What’s been happening around the Communities of Practice?
November 2023 Update
Our Oxfordshire Communities of Practice recently enjoyed a free Introduction to Trauma Informed Practice workshop with leading trauma informed practice expert Lisa Cherry of Trauma Informed Consultancy Services (TICS).
It was a fantastic session, in which Lisa introduced us to the trauma informed practice framework and what taking a trauma informed approach means in our services. It was amazing to see people from across the Oxfordshire community and voluntary sector, social care, health, housing, district councils, and more coming together to learn together, make connections, and share ideas.
Thank you to Oxfordshire Libraries for hosting us in the wonderful Westgate Collaboration Space.
"Thank you for organising this. It was great that attendees were from across the third and statutory sectors, all with a broad interest in the subject. Please organise more!"
"This was a really thought provoking and inspiring introduction. I would love to learn more! Lisa was brilliant and I am really grateful to OCVA for putting this workshop on."
"Great networking opportunities too!"
"I have already used some of the learning in report writing."
What else is happening?
We had our first in-person for our Banbury and north Cherwell group – thank you to members from MyVision Oxfordshire, Age Friendly Banbury, Age UK Oxfordshire, Banbury Jobcentre and the Oxfordshire Good Neighbours Network who braved the wind and rain of Storm Ciarán to join us! We welcomed Katy from Oxfordshire County Council’s Assistive Technology team for a whistle-stop tour of how assistive tech can support people to live independently at home. Thank you to the Gemma and Jen of the wonderful Redlands Community Centre for hosting us.
We’re looking forward to the first in-person meeting for our Abingdon, Wantage and the Vale group next week (21 November), when we’ll be hearing from Emma of Reducing the Risk of Domestic Abuse about how we can support people who are experiencing domestic abuse. The following day Emma will also be speaking with our Bicester, Kidlington and south Cherwell group when they meet online.
And last but by no means least, by the end of this month our other three groups (Oxford City, Didcot and South Oxfordshire, and Witney and West Oxfordshire) will all have had a session focussed on supporting people to live healthier lives, with speakers from Achieve Oxfordshire and Health Checks Oxfordshire.
Looking ahead, in 2024 we’ll be hearing from a host of organisations including Oxfordshire Talking Therapies, Healthwatch Oxfordshire, the Royal British Legion, Oxford Health’s Keystone Mental Health and Wellbeing Hubs, the Community Connections team, and more. We’re also planning to host some training on co-production in the new year.
Join the Communities of Practice
The Communities of Practice are open to anyone working or volunteering with adults in the community at grassroots level. Our members come from across voluntary, charity, faith and other community groups, primary care, social care, housing, and more. They work with older people, adults with learning disabilities, over-18s with physical and/or mental health challenges, or adults who just need a little extra support and advice.
Whatever your role, we’d love you to join us to learn, connect, share and problem-solve.
If you’re interested in joining us for a meeting to see what happens, or in signing up to your local CoP group, please contact Clare, our Partnerships and Projects Officer, on clare.woodcock@ocva.org.uk.
The Communities of Practice are funded by Oxfordshire County Council as part of the Oxfordshire Way.
