Some people wonder what all this fuss about being an ‘innovator’ is and whether it really makes any difference for staff. As part of our work with Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council, three of the innovators from a Neighbourhood Team spoke to Jonathan from Partners4Change about using the Three Conversations approach.  These conversations took place at the end of November following the innovation phase of 13 weeks.  What follows is an extract of the discussions, edited for clarity and length. Jonathan: Tell us about your role and what you do in your local authority… Geraldine: My name’s Geraldine and I work…

This week’s story answers a couple of questions that we are sometimes asked early in our work with new innovation sites. “WE’VE KNOWN THESE PEOPLE A LONG TIME. THERE’S NOTHING NEW WE CAN DO FOR THEM, IS THERE? – But have we always taken the same approach & asked the same questions?  No wonder we’ve not done anything different.  Let’s try a different approach this time & see where that leads! “IF I CAN’T REFER ON, HOW WILL I MANAGE MY WORKLOAD?” – You’re not alone in this work & the 3 Conversations approach encourages you to collaborate with &…

Unfortunately, it looks like Adult Social Care isn’t high on the list of priorities for any of the main political parties in the current election.  As everyone else is in the business of publishing their manifestos, we thought you might be interested in the Three Conversations manifesto for positive change in Adult Social Care.  The big difference is that we know that ours works!

Here is our third story of the month.  It addresses another myth we often hear – that “safeguarding is different, surely!”  Again, we remind people that the Three Conversations is an approach, not a form, process or pathway.  A key commitment is to really listen to what matters to people and respond quickly without passing people round the system when they need help to be safe – sticking with them until we’ve helped get their lives back on track.    One example was Sue and Pete.  Sue was the main carer for her husband Pete, who had had been diagnosed…

Time for some myth busting with the second of our stories of the week.  One of the questions we are sometimes is “who is suitable for a conversation?”  The old-world approach to classifying people, ranking them in terms of priority and complexity, results in a pathway mindset which sends people down different routes, around the complicated monopoly board of “assessment” options.  Leaving that culture behind isn’t easy, and some initially struggle with the intention of the Three Conversations, thinking that Conversation 1 is only for people coming to us for the first time, not appropriate for someone already known to…

First let’s accept the reality, feeling overwhelmed by ‘demand’, trying to recover from the pandemic, under pressure in the ‘sorting office’ of social care to work faster, process people more swiftly, close ‘cases’ & fill out forms more rapidly. It’s no wonder that morale is low At Partners for Change we love our concept of ‘stories of difference’ – how we have worked, what impact it has on people, families & us – how it compares to what we might of have done previously.  We believe sticking to our guns & working in the way we have always wanted to…

It was good to see ADASS’s reflection on 10yrs of the Care Act and the view that it is still fit for purpose. Less good to note the lack of confidence in LAs ability to meet the statutory duties of the Care Act, let alone its principles – most worryingly of all in the inability of LAs to invest in prevention.  We also noticed the Minister’s speech to the ADASS spring conference.  While it was good to hear the minister’s commitment to choice and control, people living independent lives, the potential for technology to assist in this, and the value…