All three projects had four phases:
- Discovery phase
- Dream phase
- Design phase
- Delivery phase
The Discovery Phase involved a wide range of stakeholders to identify existing strengths to preserve, nurture and build on and opportunities for improvement
The Dream Phase agree/confirm the local vision for strengths-based practice in each council
The Design Phase examined how to:
- Develop staff strengths-based practice skills and know how
- Make systems and processes fully supportive of strengths-based practice
- Create a culture that promotes and nurtures strengths-based practice.
The Delivery Phase to implement the recommendations from the discovery, dream, and design work Specifically, our implementation support focused on:
- Advising the Principal Social Workers at each council on the design and implementation of a strengths based practice framework based around the MASOSS model:
- Mindset – Support each person who draws on support and each member of staff to have a positive mindset
- Aspirations – Explore each person’s long and short-term hopes for the future
- Strengths – Identify/develop/build on the person’s own skills, abilities, and wider support resources
- Outcomes – Negotiate/agree SMART Outcomes to provide a golden thread from assessment through to review
- Solutions – Creatively co-produce possible ways to support and achieve the agreed SMART outcomes
- Services – Identifying the practical ways to deliver the solutions.
- Supporting the development of a strengths-based practice staff learning and development programme to develop a shared “strengths based practice mind and skills set” to help guide all future decisions and guide behaviours.
- Making the staff learning and development programme sustainable at Portsmouth and Cheshire West through a Train the Trainer programme so each Council could be self-sufficient in the delivery of its strengths based practice training.
- Developing strengths-based practice induction materials at Portsmouth so all new starters in adult social care share a common base level knowledge of the MASOSS practice model and share the strengths-based values that underpin it.
- Supporting leadership and communications activities to help build the ASC culture (values/assumptions) to ensure staff values, beliefs, and assumptions align with the ASC strengths based vision for adult social care at each Council.