A CARE provider has introduced a travel allowance and meals at work scheme for its Powys employees as it works to ensure some of the county’s more vulnerable residents continue to get the support they deserve.

Orbis Education and Care says staff working at its Summergil House home in Presteigne will receive up to £600 a year in recognition of the distance they are required to travel in supporting residents in Wales’ largest county, and will also have their meals provided on site moving forward.

Summergil House is a specialist children’s home that runs alongside a school facility on the same site and has received glowing reports from Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW) since opening its new facility in 2017.

The same scheme will also benefit staff at Orbis’ Ty Bronllys facility, near Brecon. Ty Bronllys is a specialist school and children's home for children with autism and a learning disability.

Orbis Education and Care is the largest independent provider of care and education services for children with a diagnosis of autism in Wales. It runs 16 schools, residential homes and facilities for children and adults with associated complex needs.

Zahra Conway, chief people officer at Orbis, said the scheme was not intended as a ‘thank you’ but more a respectful admission that those working in some of the country’s most rural areas often face challenges in doing their jobs aside from those already acknowledged within the care sector UK-wide.

“The very nature of our organisation means we understand more than most that the people we work alongside really are the cornerstone of our business,” said Ms Conway.

“We see, on a daily basis, some truly heart-warming interactions that make us feel privileged to employ the many special people that we do, and we want to recognise and support those employees in a meaningful way wherever we can.

“The new travel allowance in Powys is just one of the many ways we are working hard, therefore, to make sure the lives of those we are here to support, as well as our highly valued staff, are enhanced in every and any way they can be.”

A recent report from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has urged the UK Government to better support the care sector in attracting staff, while an extra £162.5 million of government money to boost the adult social care workforce was announced in response.

Orbis is offering a £450 annual allowance to colleagues living more than 15 miles away and £600 to those over 25 miles away from its Powys sites in recognition of the ongoing support and dedication the local workforce continues to provide amid wider spread pressures on the sector.

Suzanne Lawrence, chief executive at Orbis Education and Care, said: “We recognise that work in the care sector can be as challenging as it is rewarding at times, not least for those of us living and working in some of the most rural areas of the country.

“Powys is Wales’ largest county and also home to two of our largest residential homes and schools, which are both reliant on the hard work and dedication of our colleagues living and working locally.

“A variety of factors are continuing to change the way we live and work nationwide, so it’s more imperative than ever that we continue to be proactive in our support of these challenges, therefore, not only as a means to safeguarding the wellbeing of our employees, but of the people we work to support too.”

Orbis Education and Care is currently recruiting specialist staff to join its schools and care homes around Wales. Visit Orbis’ website at www.orbis-group.co.uk for more information about the group and the vacancies.