End of term report: Quality, care and commitment across our teams

by Rachel Bundock, Compass CEO

Welcome to our July edition and the end of yet another incredibly busy academic year. It doesn’t seem five minutes since the start of the school year and once again in the blink of an eye it’s done and dusted. Even my 12 year old son, Sebastian who has just finished Year 7, couldn’t believe his first year at secondary was over. Time is a precious commodity and one of the few things we can’t change or influence.

What struck me in reading this month’s articles was the thought people had gone into in making sure they created the time to do the things that matter well. Knowing it would be time well spent in being able to properly connect and engage with others because they recognised the real value it would bring. From the creativity of the Derby team’s Pesky Parrot book to support primary school children, the human approach of the Safe East team in making parents/carers feel at ease in talking about puberty, NEL’s team spirit in coming together to compete in It’s a Knockout to raise money for another charity, to the reflections of the C4H team who as part of their away day recognised the achievements of all and how they can be even more inclusive with seldom heard children and young people.

The two common themes through all the articles were ones of giving people our time and showing kindness. Qualities we can never underestimate but such a privilege to see in action when you know the impact that it has on those it’s meant for. This is what Compass is all about and I couldn’t be more proud.

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Quality Counts with Sue Cody, Quality Assurance Lead

I joined Compass last December as Quality Assurance Lead. I am the nominated Care Quality Commission lead and Caldicott Guardian for Compass.

All through my career, I’ve been passionate to ensure effective and high standards of care are provided for all children and young people.

My role includes supporting, oversight and reporting on areas of quality and clinical governance within the organisation.

This includes working with all services, monitoring and reviewing compliance/quality audits, updating and reviewing organisational/local policies and procedures, ensuring services are working to national standards, guidance and evidenced-based practice, incident management, informal and formal complaints, supervision, reviewing identified local clinical risks. Also, identifying common themes, sharing lessons learnt and celebrating good practice throughout the organisation, to improve the quality of services and minimise risk.

The Quality Audit Tools are being developed alongside the existing compliance audit tools, the quality audits will be introduced periodically throughout the year as part of the routine Quality and Compliance Audit Plan 2023 – 2024.

To see our Compass Quality and Compliance Audit Plan 2023-24, click this link U:\Audit Schedule 2023-2024\Compass Quality and Compliance Audit Plan 2023 – 24 Final.docx

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Some staff such as within central services, do some type of hybrid working which involves working from home. Many of our colleagues who work directly with CYP and families may not be able to do this, at least not on a regular basis. But even on ad-hoc occasions, working from home can provide some challenges as much as benefits….

Here’s some tips for those of us who work at home on a permanent basis.

As you know, I am a true advocate for the 5 ways to wellbeing, in part because I have found it to be truly helpful in my own life. As a full time remotely based employee, I have had to work hard on managing my own wellbeing around some of the challenges of not having a team or office to visit. There are many people that still work from home or have a hybrid model; there are some front line staff that do not have this as an option at all. The grass can sometimes seem greener!

I live down south, any more south and I would be in the sea. My colleagues are ‘Up North’ although I am told that it is in actual fact ‘Midlands’ I have only seen my team as a whole once in my 18 months working for Compass and that was in Loughbough; nearly three hours drive. Our Christmas meal was done in three different pubs via MS Teams. Not having a base or a team to go in and sit with, chat to or bounce ideas off in an organic manner is difficult and something I had to adapt to; and still am adapting to. Having been a part of a team for all of my professional life it was a stark contrast. There are a few of us in Compass that work like this. The feeling of isolation is something I have struggled with in the past; but have since found ways to manage this. I have found shared workspaces in the local area and I know of other team members that would happily sit on a silent teams call whilst we both work independently in ‘virtual presence’ of each other.

For some people the boundaries of work:home can blur and this is something that requires strict management. For me having a family to feed and not having to battle the commute I see as a positive of working from home; however I do find that I log on quite early sometimes as we are a house of early risers and will do a few bits of admin ‘to get ahead of the curve’; so for me the early work is something I need to be more disciplined in.

It has taken time, strategies and effort to find an effective, happy style and balance of working. So I will share these tips with you:

• Put in your own version of a commute to prepare and unwind for the day. A morning and afternoon walk can put you in a better frame of mind and ensure a clear ‘start/ end’ to your working day.
• Enjoy the opportunity to make yourself a nutritious energy boosting lunch in your own kitchen; you don’t need to rely on meal deals. So it is a positive for eating a healthier lunch.
• Put in a 10min coffee break catch up with colleagues, just as you might do in the office; walking to the kitchen.
• Find local libraries and cafes that have WIFI and plugs; there are many of us WFH professionals out there and there are some amazing shared workspaces available now.
• Make sure you ‘connect’ outside of working hours. Meet friends, go to the gym, join clubs so that you are still getting the opportunity to socialise and have conversations with real life people.
• Finally- as always, keep the 5 ways to wellbeing strong in your life. Building wellness and resilience to make you as happy, health and productive as you can be.

Overall, I am really happy with my working set up, and have found a way to make this style of work, work for me. But it takes time and effort so don’t assume it will be easy without putting some basic parameters in place. Work can be challenging for all styles of contract; and there are always pros and cons for everyone. So look after yourselves and support others around you.

HR’s Donna Wilson adds more ideas…

Designated work space

Making sure you have a designated work space, which is not the same area where you relax and unwind in, make sure you have everything you need for this, separate keyboard, mouse, wrist rest etc.

Work outfit

Having a focussed dress code can help you, putting on a “work outfit”, even if it is much more casual than when you worked in an office environment can subconsciously switch you to a different headspace.

Take a break

Managing your time well, allowing yourself breaks from your desk to ensure you remain productive.  A quick coffee break or a walk around the block won’t take 5 minutes but it will boost your energy and productivity.

Work to your hours

Make sure you work within your contracted start and finish times, it’s very easy to start earlier because you’re up and ready, maybe go for a short walk instead, and just because you have not planned any social activities after work, doesn’t mean you should work late either.

Virtual coffee break

Take time at least on a weekly basis, to have a virtual coffee break with some of your colleagues, it’s still great to catch up for 10 minutes or so for a quick chat and catch up.

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Just Say Thanks…

Thank you to Michelle Allen for organising such a fun and unique team bonding experience at the Escape Room. It was lovely to work with our link team Bemrose and Noel Baker and put faces to names. Looking forward to the next one!! Well done to the ‘Contagion’ team!!!’ – Sophie Davis, Trainee Education Mental Health Practitioner – Changing Lives Compass MHST

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Thank you Helen Scouller for her bravery in sharing her personal experiences and knowledge to the team on Tuesday, she is incredible, an actual superhuman! – Lauren Tiffany, Educational Mental Health Practitioner – Compass Be

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I would like to say a big thank you to my Compass Be colleagues. I feel really proud to work with a team of fabulous and clever people who are always there for each other. – Rachel Musgrave, Family Practitioner – Compass Be

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I would like to say a big thank you to Sarah Holley, Family Brief Intervention Worker, Central, for letting me shadow her the last few weeks for my PAR objective.  It was great to see the amazing work Sarah carried out with young people.  Wishing you all the best Sarah in your new role. x – Clare Holley, School Nursing Healthcare Support Worker – C4H

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At July’s meeting, SMT reviewed its timetable for preparing for the strategy day with the Board later in the year, where together we review Compass’ direction of travel and strategic priorities for the next one to two years.

The timetable included reviewing any recent national policy changes and external business risks we anticipate such as likely political changes and the impact of the cost of living crisis. These considerations help to inform progress made against current strategy, priorities and next steps, and are the basis of our proposals to the Board. During the Board meeting in November we are able to test SMT’s thinking and recommendations as a collective and agree the next phase of the organisation’s journey and transformation.

Progress reviewed

We reviewed progress against our Q2 high priorities which included the hard work of all those involved in preparing and recruiting to additional staff teams in North East Lincolnshire, Barnsley, Derby as well as mobilising four new teams in Birmingham. All these teams form part of either the Wave 9 (September) or Wave 10 (January 2024) intake of additional MHSTs.

Data submissions were another priority. Following intensive work with NHS Digital by our data team, a preview of the published national quarterly MHSDS report indicates we are now successfully flowing data through the national data set. Once confirmed, further work will be undertaken to ensure that the activity data reported accurately reflects our operational activity. A huge thankyou to operations and the data team for their continued efforts and patience to get this important piece of work concluded.

EDI priority

Our final priority was related to EDI. Actions to progress the development of an EDI policy framework were reviewed which included the shaping of the framework covering both workforce and service users and consulting with managers on proposed key aspects. One key aspect is developing cross-organisational EDI thematic groups that will support the work of the EDI steering group and help embed local ownership.

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Charity worker shopping discounts

As prices rise in the shops, this may help…

Discounts are available to charity workers and volunteers. All you need is your name, postcode and the charity you work for.

Click the image to learn more.

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Compass Awareness Days Calendar for 2023

The Compass Awareness Calendar for 2023 is our most comprehensive yet and has new sources including the NHS. Please take a look to see what’s coming up in the next month or two and through the year.

Tell us your news…

Please send all submissions, including thank yous, to compasspoints@compass-uk.org