You are here: Westlea home > Getting involved > How to get involved
There are many different ways that residents can get involved and these need different amounts of commitment.
Suggestion cards
Surveys
Neighbourhood walkabouts
Village voice or street representative
Residents’ conference
Focus groups
HOME magazine editorial
Community events
Specialist forums
Mystery shoppers
Working groups
Westlearn
Building Excellence group
Residents’ Business Plan
Disability Steering Group
Town Groups steering group
Setting up Estate Agreements
Local residents’ groups
District Forum
Resident Inspectors
Resident Scrutiny Panel
Residents on the Board
Being a shareholder
= long-term commitment
= medium-term commitment
= short-term commitment
Commitment: Short term – occasionally
Degree of influence: Information
Suggestion cards are a good option if you don’t have much free time. You can collect comment or suggestion cards from reception; or we sometimes send them out to get feedback to improve a specific service, ie repairs.
Back to the top of the pageCommitment: Short term – throughout the year
Degree of influence: Information and consultation
If you only have a little bit of time to spare, taking part in a survey is a good way of giving us useful information. If you tell us you are happy to fill in surveys we will put your details on our database. We might ask you to fill in small surveys on specific topics or our annual survey; or sometimes phone, text or email you if you have told us that we can. You can also tell us if there are particular topics (for example repairs) that you are interested in.
Back to the top of the pageCommitment: Short term – walkabout takes about 30 minutes
Degree of influence: Information and consultation
We hold neighbourhood walkabouts in your area every quarter. You can find out when the next one is by looking in HOME magazine, on our website, or by contacting us. You are welcome to come along to meet your local neighbourhood housing officer and talk to them about any issues in the area and what needs to be improved. This could lead to you forming a local group or an estate agreement.
Latest walkaboutsBack to the top of the page
Village voice or street representative
Commitment: Short term – when it’s convenient for you
Degree of influence: Information and consultation
If you live in an area that is too small for a formal tenant and resident group, or your neighbours do not want to take part, you can still get involved by becoming a Village Voice or Street Rep. This means that you talk to your neighbours and pass their views on to your neighbourhood housing officer. You could do this as part of the neighbourhood walkabouts, which might encourage more people to be involved in a bigger group.
Back to the top of the pageCommitment: Short term – once a year
Degree of influence: Information and consultation
Why not come along to the residents’ conference we hold every year? We agree the theme with the District Forum - but the Neighbourhood Involvement team are always looking for new ideas, so please get in touch. A conference is a great way to meet other residents, guest speakers and our staff in an informal setting.
Back to the top of the pageCommitment: Short term – one to three meetings
Degree of influence: Information and commitment
Sometimes we want to look at a specific topic in more detail, and might ask if you want to join a focus group to give us your views. This is a group of people who might be particularly relevant to the subject (for example, older people if we were discussing sheltered accommodation).
Back to the top of the pageCommitment: Short term – send in an article; give feedback and contribute
ideas/articles when you like
Degree of influence: Consultation and decision-making
HOME magazine is our residents’ magazine, which we produce three times a year. We are always looking for residents to give feedback and contribute articles or ideas about what should go in it. If you are a creative person who likes coming up with good ideas, then give us a call!
Back to the top of the pageWestlea may organise a fun day or trip or maybe a simple coffee morning and invite all the local neighbourhood. Why not volunteer it is an opportunity to meet other residents, these events are good for finding out information and building community sprit.
Back to the top of the pageCommitment: Medium term – depending on how many events you choose to attend
Degree of influence: Information and consultation
We have the following specialist forums. These groups are very popular. Different guest speakers give presentations to the groups on things that interest them, and people who attend can tell us what they think about our services and how we can improve them.
- the Disability Forum, which meets three times per year;
- the Older Persons’ Forum, which meets three times per year;
- the Families Forum; and
- the ‘Voice It’ project Youth Forum.
Commitment: Medium term – One to three sessions per year
Degree of influence: Information gathering; checking standards
Reward: Paid in vouchers
Mystery shoppers are residents who check the quality of service we are offering. As a ‘shopper’ you will take part in training and from then on you will be working from home. We ask mystery shoppers to phone the offices, using ‘scenarios’ provided by us, and then provide feedback on how your enquiry was dealt with by staff. People enjoy being mystery shoppers because they can get actively involved in improving services, they can take part at home at a time that suits them and they receive ‘payment’ through shopping vouchers.
Back to the top of the pageCommitment: Medium term – one to three meetings a year
Degree of influence: Information and consultation
Sometimes we want to look at a topic in a different way to a focus group. For example, we might set up a group to look at antisocial behaviour, by finding out about local people’s views; meeting the police or other agencies; or researching how other landlords deal with this. We look for volunteers who have an interest in the topic and are willing to give up some time to explore it further.
Back to the top of the pageCommitment: Medium term – depending on events you attend
Degree of influence: Information
‘WestLearn’ is the learning programme for residents. We hold different events throughout the year to support those of you who are involved in different activities with Westlea or in your neighbourhood. Topics vary each year depending on the need.
We have workshops that focus on particular skills you may need for group work, eg presenting information, speaking with confidence, negotiating, chairing a meeting or being a Secretary or Treasurer for a committee. Some involvement activities need an understanding of different subjects and we have organised information sessions on being a board member; the disability discrimination legislation; and recruiting and working with contractors. We also run courses that are more focused on everyday living, eg accessing the internet, cooking and budgeting.
Some of these sessions may last a couple of hours while others take place over six or seven weeks.
Back to the top of the pageCommitment: Medium term – up to six meetings a year; or
short term – by joining a sub-group
Degree of influence: Information, consultation and decision-making
This group champions continuous improvement and excellent services at Westlea. They look at feedback from residents and evidence from around the organisation to decide which services need improving. Each year, they set the service review programme for the next 12 months and check progress on it throughout the year.
The group can also decide to set up ‘sub-groups’ to look at specific issues (grounds maintenance, for example). These groups meet regularly, or just once or twice. We will advertise details of the groups in our magazines and newsletters.
Back to the top of the pageCommitment: Medium term – working group
Short term – resident input via meetings/surveys
Degree of influence: Information, consultation and decision-making
The Residents’ Business Plan is part of Westlea’s business planning process and gathers information on residents’ views and needs so they can be fed into Westlea’s corporate business plan, prior to it being submitted to the Board of Management.
You will have an opportunity to express your views by a process of open meetings and surveys and a working group that takes account of everyone’s input and ensure that residents are heard. Targets are agreed with staff on how best to achieve residents’ priorities. How well these targets are being met is reported back each quarter to the District Forum.
Back to the top of the pageCommitment: Medium term – 2 hours a month
Degree of influence: Consultation, decision-making
The Disability Steering Group works with Westlea to plan and facilitate the Disability Forum. The members use the information provided by residents through surveys and discussions to ensure that the Forum focuses on issues that are relevant to people with disabilities.
The group also look for different opportunities to get involved in events and activities that raise awareness of disability. The group is open to residents with a disability or their carers.
Commitment: Medium term; minimum of 2 hours per month
Degree of influence: Information, consultation, and decision-making
If you would like to represent your local town then the Town Groups Steering Group is for you. The steering group consists of two residents representing each of our market towns and meets once a month.
Local community groups and voluntary groups (but not exclusively) have the opportunity to submit applications to the Town Groups Steering Group pot of money – and you would be part of the decision making on how the money is spent based on the results of the consultation.
Once a year the Town Group Steering Group commission the market research team to carry out a survey of randomly selected residents in each of our market towns to identify areas of concern; the results are used to implement any actions.
Back to the top of the pageCommitment: Medium term - 2 hours per month (less as improvements take place)
Degree of influence: Information, consultation and decision making
An estate agreement is a partnership agreement which explains how different agencies (for example, schools, health visitors, police and waste disposal companies) will work together to improve your neighbourhood.
The first step is for you, your neighbours and your neighbourhood housing officer to decide what needs improving in the local area and which agencies should be involved. The next step is to talk to the agencies themselves, and develop an action plan for improvement. This can be linked with estate inspections and local residents’ groups.
Back to the top of the pageCommitment: Medium term
Degree of influence: Information, consultation and decision-making
There may already be a residents’ group in your area. If not, your neighbourhood housing officer can help you set one up. These groups can have a dramatic effect in improving neighbourhoods and community spirit. You can invite residents of other landlords and local homeowners as well.
The groups usually have a constitution (a document that explains who you are, what you want to achieve and how you will do this) and have named members who run them. If you have a constitution and have had training to run a group successfully you can apply for a start-up grant of £200 to help the group get going. Your neighbourhood housing officer will help you get set up.
Your neighbourhood housing officer will help you develop terms of reference (a less detailed version of a constitution). You can become a more formal group at a later date if you want. We can put you in touch with other organisations for further support.
If this seems too formal and you just want to get together with a few friends and your neighbourhood housing officer to solve local problems, and you don’t need funding, then you can do this too.
Back to the top of the pageCommitment: Long term – minimum of ten meetings a year
Degree of influence: Information, consultation and decision making
The District Forum is a decision-making panel, with 18 tenant and resident members who, at the moment, serve for three years. You can elect new members at the Annual General Meeting which is part of our resident conference. The District Forum focuses on policy and strategy, and makes sure we consult you on important decisions. They look at Board papers, consider major decisions and can attend Board meetings to give their comments. They can recommend more extensive consultation before commenting themselves. The role of the Forum is to:
- Represent the residents’ views and work in a positive way to make services better for everyone;
- Be consulted on all changes to policies and procedures, including the Business Plan, corporate objectives and service delivery;
- Decide how you should be involved in all major projects and decisions; and
- Monitor Westlea’s performance.
You can attend a District Forum meeting as an observer. To do this or find out more about the work of the District Forum, please contact the Neighbourhood Involvement team.
Back to the top of the pageCommitment: Long term
Degree of influence: Information gathering; checking standards
Reward: Paid in vouchers
The role of a resident inspector is to inspect and get feedback from other residents on the services provided by Westlea and feedback to staff on what needs to improve and then check that these improvements happen. People of all ages can get involved in being a resident inspector – we are committed to improving our services and this will be helped by a wide range of residents becoming involved. Full training is provided.
A resident inspector can get involved in:
- Inspecting empty homes that need to be re-let;
- Inspecting the reporting and carrying out of repairs;
- Getting feedback from other residents in person or by phone; and
- Helping staff who run services understand what will make a difference to how satisfied residents are.
Commitment: Long term
Degree of influence: Information, consultation and decision-making
The Resident Scrutiny Panel exists to examine the work of Westlea and Oxford Citizens housing associations, Oakus and GreenSquare. There are a maximum of 11 members, with representatives from each organisation who currently serve for a period of three years and meet five times a year. Membership is open to all residents through a defined recruitment process.
The role/duties of the Scrutiny Panel are:
- Setting and scrutinising performance and suggesting investigative work on areas of poor performance;
- Recommend targets using the framework of the new Tenants’ Services Authority (TSA);
- Decide a five year rolling programme of service reviews for all associations in the group;
- Review complaints and comment on corrective actions;
- Review the residents’ business plans; and
- Receive an overview of confidential items from the Boards.
Anyone can apply to be a Resident Scrutiny Panel member. If you would like to know more about this or would like an application form, please contact Corporate Services.
Back to the top of the pageCommitment: Long term – a minimum of ten meetings a year
Degree of influence: Information, consultation and decision-making at the highest level
You can become a member of the Board of Management. A selection panel recommends who can become a Board member, and shareholders vote on this at the Annual General Meeting (AGM). The Board works together to make major decisions on how to run Westlea. This includes the approving the business plan and budget and all our major strategies.
Back to the top of the pageAnyone can apply to be a shareholder. If you would like to know more about this or would like an application form, please contact Corporate Services. The Board decide who will be accepted. They look for applicants who have an interest in how Westlea is run. If you are accepted, you have to pay £1 for your “share” but there is no other cost involved.
Back to the top of the page
