Foreword
Last year the Supportive Communities Board published its first progress report outlining achievements between 2020 and 2024. This year we are delighted to present the 2024/25 Supportive Communities Annual Report that showcases how we provide the right support for people so they can live in good health and independently for longer, with help from their family, friends and communities.
As Chair and Vice-Chair of the Supportive Communities Board, we are dedicated to getting this right working collectively as partners to create the right conditions for change, working with communities, to tailor what we do to work best in each place.
Our partnership priorities aim to support independent living, strengthen community capabilities locally, and boost workforce skills and confidence. In 2024/2025 we:
- Successfully embedded the Supportive Communities Programme across wider partnerships
- Received positive recognition from the Care Quality Commission about achievements to date
- Engaged with communities, partners and staff to review the programme and improve outcomes
- Strengthened local community capabilities and began a phased Supportive Communities locality approach
- Boosted workforce skills and confidence
We would like to offer a huge thank you to the Supportive Communities Programme Team, Supportive Communities Board, partners, community organisations and volunteers who helped make this Programme a success in 2024/25. Through these combined efforts, we are well positioned to create a supportive network that empowers individuals to live independently and with confidence.
We look forward to working collectively to continue to deliver the aspirations of the partnership in 2025–2026.
Claire McIver
Assistant Director Public Health and Prevention, Staffordshire County Council
Supportive Communities Board – Chair
Lynn Millar
Portfolio Director – Improving Population Health, Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Integrated Care Board
Supportive Communities Board – Vice-Chair
Downloadable version
Contents
- A Partnership Vision
- Priority 1 – Tools for Promoting Independent Living
- Priority 2 – Grow and enhance community capacity for people to help themselves and others
- Priority 3 – Develop the skills, knowledge and confidence of the wider care and community workforce
- Priority 4 – Engage, listen and communicate with communities and staff to improve outcomes
- Plans for 2025 onwards
- Governance
- Partners, Community Help Points, Providers Support, Community Champions Grants
- Contacts
A partnership vision for the Supportive Communities programme
People can live independently with support from families and communities.
- Priority 1
Develop tools for promoting independent living - Priority 2
Grow and enhance community capacity for residents to help themselves and others - Priority 3
Help to develop the skills, knowledge and confidence of the wider care and community workforce - Priority 4
Effective communication and engagement with both communities and the workforce
What we have achieved in 2024/25
Priority 1 - Tools for promoting independent living
We have a range of tools used by communities and staff to find resources, community groups, and organisations that support independent living.
These remain popular and continue to promote self-help and independence.
- Staffordshire County Council Health and Care Webpages received around 54,700 visits in 2024/25.
- Staffordshire Connects: more than 10,000 visitors accessed our online directory to connect with the 6,000 community organisations and services listed.
- Happy at Home Webpage: a visual tool demonstrating assistive technology gadgets that support independence in the home. There were around 17,000 visits to the site last year from over 5,500 regular users.
- The Benefit Checker Tool has helped over 2,900 people access additional benefits.
- 50 Assistive Technology Champions: trained staff in each Social Work Team are ambassadors promoting independent living tools using the Box of Trix.
- Over 4,500 visits per month to Adult Social Care self-help webpages
- 6,000 community groups on Staffordshire Connects with around 850 visits per month
- 80% of requests for Adult Social Care are supported with information, advice, guidance and community support
Real Life Impact – Assistive Technology Champions
Mrs Smith found care visits stressful and restrictive. After raising her concerns with her Social Worker, together they found a solution. They cancelled her care package (approximately £45 per day) and purchased simple aids such as a sponge on a stick and a lotion applicator at a cost of just under £7. Besides the financial saving this meant Mrs Smith and her husband had more time to get out and about significantly improving her wellbeing and independence.
Source: Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Cannock Discharge to Assess Team.
Real Life Impact – Box of Trix
Mr White has tested out the Box of Trix assistive aids for a week and was amazed by the grabber tool. The little magnet on the bottom is great to pick up keys when he drops them, and the dressing stick helps him put on his trousers.
Source: Social Work Assessor, Tamworth Initial Response Team.
Priority 2 - Grow and enhance community capacity for people to help themselves and others
Growing Community Capacity
Support Staffordshire is the key body working with statutory partners and communities to grow and develop voluntary, community and social enterprises and has 1,400 local organisations registered as members.
Support Staffordshire activities contribute to delivering the Supportive Communities programme's ambitions by:
- Support to 13 Social Enterprises. This included Senior Smiles, a new Day Care Service created to meet a gap following the closure of another provider.
- Advice and guidance provided to 600 community groups (400 health and care organisations) sustaining groups such as the Newcastle Community Transport project though good governance and long-term planning.
- Successfully placing 300 people in volunteer placements with local groups like Muddy Boots, a garden support and wellbeing project, Staffordshire Women's Aid and befriending with the Rob Robinson Foundation.
- Securing over £5 million investment into local communities, for example:
- Lifeworks Staffordshire provide social groups for clients and carers living with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). They successfully received £25,000 from the Postcode Lottery for an outreach worker.
- The Pathway Project received an additional £50,000 to support their work with adults and children experiencing domestic and sexual abuse.
- The Alex Ferry Foundation gave Newcastle Foodbank £3,600 to purchase food and hygiene supplies to relieve poverty in the town.
- £5m investment in community groups and organisations.
- 25 community groups received £210,000 Supportive Communities grant funding benefiting over 4,000 people.
- Over 370 referrals to 26 Community Help Points.
- 83 Community Champions across three localities.
Real Life Impact – The Community Church, Burton and District
The Community Church Burton, Stapenhill is highly active delivering local projects, including a Food Bank and youth sessions. The church's community involvement was boosted following Sharon Wright’s input from Support Staffordshire:
“Sharon has been an invaluable source of advice and support. She has shared comprehensive information on potential grants and funding opportunities. Sharon’s warm and friendly manner puts people at ease and has played a key role in helping me build confidence in connecting with new individuals.”
Anita Middleton, Church Community Development Manager.
Video Case Study – Support Staffordshire
Edited Supportive Communities video
Community Help Points (CHPs)
Community Help Points are known and trusted places in local communities like Council Libraries and community centres:
Community help points web pages
They provide information and support for people on a range of areas, including: benefits advice, finance and form-filling, finding social activities, support and befriending, practical help around the home, non-digital support, digital skills, and daily living equipment.
This year we listened to over 60 frontline staff who work in or refer to Community Help Points, and a sample of people supported by a Community Help Point to better understand impact.
Thanks to this feedback the Community Help Point working group has:
- Established an electronic referral process providing an audit trail
- Improved data collection, evaluation and analysis
- Captured regular service user feedback and experience
- Started working with people with neurodiversity and autism to increase the accessibility of the Community Help Point offer
- Widened representation of the Community Help Point working group
The Community Help Point working group has an action plan covering:
- Delivering bespoke training to Community Help Point staff on adult social care, neurodiversity and autism and managing difficult conversations
- Piloting ‘walk in’ access to Community Help Points
- Extending the Community Help Point network
There are 26 locations in total, spanning the following areas:
Stafford, Stone, Uttoxeter, Rugeley, Lichfield, Tamworth, Burntwood, Cannock, Codsall, Perton, Wombourne, Burton upon Trent, Leek, Biddulph, Kidsgrove, and Newcastle-under-Lyme.
Type of Community Help Point Referrals:
- 26% - Debt, finance and form filling services
- 21.5% - Befriending service, local and national
- 29.5% - Social groups and support groups
- 6% - Digital Skills
- 12% - Home help services such as gardening
- 5% - Daily living equipment and providers
Real Life Impact – Newcastle
Since his referral to the Newcastle Community Help Point, Mr Brown has joined 'Stone Alzheimer’s Club and Approach Dementia support group' which he says has 'Given me great relief'.
Real Life Impact – South Staffordshire
Mrs White felt isolated and was referred to a South Staffordshire Community Help Point and signposted to a few local groups. Mrs White now attends two local groups on a weekly basis and feels more connected. The Community Help Point also provided information about a jigsaw library, a pastime she is interested in.
Community Champions
Community Champions exist in three out of eight localities. Before extending coverage across Staffordshire, we will hear from Community Champions about their experiences and ideas for the future. View video for further information on the Champions initiative
Who are community champions? - YouTube
Real Life Impact - Community Champion
A Burton Community Champion helped a man with dementia receive appropriate care after neighbours noticed his vulnerable state. The champion's actions ensured the man's needs were seen and supported.
“Since becoming a champion, I’ve attended events, gained new knowledge and built my confidence. One skill I’ve developed is educating my community in ways that truly matter.”
Burton Community Champion.
Volunteer Buddies: learning from the Pilot
A Volunteer Buddies pilot project, funded by Staffordshire County Council, started in November 2022 to test an approach to reducing loneliness and social isolation. The project, delivered by Support Staffordshire, provides temporary short-term support for adults to access local community activities and assets independently. This can include travel training, increasing people’s confidence to access community activities, services, volunteering, training and employment opportunities.
The support is provided by local trained volunteers who work with individuals in a strengths-based way to understand their goals and gradually work towards them together. Over the last year, the Volunteer Buddies project has expanded into 5 areas covering Lichfield, Cannock, South Staffordshire, East Staffordshire and Stafford, with referrals from social prescribers, health practitioners and Social Workers.
The project has three different Buddy support roles covering:
Travel training
The project has created a bespoke travel training programme mainly supporting people with neurodiversity or learning disabilities. To increase the number of travel buddies the project has developed a train the trainers course.
Low level support
The new in-house buddy role has enabled people with low level support needs to be quickly connected into their community through 1,435 volunteer hours.
One to one support
More than 560 hours of in-depth volunteer support to over 40 clients. This project is making a difference with buddy clients progressing into volunteering activities (50 hours) and one volunteer buddy has moved into a paid role.
- More than 560 hours of one‑to‑one support provided to over 40 people.
- Over 2,000 volunteer hours delivered (equivalent to £30,000 paid time*).
* This figure is based on the nationally recognised monetary value of volunteer time, which is equivalent to £14.43 per hour
Percentage of clients referred by support need:
- 44% - Mental Health
- 12% - Physical Disability
- 44% - Learning Disability
Reasons for support referrals (41 people with 164 support needs)
- Loneliness / Isolation: around 45 referrals
- Befriending: around 35 referrals
- Emotional support: around 30 referrals
- Travel training: around 20 referrals
- Life‑changing event: around 15 referrals
- Recovering from illness: around 10 referrals
- Bereavement: around 9 referrals
Real Life Impact – Volunteer Buddies (1)
Jo* loves to bake, has severe social anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder was introduced to a group in a community café. She now volunteers helping with the baking and is considering next steps towards a career in catering.
Real Life Impact – Volunteer Buddies (2)
Max* used to volunteer but since the Covid-19 pandemic become very isolated impacting on their mental health and that of their parent/ carer. Max was supported by a buddy to join a community group and he now volunteers at the group.
*Not real names
Community Grants
Over the year we worked with the Community Foundation Trust to award 25 grants to community groups and organisations totalling £210,000. An estimated 4,000 people have benefitted from a wide range of activities and support.
Funding was directed at bids that met gaps identified by frontline staff and partners covering the following themes:
- Form filling to access entitled benefits
- Food, education, warm spaces and social activities
- Community transport to access wellbeing support
- Befriending projects
- Healthy ageing activities
- Domestic and living skills development for people with learning difficulties
Real Life Impact – Community Grants
Barbara felt isolated after hip surgery and joined the Open House Friendship Café at the New Vic Theatre in Newcastle-underLyme. Initially nervous, she quickly found the welcoming atmosphere comforting. The café helped her gain confidence and attend more activities, positively impacting her physical health and loneliness. She values the sense of community and support provided.
Stoke on Trent and North Staffordshire Theatre Trust Limited.
Project - New Vic ‘Open House’
“I look forward to coming to Lunch Club every week, I miss it if I can’t come, it’s the only time I get to leave the house”.
Methodist Housing Association (MHA) South Staffordshire Project - Support and Sustain
Supportive Communities Locality Approach
In 2023/24 feedback from frontline staff, Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise sector and other partners identified the variety of initiatives available to support residents and prevent escalation into services and the scope to do more.
Partners recognised the positive impact of the Supportive Communities programme and recommended taking a locality approach that was integrated and aligned with local initiatives. We used learning from the Citizens Inquiries, Staffordshire Moorlands Pilot and evidence from other areas of the country to make a case for a new approach.
Additional funding was identified to design a strategic framework to coordinate stakeholders, resources, and local intelligence to localise the Supportive Communities programme.
This year we have used data and insight to co-design this approach and introduced this new way of working into two localities. The locality approach is guided by several key principles:
- Build on what works
Each locality has distinct strengths, networks, and resources. Identifying and building on these is essential for providing support systems that work for local people. - Respond to local intelligence and insight
Actions are informed by regular conversations, local insight and data collection, allowing a responsive approach that can evolve as local needs change. - Working Together
Success depends on co-operation with a range of partners from local government, health, voluntary organisations and the community to agree to work together, and share information to achieve the best outcomes for local people. - Identify gaps and take action
By understanding the demands and limitations of any current community support; partners can work together to design and deliver solutions to improve the support available, where needed. - Co-Production
Solutions are not imposed on the community, instead, they are co-produced with residents and partners, to ensure they are effective, appropriate and acceptable for the local community.
Developing the Locality Approach
Over the past year, we have followed a series of steps to understand each area’s strengths, identify local priorities, and build capacity within communities to meet local needs.
The five key steps are:
- Gather intelligence to understand local needs
Collect information, insight and feedback from communities and partners. - Engagement and co‑design
Work with local residents, groups and organisations to shape the approach together. - Partnership endorsement
Agree the approach with partners to ensure shared commitment and alignment. - Use benchmark data to inform phased rollout
Analyse local data to support planning and guide how the approach is introduced. - Introduction of the approach
Begin implementing the locality model in a structured, place‑based way.
Real Life Impact – Networking Event
In 2024/25, we worked with partners and front-line staff to secure buy-in for the locality approach in Newcastle-under-Lyme and Stafford.
This involved a number of engagement events, such as the Newcastle Networking Event in May 2024, which brought together the wider workforce across Newcastle.
200 professionals attended, which included: Social Workers, Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise sector, Primary Care Networks and the Local Authorities. This gave partners the opportunity to learn about each other and develop closer working relationships to build trust and confidence across sectors and teams.
Building on this success, there is now a demand for further networking events and opportunities as part of the locality approach implementation.
It was lovely to see the day so well attended and people to be very keen to share their knowledge. On my table, we all learned so much from each other and shared our knowledge about services we were not aware of. We need to consider how we bring everyone’s knowledge together in order to share to the wider group.
Ruth Wright
Strategic and Service Delivery Lead for Stafford and Newcastle
Older People and Physical Disabilities Team
Supportive Communities Locality Approach
The diagram below shows the different organisations, activities, roles and ways of working that help to create Supportive Communities, where people have access to the right local support network (home, places, people and tools) to promote their independence and wellbeing.
This illustration shows how different parts of the community, voluntary sector and public services work together to support residents. It highlights key elements of the Supportive Communities approach, including information and guidance, community help points, volunteer support, local connectors, health and primary care, adult social care, local councils, and wider community networks. The image represents a connected system that helps people access the right support at the right time.
Priority 3 - Develop the skills, knowledge and confidence of the wider care and community workforce
Supportive Communities training has continued to be popular, with over 750 people engaging. This is broken down to 243 attendances at the 'live' online and face-toface sessions and 508 video views. Training is developed based on feedback from the adult social care workforce and the community and voluntary sector to meet knowledge and skills gaps. Working with Support Staffordshire, bespoke training modules have been designed and delivered covering:
- Strength-Based Conversations
- Working with the Voluntary Sector in Staffordshire
- Introduction to Daily Living Equipment and Technology
- Signposting and Resources
- Communication and Safeguarding
- Mental Health Awareness
- Signposting and Supporting Mental Health
This year, three new modules were developed for the ‘Tools and Resources to Support Independent Living’ training for adult social care staff to increase their knowledge around daily living equipment and technology. For voluntary sector partners ‘Introduction to Marketing’ and ‘Introduction to Social Media’ training targeting supported community and voluntary groups to promote their groups and activities. A high percentage of attendees reported significant improvements from the training sessions with 97% of participants noting an increase in knowledge and understanding and 93% gained enhanced skills and confidence.
- 750 staff trained
- 95% of participants improved
Real Life Impact Strength-Based Conversations Training
“The 'Strength-Based Conversations' training has helped social care practitioners adopt a strengths-based approach. This has improved their ability to recognise and use the strengths of individuals and communities rather than looking to only address needs and gaps. The training has had a positive effect on Care Act assessments and daily conversations, evidenced by practice audits and a recognition from the recent CQC inspection.”
Tammy Drinkwater, Head of Provider Services, Adult Social Care
Real Life Impact Working with the Voluntary Sector Training
“I attended the ‘Working with the Voluntary Sector in Newcastle’ training session and learnt how to use tools like the Staffordshire Connects directory where I found a befriending service that I wasn’t aware of before.
I was really pleased as I managed to signpost one of my clients to that befriending service later that week, which they found helpful. It’s great to know about the different community services and support available locally, and I regularly recommend them to my clients.”
Kevin Brosnahan, Social Care Assessor, Adult Learning Disability North
Quotes from training course participants
“I’ll be sharing all this information with our support workers so they can help to enable our service users to access the community more”
“I learned about how to explore the various community services to support the service users”
“I was not aware that there was so much low-level tech available to everyone”
“This has been very informative and have learnt about the different aids to help people."
Priority 4 - Engage, listen and communicate with communities and staff to improve outcomes
Includes winter wellbeing leaflets, Fair Access deep dive, and community engagement sessions.
Effective, two-way communication and engagement with key stakeholders has led the Supportive Communities programme to reflect the needs and priorities of our communities. Recognising that some households are digitally excluded, we produced 10,000 leaflets providing guidance on staying well over winter that were posted direct to targeted homes. A Fair Access deep dive was undertaken in East Staffordshire to understand people's awareness of and access to community care and support services for underrepresented communities.
Working with local representatives and many community groups, Supportive Communities tools and resources were showcased using interactive sessions to improve awareness and accessibility of support for the community to help people remain independent at home.
Plans for 2025 onwards
What started as an internal Staffordshire County Council programme is now more inclusive with shared commitment from a variety of partners, with engagement at every level.
Supportive Communities continue to adapt and develop based on a continuous cycle of reviews, engagement and responding to feedback.
The Community Help Point and Community Champions reviews alongside new pieces of work such as the Fair Access deep dive have shaped actions for 2025 onwards.
Some key actions for 2025-2026 are:
- Building strong community networks by extending the Supportive Communities Locality Approach
- Deliver networking events throughout Staffordshire connecting the workforce to community assets and organisations
- Encourage small community-based business to deliver a range of individualised and personalised care and support for local residents
- Embed co-production starting with updating the council’s Adult Social Care webpages
- Review and commission training and independent living tools and resources
- Extend and grow Community Help Points through localised communication
Governance
The delivery, performance and monitoring of the Plan is led by the Supportive Communities Partnership Board, consisting of representatives from Staffordshire County Council, Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent Integrated Care Board, Midlands Partnership University Foundation NHS Trust, Support Staffordshire, Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service, District/Borough Councils and North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust.
The Board will bring the plan to life and make it the centre of what they do.
They are currently held accountable by the Council’s Health and Care Senior Leadership Team and governance arrangements will be reviewed annually.
Partners
- Staffordshire County Council
- Support Staffordshire
- Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (MPFT)
- Staffordshire and Stoke Integrated Care Board
- North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust
- Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service
- District and Borough Councils representation
Community Help Points
- County-Managed Staffordshire Libraries
- Aspire Housing and Services
- Biddulph Town Council
- Burton Albion Community Trust
- Community Together CIC
- Haregate Community Centre
- Methodist Housing Association (MHA) Communities North Staffordshire
- Methodist Housing Association (MHA) Communities South Staffordshire, Lichfield and District
- Rising Brook Community Church
- Rugeley Community Centre
- South Staffordshire District Council
Providers Support
- Support Staffordshire
- Entitled To
- Shaw Trust
- Staffordshire Community Foundation Health
- Literacy Matters
- IDOX Software Ltd
- Ruth Beck - Graphic Design
Community Champions
- Burton Community Champions
- Newcastle-under Lyme Community Champions
- Tamworth Community Champions
Grants
Using our grant funding to provide projects in local communities:
Cannock Chase
- Beam
- Cherishers CIC
- Kendall and Wall Charitable Trust
- Methodist Housing Association (MHA)
- Communities - South Staffordshire
- Project Indi
- GRAIN Projects CIC
East Staffordshire
- Trent and Dove Housing
- Methodist Housing Association (MHA) - South Staffordshire
- Project Indi
Lichfield
- Kendall and Wall Charitable Trust
- Inter Theatre CIC
- Burntwood Be A Friend
- Methodist Housing Association (MHA)- South Staffordshire
- Project Indi
Newcastle-under-Lyme
- Reaching CIC
- Staffordshire Sight Loss Association
- Project Indi
- Citizens Advice Staffordshire North and Stoke-on-Trent
- Stoke-on Trent and North Staffordshire Theatre
- Trust Limited
- Aspire Housing
- Methodist Housing Association (MHA) - South Staffordshire
- GRAIN Projects CIC
South Staffordshire
- Perton Parish Council
- Methodist Housing Association (MHA) - South Staffordshire
- Project Indi
Stafford
- Stone Alzheimers Club
- Beam
- Cherishers CIC
- Staffordshire Wildlife Trust
- Staffordshire Sight Loss Association
- Methodist Housing Association (MHA) - South Staffordshire
- Project Indi
Staffordshire Moorlands
- Reaching CIC
- Borderline Voices
- Citizen’s Advice Staffordshire North and Stoke-on-Trent
- Biddulph Youth and Community Zone
- Outside Arts
- Creative Cheadle Staffs
- Methodist Housing Association (MHA) - South Staffordshire
- Staffordshire Sight Loss Association
- Project Indi
- GRAIN Projects CIC
Tamworth
- Changes Tamworth
- Kendall and Wall Charitable Trust
- Inter Theatre CIC
- St Peters Community Church and Centre
- Methodist Housing Association (MHA) - South Staffordshire
- Project Indi
- GRAIN Projects CIC
*Please note some grant funded organisations cover more than one District or Borough
Further information on organisations that received grant funding can be found here: Staffordshire Connects | VCSE Grants
Contacts
For further information on Supportive Communities please contact: publichealth@staffordshire.gov.uk
Websites:
- Website links for further information: Staffordshire Connects
- Supportive Communities Training Health and Wellbeing Training and Resources | Staffordshire County Council
- Independent Living Tools and Resources Directory of daily living equipment and technology | Staffordshire County Council
- Community Help Points Where to get help in your community | Staffordshire County Council
- Entitled To Benefit calculator
- Support Staffordshire Home - Support Staffordshire
- Community Champions Community Champions | Let's Talk Staffordshire
- Volunteer Buddies Volunteer Buddy Service - Support Staffordshire