Celebrating 30 Years of Achieve together: Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary People

Our evolution stemmed from a shift in the provision of Adult Social Care in the UK, as long-stay hospitals were closed in favour of supported settings and legislation, notably the Community Care Act 1993 and the Care Act 2014, enabled people with disabilities greater choice, independence and control over their lives.  

Over the past year, the achievements across Achieve together have been nothing short of remarkable. Some of our highlights include: 

• The elimination all ‘Inadequate’ homes and reduced ‘Requires Improvement’ ratings from 48 homes to 33 homes.  

•  In Wales, 92% of homes assessed received compliant ratings, contributing to a 95% compliance rate across all homes.  

• Making a £1m investment into increasing pay for Home Managers.  

•  Introducing a minimum hourly rate of £12.30 for Support Workers – a figure above the National Living Wage.  

We were also announced as one of the UK’s top 500 employers by the Financial Times – an incredible recognition of our inclusive and empowering workplace culture.  This reinforced something I firmly believe – while AI may be shaping the future, it can never replace a compassionate support worker, an inspirational Home Manager, or a dedicated leader. 

Significantly for people we support we embedded Safety First as a golden thread across Achieve together, contributing to a 25% reduction in RIDDOR incidents and more than a 100% increase in near-miss reporting, making people measurably safer.  

This tempo will continue into 2026.I had the pleasure of addressing my leaders at our ‘Good to Grow’ conference last week, and came away from the event positive that we are focusing on the right things that deliver growth for Achieve together, growth for our communities and growth for the people we support.  

Our standards, led by Home Managers, will ensure consistently Good homes for all, we will continue to invest in our team members, strengthening Achieve together as a great place to work, safety will remain our top priority  underpinned by our specialist care and support and we will improve and expand our portfolio, enabling more people to live meaningful, independent lives.  

None of this will be achieved without input from people we support. One of our core beliefs is that ‘we do nothing about them without them.’ Unity, our advocacy group made up of people with lived experience, is becoming increasingly embedded into the organisation as the ‘Big plan for co-production’ moves into its next phase.  

The Big plan ensures that people we support work side by side with team members, inputting into recruitment, our events and awards, learning and development, quality and safeguarding and more. 

I mention this here, because it shows a huge leap forward from the days when people with learning disabilities, autistic people and people with profound and multiple learning disabilities were, to all intense and purposes, imprisoned.  

There is no doubt that challenges remain for Achieve together and the overall sector. However, I am confident that we will thrive. The message is simple: Good homes are the platform for growth. When homes are great, people flourish. And when people flourish, Achieve together flourishes. 

We are making this anniversary year one that honours our past and accelerates our future.

Our celebratory 30 years logo will be displayed across the organisation, we will celebrate the achievements of team members and people we support showcasing successes and positive outcomes, bring together team members, people we support and families at celebratory events, and reflect on our key milestones and focus on our future goals.  

Zak Houlahan, Chief Executive Officer 

#AchievetogetherAt30