ADASS East — Putting People at the Heart of Care

A five-year ongoing partnership.

The work with ADASS East began with a clear challenge: people across the region were telling us that while strategic priorities and market-shaping processes mattered, they weren’t the thing that most needed to change. What they wanted was a different human experience of adult social care. They wanted to feel valued, listened to, treated as equals, and trusted to shape their own support. This insight emerged strongly during the work we were initially invited to deliver on Market Development Priorities, where people consistently said: “Don’t change the process — change how it feels to be in it.”

To understand this more deeply, Curators of Change worked with ADASS East to create spaces where people could share their experiences of care and support. Through online workshops, storytelling sessions, and sense-making conversations, we brought together people who draw on care and support, carers, providers, commissioners, and those working within local authorities. Across these diverse perspectives, a shared truth emerged: the quality of someone’s experience — how they were spoken to, whether they felt seen, whether relationships were built on trust — mattered more than any structural reform.

As these insights accumulated, people asked for a regional forum where these conversations could continue. But they were clear: they didn’t want another formal group with rigid governance, agendas, or tokenistic participation. They wanted something human, relational, and accessible.

Through co-production with those who had shared their stories, Over a Brew emerged.

Over a Brew is a regional and local series of online, facilitated conversations, open to anyone with an interest in adult social care. People come together “over a brew” to talk honestly about what’s working and what isn’t. The sessions are grounded in Camerados principles — human warmth, mutual support, not fixing, and “looking out for each other” — and held within the ethos of the Brave Space poem (Mickey Scottbey Jones), which acknowledges that difficult, hopeful, and transformative conversations can happen when people feel safe enough to be real.

The ADASS East website describes Over a Brew as an open, honest space where people can share and test ideas that will improve experiences of accessing adult social care. In seasons 1–4 we engaged with more than 1,500 people across the region and facilitated 50+ workshops and events. Now starting the fifth season, the sessions feed directly into the Putting People at the Heart of Care and Support working group, ensuring that lived experience shapes regional priorities and local practice.

The impact of this work has been significant. Over a Brew has become a recognised regional forum for relational, human-centred dialogue. It has created a space where people who draw on care and support sit alongside senior leaders as equals, shaping understanding and influencing change. The stories shared in these sessions have informed regional commitments to co-production, highlighted the importance of trust and belonging, and challenged councils to rethink how they engage with communities.

The approach has gained momentum beyond the regional sessions. Curators of Change have been invited to speak at regional and national events, sharing the learning and the ethos behind Over a Brew. Local authorities across the East have commissioned bespoke Over a Brew workshops to explore issues such as mental health, direct payments, information and advice, cultural inclusion, and workforce challenges. The sessions have helped councils hear directly from people about what quality feels like, where trust breaks down, and what relational practice looks like in real life.

Feedback from ADASS East:

“ADASS East has been working with the Curators of Change Team for over four years creating an Over a Brew co-production space which has enabled the region to have human-to-human contact with people who access care and support, families and carers. It is an absolute pleasure working with a team of experienced experts who have helped us to grow co-production across the region. The team have encouraged us to look at things through a completely different lens, helping us to listen and plan improvement based on what we have heard. Without the team, we would not have been able to put people at the heart of care and support in quite the same way.”

Recent participant feedback:

• “Thanks very much for the session. The greatest take-away to me is about investing the time and effort to build up a relationship with the people, getting to know them and really listen to them. A wonderful session. Lovely to meet you all!”
• “Thank you very much for the interesting session and for the great personal experience video/audios.”
• “Thank you everyone, I always enjoy the over a brews and it always boosts my mood and day.”
• “Thank you very much for the interesting discussions and shared insights from everybody.”
• “Felt super proud watching the stories — work I am doing — we are on the right track. Still work to do. But encouraging…”
• “Thank you everyone, great conversation and reflections. See you soon.”