Meet our skilled, hard working and experienced team…
James Fletcher
Director, ARC Scotland
James has over 20 years experience working in the learning disability sector, both as Manager and practitioner. Much of this time has been in the voluntary sector, including 16 years working for ENABLE Scotland where he focused on the Management and development of supported employment and vocational training initiatives.
James has also worked in the statutory sector, most recently managing the transition of a traditional day service to more community-based models of support.
He has been working with the ARC Scotland team since 2008 where he has built strong partnerships with Local Authority and provider organisations to develop the involvement of the people they support in their planning and decision-making processes.
James was promoted to Director of ARC Scotland in September 2010.
Debbie Gibb
Training and Development Manager, ARC Scotland
Debbie is responsible for the co-ordination, delivery and ongoing development of ARC Scotlands training provision. This includes specialist short courses, bespoke training for organisations specific needs and accredited vocational qualifications.
Prior to joining ARC Scotland in 2006, Debbie worked for a college as an assessor and verifier and as a sessional tutor facilitated training programmes for SVQ Health & social Care candidates at levels 2, 3, 4, and Registered Manager Awards.
Debbie began her career in Health and Social Care with a national respite and domiciliary care provider in the Scottish Borders and has worked in the capacity of volunteer, as a support worker and eventually as a manager.
Debbie has SVQ and ILM qualifications in Social Care, Management and Learning and Development.
Derek Parker
Learning and Development Officer, ARC Scotland
Derek has worked in the Social Care Sector since 1986, both as a manager and practitioner supporting adults with physical and learning disabilities. His career has encompassed working both in and with the voluntary, statutory, health and private sector.
A large proportion of Derek’s career was spent as a senior practitioner with Capability Scotland, where he managed a residential unit and developed the services for respite provision. His career has included project management of community based living services and developing and evaluating a community resource centre.
For a number of years Derek was on the management committee of the Tayforth Voluntary Organisation Training Forum, latterly as Convenor. In the last five years his focus has been on the education and development of the workforce within the sector.
Derek joined ARC Scotland in 2010 as a Learning & Development Officer and will be focussing on the needs of provider organisations in the development of their workforce.
Muriel McLeod
Administrator, ARC Scotland Training
I began my working life in the Civil Service in the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries at St Andrews House in Edinburgh as an audio typist. I remained there for 9 years before leaving to have a family. After a few years break I took up the post of office administrator with the Ecclesiastical Insurance Office based in the centre of Edinburgh. 20 years later the office was closed and we were made redundant.
After a short break I returned to work on a part time basis with ARC Scotland, my first job in the learning disability sector, to administer a European Social Funded training project. On completion of this project I remained with ARC Scotland on a full time basis and have now been with them for 6 years as Administrator for the training arm of ARC.
Sylvia Crick
National Co-ordinator, Progress Scotland
Sylvia has over 30 years of experience of working with people with learning difficulties, in both the statutory and voluntary sector. She worked for 17 years as a social worker in Edinburgh, followed by development posts with both Edinburgh Development Group and ARK Housing Association.
Sylvia’s work has a strong focus on using person centred and community connecting tools and approaches with individuals and groups. She has extensive experience in delivering training to staff from both the statutory and voluntary sector in these approaches. She works to support people with learning difficulties to be active and included citizens, at the heart of decision making processes within services and within communities.
Sylvia has been working with the ARC Scotland team since 2008 where she has built strong partnerships with self advocates, Local Authority and provider organisations.
Jackie Taylor
Development Worker, Progress Scotland
Jackie has over 25 years experience of working in health and social care. She qualified as a Social Worker in 1998 after working for several years in the voluntary sector. Since then Jackie has worked in management roles in a mental health and learning disabilities. Her focus has been to improve the quality of support to people by developing staff skills, improving service provision and increasing opportunities for people to be involved.
Jackie has overseen the management and development of a variety of services, including housing support, care homes, respite, day services, and social support groups.
Jackie joined the ARC Scotland team in 2009 and has been building strong networks with individuals, the Local Authority, Voluntary Organisations and College staff and students, supporting people to have a say in decisions affecting them, their services and their communities.
Miles Davies
Development Worker, Progress Scotland
Miles is seconded into the position of Aberdeenshire Self Directed Support development worker and has responsibility for supporting organisations in this area to respond to the SDS agenda.
He also currently holds a practice development and a training position for other local organisations.
Miles has 25 years experience of supporting people with learning difficulties and has managed and developed a number of services working with both children and adults. He has been involved in using person centred approaches and proactive models of support which is an area of work he has a passion for.
Miles joined ARC Scotland in January 2012.
Diane Eaton
Administrator, Progress Scotland
Diane has 18 years of secretarial/administration experience. She started her working life in a bank and then moved on to work in a Consulting Engineers where she worked as a secretary for 7 years before leaving to have a family.
After a small break she went back to work and started working for a publisher as an administrator but was made redundant after a few years and then started working with ARC Scotland on a part time basis. She has been working with the ARC Scotland team since 2008 where she works as an administrator.