Since 2018 Bolton have been part of Greater Manchester’s Place Partnership with Sport England to build healthier, more active communities. The partnership aims to reduce inactivity and health inequalities. To do this we take a place-based, approach that brings together people, communities, and organisations to create sustainable solutions to inactivity.
Bolton’s place team made significant progress in the first five years of the partnership.
The most significant shift has been the wider council adopting a strengths-based approach for working with communities. The adoption of this approach was accelerated in Covid, when the place team successfully used the place principles as part of Bolton Covid response. To hear more about Bolton’s work in early years of the local pilot please listen to the Bolton podcast
It was identified early on that across the system a lot of different language was being used. This difference language caused confusion and contributed to siloed working. By developing a shared language Bolton were able to change how sport, movement and physical activity was framed. This consistency contributed to a feeling of unity and supported places and sectors feeling more open to collaboration.
The shared language and framing led to Bolton developing a Bolton wide approach to the work. At first Bolton adopted the initial GM place partnership principles. Over time as the place team worked more closely with public health, these principles evolved. This led to the principles becoming incorporated into the wider wellbeing agenda within Bolton.
A key moment for the place team was when it became part of the wider public health team. This was a result of increasing collaboration between the teams and provided a greater platform for the place team to spread its influence. One result of this incorporation was some initial local pilot posts become mainstreamed and funded directly via public health.
ABCD (Asset based community development) is core to the Bolton place work. As the place team influence reach has expanded ABCD has become embedded across wider teams. ABCD is now seen as a standard way of working across multiple groups and organisations. Examples of these groups include; Community engagement and development team, community alliance team, Libraries and GP Federation.
In the next phase Bolton want to build on the successes of the last few years. This includes embedding ABCD into new sectors and building new ways for public services to collaborate.
Collaboration will be at the heart of Bolton deepening work. By collaborating with the GM Live Well Programme it will introduce Bolton’s place principles to new audiences. This programme champions public sector reform and by embedding the place principles, it will ensure they get greater reach and recognition.
To help support this collaboration and ensure ABCD remains central to the work, Bolton are looking to expand the reach of the shared skills training. This includes collaborating with a local college to create an accredited programme. This would increase the reach of the training beyond Bolton Council. Introducing both community members and other professional to this way of working.
Building on the shared skill programme Bolton hope to launch a number of train the trainer programme to expand their reach. This includes:
It is thought this will support sustainability of the work, as it will allow both residents and staff to become trainers. This increases the reach and impact of this work, and contributes to the overall aim of having a “ONE Bolton” approach.
Through this increased work programme Bolton also recognise the need for ongoing support. Therefore, alongside training they want to create reflective spaces where people can ask questions and challenge approaches in an open and honest environment.
The power of community champions was recognised quickly in Bolton place work. The impact of community champions was outlined in the local evaluation along with recommendations on how to better support them. This initial learning led to the council taking a more hands off approach. This included making support less restrictive, and creating the Let’s Keep Bolton Moving website. As part of deepening and GM Live well, Bolton want to build on their Community Champion programme offering a broader range of support and training.
Alongside the more formal training, there will also be a focus on strengthening relationships with different communities. This will help build:
This increase in understanding will then be used to shape the place work what community support and upskilling is available.
We take Safeguarding seriously Read our safeguarding policy