|
Wokingham Borough Connect
 Autism Strategy: One year on
In April 2025, the Wokingham Autism Partnership launched the All-Age Autism Strategy - created together with autistic residents and families’ and stakeholders.
A new video looks back on the first year of this five-year plan. This is just the beginning of a long-term journey.
The video offers a glimpse behind the scenes at some of the work being done across six priority areas.
Resident involvement and personal experiences continue to shape the projects. The partnership is committed to improving experiences and outcomes for neurodivergent residents across Wokingham Borough and is continuing to build on this momentum.
The strategy is jointly owned by Wokingham Borough Council, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Boards, Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust, SEND Voices Wokingham, Promise Inclusion, ASD Family Help, Autism Berkshire and CLASP.
Community voices at the heart of hiring
Sharing power as equals sits at the heart of the Social Care Future vision. It means people being actively involved in decisions about their own lives, rather than having decisions made for them. By working in partnership, together we can create real, meaningful change in adult social care.
In adult social care, one way this happens is through resident interviewers. What are resident interviewers? They are residents who join council staff when interviewing candidates for new jobs. They are trained in interview skills by Optalis Supported Employment, training that many of them have said has helped them in their own job-hunting journeys.
Resident Interviewers join the interview panel and:
- Ask questions they have developed to test values and behaviours they think are important in the role
- Make decisions together with staff, about who should be hired
Resident interviewers who have used council services know what good support feels like in real life and understand what kind of person can do the job well. This approach uses their experience to help make sure that the people working behind council services, projects and everyday decisions are not only skilled professionals, but people who genuinely put residents and the community as their focus.
Recently a round of interviews has been completed with resident interviewers involved. So far this year, three new people have been hired in adult social care as a result.
 Gregg's Story: doing the things that matter to us
A couple of years ago, Gregg - a member of the Social Care Future Core Group - posed a simple question to a room full of councillors and social care workers: "What did you do this weekend?"
The answers varied - everyday things we all do.
"Well, so why would my life be any different? Just because you're disabled doesn't mean you want to live a different life. It just means you need more support."
Gregg's involvement, and that of others with personal experience in the Social Care Future Core Group, adds to the ongoing conversation about what good support looks like - not just basic care, but support that lets someone live the life they want to live.
Gregg has MS and uses a wheelchair. He uses direct payments to recruit and manage his own team of personal assistants through job sites like Indeed and Gumtree. His adverts don't mention "care."
His philosophy: "Never in front of you, never behind you, always beside you."
Social Care Future is about bringing everyone together to work toward this vision. The more organisations and individuals who embrace these principles, the stronger our community becomes.
|
|
|
|
