Tuesday 19 November 2024
Working in partnership: how to work effectively with the people you support
This week is Safeguarding Adults Week. During this week, we'll be sharing daily bulletins with you, related to the Ann Craft Trust themes.
Today's theme is 'working in partnership: how to work effectively with the people you support'. As part of this, the Ann Craft Trust are encouraging us to consider how we can make Making Safeguarding Personal (MSP), person-centred practice, and co-production, central to service design and professional practice.
We know that these approaches are not without challenge, but we're going to look at how we can overcome these challenges, and celebrate the successes of these approaches.
Working in partnership: how to work effectively with the people you support, by Turning Tides.
By embracing Making Safeguarding Personal (MSP), Turning Tides ensures that safeguarding is not simply about protecting clients from harm, but respecting their experiences, upholding their dignity and promoting choice and self-determination. Integrating approaches such as, Co-Production, Peer Support and Trauma Informed Practices, helps shift the focus from doing things ‘to’ clients to working ‘with’ them - moving away from a purely service-provider model, to one that actively engages and empowers clients as partners in their own recovery and owners of their own futures.
Turning Tides employs two Homeless Social Workers whose practice is rooted in relational working. With small caseloads, they prioritise client wellbeing, ensure the client’s voice is central, and focus on strengths and potential rather than deficits. The voluntary sector allows for flexible, open-ended support - this continuity and consistency in care ensures individuals receive tailored support that adapts to their evolving needs, fostering greater stability and sustainable outcomes.
As well as providing direct client support, Turning Tides’ Social Workers provide safeguarding advice and support to staff, beginning with a brief safeguarding induction covering both children and adults. This ensures staff understand best practice, local support pathways, and can ask questions. We emphasise person-centred, strengths-based approaches, ensuring clients are aware and involved in safeguarding concerns. Beyond induction, we're always available for staff seeking advice or needing to discuss client concerns.
For clients with children or complex family dynamics, we offer guidance through formal processes, support in meetings, and help with understanding legal terms. We assist with family reconnections, healthy relationships, and parenting support. We also collaborate with clients to anticipate and prevent crises, particularly for those with past trauma. Adopting a rights based and advocacy approach, helps amplify the client voice, eroding barriers that can exist between statutory and voluntary sector agencies.
Prior to accessing our services clients can have a negative view of what we do; often arising from the stigma associated with homelessness. One client W states, “During the period which I was homeless I didn’t trust anyone, half a dozen people would tell me to go to Turning Tides where I would be able to eat, shower and get help with this mad situation I found myself in […] I always turned my nose up and said no way am I going there”.
“During the period which I was homeless I didn’t trust anyone, half a dozen people would tell me to go to Turning Tides where I would be able to eat, shower and get help with this mad situation I found myself in […] I always turned my nose up and said no way am I going there.”
The Turning Tides social worker collaborated with Adur and Worthing Borough Council’s Outreach Team to begin building a relationship and establishing trust with W. Once W became familiar with the social worker, he started visiting the Day Centre. From there, we have met weekly to assist him in accessing Adult Social Care (ASC), explain our safeguarding concerns, and inform him of his rights, including how a referral could support his needs. We agreed a MARM would be more useful as other professionals were involved. W states, “I agreed to go Turning Tides and it was the best thing I could have done. I felt human again and understood more about how I could be supported. It was amazing – in just a matter of days, and through their help and patience, I was housed in temporary accommodation.”
"I agreed to go Turning Tides and it was the best thing I could have done. I felt human again and understood more about how I could be supported. It was amazing - in just a matter of days, and through their help and patience, I was housed in temporary accommodation."
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W was offered out of area accommodation which was unsuitable due to his son being his main support and him needing to live close by. “My anxiety would have been awful living so far away from my support network, Kathryn communicated my needs to services so that I didn’t have to move there”. W was also offered a care home which as a 44 year old man he was reluctant to accept as he believed that with his care package he would manage independently with the support from his son. “I was offered a care home but turned it down as I do not need a care home. […] Having Kathryn liaise with GP’s, social workers and housing has really helped, I was able to negotiate with what I was being offered to get the best outcome. I have been asking for direct payments so that I can employ my own carers, and Kathryn has been working with ASC and Independent Lives to sort this out. I feel like things have been done to me in the past, but the support from Kathryn has been different as she includes me”.
The story of W highlights the crucial role that partnership working plays in achieving meaningful outcomes for clients. By collaborating across sectors - voluntary, statutory, and healthcare - Turning Tides was able to provide holistic, person-centred support that respected W’s dignity and choices. It is through these partnerships that barriers to trust and engagement are broken down, ensuring clients receive the right support at the right time. Ultimately, partnership working ensures that safeguarding is more than a protective measure; it becomes a pathway to self-determination and long-term recovery for individuals like W.
For more information about Turning Tides, visit their website:
We have a number of resources related to these approaches on our website. Don't forget, to support your Continual Professional Development (CPD) we have created a CPD Reflective Log (Word, 2.3MB) for your use. Please feel free to use this to track, and reflect on, the professional development that you complete using our resources.
Making Safeguarding Personal key documents:
Person-centred approaches key documents:
Co-production key documents:
For more information about the topics covered in this bulletin, access the following resources:
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For more information on today's theme, or any of the themes from this week, visit the Ann Craft Trust website.
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