100 Day Update from Our New CEO

James has been in post for more than 100 days already – how time flies!

We thought it'd be nice to have a little catch-up and ask some of the big questions...

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James Slater being interviewed & filmed.

James, you’ve had the best job in the world for 100 days already! What’s your take on Elidyr, now you’ve had the chance to settle in?

"It’s such a special organisation and I love it a little bit more every day. The charity has a really big heart and is full of people that are totally committed to providing the best possible quality of care and education for our learners and residents. It is a privilege to work here and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed getting to know everyone over the past few months."

 

So many amazing things happen everyday at Elidyr – it’s impossible to share them all. But, could you give us just one example of ‘everyday magic’ that has left a lasting impression?

"I was completely bowled over by the collective response from our learners and residents, staff and parents to the disruption caused by Storm Darragh. Seeing how calmly and professionally the team managed a very challenging situation really highlighted how strong and resilient our community is."

 

Next year we’ll be celebrating our big 50th anniversary. What do you imagine Elidyr will look like in another 50 years time?

"I would like to think that all our sites will continue to thrive as part of the Elidyr family. But I also hope that we can grow the charity quite significantly over the next half century by adding new sites, provision and developing our expertise. I believe very strongly in our values and culture so we have every reason to be ambitious for the future."

 

We’re gearing up to launch a new facility in Carmarthen. How will the facility at Parc Dewi Sant differ from our main facility in Rhandirmwyn?

"It’s still quite early days as we’re currently doing a Needs Assessment to identify who might want to access a new Day Service provision at Parc Dewi Sant and what the offer should be. There are also plans to upgrade some of the older buildings at the main Rhandirmwyn site and it would be exciting to replicate the success of the residential provision at Garnllwyd Barns."

 

Our remote location is part of what makes Elidyr so special, but it’s made recruitment quite hard. What plans are you putting in place to overcome our recruitment challenge once-and-for-all?

"We recently announced a new Health Care Plan for all permanent staff, and we regularly review our pay & benefits. We also have a strong wellbeing team who ensure that staff can access help and support when they need it. Transport links are obviously a challenge and we want to address this so we are scoping a proposal for a staff shuttle bus between Llandeilo, Llandovery and Rhandirmwyn."

 

There’s been a lot of media coverage about looming changes to SEND funding. What are the significant changes and how will they impact Elidyr, our learners and future learners?

"The new ALN Code for Wales has already started to take effect but it won’t be fully implemented until September 2025. By this time all funding decisions will be devolved to individual Local Authorities instead of coming direct from the Welsh Government. We’re working hard to fully understand the implications of the Code in order to ensure that the process for applying for a place at Elidyr is as streamlined and straight forward as possible."

 

With spiralling costs and more pressure on public funding, how are you going to ensure that Elidyr continue to excel?

"We will continue to build trusted relationships with our funders and never compromise on the quality of our provision. We have also launched a recruitment for a Head of Development which is a new role that will be responsible for developing and delivering our fundraising strategy."

 

If you had the opportunity to tell the whole world just one thing about Elidyr, what would you say?

"You have to see it to believe it! Arrange a visit and come see for yourself."