The ROSE project - empowering people with learning disabilities to be heard and for their voice to genuinely influence work to reduce the risk of sexual exploitation at all levels.
What is the ROSE Project?
The ROSE project was funded by a 3-year grant from the Samworth Foundation Young Voices Programme.
Through ROSE, we aimed to raise awareness of the risks of sexual exploitation facing people with learning disabilities and how to stay safe. To achieve this, a team of ROSE Mentors delivered training to young people with learning disabilities, family carers, and education, health and care professionals.
Everyone at Reach is very proud of what has been achieved by the ROSE Mentors and staff through this ground-breaking 3-year initiative.
ROSE Mentors are Reach clients who trained to deliver guidance and presentations in a range of settings. Covid-19 necessitated some change, including delivering online sessions to all target groups at times. However, the team were also able to do what they enjoy most: delivering face-to-face training.
11 ROSE Mentors gained an AQA qualification through the project, including ‘An Introduction to Peer Education’ and, for Senior Mentors, ‘Service User Participation in Sexual Exploitation’ which was written by our ROSE Project Consultant and Project Worker.
To mark the end of the project, we held a celebration event in June 2022 to share and explore what needs ROSE has met, including looking at the benefits of Peer Mentoring. Invitees included our evaluators from the Ann Craft Trust, representatives from our funder, schools, universities and the voluntary sector, and Reach colleagues and Trustees.
We extend a special thank you to the Samworth Foundation staff and Trustees. It means a great deal to have been selected as one of the six projects funded through their national Young Voices programme and to have worked with colleagues from across England.
Bridget Fisher, Project Consultant
Kay Greenwell, Project Coordinator
If you have any questions about our project or would like to request any training resources, please email Julia Sandhu, at julia.sandhu@reachuk.org.
ROSE in Numbers - 2019 to 2022
ROSE Project History
Our project built on work previously done through a partnership project that Reach took part in called the HOPE Project. The HOPE Project aimed to prevent sexual exploitation and was led by the British Institute of Learning Disabilities with funding from the European Social Care Fund. The project enabled ten Reach clients with learning disabilities to train as peer mentors. Following this training they delivered sessions to children, adults with learning disabilities and health care professionals across Nottinghamshire.
In June 2019 Reach was awarded a three-year grant from the Samworth Foundation’s Young Voices fund for the ROSE Project, which builds on the learning and skills developed during the HOPE Project. Samworth awarded the grant to Reach so that the voices of young disabled adults could be represented in their initiative to reduce risk of sexual exploitation.
The original peer mentors from the HOPE Project were supported to maintain and increase their skills and new mentors recruited and trained.
Professional Feedback
What did you find most useful about our training?
"Being delivered by people with learning disabilities, hearing their perspectives."
"Having the young people involved in delivering the session as this was more impactful."
What changes will you make as a result of our training?
"Review that training for frontline staff emphasises the points made about working with people who have learning disability and potential vulnerability."
"I feel that this training has made me more confident about exploring the topics of online and offline sexual exploitation."
How could our training be further improved?
"I don't think the training could be improved, I think the training should be promoted more as it is so useful and highlights the dangers that we may not have realised."
