Rachel Writes: Ensuring we grow and thrive together
Welcome to November’s edition which features a number of stories celebrating individual and team achievements. An important reminder of the fabulous and diverse talent we have here at Compass. A few updates from me which are important as we continue to work towards achieving our collective mission and vision, and grow and thrive.
Partnering with the British Army
Compass is partnering with the British Army to co-develop their drug misuse education training programme for soldiers. As a result, Positive Effect will work together with senior Army trainers to pilot a train the trainer model which will equip Army personnel to deliver effective training for their recruits, targeting 16-25 year olds. Training will include illicit substances as well as new psychoactive substances and over the counter medication. This offer supports Positive Effect’s ambition of improving workplace wellbeing including better prevention and early intervention for key professional groups at greater risk of ill health.
Steps towards creating a ONE Compass
As Compass develops, it’s essential that our internal communications grows with it, so that we can all feel connected and part of a One Compass; wherever we are based, or whatever role we fulfil.
‘ONE Compass is a place where we all know what it means to actively display the same core Compass values, characteristics, and principled ways of working. And brings our services together, that deliver different aspects of health and wellbeing that are inter-connected’.
MVV Presentation
Compass Points which includes corporate messages as well as stories, experiences and subject expertise from different staff teams, plays a very important part in this.
Things have changed rapidly in communications at Compass in recent months as we continue to expand and improve how we communicate, share, and learn together. And as we hurtle towards the end of the year, we feel that now’s the time to gauge your thoughts…
Our ultimate goal is the development of a staff intranet which will enable real time sharing of information, forums and news stories. However, as we know this is going to take time to build and won’t happen overnight. Compass Points and its news production plays a critical role towards realising this ambition. In the next week or so, everyone will be sent a very short survey about Compass Points, its value and how they feel their team is represented.
Please keep an eye out for the survey and take the time to complete and return it. Your feedback really matters and will help us to reflect on what works / doesn’t and how we continue to shape our internal communications together.
Values Champions Awards
Please scroll down for staff videos talking about what compass values mean to them. The deadline for nominations for the Values Champions Awards is this Friday, December 2nd.
Helen is keeping children safe from Hidden Harm
Work to uncover hidden harm is “of profound importance, due to the impact problematic use of controlled substances can have on our young people,” says CYPDAS Service Manager, Stuart Haste.
Helen Butler, Hidden Harm “Stars” worker is launching a new programme to make teachers “trauma-aware”.
Chance for our staff to join teachers in discussions on Whole School Approach
Staff are being invited to join an online discussion with teachers on aspects of the whole school approach to health and wellbeing.
Rose Kearns, Business Development Assistant Director, says: “Positive Effect would like to extend the invitation to this Community in Practice MS Teams event to anyone involved in Compass MHSTs or those that are supporting settings to develop a whole school approach,
“We believe… all will benefit not only from the lessons learnt from the speakers but by hearing different perspectives.”
Pride in partnership making support more accessible
Safe East and partner organisations have narrowly missed out on an award in London for a ground breaking resource they provide together for young people.
The Health Spot initiative was nominated at the London Youth Awards. It provides a weekly health resource inside a popular youth club.
Safe East Team Leader, Vicky Jones, says: “This is the best way to work and find those young people who are vulnerable who may not otherwise get help.”
Nurses eager to learn at autism conference
C4H staff meeting families and other professionals “helps us to learn about the health needs of neurodiverse children and young people”, says Karen Cornick, Service Manager.
Building professional relationships within the community in Lancashire
“These events are the foundations of strong relationships that put children at the centre of what we do” – Eve Allen, Compass Bloom Team Leader
Anti-bullying week messages of hope
GO getters better by degrees
Supporting and empowering staff
Dom Tooze, Compass’ new Volunteer Coordinator.
We will soon be able to share more about the aims and principles mentioned last month, and I am now doing some more work on volunteer roles, policies, and communications.
While working on this, I’ve also been linking in with peers in the volunteering community to ensure that our plans make practical sense as well as on paper. A really useful source for help has been York CVS (Centre for Voluntary Service). Through the CVS, I’ve attended a workshop on inclusion, received advice and had the opportunity to meet people working with volunteers (some in organisations like Compass, some rather different – but all good to learn from). As the project continues, I will help link up staff working with volunteers with their local volunteer services, but if you’re interested it’s definitely worth having a look now.
In terms of reviewing the volunteering policy, I’m currently going through the policy which was last reviewed in 2020 and seeing how it aligns with the vision of volunteering as a more important part of Compass. If you have looked into including volunteers before and encountered any challenges, let me know – I am really keen that policies and procedures support and empower staff.
There will be more to share next month, but in the meantime, please get in touch if:
- You want to discuss the volunteering project (in general, or in terms of how it might work at your service)
- You’re aware of any local funding opportunities which might be relevant to the volunteering project
Grateful for the help and support you’ve received from a colleague? Tell us about it…
Just Say Thanks…
Thank you to the health support workers at Connect for Health. Chris, Michelle, Afsana, Clare, Ruth, Kate and Vicky, your hard work in setting up Health Champion groups in some of our high priority schools has been noticed. It is lovely to see so many new groups springing up. Co-producing and disseminating public health information is so important and your work with the Health Champions is helping with this. Many thanks.
Karen Cornick, Service Manger
I would like to thank Rose Kearns for her support with my first meeting with WeConnect. Rose provided great insight to ensure my presentation was well received by a potential new customer.
William Bentley, Development and Sales Officer, Compass Positive Effect
The Safe East team want to say a massive thank you and big ups to our Engagement and Participation worker – Mariam Sheriff.
The role carries the responsibility of organising, planning and delivering PSHE sessions across the borough, in Schools with different needs and demographics – no mean feat!
I think sometimes we can underestimate how significant this responsibility is and the level of skill and thought that it requires. Mariam is a truly special member of the team, she delivered a session last week to a school that previously other staff members have found challenging. The session topic was a sensitive subject and one close to Mariam’s heart. Mariam was thoughtful about her material and style and this was clearly effective as engagement was really positive and students responded and engaged throughout. We appreciate Mariam’s dedication and how seriously she takes this element of her role – as it requires a unique and impressive skillset. We want to say a huge thank you and remind Mariam how valued she is as a team member.
Rachel Rigby, Health & Wellbeing Practitioner, Safe East
I’d like to nominate Vicky Triffitt team leader from Compass GO for a compliment. She is a knowledgeable and nurturing team leader and is approachable for all the team. Vicky is a good listener and proactive in supporting members of the team. When I have been stuck in the past she has helped and guided me and also other members of the team. I feel managers don’t always get the recognition they deserve. So thanks, Vicky!
Jamee-Leigh Benson, Compass GO!
Take Good Care –
Your Health and Wellbeing with Danielle Grant
We’re consistently hearing from education staff who attend our DfE Senior Mental Health Lead training that work-life balance is a recurring issue for them and their colleagues and peers.
We know this isn’t isolated to the education sector and ranges across many other sectors including our own.
The health of everyone within Compass is incredibly important and enabling everyone to find a good level of prioritisation within personal and professional activities is key.
If we get this wrong, one of the greatest risks of being unable to balance your workload is ‘Burnout’.
Here are some points to consider for your own work-life balance.
- Pause. Ask yourself: what’s currently causing me stress or unhappiness? How is that affecting my work and personal life? What am I prioritising? What am I losing out on?
- Pay attention to your feelings. Now you’re more aware of your current situation, how does it make you feel? Are you fulfilled and happy or angry and resentful? Being aware of your feelings can help you decide whether you need to make changes and what changes you want to make.
- Reprioritise. Think about what needs to change and how you can achieve that – you might consider gradual steps to help make the changes.
- Consider your alternatives. Is there anything at work you can change to meet your new priorities?
- Make changes. Within work, maybe that’s making sure you use all your annual leave or not checking your emails outside your working hours. If you are feeling overwhelmed, make sure you talk to your line manager to seek guidance and support. You can also access lots of practical help and information through our EAP provider, Health Assured Access the Wellbeing Portal (Employer code: MHA180081 Username: Wellbeing Password: HomeLineCard20
“If you give me six hours to cut down a tree I will spend four hours sharpening the axe” Abraham Lincoln.
In this, you are the axe; and the tree represents the demands of work and life. Focus energies on yourself in order to fulfil your goals.
Let us once again refer to the Five Ways to Wellbeing, which we think about each month in this wellbeing column.
Values Champions Awards
We asked three members of our staff about our Compass values…..
Gemma Austin at CYPDAS
Dom Tooze, Volunteer coordinator
Pip Nix at Phoenix
Managers urged to send in their nominations before 2nd December deadline
Managers are asked to nominate a team member they believe exemplifies one of our four values of Integrity, Valuing Each Individual, Being Solution Focused and having a Consistent and Reliable Approach.
Before submitting their nomination, they should get approval from their ADs/Head of Department. So now is the time to get thinking about those nominations!
More information on the schemes including the nomination process for “CEO Values Champion” can be found here U:\HR\Forms & Templates\Managers\MyCompass Awards
SMT Report: Long term strategy and priorities agreed
SMT held their annual strategic planning day with the Board of Directors (non executive directors), where we reviewed progress this year and agreed our longer term strategy and priorities for the next few years taking into account the external business and policy environment and its likely effect on Compass.
We reflected on some our achievements of which there are many, and include:
- A clear organisational mission, vision, values and principles including the importance of lived experience as part of a ONE Compass approach.
- Achieving our growth strategy ahead of schedule with wins in Derbyshire and Coventry and high levels of organic growth across multiple services.
- Building sustainable foundations through the development of our central infrastructure.
- Defined quality principles that our framework will be based upon and underpinned by values and principled practice.
- An improving communications and digital offer to staff and beneficiaries.
The non executive directors continue to be incredibly impressed and in awe of everyone’s dedication, diverse talent and commitment to achieving the very best outcomes for children, young people and families as well as ensuring Compass is in a strong position to overcome the challenges ahead and be able to thrive.
Aspirations
Looking forward, SMT outlined our longer term aspirations that will enable Compass to thrive but also tackle the external threats resulting from high inflation, uncertain political landscape, pressure on public spending and changes to commissioning through the creation of Integrated Care Boards. Our aspirations are centred on:
- Evidenced effectiveness
- Becoming an employer of choice
- Affordable delivery
- Appropriate quality and governance
- Efficient future growth
Compass’ biggest challenge, like all individuals, families and businesses are facing right now, is the cost of living crisis and levels of high inflation that have never been seen before in Compass’ time. We are yet to receive any clarity from commissioners about how much, if at all our funding will be increased to pay for cost of living rises. As a result, SMT set out a number of options that it is considering, to ensure we can achieve our aspirations of delivering affordable services and our end goal of becoming employer of choice. The board were confident SMT’s options were robust, achievable, and aligned to our aspirations. Objectives to achieving our aspirations will form the basis of a business plan which will be presented in February 2023 for approval.
Creative Education update
As many of you will remember from previous communication Compass have signed up to an online learning platform provided by Creative Education. The platform provides access to regular webinars and online learning covering a host of relevant subjects from trauma, to anxiety, workplace mental health, special educational needs and many more. Courses can be used to evidence your continued professional development as well as providing an opportunity for bite size learning for broader awareness of the particular needs of children and young people which will help inform your practice and broaden your professional knowledge. The majority of Compass staff have access to the learning platform and you can log in using your Compass e-mail address by visiting www.creativeeducation.co.uk. For colleagues who have joined Compass more recently and do not have access please e-mail jan.smith@compass-uk to request your account set up.
by Jan Smith, Operations Director
Important policies updated
A number of policies have recently been updated and saved on the Policy Central Drive.
These include grievance and disciplinary policies. The recruitment policy has also been updated to include the Eploy process which is our job application tracking system. Those of you involved with recruitment will have used Eploy which we recently introduced to streamline our recruitment process. If you joined us recently you may have applied for the role via Eploy. Hopefully you had a good candidate experience.
Do you know someone who’d be a perfect fit for Compass?
The Refer a Friend scheme has been revised and extended to March 23. We welcome your personal recommendations of people you know and trust whom you think would be a great addition to the Compass team. This scheme gives you the opportunity to refer someone for a role and if successful, after their probation, you will be paid up to £350.
Menopause support
In last month’s edition. Danielle Grant wrote an excellent article on menopause. Your health and wellbeing is important to us and we want to ensure we support women’s health. We have a new menopause policy to help guide and support staff and there are some great sources of further information all colleagues can access via our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), Health Assured. We are also pleased to confirm an addition of a menopause awareness training course for managers. Here are the links:
Username: Wellbeing Password: HomeLineCard20
- Menopause Awareness training course for line managers on the ‘My Learning’ section of iHASCO once complete please save on My Compass. https://app.ihasco.co.uk/training/MjY0MzQ3fGNvbXBhc3N5b3Jr
Appraisals season
As we are approaching the end of 2022, preparation needs to begin shortly for end of year (EOY) performance appraisal reviews (PAR). For any new staff who are new to our appraisal process, if you joined Compass before 30th June this year, you will be due a formal appraisal (those who joined after this date may also have an appraisal as part of their probationary review process – your line manager will advise you of this).
Getting ready for your review meeting
Shortly, your line manager will be scheduling an initial EOY review meeting (this may take place in November, December or January). In advance of the meeting, your manager will ask you to prepare your EOY PAR. You will need to use the Word based Performance Review Form and upload this onto ‘My Compass’ (please refer to the ‘My Compass’ user guide for instructions on the system use – included is a section on how to upload your PAR form).
During the initial EOY review meeting, you will discuss your self-ratings, rationale and evidence; your line manager will also share with you feedback, including their own, of your performance. At this session any differing views between yourself and your line manager regarding your performance would be discussed. You should note that your line manager will not share their rating with you at this stage as they are required to attend a calibration session (in February 23) with their peers to discuss proposed ratings to ensure consistency across services.
Following the relevant calibration session, your manager will share with you the final PAR in February/March.
Find the forms and FAQs
The user guidance for ‘My Compass’ can be found here:
U:\HR\My Compass\My Compass Self-Service User Guide V6.0.pdf
The PAR Word document can be found here:
U:\HR\Performance Review Process\Documents & Forms\Forms\Performance Review Form – Compass v4.0.doc
Sing out in our new Compass Choir!
A few of the up North team members have been talking about the benefits of choir and singing as a wellbeing tool and would really love to set up a ‘One Compass Wellbeing Choir’ to include Compass staff from across the country in an online, no audition, open to all choir.
But first, we need someone who has some experience or skill in leading a choir; who could lead such a choral adventure on line?
If we can find a choir master, we can find a choir! So if you are out there and would be able to help us set up a virtual wellbeing choir, please e-mail me jan.smith@compass-uk.org for a chat about the practicalities and how we might make this happen.
by Jan Smith, Operations Director
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.
Tell us all about the events you mark in your service
Awareness Days 2022
Upcoming in December…
| 1st | World Aids Day | https://www.worldaidsday.org/about/ |
| 10th | Human rights day | https://www.un.org/en/observances/human-rights-day |
| 19th | Hanukkah | https://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/uk/chanukah |
| 25th | Christmas |
If you mark any events and religious festivals in your services, please remember to share it with
Compass Points.
We know that services have already established events they mark which may not be on our calendar.
We’re really interested in hearing about all you do and aim to include your events in the overall calendar so it builds over time.
Tell us your news.
The deadline for stories and pictures for the next issue is
Midday, Wednesday, 7th December. Please send submissions with Compass Points in subject line to cliff.edwards@compass-uk.org