Wokingham Borough Connect
 Starting to open doors
Three months ago we ran our Co-Production project on the ‘Front Door’ to Adult Social Care. Our aim was to make it easier for residents to find and get support for themselves or a loved one.
The project was run in partnership by Wokingham Borough Council and Involve Community Services, an organisation which supports the voluntary and community sector across the borough. As part of the project we held workshops with people who had recent experience of approaching the council for support, as well as local voluntary and community organisations. Since the last workshop, we have been busy working to bring the ideas to life. The first of these was called Peer to Peer Champions, and there are more ideas to follow.
What you said
In our workshops, we talked about how sometimes you need more help than a list of useful names and numbers. Sometimes what you need is someone to walk alongside you to help you get started. For example, instead of telling you about a useful support group, going with you to your first meeting if you feel a bit nervous. Or instead of telling you about online shopping, helping you to do your first order. We also said it would be even better if there were other people with lived experience to buddy you.
Putting your ideas into action
We have been working with Age UK and The Link to run our pilot Keeping In Touch service. This service offers one to one support from coaches to build resilience. It had received really positive feedback from people who had used it.
We were able to share the extra learning we had in the workshop and the ideas we had to make the service even better, including training volunteers as buddies who can share their experience. The Council is now funding this service so it can support more people in the borough.
 The Bid Bank
We have been looking to increase the ways in which residents with lived experience of Adult Social Care can have their voices heard, to be at the heart of decisions that affect them.
As a result, we invited one of the residents from the Front Door Project to be part of the panel to decide which organisations would deliver the Keeping in Touch service as it moves from the initial pilot phase. The other people on the panel were the Commissioner for Prevention Services and the Head of Health and Social Care Integration.
Everyone on the panel received training from a Procurement Specialist to explain the role of the panel, and to help ensure that the decision they jointly took would be fair. They then had to review a document from each of the possible providers, who were bidding to do the work, to score them against criteria, before deciding which organisations to appoint to run the service.
Having a resident with lived experience involved in this process was very positive and helped us select the best partners. We are hoping to use this approach again in the future for other decisions.
We will be sharing more about how you can be involved with these panels in future editions of the newsletter, including how to apply to the Bid Bank and the training you will receive. If you are chosen, you will be paid for your time.
 Book your Big Gathering place
We are very excited about our Social Care Future Big Gathering. We changed the date because lots of people told us they wanted to come but couldn’t make it. It will now be on Thursday 3 October at the Oakwood Centre, Woodley.
There will be a choice of different sessions you can join on the day. The topics link to the themes we heard from residents that came to our 'community conversation' events earlier this year. These include:
- Navigating local support. Find out who does what and how to get help by Adult Social Care
- Understanding the housing process by Housing and Adult Social Care
- How to stay safe online by Thames Valley Police
- Thinking a bit differently about how to find amazing personal assistants with Lived Experts Tricia and Gregg
It’s all free and you can choose on the day which talks interest you most. There will be an update on what’s been achieved since our event last year and changes you might not know about. There will also be fun activities and food from Ability Catering. If you are coming by yourself, there’s a warm welcome at the LINK's Friendship Table over lunch, giving people the chance to connect with others
You must reserve your place as spaces are limited and will go on a first come, first served basis. We also need to know how many people we are catering for on the day. To book your space, please call 0118 977 8600 or press the button below and tell us your contact details and if you want to bring someone with you.
We would like to thank the Centre for Ageing Better for some of the photos we have used in this newsletter which belong to their free Age-Positive image library.
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