With the World Cup up and running and a family with connections to Denmark, England, Wales, Germany and France I'm left wondering who to support and what sport as a form of live theatre brings to social care.
Whilst sport may seem unscripted it conforms to all the rules of theatre. With sports, people rehearse, learn a script, play a role and then have to 'ad lib' when the 'live' performance starts.
The similarities to social care are surprising. To 'perform' for the people we support we learn (and continue to learn and practice) a range of skills in how to support people to live independent lives. We develop a script through the process of assessment, then give a performance (the care support plan) within our assigned role in a way that empowers and enables people.
But – are we able, and do we, 'ad lib' enough? Are our assessments and care and support plans designed to enable us to go off script? Are our 'performers' encouraged to adapt their performances in response to their audience? Or, do we have to go back to the script and stick to it rigidly without any room for a change in tactics?
If sport is a performance and art is a performance then is the delivery of excellent care and support a performance as well? Do we know how to make sure that our audience gets what it came for and our performers leave the stage everyday with the sound of applause motivating them to do even better tomorrow?
So, the World Cup – who should I support?
