Debbie Denton, Community Hub Worker at East Oxford Hub

Tell me about your professional background

Where do I start - basically I joined Connexions 7 years ago as a qualified Personal Adviser to do project work in schools and the community, particularly with young people who were not achieving level 2 to support them in gaining qualifications and also work with ethnic minority groups on a county wide basis. I progressed to work in schools with pupils facing greater challenges e.g. an anger management group helping young people managing the transition from lower to upper school and also working on projects with the Youth Service like the Blackbird Leys Summer Engagement Project. This was really successful and everyone who signed up stayed and had excellent business ideas which were judged through a Dragon's Den basis at the end. I continued to work in schools and the community as a PA linking with lots of other agencies.

Talk me through your first impressions of the hub

When I first heard about the hubs I thought great - it was just what Connexions was meant to be, but now all under one roof with all the skill sets together. I was very impressed by the idea and the model. Now we are here it feels amazing because we have got a fantastic team, personalities match and everyone is able to give something to each other and we can all learn too. We are not individuals but all working together.

Tell me about something that has gone really well

I am still feeling Wow it is great, so everything has gone well. I'd like to say the induction although it was a lot to take on. I struggled because of the length of time but the idea of everyone being together at the start was great and we were all able to learn from each other.

What is your personal ambition in relation to the Early Intervention Service (EIS)?

I really want professionalism, the ability to progress as a team, to learn and take on different responsibilities from those I am used to but for which I have the skills. I really want to see it work for families, children and young people. I want to see the vision succeed and be a part of it and to succeed on a personal level.

How do you think the EIS will make a real difference to children, young people and families?
I think it is going to make a difference because there is one point of access and referral. It doesn't matter what families need because all the early intervention agencies are here under one roof, so the fear of going to lots of agencies and telling your story over and over again will go. Young people will have a real variety of activities in one place - if you are NEET, family work over the weekends, evening sessions, access to places like Riverside. It will open up many opportunities for people and we will be there to support them. You don't have to be the expert in everything, there are other experts here or we can help people to go to other support if there are more serious difficulties. We can also work closely with the schools and make those links happen more easily.

Interview with Nicky Xandora, Community Hub Worker at Banbury Hub

Tell me about your professional background

• Parenting Development Advisor North and West Oxon, County Lead on Strengthening Families and  TIPS (Training to run groups for parents) Trainer
• YOS Parenting Officer North West Oxon
• Parent Talk one to one co-ordinator and trainer
• Parent Talk group leader
• Family Links group leader and trainer
• Re-Evaluation Counsellor and trainer

What are your first impressions of the hub?

Disparate team of people, emphasis seemed at first to be towards youth, as new building on site of old youth club, but quickly it became clear the work within the hubs is diverse and across all age ranges.  Many, many new things to cram and learn in relation to systems, hub responsibilities, building etc 

Tell me about something that has gone really well

Everyone seems to possess an active, ’can-do’ approach, and has a great deal of knowledge and experience to bring to the service. This is consistent from managers to cleaning staff and makes a huge difference to what we can offer to Banbury.

What is your personal ambition in relation to the EIS?

To enjoy my work and to be able to set up and assist with a variety of different projects. To involve cycling, outdoor activity and healthy eating to help families get more from life, and improve relationships.

How do you think the EIS will make a real difference to children, young people and families?
Already we have had instances where the joined up approach has benefited families. A parent was in difficulties with a teenager with regard to school. Having involved colleagues, we are offering that parent informed assistance regarding school as well as a place on a parenting programme. I think in the past that support would have proved difficult to access for the parent as it would have involved several different agencies and she had no knowledge of the CAF/TAC system and had not been offered this from school.

I am looking forward to providing good fun activities which include the whole family and will influence and improve the relationships between them, and therefore to engage with people who previously may not have accessed support.

Jenny Buzzard, Community Hub Worker at Abingdon Hub

Tell me about your professional background

I started working for OCC 20 years ago as an Administrator for a team that worked with ethnic minority communities delivering youth and adult provision. I became really interested in youth work and started up a youth club in my local village.  During this time I was persuaded by colleagues to study for the part-time qualification in youth work and following this became employed in the Youth Service. After a few years I attended university and gained a degree in Youth and Community Studies. Over the years I worked in a wide range of settings to get lots of experience, including detached and outreach work, information work, residential experiences and in later years managing a youth centre. For the past four years I have worked for the Oxfordshire Youth Mentoring Service as Mentor Supervisor.

Talk me through your first impressions of the hub

The Abingdon Hub is very familiar to me as I have worked in the centre many times over the years. I think that the way it has been decorated and refurbished is really great. It is a really nice place to work and the team are really strong and supportive, it’s got a nice feel to it.

Tell me about something that has gone really well

I have been given lead responsibility for Berinsfield to develop open access youth sessions.  Working closely with Hub Support Worker Paul Alcorn, we got together a small team of workers to deliver outreach/detached sessions in the community to let people know who we are and to invite them to a consultation evening at the Young People’s Centre. We also visited local businesses, community partners and local residents to find out what was on offer already and to start building relationships with them.  Over 80 local people attended the consultation event and gave us their ideas about what provision they wanted to see in Berinsfield. We opened the centre again a week later to give feedback and let the community know what we could start to offer following the consultation. It was really useful for people to find out what was already happening in their area, for example some people asked for a homework club and did not know the Children’s Centre already offer this facility. We made really positive links with the local leisure centre that are keen to work with us and the community. A number of parents have expressed an interest in becoming volunteers and are now undergoing the volunteer recruitment process. Partnership work is going to be really key to making Berinsfield a better place for children, young people and their families.

What is your personal ambition in relation to the EIS?

I am keen to learn from my colleagues and gain experience in other areas of working in the community, such as family work. I have a real opportunity to strengthen my skills to help deliver the wide range of services that we will be providing. I am keen to undertake further training to do this.

How do you think the EIS will make a real difference to children, young people and families?
I am a firm believer that working to support the whole family is the way forward, and that we can really make a difference by working together as a team under one roof. We have a lot of skills and expertise to offer early intervention within the hubs and this is a fantastic opportunity to move forward.