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Every year we produce a report which shows how residents have been involved with New
Charter Homes (NCH) throughout the year, and more importantly, what a difference
involvement has made and how things have changed as a result.
This year, the report is available on-line to reduce the cost of printing, therefore creating
‘Value for Money’. (Printed copies are available upon request to the resident involvement
team on 0161 331 2000.)
Throughout the year all teams at NCH have reported to the Tenants Panel on their
involvement activities. This information has assisted the Resident Involvement Team
compile this report and to identify areas NCH need to improve on and achieve better value
for money.
Each involvement activity has been given a score. Firstly a score for the ‘impact’ i.e. what
difference it has made, and secondly for ‘Value for Money’, looking at the resources used to
achieve the outcomes.
√√√ High Impact Happy Face – Good value for money
√√ Medium Impact Medium face – OK value for money
√ Low Impact Sad face – Poor value for money
Resident Involvement Impact
Assessment Report 2013/14
Resident Involvement
Tenant Management Team
Throughout 2013/14 the scrutiny panel completed
two new scrutiny projects with a total of 30
recommendations. These were the New Charter
website and the external window cleaning service. In
addition to this they have done a thorough review of
the lettability standards scrutiny. The team have also
shared their experiences and knowledge with other
organisations, helping them to set up their own
panels and delivering training sessions at Trafford
Hall. Three members of the team successfully
completed the Chartered Institute of Housing level three award in Scrutiny,
Impact: All the recommendations made via the scrutiny projects have been agreed and are
being implemented, which involved the window cleaning services being brought in-house.
This have improved services, improved Value for Money and increased tenant satisfaction
levels. They have also made the website more user friendly and relevant to tenants.
With the CIH qualification, individuals have learned new skills, new confidence, and helped
make them more ‘work ready’.
The team were recognised for the work they do at the Northern TPAS Awards, winning
“Excellence in Tenant Led Scrutiny” category.
√√√
The Tenants Panel
The Panel meet every two weeks to monitor Resident
Involvement across the company and monitor the
Consumer Standards as set by the Homes and Communities
Agency.
They also review survey results and monitor the work of resident working groups and
panels.
Impact: The work of the Tenants’ Panel greatly assisted the achievement of the TPAS
accreditation. It is envisaged that the findings of the Tenants Panel will highlight areas of
improvement required and highlight areas which TMT can scrutinise.
√√√
Independent Tenant Solutions
We have established the Independent Tenant Solutions panel with Salix homes, Pendleton
together, City West and Southway Homes.
This is one of the first independent Tenant
Panels, who will act as independent advocates for complaints and as a panel to
hear complaints once internal stages have
been exhausted. Tenant volunteers have
all been trained to take part. The panel
heard its first complaint in March 2014.
Impact: Resolving residents’ complaints at
a local level, leading to savings in time and
expenses, whilst ensuring that resident’
issues are being fairly dealt with.
√√√
Grounds Maintenance Monitoring Group
This group continue to monitor the grounds
maintenance service provided by Green Charter.
They regularly complete monitoring forms which
are passed onto the manager of the service. In
addition they meet monthly with the Head of Service to monitor the delivery and performance.
They are also ensuring that the contract is adhered
to by Green Charter.
Impact: The work of the monitors assists the
Grounds Maintenance Manager to highlight areas for
improvement and to establish training requirements
for the Green Charter team. Tenants are having their say on the service delivery and NCH
are listening and acting on their feedback. Satisfaction has increased from 25% to 92% since
taking over the contract.
√√
Great Opportunities
This programme will help local people back into work, by delivering
activities across our neighbourhoods. This has involved helping
residents to get ‘job ready’, support with further training or
education, work placements, apprenticeships and even
volunteering.
The programme, this year has provided over 346 people with training,
secured nine voluntary work placements for those of workable age and 22 work experience
places for schools and colleges.
We have also been successful in supporting over 80 people gain paid employment. We now
have 13 work clubs sessions established as part of this project across the borough, that
operate from our local community hubs. They are supported by Job Centre Plus and other
partners.
Impact: The impact for each individual is immense especially for those who have gone into
employment.
√√√
InBloom
This year we had 14 entries to the In-Bloom
competition, improving the appearance of
neighbourhoods and creating a community spirit
across age groups.
Hundreds of residents join in these projects to
improve their neighbourhoods by planting, weeding,
grass cutting, painting fencing and preparing their
estates for judging day.
All groups that entered either won Bronze, Silver or
Gold within their category
Impact: Bringing communities together and improving the environmental aspect of estates.
This can have a major impact for individuals who may have found a new hobby and
increased their social life.
√√√
Stars that Shine Awards
The ‘Stars that Shine’ awards are a public recognition for those who have made a difference
to their community. This years categories included a community safety initiative, individual
achievement and making a stand against
anti-social behaviour.
Impact: The public recognition and thanking of individuals encourages further involvement and
translates the appreciation by New Charter to
individuals who are willing to make a stand for
their community.
This recognition may be all that is needed to keep
someone involved.
√√√
HQN Estate Accreditation
NCH received this award for the second year in a row. The assessors
were particularly impressed with the development of neighbourhood
plans and were praised for the tenant and staff engagement and for directing resources to areas most in need. This also included illustrating
how residents are involved in a day to day basis on the running of their
neighbourhood.
Impact: The accreditation formally recognises NCH for providing and achieving extremely
high standards in estate management work. This highlights NCH on a national stage and
leads to being asked to speak at events and to showcase work. The Accreditation also leads
to attracting the best staff to join the organisation.
√√√
‘Young Flyer’ – Alliance Awards
Several young New Charter residents were nominated for their contribution
to making their communities a better place to be, and were invited along to a
prestigious ceremony at Old Trafford football stadium. At the event, they
received a ‘highly commended’.
Impact: Young residents were rewarded for their initiative and contribution to making the
communities they live in a better place. Impact of them attending the ceremony and recognition will hopefully increase desire to stay involved and add to their CV for future
employment opportunities.
√√√
Policies and Procedures Panel
New Charter has consistently consulted with the Policies and Procedures group in regards
to any reviews or new Policies and Procedures. The panel provides tenants an opportunity
to shape policies and procedures by making recommendations to Senior Managers.
Some of the policies and procedures residents have reviewed this year are the Arrears
Procedure, Rent and Service charges and the ASB strategy.
Impact: The policies and procedures reviewed are now clear and easy to understand and
take into account residents’ needs. They also ensure that they are workable from a
residents perspective.
√
Equality Accreditation
New Charter worked with residents to obtain the kite mark of excellence in Equality work.
This included illustrating how New Charter ensures that Equality is adhered to throughout
the company in all contact with residents.
Impact: New Charter has achieved ‘excellent’ standard which recognises the commitment
shown to equality throughout the company. This demonstrates the organisation is open and
honest to both customers and staff
√√
Residents Showcase Event
Residents worked with New Charter to plan and
facilitate an annual showcase event in September. The
event was open to all residents and consists of
interactive workshops, information stands and
consultation. The 2013 event was themed around your
neighbourhood past and present and produced an
amount of information on where New Charter needed
to make improvements.
Impact: It is a ‘Thank you’ to our residents and an ideal opportunity for residents from
across Tameside to network. It increased the profile of AKSA residents due to a joint
working approached and increased the number of residents wishing to get involved.
√√
Resident Inspectors
The Resident Inspectors have assisted both New Charter and the Tenant Management
Team throughout the last year. The team of inspectors have assisted scrutiny topics by
helping TMT to assess whether New Charter are meeting service standards, by speaking to
residents, visiting empty properties and completing surveys. They continue to monitor the
standards on properties which are let out to tenants.
Impact: The findings of the Resident Inspectors have influenced TMT scrutiny reports and
have led to recommendations being made by TMT through their scrutiny reports. For
example, feedback gained upon speaking to residents about the current services, lead to the
recommendation to bring the communal window cleaning service in-house.
√√√
Connect
In April we switched to one single contact number for customer enquiries.
The contact number for all enquiries to New Charter is now 0161 331 2000 and all calls will
be dealt with by our Customer Contact team Connect.
The service is now able to help with:
Logging repairs and arranging gas/electric servicing appointments
Enquiries about renting one of our homes or current applications
Tenancy issues and Green Charter services
Reporting anti-social behaviour
Paying rent
Accessing New Charter’s switchboard
We made these changes after listening to our customers. Previously we have used many
different telephone numbers for a range of products and services but feedback told us that
many customers found this confusing.
Impact: The impact has seen the reduction of calls reduce from 40,000 to 18,000 per
month (meaning queries are answered first time) and satisfaction rating improve to 94%.
√√√
Tenant Board Members
All Tenant Board Members, together with other Board members, have played an important
role in decision making at NCH by taking an active part in discussions. New Board
members undertake training to learn about the organisation and help them to contribute
effectively as quickly as possible.
Impact: Increases New Charter’s accountability to tenants. Increase skills for individuals,
greater confidence, training and keeping people active
√√√
Mystery Shoppers
Throughout the year we have trained a number of mystery shoppers to carry out a reality
check on Services at New Charter. Work for the mystery shoppers can be commissioned
by New Charter Homes, Tenants Panel or the Tenant Management Team to assist scrutiny
projects. Throughout 2013/14 the team have completed mystery shops on the new
Connect telephone service and made recommendations for improvements. In addition they
have tested the service offered by ‘Tameside Housing Advice’ which is the homeless service
New Charter provides for Tameside council.
A full programme for mystery shopping will be continued throughout 2014/15 in
conjunction with the Connect service.
Feedback from one mystery shopper: “I was asked to be a mystery shopper in April 2013. I
felt that we were given an opportunity to help design a call system that really reflected what
I as a customer might genuinely need to know. New Charter weren’t afraid of finding out
where the weaknesses in their service were. This was in my view a good,
in-depth experience. When carrying out the calls, she was very pleasant
and gave me an impression of confidence in the system and was very
knowledgeable on the options open to me as a customer. I was
pleasantly surprised by the quality of the service received”.
“Shortly after being a mystery shopper my wife needed to report an electrical fault in the
kitchen and found an equally effective level of customer service. It’s good to know they are
consistent. On the whole, it’s stuff like this that makes the telephone experience really,
really good from my point of view and so much improved from the experience using it in
the past.”
Impact: Mystery shops completed on the Connect service and Tameside Housing Advice
have informed that the service is continually improving.
√√√
TPAS Accreditation
New Charter continues to be recognised for excellence in
resident involvement by TPAS, the Tenant Participation
Advisory Service. Renewed for three years, the accreditation means that as a whole company, we excel at involving our
residents in everything we do.
Impact: National recognition helps focus Resident Involvement and maintains its
importance throughout the company.
√√√
Bowel Cancer Awareness Month
April was Bowel Cancer awareness month, Neighbourhood, Resident Involvement and
Regeneration teamed up with Bowel Cancer UK, NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme
and Macmillan and The Christie's ‘Let's Be Clear - Get It Checked’ Cancer Awareness
project. The intention was to spread the word about how to reduce the risks of Bowel
Cancer and detect symptoms early.
Free healthy breakfasts were given to residents and a hamper raffled off in each
neighbourhood. Every event was supported by staff from the NHS bowel cancer screening
programme who spoke to over 100 residents about the risk factors of Bowel Cancer and
the screening process. Over 100 residents benefited from the campaign and a hamper
containing a mixture of healthy foods was also raffled off in each area to raise money for
Bowel Cancer UK. Other local partners were involved too resulting in positive
conversations about other health issues, debt, loan sharks & enterprise.
Impact: Gave valuable information and advice to residents of which the impact may be
lifesaving if someone recognises the symptoms of bowel cancer early.
√√√
New Charter Community Awards
Over 95 young people received awards for contributions to their communities.
Nominations were taken in four categories, community and environmental, sports,
performance and an award for continued dedication and commitment.
Impact: The public recognition and thanking of individuals encourages further involvement.
√√√
Healthy Breakfast Clubs
New Charter and Greggs have teamed up to provide
healthy breakfasts for children as young at four to give
them the best start to their days. These have been held
at Silver Springs Academy and Broakoak Primary School.
Impact: Children that don’t always get a breakfast at home enjoy a healthy breakfast to get the best start to their school day. In addition parents
are getting involved who wish to develop new skills and the confidence to help them be
more job ready.
√√√
Timebanking
New Charter contributes to ‘Timebanking’- an informal exchange of skills in communities
which is administered by Community Volunteering Action Tameside (CVAT). The
co-ordinators work closely with those involved and give advice and guidance on issues such
as health and employment and skills.
In addition to swapping skills, participants engage in large events including gardening, fun
days and arts and craft events. They also help with leaflet drops with organisations such as
Hollywood Bowl on Ashton Moss, who provide them with free tickets.
Over the last 12 months the programme has achieved the following successes:-
Scheme has increased its membership to 228 active members and is still growing.
Access to employment
seven people have got into sustained employment
50% have gone on to formal volunteering positions
29% have gone onto training 21% have joined a local work club.
Healthy living
17% now take regular exercise,
8% have quit smoking,
42% have reduced their alcohol intake
33% eat healthier.
Impact – Residents are benefiting from finding employment, entering into training and
joining work clubs. This all helps with peoples wellbeing and has also seen a rise is people
adopting a healthier lifestyle.
√√√
Tenant Training Events
Training opportunities for residents have continued
throughout the year. These training courses have
included a number of new opportunities including,
Safeguarding children, Risk Assessments and Paediatric
First Aid, which have supplemented existing offers of
Basic Food Hygiene, Basic First Aid and Basic IT skills.
Impact: All sessions have been fully allocated, teaching
individual residents new skills. These skills will either
benefit the community or help lead individuals back into
employment. The confidence two sisters gained after
completing this training helped them to secure
employment.
√√√
Neighbourhood Plans
To create great neighbourhoods we asked everyone to work together to decide how their
local communities should develop and grow in the future.
To make this happen, we have produced a Neighbourhood Plan for each of the New
Charter Homes 32 newly defined neighbourhoods. These plans will run for three years and
are reviewed annually.
The targeted approach our team structure and plans provide, enables us to work effectively
with stakeholders and partners and measure how successful we are. Out of a total of 1560
interventions across our neighbourhoods over the three years from 2013-2016, we have
completed 880 in this first year alone.
The highlights of the annual review undertaken in March 2014 shows that the star ratings of
our neighbourhoods have improved overall, with five star neighbourhoods increasing from
eight to fifteen and three star neighbourhoods reducing from eight to three.
Impact- Better working relationships between co-ordinator, regeneration and resident
involvement. Improved services i.e New cash points in some areas, working with residents
helps to establish priorities, and improved neighbourhoods.
√√√
Sheltered Forum
The forum is open to all residents of sheltered housing schemes to discuss issues which
affect them and to share ideas for social activities. The forum meets on a quarterly basis
and meeting venues are rotated around the different sheltered housing schemes.
Impact: Sharing of information has led to the improvement of social activities at all
schemes and has increased the confidence of those involved.
√√√
Restorative Justice
Neighbourhood resolution panels bring victims and offender together to resolve conflict and
harm caused by anti-social behaviour and crime.
The process is victim-led and can often be used to address disputes and
disagreements on our estates and avoid enforcement action being taken
against a person’s tenancy.
Impact- Has addressed disputes and disagreements in our
communities and avoided enforcement action being taken.
√√√
Silver Springs Academy
This was the first primary academy in Tameside
when it opened its doors in 2012. In April it
received a ‘good’ rating from Ofsted with
leadership and management rating as ‘excellent’.
Impact: Inspectors said that the teaching,
behaviour and achievements of the pupils gave
them a good start to their educational life.
√√√
Recruitment and Selection
This trained panel of residents who form part of the recruitment and selection policy for
front line staff at New Charter. During the year these pools has grown and during 2013/14
residents were actively involved in the recruitment in twelve areas of the business, which
included Resident Involvement Officers, Connect Advisers and Neighbourhood Co-
ordinators.
Impact: Adds a customer input into recruitment and selection to ensure all newly
appointed staff are right for both the organisation and our customers.
√
Tatton Park
Visitors loved the New Charter beach at this year’s RHS Tatton show which took place
between 25th and 28th July. Complete with sand, a Punch and Judy
show and even a donkey, the display was created by 50 young
people aged 8-16 on New Charter’s Dreamscheme. They not only
came up with the ideas, but volunteered a total of 200 hours hard
work to create the garden.
Their efforts at Tatton won us a silver award – now for the second year in a row.
The plants and materials used at the event were recycled and used by residents to build
community gardens in their own neighbourhoods.
Impact: Children are learning new skills which hopefully they will carry on into their
communities, in addition the recognition achieved will keep them volunteering,
√√√
Customer Communications Group (CCG)
The group exists to help improve communication with customers, from
information sent out electronically, on paper and face to face. During
2013/14 the group have been working with New Charter staff to monitor
the quarterly newsletter and the website.
Impact: The production of clear, concise and easy to read publications of
interest to customers and the launching of a newly designed newsletter
which is easy to navigate and contains relevant up to date information.
√√
Keys to Your Door
Is an exciting new programme for 18-39 year olds to help you gain a tenancy with us. The
course is run in-house, and we work closely with our partner organisations to make sure
we have experts on hand to deliver the best possible advice and training at each session.
To complete the course, the following modules need to be completed:
Make Your Home Work
It's All About the Money
Learn to Cook/Cook to Learn
Who Do You Want To Be?
Have Pride in Your Pad
Communities
A total of 167 customers have completed our Keys To Your Door programme since it
started in April 2012. 77 people have successfully gained a tenancy with us and a further 13
are in the process of moving in. We have completed eight courses, each containing seven
modules and facilitated by our staff from all sections of the business and our partners from
five different organisations. Of the 77 households, 18 have now been with us for over a
year and only five have moved on. We, alongside with Threshold, have also been working
with City and Guilds to have the course accredited.
Impact: Our customers learn the necessary tools to conduct a successful tenancy, they
also receive a recognised qualification which can go onto their CV.
√√√
Conclusion
Resident Involvement activities throughout 2013/14 have been extremely successful.
Residents have had substantial influence over the way services are provided and the impact
is clearly evident.
Getting Involved
If you are interested in getting involved in any of the projects, panels or initiatives detailed
within this report please contact the Resident Involvement Team on 0161 331 2000 or
email [email protected]