We launched our innovation coaching service in September 2023 to support people to make a positive change in social care.
Since then, our coaches have been working with individuals and teams across Wales to put their ideas into practice.
Our innovation coaching service is still open for applications. If you’d like support from our coaches, you can tell us about your project by completing our online form.
Here, Kate Aubrey, Lead Manager for Practice at Rhondda Cynon Taf children’s services, describes how our coaching service has helped her develop a new model of practice.
I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect when I signed up for coaching. I’d never been coached before, but from the first session I’ve found it extremely helpful.
Our coach is kind and compassionate, which meant it was easy to build a trusting relationship with her. Her approach has helped me lay out this project in a way that’s structured and makes sense, and more importantly is focused on our children, carers and families. I’ve come to feel a lot more confident about reaching the goals I set out for the project.
The task I'd initially been set in my role was to embed a new practice model across our children’s services social work teams that would allow our approach to be more strengths based, which has shown to provide much better outcomes for our children and families. It’s no easy task in the current climate of budget cuts and social worker shortages.
It’s now evolved into a second phase, and we’re creating a behavioural framework to support our teams and managers with understanding how this new model translates to practice. This is driven by the feedback gained from children, families and practitioners to ensure a collaborative meaningful approach.
Having the space to reflect, discuss ideas and be shown tools that allow me to see the bigger picture has been invaluable.
Coaching has provided me with the opportunity to not only practice using tools but has also provided me with resources and methods that I don’t think I’d otherwise have come across.
I think there’s a lot to learn from other sectors and our coach’s broad range of experience has allowed me to think about the common issues across organisations implementing change and those that are specific to our circumstances.
I’d absolutely recommend coaching to others. The coaching has not only supported me with the production of an innovative new service model, but also an innovative new way of embedding it through our new framework, which not only gives our children, young people and families a voice in how we behave and work with them as social care professions, but also to practice in a way that works with the strengths of the people we support.
It’s fair to say that the challenges of working in social care are considerable at the moment, and there are many barriers that could prevent positive change. But the time and space coaching provides to really consider goals and actions has had a positive impact on what I’ve been able to achieve with these areas of work.
You can tell us about your project by completing our online form, or contact innovationcoaching@socialcare.wales to find out more.
Lead Manager for Practice, RCT Children’s Services