Cornerstone, formerly known as Cornerstone Community Care, is a Scottish
charity
Charity may refer to:
Giving
* Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons
* Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing
* Ch ...
and
social enterprise
A social enterprise is an organization that applies commercial strategies to maximize improvements in financial, social and environmental well-being. This may include maximizing social impact alongside profits for co-owners.
Social enterprises ca ...
that provides
support and care to children, adults and older adults living a range of long-term conditions and challenges. These include
autism
The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...
,
learning and
physical
Physical may refer to:
*Physical examination
In a physical examination, medical examination, or clinical examination, a medical practitioner examines a patient for any possible medical signs or symptoms of a medical condition. It generally cons ...
disabilities,
dementia
Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affe ...
and
mental health problems. It was founded in 1980 in
Aberdeen
Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), ...
and, since obtaining charitable status in 1981
/sup>, Cornerstone has grown to become one of the largest charities in Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...
/sup>.
History
Nicholas (Nick) Baxter formed Cornerstone in 1980 when he brought together a group of parents and professionals who were concerned about the lack and quality of services available to people with learning disabilities
Learning disability, learning disorder, or learning difficulty (British English) is a condition in the brain that causes difficulties comprehending or processing information and can be caused by several different factors. Given the "difficult ...
and their families. They wanted to provide community based support for people with special needs
In clinical diagnostic and functional development, special needs (or additional needs) refers to individuals who require assistance for disabilities that may be medical, mental, or psychological. Guidelines for clinical diagnosis are given in ...
and Cornerstone's aim became 'to enable people we support to enjoy a valued life'.
Cornerstone opened its first residential service in 1982. By 2007 the charity was providing help in around 150 locations for almost 1,300 children, young people and adults with learning disabilities and other special needs. /sup> The 2017/2018 annual review reports 2,400 children and adults being supported. /sup>
Baxter retired as Cornerstone's Chief Executive in May 2008. He died in May 2013.Hazel Brown is the current Chief Executive.
In 2017 the charity restructured, using some of the principles of the Dutch model Buurtzorg. It devolved decision-making and accountability to ten branches that cover most of the country. It reduced layers of management and has set out on a mission to up-skill and empower local staff to become self-organised local care and support teams (LCAST). There are now eleven branches:
Aberdeen North & Aberdeenshire
Aberdeen South & Aberdeenshire
Argyll & Bute & West Dunbartonshire (Community Support)
Argyll & Bute & West Dunbartonshire (Housing Support)
Ayrshire
Fife, Lothian, Edinburgh & Scottish Borders
Glasgow & East Dunbartonshire
Moray
North Lanarkshire (Community Support)
North Lanarkshire (Housing Support)
Perth, Dundee & Angus
See also
* Health and Social Care Partnerships
*Social care in Scotland
Social care in Scotland encompasses social work; care home services in the community for adults, children and young people; and services for young children, including nurseries and after-school care clubs.
National Care Service
The National C ...
*Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator
The Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) is a non-ministerial department of the Scottish Government with responsibility for the regulation of charities in Scotland.
OSCR is the independent regulator and registrar for more than 24,000 Scottish c ...
* SSSC
* Care Inspectorate (Scotland)
The Care Inspectorate (formally known as Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland) is a scrutiny body which supports improvement. They look at the quality of care in Scotland to ensure it meets high standards. Where improvement is neede ...
*Social care in Scotland
Social care in Scotland encompasses social work; care home services in the community for adults, children and young people; and services for young children, including nurseries and after-school care clubs.
National Care Service
The National C ...
References
# Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) https://www.oscr.org.uk/about-charities/search-the-register/charity-details?number=4780
# https://www.oscr.org.uk/about-charities/search-the-register/the-300-highest-income-charities/ # © Crown Copyright and database right 019 Contains information from the Scottish Charity Register supplied by the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator and licensed under the Open Government Licence v.2.0.
# Cornerstone website, 2007
# https://www.cornerstone.org.uk/assets/000/000/182/Annual_Review_2017-18_original.pdf?1541676463
# https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2013/may/05/nick-baxter-obituary
External links
*
Charities based in Aberdeen
Organisations based in Glasgow
Organisations based in Dundee
Children's charities based in Scotland
1980 establishments in Scotland
Charities for disabled people based in Scotland
Social care in Scotland
Non-profit organisations based in Scotland
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