Kent & Medway Learning Disability & Autism, Cross-Services Community of Practice – details
Are you:
- in a role supporting Autistic people or people with a learning disability
- in contact with these groups of people as part of your wider role
- someone who leads services used by Autistic people and people with learning disabilities
You may be an Autistic person or person with a learning disability wishing to attend to provide insight.
If so, we would like to invite you to join a pilot Community of Practice starting May 2026. This Community of Practice will be co-led by a small group including experts by experience and is a part of the work led by Ruth Germaine, Knowledge Mobilisation Fellow (KSS ARC & KMMH) with support from Dr Chloe Farahar who is leading the KMMH LD&A programme plan.
What this is:
A pilot Community of Practice where staff learn with and from people with lived experience.
Everyone’s voice is valued, and we explore how to meet the needs of Autistic people and people with a learning disability in ways that work for them/us.
Why we are doing this:
Evidence and people with lived experience tell us that learning works best when we are all included.
This pilot aims to:
- understand what matters to Autistic people and people with learning disabilities
- learn together to build shared understanding and stronger relationships
- improve everyday practice by listening to voices that are often unheard or misunderstood
Session dates:
All sessions are online.
- Wednesday 6 May, 12:00–1:30
- Wednesday 3 June, 12:00–1:30
- Wednesday 1 July, 12:00–1:30
Following lived expert feedback, the community of practice will be back in August. It is our hope that other systems support us to continue the CoP, as Ruth will be unable to support its running from October 2026.
People can join even if they cannot attend every session.
To receive an invitation to attend the K&M cross-services LD&A community of practice, please provide brief details in this form: forms.office.com/e/2eKZTTbGPt – which should also show up below.
For queries that haven’t been answered on this page, or for support signing-up if you are a fellow disabled person and struggle with the online form, please email kmmh.ld-autism-admin@nhs.net
This is the Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust email for learning disability and autism queries. We are using it for the CoP for now.
Please write clearly in the subject line what your email is about. This helps the email admin send it to the right person.
What is a Community of Practice?
Our Community of Practice Charter – How the CoP will work
🤝
Our Charter
Kent & Medway Learning Disability
and Autism Community of Practice
Easy Read Version | June 2026
| “This feels like we are doing it.” |
People said this at our workshops and sessions.
🌍 What we are
This is a Community of Practice.
A community of practice is a group of people who come together to learn.
We learn with each other and from each other.
We are based in Kent and Medway.
We work with autistic people and people with learning disabilities.
👥 Who we are
Our community includes:
⭐ People with lived experience of learning disability or autism
⭐ Autistic people
⭐ People with ADHD
⭐ Families and carers
⭐ People who work in health, social care, education, and other services
Some people are both — they have lived experience AND they work in services.
All of these people belong in this community.
We know we do not yet reach everyone we should.
We are working to include more people — especially people from Black and Brown communities, and people who find it harder to join online.
🎯 Why we come together
We come together to:
💬 Understand what matters to autistic people and people with learning disabilities
💬 Make sure that understanding reaches everyday practice — what people actually do at work
💬 Build shared knowledge across different services
💬 Listen to voices that are often not heard
💬 Rebuild trust between people and services
💬 Connect people across Kent and Medway who need to know each other
| “You can read every book — but the first-person perspective is more efficient for understanding and supporting those conditions.” |
A community member said this.
💛 What we believe in
🔒 Lived experience shapes everything
People with lived experience help to shape this community.
They help to shape the agenda, the language, and the decisions.
This is built into how we work — between sessions and within them.
🦺 Safe and brave
This community is safe AND brave.
We create space for honesty.
We create space for uncertainty.
We create space for things that are hard to say.
We listen with care.
👂 We listen to learn
We listen to people with lived experience to learn.
Everyone’s knowledge and experience is valued equally.
🗣️ Language shapes participation
We use language that respects people.
We use language that helps people take part.
We keep learning about this together.
✅ Action and change
We commit to visible action — however small.
When people contribute, something moves.
We share what we learn widely.
🤲 How we work together
These are our ways of working. We bring them to every session.
👐 Acknowledge — receive what people say
✔️ Accept — each person’s experience is true for them
❓ Ask — what would have helped? What one thing could be different?
🔍 Stay curious — we are here to learn
⏳ Honour pace — slow down, wait, make space for silence
🛡️ Protect safety — stepping back is always okay
You can take part by speaking, typing in chat, using tools, drawing, or listening.
All of these are full participation.
All contributions carry equal weight.
📅 How we are organised
This community is co-led.
That means people with lived experience and professionals lead it together.
📌 [How the lived experience group want to be named and recognised as leaders — to be confirmed with the group, Friday 27 June 2026]
🗓️ Sessions happen every two months
🌟 In the month between sessions, people with lived experience meet to shape what happens next
💻 All online sessions are free to attend
🏫 We also hold face-to-face events for people who prefer in person
📧 Questions? Contact Ruth Germaine: r.germaine@nhs.net
✅ What we promise
As the people leading this community, we promise to:
✔️ Do what we say we will do
✔️ Be honest when things do not go as planned
✔️ Listen to feedback and respond to it
✔️ Share what we hear with the wider system — in ways that protect the people who spoke
✔️ Keep working to make this community more diverse and more accessible
This is a living document.
It will be updated as the community grows.
It draws on four workforce workshops, two co-creation workshops,
and two Community of Practice sessions attended by 43 people from nine sectors across Kent and Medway.
Easy Read version — June 2026 | r.germaine@nhs.net
What happened in the third Community of Practice? 1st of July 2026
What happened in the second Community of Practice? 3rd of June 2026
What happened in the first Community of Practice? 6th of May 2026
End