A Clean Sweep is the longest running co-operative of its kind and is supported by Mencap’s
employment service
An
employment
Employment means having a job.
service
A service gives people what they need, like healthcare services that help people when they are ill, and support services that give people support.
is a place that can help you get a job. This might be a job centre or an
organisation
An organisation are a group of people who work together.
.
.
The event played host to many of the co-operative’s local supporters, clients, and the Mayor of Bristol, George Ferguson. The event kicked off at 11am with speeches from A Clean Sweep employees, before the Mayor delivered a congratulatory speech at midday, which was followed by a champagne toast and lunch.
A Clean Sweep was the first co-operative of its time to be run only by people with a
learning disability
A learning disability is to do with the way someone's brain works. It makes it harder for someone to learn, understand or do things.
when it was set-up in 1995. Over the past 20 years, the co-operative has employed more staff with a learning disability and taken on more local cleaning contracts. The co-operative plans to continue its impressive growth over the coming years, by providing a high quality cleaning service as well as opportunities for people with a learning disability to learn new skills and gain valuable
work experience
Work experience is when you try out a job to help you learn new skills.
.
The Mayor of Bristol, George Ferguson (@GeorgeFergusonx), Tweeted after the event:
It was great to have opportunity to celebrate 20 years of @acleansweepcoop & 16 years of Debbie!
Debbie has a learning disability and lives in Bristol. She joined A Clean Sweep in 1995 and has progressed from being a cleaner to being one of the co-operative’s directors. Debbie said:
Before A Clean Sweep, I was in the day centre every day. I kept getting told that I would never get a job and I would not be able to keep it either if I got one because of my learning disability. But I am still here after 20 years! I have completed an NVQ in office work and I run the company meetings every Friday. I am really proud.
A Clean Sweep is supported by Mencap’s employment service, which supports the individuals to fulfil their contractual commitments to the customers and expand their existing client base.
Sukhjinder Sandhu, business development co-ordinator for A Clean Sweep on behalf of Mencap, said:
In the five years that I have been the business development co-ordinator for A Clean Sweep, the company has grown and is successful and profitable. We compete in the workplace with main stream companies and are winning contracts in open tendering processes.
We believe the way A Clean Sweep was set-up and is run could easily be copied by other groups of people with a learning disability who want to have control of their own working lives.
The 20th anniversary event was a wonderful day, where everybody involved with A Clean Sweep got to celebrate what the co-operative has achieved. I am very hopeful that A Clean Sweep will continue from strength to strength for another 20 years to come!
-ENDS-
About Mencap
There are 1.4 million people with a learning disability in the UK. Mencap works to support people with a learning disability, their families and carers by fighting to change laws, improve services and access to
education
Education is when you learn things. When you fill in a form to get a job, education means you write where you went to school, college or university.
, employment and
leisure
Leisure is when you have time to do things you enjoy like playing sports or going to the pub.
facilities. Mencap supports thousands of people with a learning disability to live their lives the way they want.
For advice and information about learning disability and Mencap services in your area, contact Mencap Direct on 0808 808 1111 (9am-5pm, Monday-Friday) or email help@mencap.org.uk.
What is a learning disability?
A learning disability is a reduced intellectual ability which can cause problems with everyday tasks – for example shopping and cooking, or travelling to new places – which affects someone for their whole life.
People with a learning disability can take longer to learn new things and may need support to develop new skills, understand difficult information and engage with other people. The level of support someone needs is different with every individual. For example, someone with a severe learning disability might need much more support with daily tasks than someone with a mild learning disability.
Learning disability is not a mental illness or a learning difficulty. Very often the term ‘learning difficulty’ is wrongly used interchangeably with ‘learning disability’.