to him, and it was like a switch.
5:55
Straight away, his body language changed, his shoulders relaxed.
5:59
He knew instantly what he needed to do to regulate himself.
6:04
Two years ago, I didn’t know what to do with the Welsh language, to be honest.
6:08
I felt like I was stuck in a hole.
6:11
I wanted to make a difference, but I didn't know where to start.
6:15
Working with Social Care Wales, and doing the project with them
6:19
has made such a huge difference to me.
6:22
And I think, if anyone else wants to do this, just go for it.
6:27
Put the hard work in, because it has been hard,
6:30
we've had challenges.
6:32
But it has changed the lives of the Welsh speaking residents I support.
6:37
It has changed Elm and we're now a bilingual service,
6:42
and I'm so proud of that.
6:44
As well as Elm, I’ve pushed this work out to Mental Health Care UK too.
6:50
This entire site at Highfield Park, is now working on developing the Welsh language provision.
6:55
Get in touch with Social Care Wales and join the project.