Antser, the UK’s leading provider of transformational solutions for the health, education, and social care sectors, has partnered with London Borough of Hillingdon to train staff to better understand social care topics including dementia, autism, and young people with experiences of trauma.
Originally undertaking the project to work with Antser in late 2019, due to COVID-19, the implementation of the VR services within their training in adult and children’s social care sector only commenced the following year.
In their commitment to enhance understanding and awareness of behaviours they deal with on a daily basis; London Borough of Hillingdon made the decision to work with Antser after Sandra Taylor, Director of Provider Services and Commissioned Care, first came across the innovation solutions.
Using Antser VR to deliver the pilot group session, the aim was to help provide innovative training to the team at London Borough of Hillingdon. The VR tool was used to bring to life perspectives of individuals living with dementia, autism and young people who have experienced trauma, through immersive storytelling, reminding practitioners and social workers to keep the child at the heart of their practice.
Following the group training, nearly all the respondents (86%) said the VR experience gave them further insight and, in turn, would consider altering their way of approach. In addition, results showed that over a half (77%) of new users now have a deeper understanding of the children’s perspective.
Caron Blower, Senior Reablement Carer, who attended a training session in July, said:
“The training reminded me to always be mindful of what a person with autism or dementia is experiencing and be more empathetic towards individuals with these conditions.”
Another respondent said:
“This is fantastic training for anyone supporting young people, adults or older people within social care. It’s a far more realistic way of learning and provides a great insight into the issues these individuals experience.”
After a positive reaction to the use of virtual reality, the council has additionally offered the training to several of their voluntary partners, including Hillingdon Mind, Carers Trust, Alzheimer’s Society and Disablement Association Hillingdon (DASH).
Richard Dooner, Chief Executive Officer of Antser, said:
“We are so pleased to have had the opportunity to work with London Borough of Hillingdon to trial their use of our innovative virtual reality technology within their social care services.
“The results from this partnership have further demonstrated the hard work we strive to achieve here at Antser, and we are looking forward to continuing working with the council to help deliver better outcomes for vulnerable individuals within our society.”
With over 30 years’ experience, Antser provides better outcomes for children, adults, families, and communities by delivering training and practice within child protection and safeguarding, across children’s and adults’ sectors in the UK.
Since its inception, Antser VR now helps organisations across both the public and private sector target several topical issues currently affecting vulnerable children, young people and adults, including child sexual exploitation (CSE), domestic violence, gangs and knife crime and youth justice.
For more information about Antser VR, visit: https://www.antser.com/antser-virtual-reality/
