Social Activity Tasters Summary Report

Overview

The aim of this project was to reduce loneliness and social isolation amongst over-50s living in and around Winsford and Malpas, by enabling their ongoing participation in a range of social activities.

Social activity clubs were funded in Winsford and Malpas, with £41,810 and £30,146 respectively, as part of Brightlife’s ‘Key Commissions’ strand. They were delivered by Community Compass, a social enterprise established in 2016 to help improve the lives of older people in Cheshire West and Chester.

Key learning:

  • People like small, friendly and local.
  • The opportunity for meaningful social connection is more highly valued by participants than the type of activity.
  • Sharing food is an important facilitator of social connection.
  • People want to feel they belong, that they are useful and still have something to give – the biggest improvements in people’s mental and physical health and wellbeing are seen when these needs have been met.
  • People need to be reminded of what it feels like to feel ‘well’, to feel they belong and to not feel lonely and this takes time.
  • Conversations and willingness to take part in the evaluation becomes easier once people feel they belong and trust has been established with the most meaningful conversations happening over a number of weeks.
  • Transport is a problem, but vulnerable people need more than just transport: “It is the introductory phone call before the group, it’s the knocking on the door and helping them out the house, its making sure their door is locked and that they have their key, it’s walking into the group with them and then helping them back home that makes the difference.”
  • Facilitators play a crucial role in social groups – to make sure people feel included, manage strong personalities and the more vocal members of the group. Volunteers are able to take this role on, but their training and development may take time.

 

 

Background and context

The specification for this commission was based on the need for a wider variety of local social activities for over-50s, which was identified during a consultation of the communities in and around Winsford and Malpas.

Brightlife invited tenders for the development and implementation of a range of social activity taster sessions, to include proposals for how socially isolated older people in each area would be supported and encouraged to access and engage with the sessions.

It was anticipated that involvement in the taster sessions would facilitate access to other local services and activities, enable the development of meaningful relationships within groups, and promote each participant’s identity as a valued member of their community.

The successful tender from Community Compass proposed the establishment of regular, community-led social groups, or ‘Compass Clubs’, designed to ultimately be taken over and sustained by the participants themselves.

 

Development and delivery

Community Compass took a deliberately flexible approach to development and delivery of their Compass Clubs, in line with the ‘test-and-learn’ philosophy of the wider Brightlife partnership.

Suitable community venues were found in Winsford and Malpas, and booked for use on a weekly basis. Tutors were employed to deliver 8-week blocks of taster sessions for various activities that had previously been identified, through community consultation, as being of interest to older people in each area. Activities included arts, crafts, creative writing and gentle exercise. Alongside the activity sessions, talks and visits by a range of local agencies were organised to offer relevant information, advice and support.

Volunteers were recruited via an advertising and marketing campaign and through partnerships with existing volunteer agencies, and were given comprehensive training on working with groups of older people.

Participants were either referred through the Brightlife Social Prescribing scheme, recruited during community consultations, or signposted by providers of existing social housing and care services in each area. Transport was offered to potential participants to encourage attendance, along with additional telephone or face-to-face support if required.

Participants were regularly consulted for feedback during informal ‘tea break’ evaluation sessions throughout each project, with less popular activities or venues being adapted or replaced accordingly.

In both Malpas and Winsford, the majority of participants in all activities were female. Having found that men were more likely to take part in activities which involved both exercise and socialising, Community Compass introduced additional activity blocks specifically aimed at men (gardening and outdoor crafts) to address this gender imbalance.

 

Key learning

  • People like small, friendly and local.
  • The opportunity for meaningful social connection is more highly valued by participants than the type of activity.
  • Sharing food is an important facilitator of social connection.
  • People want to feel they belong, that they are useful and still have something to give – the biggest improvements in people’s mental and physical health and wellbeing are seen when these needs have been met.
  • People need to be reminded of what it feels like to feel ‘well’, to feel they belong and to not feel lonely and this takes time.
  • Conversations and willingness to take part in the evaluation becomes easier once people feel they belong and trust has been established with the most meaningful conversations happening over a number of weeks.
  • Transport is a problem, but vulnerable people need more than just transport: “It is the introductory phone call before the group, it’s the knocking on the door and helping them out the house, its making sure their door is locked and that they have their key, it’s walking into the group with them and then helping them back home that makes the difference.”
  • Facilitators play a crucial role in social groups – to make sure people feel included, manage strong personalities and the more vocal members of the group. Volunteers are able to take this role on, but their training and development may take time.

Impact and legacy

Sustainability of the Compass Clubs beyond the initial period of Brightlife funding was built into their design, with the long-term goal always being for the members of each group to eventually take over management and ownership. This has worked particularly well with the Compass Club in Malpas, which has continued to be run on a weekly basis by members and volunteers. In Winsford, the group lacked the confidence to take ownership immediately, so a decision was made to increase the weekly fee to enable the employment of a coordinator to support the group until its members are confident to eventually take ownership.

Formal activity provision has continued beyond the funded 8-week blocks in both Malpas and Winsford, by negotiation of free or discounted rents for tutors and ongoing marketing support.

Following the end of its Brightlife-funded projects, Community Compass secured further funding to run two additional weekly Compass Clubs in Ellesmere Port and Northwich.

 

Media Library

Videos

Setting up Community Compass

Podcasts

 | Podcast

Connecting 360

Listen to the podcast with Simone Cobbold and Yvonne Boyle sharing tips on how they set up a successful and sustainable, brand new organisation (Community Compass) to help people out of loneliness.