Catching up with the Service User Council: September 2025

This quarter, our Service User Council has introduced new members, given important feedback on a range of projects, and collaborated with teams across the business to achieve our mission of making every day better for the people we support.

Here are the updates from the recent meeting.

Service User Ambassadors have been working closely with the Recruitment Team to improve our recruitment process.

Together, they reviewed interview materials and added their own questions.

This helps to ensure new colleagues understand what really matters to the people they’ll be supporting.

Some of the powerful questions they suggested include:

The Service User Council is always growing, with new Ambassadors taking on the role within their homes.

At the same time, existing Ambassadors are progressing through training with our Service User Engagement Manager to step into Regional Ambassador positions.

Regional Ambassadors go on to represent their region across the organisation, and to the Executive Team.

Adam and Alex, two Regional Ambassadors, have recently been carrying out induction training for colleagues in our new homes.

From shaping projects to testing new tech, our ambassadors are always leading the way.

This quarter, they’ve:

• been involved in interviewing new colleagues, using the new questions

• acted as peer buddies, welcoming new residents to their homes
  requested, co-produced, and launched  basic first aid training for service users with our Learning and Development Team, soon to be rolled out across the organisation

• trialled new Yetitablet technology - a giant interactive screen filled with games and apps to support wellbeing, development, and engagement

• collated and shared feedback on how to improve outdoor spaces, which will now be implemented across our homes

• watched a demonstration of the Trickle app, designed to collect resident feedback and ideas, and volunteered to pilot the new app in their homes

• shared best practice learning about how they’ve implemented the new Famileo app in their home

• took part in a Q&A session with the Business Development Team, to share “what I’d like my Social Worker to know about my care.”

The Council’s latest project is to bring back The Exemplar Express - a newsletter written by residents for residents.

It’s filled with stories, updates, and highlights of what the Council is working on.

We collated feedback on the newsletter at the council meeting, and are busy adding the final touches before launching it in September.