Welcome to the first edition of Cottsway Connect in 2026, our ezine for customers who have signed up to our mailing list. This edition is packed full of offers and opportunities that we hope will support you and your family, along with opportunities to help us improve our services. We hope you find something of interest! The Parent Toolkit Unsure how to support a young person who is self-harming? Oxfordshire Discovery College’s Parent Toolkit can help, and we have 7 FREE places available! Supporting a young person who self-harms can feel scary, overwhelming, and lonely. This 5-week online course gives you practical tools, knowledge, and support - and a chance to connect with other parents who understand. - WHEN: Wednesdays, 22 & 29 April, 6, 13 & 20 May (2 hours per week)
- TIME: To be confirmed based on what works best for attendees.
Places will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis. If you’d like to take part, please let us know your full name, address, contact details, and the times that work best for you before Monday 16 March. Our new Customer Engagement Plan 2026-29 Since our last ezine in November 2025, we've shared our draft Customer Engagement Plan 2026-29 and asked for feedback. We received 49 responses which showed very strong agreement that the three proposed areas of focus are correct and are important to our customers. We’re currently incorporating all the feedback and suggestions into an updated plan and will publish this shortly - look out for an email with a copy of the final plan over the next couple of weeks. Thanks to everyone who took the time to respond, we really appreciate your help. Consultation cornerWe've a few opportunities coming up for you to help improve our services, mostly by completing some short surveys but also by taking part in a focus group at our office in Witney. Shape our next Annual ReportWe publish an Annual Report to share what we’ve done during the previous year. While some content is guided by national regulations, we want to make sure the report focuses on what matters most to you. We’ll soon be starting work on the 2025-26 report and would really value your feedback. Look out for a link to the short survey by email or SMS text message, it will only take a few minutes to complete. You don’t need to have read our previous Annual Report to take part, but if you’d like to see it: Help shape our new Hate Crime and Incident PolicyWe're working with Green and Burton ASB Associates, an Anti-Social Behaviour Training and Consultancy firm, to develop a new Hate Crime and Incident Policy. We're introducing a new policy to set out how we prevent, respond to and support residents affected by hate crime and hate incidents. Before the policy is finalised, we want to hear from you, so it reflects real experiences, concerns and expectations. Your input will help us make sure the new policy truly supports those affected by hate incidents and hate crime. Help improve My Cottsway, our customer portalYou can use the My Cottsway app to access a range of services - but we’re keen to make it even better. Customer feedback has highlighted areas where we can improve the app, and we’d like your help to better understand what we need to do and what you want us to prioritise. We’d like to recruit a group of customers to work with us on improving the app through a series of meetings at our office in Witney. We’ll provide lunch and support you with transport costs, all you need to do is bring your experience, not only as a Cottsway customer but as a user of other organisations apps - what works, what doesn’t and what do you want to see in the My Cottsway app? Scrutiny Group review - ending a tenancyOur Scrutiny Group have recently completed their latest review, looking into customers’ experience of ‘ending a tenancy’. The full report has now been presented to Cottsway’s managers, with 13 recommendations which will be monitored and actioned where possible. Oxfordshire Youth Young Leaders course 2026 We’re once again offering young people aged 14-21 living in one of our homes the chance to gain a Level 2 Award in Leadership and Team Skills through fun activities such as problem solving, climbing and orienteering. The Young Leaders course, run by Oxfordshire Youth, includes an induction evening, residential course and a follow up study session. Participants also need to lead an activity or take responsibility for something new in their community, school, college or youth group. We have three places available on the 2026 course, which takes place in Oxford in May - and to support with travel costs, equipment, and clothing we also offer participants a £75 bursary. But hurry, applications close Tuesday 7 April. FREE Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) England training We still have funding for a couple more places on Mental Health First Aid England’s accredited training. Offered online or in person, their courses teach you how to support someone - adult or youth - facing a mental health issue. The Four Million Homes programmeYou can find a wide range of free resources, training and information at the Four Million Homes programme > And finally, a few quick links if you’re interested... | 
