Advice First Aid in Wokingham Borough
By Jenny Carter
In my role as Training Officer for the Advice First Aid Training project, I have enjoyed designing an online, instructor-led, interactive Training Course with support from Nicky Phull, Training Manager, at Citizens Advice Wokingham.
The aim of the Advice First Aid Training was to enable frontline community workers to confidently use Citizens Advice information and services to support vulnerable people in Wokingham.
Not so much a physical medical plaster but a free, virtual class containing useful information, skills and practical case studies. The Advice First Aid Training has been delivered successfully to 93 frontline, local volunteers and staff this year! This has only been possible with the funding from the Postcode Neighbourhood Trust.
How it all began and evolved…
Starting a new part-time role as Training Officer for Citizens Advice Wokingham and starting homeschooling again on the same day wasn’t part of the New Year plan I had for January 2021 but thanks to a flexible employer and family we made it work.
Setting up the Advice First Aid Training initiative for Wokingham was challenging at first but I was lucky to be able to reach out to a couple of other Citizens Advice offices across the country and find out more about how they were implementing this training initiative locally.
Originally the course was designed as two parts with some exercises to have a go at in-between. I ran a pilot course at the end of March, collected feedback and then tweaked the content and evaluated the course after each session. Delegates who completed the anonymous evaluation described the AFA Training as “an excellent course showing what Citizens Advice can offer clients, much of which I didn’t realise they dealt with!” and “Thank you for an excellent informative training session which will greatly inform my practice”.
As part of the continuous review for improvement, the AFA course was refined to become a standalone, 3-hour morning class with more time for internet searching and case studies, to better meet the needs of its delegates. The results were good, feedback included such comments as “Very informative both in terms of local service and national resources, well presented, well structured with the use of break out rooms for discussion and breaks scheduled into the training. I have recommended this session to a colleague”.
Highlights
It was an amazing feeling in June 2021 to have hit our target number of 50 front-line people trained in Wokingham for the whole year, and we were just 3 months into the program. The Advice First Aid classes continued to be attended by more local front line workers and volunteers throughout the Summer and Autumn, enabling more local people to be aware of our services.
Good outcomes
Stepping out of my comfort zone, I set up a video session about the Advice First Aid training course with some very kind delegates that had attended the training so people could hear first-hand how these delegates had been able to apply the training to their daily work. The video is available on our Citizens Advice Wokingham’s Facebook page.
For example, one frontline worker from Wokingham Borough Council, used the AFA Referral Form on our website, to get help for a client in their mid 50’s who was self-employed with multiple children and claiming UC because their business had been hit hard by the pandemic. The client was seeking help with their debts and help with any benefits they may be entitled to claim.
Citizens Advice Wokingham were able to call the client back and assess the full situation and initiate our Debt support process. One of our trainer Advisers held a debt appointment with the client over the phone and supported the client in making an online application to get debt reduced then outlined the documents and actions required next.
The feedback from the AFA Training also reflected the practical application of the AFA Training with comments after the class like ”Since the training I’ve signposted 3 people to contact Citizens Advice with their needs…It’s great to have a clear, in-depth example of how you operate/ can help”.
Conclusion
Working at Citizens Advice Wokingham also presented me with additional opportunities including Mental Health First Aider training conducted by the Chief Executive, Jake Morrison. I have learnt about the charity sector and the local people working hard to support others.
It’s always nice to hear from delegates after class and I remember one person kindly letting me know that the skills they had learnt in the AFA class, they would be able to take with them in their new job role, so that if anyone asks they would know where to signpost them for help.
Please visit www.citizensadvicewokingham.org.uk for more information on our work. The Advice First Aid Training Officer position and initiative were funded by the Postcode Neighbourhood Trust.
