Wendy Lowder
Wendy currently works as the Assistant Director for Personalisation for Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council. Wendy started her career as a Learning Disability Nurse in a long stay institution in Nottinghamshire and that has really helped to shape and influence her work now.
Wendy has worked for a national charity as a direct manager of services and then as a development manager, developing some of the earlier models of housing and support with people with a Learning Disability. In 2003 Wendy started work in Barnsley MBC as a Senior Operations Manager, working with the Community Learning Disability Team and housing and support services in the area. During this time developing the shared lives service, the older carers support scheme and the Intensive Support Service.
In 2007 she was seconded to lead on the Individual Budget Pilot and established Self Directed Support for all adults where the team worked on a number of reports: Finding Our Way and The Journey of the Independent Brokerage Hub. In her current role she has been working to further develop the principles of personalisation both within the Council and across partner organisations, establishing the ‘People in Control’ programme in Barnsley.
As a part of that jigsaw she has been leading on the developments regarding the Common Assessment Framework for Adults and also the Right to Control project across Barnsley and Sheffield. Wendy is also working with Paradigm to deliver a 12 month provider development programme for local providers to respond to the challenges that Self Directed Support brings.
The achievements locally have been brought about through a combination of shared values, co-ordinated leadership across organisations, lots of commitment and team effort and good relationships.
Wendy lives in North Nottinghamshire with her husband, two children and not forgetting the dog.