Welcome to our ‘Spotlight Sessions’ – events designed to raise awareness of an idea, approach or research that we believe could interest and inspire those involved in Social Work, Social Care, Health and related Third and Voluntary sectors. These sessions are open to all and recommended for anyone across all sectors interested in understanding more.
As Leading to Change, we are delivering a series of awareness sessions relating to core themes within Social Work and Social Care with the intention of ‘shining a light’ into the areas of the sector that others may know very little or nothing about.
We want to give people insights into roles and functions and the impact on ‘Mr and Mrs Smith’ with a view to reinforcing the message about collaborative leadership and the difference it can make.
Gloriously Ordinary Language
Bryony Shannon and Tricia Nicoll will introduce Gloriously Ordinary Lives and share the essence of Gloriously Ordinary Language – how we can keep our language real, inclusive and human. We will explore why ‘ordinary’ is essential and discuss the power of words in all our lives.
Tricia Nicoll
- Role:
- Co-convenor of Social Care Future and agitator for Gloriously Ordinary Lives
Mum, daughter, survivor of the mental health system, co-convenor of Social Care Future and agitator for Gloriously Ordinary Lives.
Tricia has worked in the world of health and social care since 1993 and is passionate about helping people and organisations work in ways that really do help all of us to live Gloriously Ordinary Lives.
Tricia trained as a teacher and her experience working in the special school system made her passionate about inclusion. During her twenties and thirties, she spent more than her fair share of time on the inside of locked psychiatric wards and is now a long-term avoider of mental health services. Along the way, she acquired two children, who both happen to be autistic and are described as having learning disabilities.
She has run an advocacy organisation, worked for the Department for Health and Social Care as part of the Valuing People Support Team and then the Personal Budgets team, and for the last 20 years she has run her own training and consultancy.
Working with Bryony Shannon, she co-facilitates the Gloriously Ordinary Language and Gloriously Ordinary Co-production programmes.
Bryony Shannon
- Role:
- Co-convenor of Social Care Future and agitator for Gloriously Ordinary Lives
Working with organisations to challenge and change language and practice and keep lives, language and co-production gloriously ordinary.
Bryony has worked in adult social care information, communications and practice development since 2006 and is passionate about challenging and changing the language and practice that prevents people living Gloriously Ordinary Lives. She is the author of the popular Rewriting Social Care blog, and the Rewriting Social Care book.
Bryony has worked in – and with – many local authorities and care and support organisations, leading and influencing work to keep language and practice real, inclusive and human.
Brene Brown writes that “dehumanising always starts with language” and that’s why Bryony is so passionate about challenging and changing the language we use to communicate with and about each other. Too often our language builds walls rather than bridges. We need to dismantle these walls and adopt Gloriously Ordinary Language to ensure we can all live Gloriously Ordinary Lives.
