John Enjoys a Holiday Break at the Kingwood Caravan
20 July 2026
This year, Mental Health Awareness Week focuses on anxiety.
Anxiety is a normal emotion in us all, something we all experience from time to time. There are lots of reasons why we get this feeling – it can be connected to a job, a relationship, social situations, how we feel about ourselves, or a change in our life or a general anxiety about all the above.
The Mental Health Foundation has some great information about dealing with anxiety.
What does Kingwood do to support the mental wellbeing of our staff?
Mental Health First Aiders
Five of our managers have undertaken a two-day training course run by St John’s Ambulance, to qualify as Mental Health First Aiders. The Mental Health First Aid course takes a practical approach to creating competent and confident workplace first aiders who are able to spot the signs and respond to the mental and physical health needs of a person experiencing a mental health issue. Our Mental Health First Aiders below are trained to support our colleagues confidentially and to help them find the help they may need.
Sarah is an Area Manager in Oxfordshire and has worked at Kingwood for 20 years. As well as a mental health first aider, Sarah is a qualified Domestic Abuse Champion.
Lynne joined Kingwood in 2012 and is a Support Manager in Reading.
‘I was very pleased to be chosen for this Mental Health First Aid course, training as I feel I can support the staff better. Lone working can be very isolating and dealing with behaviours can be very challenging for staff as well.’
Milca is a Support Manager in Central & West Oxfordshire and has worked for Kingwood since 2016.
‘I was really pleased to take this important Mental Health First Aid course, which has given me the tools to spot the signs and respond to mental health needs of my colleagues. Being a frontline support worker can be stressful, and it’s great that Kingwood received the funds to be able to put myself and other managers on this course.’
Reyes joined Kingwood in 2023 and is the Support Manager for a large service in Wallingford, Oxfordshire.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to be a qualified mental health first aider at Kingwood. Good mental health is important for my team and residents, and I want to be able to help wherever I can”.
“Being a Mental Health First Aider is vital for the nature of my work; it can help to recognise early stages of mental health issues among staff who are experiencing emotional distress. It also helps me assist others in increasing confidence, well-being, psychological, and motivational support.”
Employee wellbeing service
Kingwood subscribes to an independent and confidential wellbeing service, which gives all our staff access to lots of support around mental and physical health. Our staff just have to pick up the phone at any time of the day or night, to access the support they need and a dedicated case manager will help them through their journey.
Kingwood Holiday Home
During lockdown, Kingwood fundraised to purchase a holiday home, in a beautiful west Oxfordshire setting. The reasoning for this was to provide quiet, peaceful respite, not only for the people we support, but for our hardworking frontline staff and their loved ones. The pandemic was a time of great anxiety for many, especially for frontline health professions, and this has been replaced by the cost-of-living crises. Our holiday home goes some way to supporting our staff during stressful times.
Find out more here
Kingwood Buddies
We are delighted to be welcoming talented new staff from outside the EU, as a result of our successful application for a sponsorship license from the Government.
For some new colleagues, coming to a new place can cause anxiety, especially with a busy job to fulfil. Two team members of Kingwood have offered to be ‘Buddies’ and are at hand to help people settle into their new lives, through providing a wealth of advice we have put together.
‘Welcome to Kingwood! I am very pleased to be a Kingwood Buddy. I know what it feels like to be in a new country and in a new job. We would like you to know that we will support you to the best of our ability here in Kingwood. If you are new to Kingwood, I want to do what I can to help you feel settled. I hope our paths cross at Kingwood!’
‘I am so happy to be a Buddy for Kingwood. I know it can feel overwhelming moving to a new place – there is so much to learn! I want to help my new colleagues feel at home, so that they can enjoy life here. Autism at Kingwood is a good place to work, and the staff really care about the people we support and each other.’
Our allotment oasis
For many years, we have owned a large allotment in Henley-on-Thames. Up to now, this has been a peaceful place for people we support to enjoy gardening and growing, learn new skills – or just be.
Our allotment neighbours are fond of us! Last year we won the allotment of the year competition, and both neighbours have loaned us part of their allotment to nurture.
Gardening, and the joy of seed to table has many therapeutic benefits and is great for mental health. This year, we have opened the allotment up to our staff; we want our colleagues to have the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of the wonderful allotment community in their spare time.
We provide supported living and outreach support, helping and enabling autistic people to live in their own homes and make their own choices about the lives they want to lead.
Our relationship with the families of those we support is incredibly important to us and we work in partnership with families wherever possible.
All Autism at Kingwood support staff receive our Specialist Autism Training, making us leading care providers in Autism support.
If you’d like to make a donation directly to us then you can do this in a number of ways.
You can fundraise for us, through sponsored events or in a number of other ways.