SpeakOut returned to Bradford in March 2011 for the fourth training event Artworks Creative Communities have delivered for the Care Quality Commission (CQC). The two day Re-Ignite training built on previous Ignite training events, packing in a huge amount of activity and learning and was definitely the most exciting and challenging to date. As always the energy and enthusiasm of participants made the event a huge success and we all had a great, if tiring two days.

CQC developed the training for SpeakOut groups who provide crucial information from people who use health and adult social care services. SpeakOut is a network of community groups supported by CQC and the University of Central Lancashire. It enables groups who are often not heard to have a stronger voice about the health and adult social care matters which affect their communities.

Re-Ignite SpeakOut Network Training

March 2011

The training focussed on improving the skills and confidence of SpeakOut groups so that the feedback they give to CQC is even more relevant and useful. SpeakOut groups can feedback in various ways including:

• Providing feedback through the online group web form

• Facilitating a focus group or interviews in a community setting

• Taking part in a consultation

The network has over 80 groups who want to get involved with the work of CQC and a smaller number who want to be kept informed of the work of the Network with an option to get more involved when they feel ready.

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The Re-Ignite training focussed on tools and techniques for information gathering and feedback. Participants explored the use of creative consultation techniques, the 5 Essential Standards of Quality and Care, communication skills, warm up games, running focus groups and the new online web forms for group feedback.

Evaluations showed that participants had a much greater understanding of the key areas we explored which were the CQC group web form, using the How To cards and running focus groups. Across these three areas participants gave significantly higher final evaluation scores than at the start of the training. The average score across all three was given as 3.4 at the start of the course and a fantastic 7.7 by the end!

Participants commented:

“I’m just a house wife and it’s the first time I’ve been to something like this – I’ve really enjoyed it – I feel so much more confident now.”CHIRAAGH

“It’s the best training I’ve been to in a long time – It was so much fun – I don’t know where the two days have gone.”KCIL

“Thank you for the training. We both found it interesting to work with such a diverse group and to experience the issues around translation. We feel we might use the techniques at one of our POPS forums.”Age UK Suffolk

The training began with introductions and some warm up games which got us all moving and working well as a group. We then began small group work on the layout and accessibility of the online group web form and CQC gathered some very useful feedback about how this form could be made more accessible. Participants were then introduced to the five essential standards of quality and safety which reflect the 5 key areas of CQC’s 28 standards. These are:

1. You can expect to be involved and told what’s happening at every stage of your care

2. You can expect care, treatment and support that meets your needs

3. You can expect to be safe4. You can expect to be cared for by

qualified staff5. You can expect your care provider to

constantly check the quality of its services

In the afternoon Creative Consultant Amy Hield delivered a session on tools and techniques for consultation. These used the specially developed “How To” Cards which provide a number of excellent techniques to use when gathering feedback from individuals or groups. Participants had a chance to try out different techniques looking out for issues which fell into one of the 5 areas of essential standards.

We filled in speech bubbles, drew pictures and even made plasticine models as highly effective ways to gather and order relevant information in a non-threatening and easy to understand format.

Participants said:

“I really enjoyed the different ways and techniques of collecting feedback and gathering information from people.”

“The How To cards are really useful.”

The morning of the second day was delivered by drama facilitator Sarah Hope who worked with the group on communication skills and then gave participants a chance to try out

Re-Ignite SpeakOut Network Training – March 2011

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these skills in the context of running a focus group. Participants were able to step into a “real” focus group situation and try out various techniques with their peers acting as service users.

100% of the group found the session and techniques taught useful and 95% thought they were likely to use them in their work.

Participants said:

“One of the most important things for me was learning how to communicate effectively.”

“I found learning new techniques for facilitating focus groups really useful.”

“I learnt about listening actively, body language, how to facilitate in both English and Urdu.”

After lunch we went on to look at the differences between the group and individual web forms and evaluate the session.

Participants said:

“For me the most important thing was understanding more about CQC. Now I understand the relevance of the information, where it will go and how to work with a very diverse group.”

“Working with such a range of people was really important, being aware of issues for them – possibly the most important thing!”

“I feel confident, motivated to talk, explain and most importantly to know about CQC.”

We also created our own personal pledge, saying things like:

“I pledge to adapt the techniques to work with disabled people.”

“I pledge to share what I have learnt with my group.”

“We pledge to share our new skills with members and staff at our organisation and use Artworks’ techniques to collect feedback.”

“I pledge to complete at least one web form in the next 12 months.”

Aileen Hamdan, Involvement Officer for CQC said:

“I recently attended the RE-IGNITE training course – it was really intensive but a real fun training course as well! I have learned to use How To cards and picked up a lot of engagement ideas.

It was very useful to work with a wide range of people from SpeakOut groups on the essential standards and to observe how they perceive and understand the standards. It was amazing to see the transformation – how individual knowledge on the standards and facilitation skills improved so much by the end of the two day course. I could feel their enthusiasm and readiness to go out and help CQC by gathering relevant information from their groups and local communities. It is our job now to maintain this level of enthusiasm and extend knowledge and skills along the way!”

Re-Ignite SpeakOut Network Training – March 2011

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The value of the training for the future

CQC developed this training to support the groups they work with through the SpeakOut network to have the biggest possible impact on their work. They feel that if they are going to ask groups to report back to them with such thought and detail it is important that they support the groups in doing this in all the ways they can, one of which is providing excellent training courses like this one. There are a huge number of way in which this training will help and inform future work, some of which are:

• Giving groups a greater understanding of work of CQC.

• Giving the CQC a greater understanding of the groups it works with and their needs.

• Providing the backdrop over which to build a caring and open relationship between CQC and the groups involved in the SpeakOut network.

• Co-operation and joint working with other SpeakOut Network groups.

• Improving groups’ ability to gather useful information for CQC and registration processes and their confidence in doing this.

• Supporting groups to contribute to regulation processes and recognising their input.

• Promoting the user voice through participation in special studies and reviews.

• Increasing groups’ awareness of what is relevant to CQC.

• Increasing CQC’s awareness of the issues which groups face in this kind of work and of new groups whose voices should be heard.

Re-Ignite SpeakOut Network Training – March 2011

The participating groups were:Age UK SuffolkAsian Disabled Association, DerbyAwaaz FM Community Radio, SouthamptonBradford Association for Visually Impaired People (BAVIP)CHIRAAGH, HalifaxKingston upon Thames Centre for Independent LivingMapSquad, LondonPure Innovations, Southport

For more information on the Care Quality Commission and / or the SpeakOut Network contact Jane Golden on:07798816274or at: jane.golden@cqc.org.ukFor more information about Artworks contact Suzy Russell on:(01274) 256928or at: suzy@artworksbradford.org.uk

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