How We’re Leading The Way With PBS Training

Last month, Community Integrated Care was proud to see 36 senior leaders from across our charity come together to complete the Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) Senior Leaders Programme, delivered by Bild.

This milestone marks the end of an eight-month journey that the group have taken part in, as part of our initiative to embed PBS as a system-wide approach, across our organisation.

Throughout the programme, senior leaders, including Managing Directors, Directors, and senior managers from a variety of departments explored how their roles influence systems, policies, audits and resources. By understanding and championing PBS at every level, they are now equipped to drive positive change across our charity.

As part of the programme, the group collaborated to define what PBS means to our charity and agreed on key outcomes and areas of focus:

‘At Community Integrated Care, Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) is central to our mission to support people to achieve their best lives. PBS is a rights-based person-centred approach that focuses on improving quality of life, reducing restrictive practices and building a culture of inclusion, respect, and trust – where the people we support and our colleagues thrive together.’

Cairi McKenzie, Head of Complex Care at Community Integrated Care, said, “PBS is very much a system-wide approach, and to make a real impact it needs to be understood at every level of our organisation. Having senior leaders engaged and supportive makes a huge difference – not only to the culture of our charity but to people’s lives.”

“This training was all about creating a shared understanding to deliver meaningful, positive change, so it was brilliant to see so many of our senior leaders take part. Now, as proud Bild Plus members, we’ll be working closely with Bild over the next two years to strengthen our PBS practice even further.”

Sarah Leitch, Director of Development at Bild, said, “It’s encouraging to see Community Integrated Care’s commitment to embedding a positive, rights-led approach to Positive Behaviour Support. Lasting culture change is driven by strong leadership, and this work demonstrates a clear focus on building inclusive, respectful practice across the organisation.”

“Bild’s PBS approach is rooted in human rights, emphasising dignity, respect and meaningful inclusion. We promote a whole-organisation approach enabling values to be reflected in practice, with colleagues equipped to create capable and supportive environments that genuinely meet people’s needs.”

Reflecting on the experience, we heard from two senior leaders who took part:

Nicola Barnes, Director of People Operations, said, “The sessions have been great and really thought provoking. I’ve gained a greater understanding of Positive Behaviour Support and Practice Leadership, seeing firsthand how person centred approaches that reduce restrictions can improve people’s lives. Exploring how we can all support this, no matter what function we work in across the charity, is really exciting and I can’t wait to see the impact that it’ll have in the future – not only on the lives of people we support but colleagues too.”

Samantha Brennan, Managing Director for our North East and North West regions, said, “The investment from our charity into our senior leaders across all functions is exceptional and will make a profound difference to the people we support living the best lives.”