Summary of what we explored at the SPLEWDI Regional Forum
On Tuesday 1 st October 2024, we hosted a Regional Forum at the Newtown Neighbourhood Centre as part of SPLEWDI.
The forum aimed to bring people together to collaboratively explore and develop practical workforce development activities that could be included in the Suicide Prevention Lived Experience Workforce Development Initiative (SPLEWDI) Action Plan.
Over 20 people working across the Central and Eastern Sydney region in SP LE roles and other relevant roles (e.g. those who oversee or support the SP LE workforce) in the suicide prevention service system came along.
We started with an overview of the peer workforce landscape and what regional peer work leaders have identified is important for a thriving workforce
We then explored three tangible areas where a regional approach to workforce development could potentially make an impact:
Access to quality supervision
Improving recruitment and onboarding processes
Building knowledge and capacity to influence systems
Below we’ve outlined a summary of the key themes and experiences we heard from people in the forum. For a fuller report, you can access the SPLEWDI Regional Forum Report.
Hopes and aspirations
The first activity explored participants’ hopes and aspirations for the regional Suicide Prevention Lived Experience workforce.
The images below show some of the collective hopes and images that came out of this activity:
Access to quality supervision
We explored why quality supervision is important to the SP LE workforce, with themes emerging around consistency, clarity and validation. Participants identified the following:
a desire for consistency – in the definition of peer supervision, quality of available opportunities, guiding principles, and adherence to standards.
clear content and outcomes – supervision should improve practice, build resilience, reduce burnout and improve retention.
validation of peer work as a distinct discipline and profession; delineating peer supervision from clinical supervision and providing a productive space to challenge non-peer ways of working.
Suggested activities to support access to quality supervision:
developing a shared understanding of the purpose and function of SP LE workforce supervision across the sector, and establishing agreement around quality supervision as shared practice.
establishing a regional pool and database of supervision providers that have the capability and framework to provide quality support to the regional SP LE workforce.
Improving recruitment and onboarding processes
We heard about the need for improved recruitment and onboarding approaches to support the SP LE workforce across the region, including:
varying Manager/Supervisor understanding of LE and peer work, onboarding experiences are often dependent on leadership
a clinical/non-clinical divide where peer workers can feel separate to the wider teams they sit within
workers are sometimes recruited into roles without a role description or documented model of care
training can be difficult to access (the group identified opportunities for consistent training and group training administered regionally).
Suggested activities to support improved recruitment and onboarding:
develop a regional Learning and Development Framework for Managers, Team Leaders and Peer Workers.
provide a regional calendar of training for people to level up their practice skills and expertise in areas such as Intentional Peer Support (IPS).
Building knowledge and capacity to influence systems
Participants identified the importance of:
opportunities for the workforce to connect, share experiences and learn together
a mix of structured education sessions and more open conversation with peers
paid participation to support engagement
building knowledge of best practice and systems thinking
engaging leaders, clinicians and supervisors to build their understanding of the principles and value of SP LE peer work, establishing allies within the local service system
increasing LE input into the design and delivery of regional systems, including as part of the commissioning processes.
Suggested activities to build knowledge and capacity of the LE workforce to influence systems:
Establish regional ‘Lunch and Learn’ sessions around key topics and issues of interest to those working in Lived Experience roles
Deliver a Suicide Prevention Forum for the SP LE workforce and system stakeholders, with a focus on increasing awareness of the role and value of peer work.
Summary
We were pleased to receive very positve feedback from participants about the forum and the experience of coming together with others at a regional level — people told us that they valued the opportunity to build connections and create a shared approach to workforce development and collective impact.
Next steps
We want to thank all those who came along to the forum and shared their expertise and their ideas so kindly with us.
The outputs from the forum will help to develop the SPLEWDI Action Plan, which our project team will be developing closely with members of our guiding Coalition to endorse and allocate the flexible funding available for activities through SPLEWDI.
We’ll then prepare and begin the implementation of workforce development activities in the Action Plan, which will occur through to June 2025.
