Active Bystander Programme

The Herefordshire and Worcestershire ICS Active Bystander programme will part of our Culture and Inclusion Strategy.

We have committed to developing a culturally competent workforce, who are able to speak up. That is why we are delighted to announce plans for our Active Bystander Programme.

What is the Active Bystander Programme?

The Active Bystander Programme is an innovative programme, developed by Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland (LLR) that will support colleagues to become active bystanders who feel confident to take an early intervention approach to prevent negative behaviours from escalating. This will contribute to improving the health and wellbeing our staff and patients and people who draw on our support to grow a culture of civility and respect.

We are working in partnership with LLR to establish the programme within our ICS.

The programme aims to:

Establish a pro-active system culture approach to address harmful behaviours
Promote a compassionate and inclusive leadership culture
Adopt an early intervention approach which can prevent negative behaviours from escalating, and facilitate learning
Enhance the health and wellbeing our staff and service users

At the heart of this work is creating a sense of belonging where everyone feels valued and respected.

For more information about becoming an Active Bystander email:

hwicb.icsacademy@nhs.net

We all want to work in a place where we feel we belong, and we can be our best selves. Join us to make this happen!

The Active Bystander Programme provides an opportunity to change cultures through safe and constructive challenge, empowering people to be active bystanders and make positive changes.

Our programme aims to foster an inclusive, civil, and respectful culture for our patients, people who draw on our support, and staff as set out in ‘Making Inclusion a Reality’.

This training is free and open to all our Herefordshire and Worcestershire ICS colleagues, including health, social care, emergency services and charities, who would like to learn more about being a champion for us to grow a civil and respectful culture in workplaces where we are all able to thrive and be our best selves.

Please do contact us if you are not sure whether you are eligible and we can help you with more information.

The Active Bystander Training will require you to attend 1 day of face-to-face training in Worcester and will be followed by a monthly online action learning set of 90 minutes once a month for 5 months.

The training is accompanied by a handbook which will support your learning journey and includes greater depth material and space for self-reflection which is done as self-directed learning.

Anyone who has taken part in the Champion Training can apply to be a trainer. Each trainer will be expected to commit to delivering a set number of sessions each year system wide, so it is important to discuss this with the ICS team first.

Please contact hwicb.icsacademy@nhs.net for further information and see the role description below.

If one of your members of staff is taking part in the Active Bystander Programme, line managers webinars will be held to support you, details on this will be shared via email once your member of staff has completed their training.

How do I apply for this programme? In the first instance, speak to your line manager and let them know you are interested in applying for this programme and share this information. Following this, book some time in to complete the expression of interest form on the Academy Exchange and we will send a confirmation of receipt. Check that you can attend all the learning components assigned to this programme and save the dates in your calendar.

How many places do you have on this programme? There will be 20 spaces on each of the Champion Training cohorts and 20 spaces on the Train the Trainer session. More dates will be added for further cohorts and other elements of the programme as these become available.

Who can apply for this programme? The training is open to all our health, social care, emergency services and charities colleagues across HW ICS.

What do I do if my line manager is not keen for me to participate on the programme? We recommend you spend some time together to explore reasons why. We are happy to have a conversation with your line manager to give them more information about the programme if needed. We need to ensure that you have the support required in your place of work from your line manager and leaders as an active bystander.

How do I find out if I have a place on the programme? We will contact you to acknowledge receipt of your expression of interest and let you know if you have a place on the programme.

What is expected of me on this programme?

- You will be expected to attend the full day face to face training.

- Complete the self-directed learning component of the programme using the ABP workbook

- Attend all the action learning sets and be an active participant.

- Work collaboratively with your line manager including participants on the programme.

- Participate in any evaluation/impact activities to capture the learning from the programme.

Where will the workshops take place and how long for? The face-to-face workshops will be held in Worcester and will last a day. You will also attend a virtual 90-minute action learning set once a month for 5 months. There is a self-directed learning component with the ABP workbook which can be done at our own pace. We will provide you with details of venues and Teams web links nearer the time.