This co-produced report was commissioned from the Building the Right Support (BTRS) Advisory Group, as part of the wider action plan developed by the Building the Right Support Delivery Board. It has been supported by Partners in Care and Health.
The Building the Right Support Advisory Group is made up of people with lived experience, including family carers. The Local Government Association (LGA) and the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS), which are Partners in Care and Health, supported this report. Download the report:
The group spoke to people face to face and used online surveys to identify what people thought ‘good’ would look like. They also undertook a review of relevant published reports and searched and reviewed available evidence to gather evidence - also looking at previous reports and their recommendations.
Using the information gathered, the advisory group set out to find examples of ‘good’ community supports, to learn about them, and what it took to overcome some of the barriers to getting them in place.
This report includes seven key principles that ‘good’ community supports show in their day-to-day work:
- Ethical: work to uphold human rights and operate within the law.
- Creative: Finding solutions and thinking outside of the box to get there.
- Personalised: Focused on the whole person, and what matters to them.
- Agile: Work quickly to deliver what is needed.
- Focused on valuing people: Seeing the assets people have, including those supported, parents, carers, and staff.
- Pragmatic: Do all it takes to make things work.
- Well led: They lead by example and influence wider system leadership.
Examples of where the seven key principles of good practice identified for good support to thrive are in action have been provided throughout the report. You can also read the full case studies via the links on this page.
In addition, the group consciously noted the concerns raised by people during their consultation. Many of the things people thought were not good, were echoed by others, and addressing the bad experiences, and their causes needs be tackled. Therefore, the advisory group looked at things as they are now, reflected on the good examples and considered what change is needed across systems to make sure that ‘good’ is experienced by more people.
They identified the actions needed to ensure that ‘good’ happens everywhere. These actions are particularly relevant for developing integrated care systems (ICS), but that also span wider community agencies. These are listed under ten key headings:
- Rights and Legislation
- Commissioning
- Homes
- Children and young people
- A focus on the whole person
- Relationships
- Help when people need it
- Funding
- Justice
- Employment
It is important to note that the actions are outlined in more detail in the report in section nine, and that they have formed part of the wider Building the Right Support action plan. It is hoped that they will also positively influence plans within some organisations that sit outside of health and social care.