About the North west Training and Development Team

The North West Training and Development Team is a small not for profit making training and development team jointly funded by local authorities, health commissioning agencies in the Northwest and national grants.

The North West Training and Development Team has operated in the region since the mid 1980's. Originally set up by the previous North Western Regional Health Authority, the Team played a major role in development and training activity associated with the resettlement from Mental Handicap Hospitals, jointly co-ordinated by Health and Local Authorities and led by John O'Brien who became the first associate consultant of the NWTDT. NWASSA played an instrumental role in this process and have supported the NWTDT over this period. All Health Authorities and Social Service Departments currently support funding the NWTDT in the area covered by the NHS Executive.

The team provides policy advice, development projects, consultancy, training programmes and produces and commissions briefings and guidance publications. The mission of the Team (see below) incorporates working at the interface between the needs and aspirations of people with learning disabilities and their families and the commissioning and delivery of services by responsible agencies. In this way the Team is able to help in supporting the voice of people and their families and to provide practical support in assisting agencies to interpret and implement policy. This activity is particularly important in the context of the new White Paper, Valuing People, A New Strategy for Learning Disability for the 21st Century

Some key strengths of the Team are its:

• multi-stakeholder composition, including people from a range of professions and backgrounds
• linkages to the policy and operational infrastructure in the North West and on a National basis
• links and relationships with family carers and self advocates
• good connections with academic bodies and other development agencies and consultants
• Creators of Innovative developments and sharing these with all the above.

The NWTDT Mission Statement

The NWTDT exists to facilitate the full inclusion of people with learning disabilities in community life, through partnerships with people with disabilities, families and organisations

We do this through:

• Developing local capacity for change through courses, mentoring, support and development projects.
• Linking people together (parents, self-advocates, commissioners and providers) and developing partnerships through interest networks.
• Providing leadership, developing groundbreaking projects, training, contributing to research and translating policy and research into local action.
• Sharing what is being learned through conferences and publications.