Our History

GUIDEPOSTS TRUST – A LIFETIME OF CARE

Guideposts Trust was established in 1972 to provide homes and care in the community for people who were being resettled from long term hospitals.

Over a period of 20 years, our charity resettled successfully more than 1000 people into community based homes across the Country. 

From the 1990’s we have focussed our attention on developing a range of innovative community based services for people who have been resettled from long-stay hospitals and those who continued living in the community.

In 1992, we opened our first Day Services Centre for people suffering from long-term mental ill health in Watford, Hertfordshire. Since, the Centre has been providing a non institutional homely environment offering an extensive programme of social, recreational and educational activities. It also offers emotional support and long term care to individuals who feel isolated and alone.

In 1993, we opened our first Day Services Centre for adults with learning disabilities in Ware, Hertfordshire, providing a non-institutional homely atmosphere with several multi activities rooms including a fully equipped kitchen. The work Guideposts does in this area continues to flourish.

In 1994 Guideposts developed Outreach Mental Health Services in Hertsmere and Rickmansworth (Hertfordshire), soon followed by the specialist ethnic minority and Under 30’s services, a volunteer Friendship Scheme and a Carers group. Guideposts remains today one of the biggest providers of services to people with mental health problems in South West Hertfordshire.

1994 is also the year when our Charity established its first innovative Befriending Scheme for adults with learning disabilities living in Hertfordshire

In 1995/1996, as part of our service development for adults with learning disabilities, the Trust opened its first Work Training Project in Ware under the trading arm of Guideposts Associates.

Guideposts also established its first Adult Placements Scheme ( now shared lives) in 1996 in Hertfordshire as an alternative for some service users to living in group homes. Two other schemes were later developed in Essex (2006) and Norfolk and Suffolk (2008).

In the same period Guideposts continued its pioneering work and started the construction of the country’s first Teaching Nursing Home. The Home primary objectives were to improve standards of care for frail older people with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of Dementia in Oxfordshire and to become a place where nurses, doctors and staff could learn new skills.  The Home later opened in 2000.

In 1997 our work extended to the South West of England where we were contracted to provide new Community based Day Services for adults with learning disabilities living in Gloucestershire.

Later, in 2001 the charity continued developing services in the South West and introduced Interact an innovative project offering personal relationships training for people with learning disabilities.

Also in 2001 Guideposts opened its first Work Training Project in Watford for people living with or recovering from mental health problems.

In 2002/2003, building on the success of Friendship Schemes in other parts of the country, a new friendship scheme was developed for young adults with learning disabilities living in Oxfordshire.  

In the same period, Guideposts established it very first Children Services  in Oxfordshire with the creation of a holiday activities scheme providing children and young people with disabilities especially those with profound and multiple disabilities, with an opportunity to play and mix with others during the summer holidays. Children Services were extended to Northamptonshire later in 2005/2006 . 

In 2003/2004, building on the work carried out in our Teaching Nursing Home the Trust set up a Dementia Information Service (DISC) to provide families and carers with advice and information about dementia and the services in their local areas. We also supported the development of an innovative Music Therapy Service for People living with Dementia in Oxfordshire as part of a planned approach to provide the Teaching Nursing Home residents with the best possible care.

In the same in year Guideposts Trust set up Triangle Care and Support, a paid for support service offering cleaning, laundry and shopping services to older people to help them live independently at home. The project is now renamed as Guideposts Help at Home and operates in Warwickshire, Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire.

We also launched our first National Research Project which involved working closely with staff, relatives and residents of our Teaching Nursing Home. The research brought together the views of all invoved, with regards to patient care and good practice, by standards of the Royal College of Nursing and the Alzheimer’s Society. From this work our researcher developed and  tested an audit tool to measure good quality of care in the Home: Dementia Care Training and Development Pack later published in 2007. The Pack is now used in Care Homes in various part of Mid England.

In 2005/2006 , Guideposts extended its services further into Warwickshire and established a Dementia Domiciliary Care Service with Warwickshire Social Services to provide a specialist, needs-led and person centred Dementia domiciliary service – the first of its kind in the Country.

In that same period Guideposts launched a unique website in Oxfordshire called www.dementiaweb.org.uk in collaboration with other voluntary organisations. The site is purposely designed to provide comprehensive information and support to professionals and the public on issues to do with dementia and local services available to meet them.

In 2006, the Trust developed and diversified our services in the South West and established Floating Support Services for people with learning disabilities, older people and older people with mental health in Gloucestershire.

In 2007/2008 Guideposts Carers Support Service in North Warwickshire was established with Warwickshire Social Services. A Community Café for Carers was also opened in Nuneaton High Street providing a friendly and relaxed environment for carers in the area to have some refreshment, get information and get a rest from their caring role.

During that same period another community café opened at the heart of Letchworth Art Centre (Hertfordshire) offering vocational training for people with learning disabilities. We also opened our very first Charity Shop in Tewkesbury (Gloucestershire).

In 2008/2009, the trust established its first Counselling Services for adults with learning disabilities in Hertfordshire and Gloucestershire.

For more information about the Charity please contact us:

Guideposts Trust
Two Rivers
Station Lane
Witney
Oxon
OX28 4BH

Tel 01993 772886
Fax 01993 778160
Email Us