Every quarter, Communicourt staff gather in Birmingham for our Saturday Team Day. This is an opportunity to connect with colleagues, share practice, engage with CPD (Continued Professional Development) and celebrate our successes as an organisation.
This June, we celebrated the LOVE (Living Our Values Everyday) Awards. From amongst the 32 nominations made across Communicourt, we were delighted to present awards for Collaboration, Courage, Innovation, Diversity and Respect to Tegan, Katie, Sophie, Bradley, Millie and Cristina. You can read more about their winning nominations below*:
*identifying details have been changed.
Courage: Cristina Lojo-Taboada
Cristina assisted a court user who had a history of self-harm and suicide attempts. When Cristina observed a worrying issue in relation to this history during trial, Cristina immediately raised it with their barrister, who in turn, raised it with the Judge. The Judge called Cristina to the witness box to explain what she had seen and she shared her concerns about the situation. As a result, the Judge requested measures were taken to resolve the safety issue. Cristina demonstrated great courage and attention to detail by raising the issue in the first place. Without the courage demonstrated by Cristina, the service user could have been at great risk.
Innovation: Sophie Derbyshire
Sophie assessed a court user who had a diagnosis affecting their expressive abilities. A previous intermediary assessment had been attempted, but had been terminated due to the considerable difficulties experienced by the court user. Over two sessions, Sophie built a very strong rapport with the individual, and adapted the entire assessment process to allow them to communicate with her through emojis. Sophie worked so hard during the assessment to ensure she accurately understood the individual’s intended meaning via this alternative communication method. Ultimately, she was able to complete a full assessment, providing the court with valuable information about the person’s communication needs and recommendations to support their effective participation in proceedings.
Diversity: Bradley Dunn
Bradley has always been a really positive presence in our group-wide Neurodiversity Network project. In May he stepped up to host a drop-in session, which garnered lots of great sharing and discussion, and resulted in some great ideas to take the Neurodiversity Network forward. Hosting was a bit out of Bradley’s comfort zone and perhaps was a bit daunting when lots of unfamiliar faces from across six companies turned up! But he did a cracking job and should be very proud.
Respect: Millie Watson
During proceedings, Millie made an unusual recommendation about a sensitive issue in a discreet way, which showed great respect for the court user, while still supporting their needs. The issue in question was affecting the court user’s attention and emotional regulation. Millie handled the situation very sensitively and professionally, by building rapport, gaining consent from the service user to discuss matters with counsel, and asking counsel to contact the judge via email (in order to discuss the matter discreetly). The judge was very open to the recommendations Millie raised and these were implemented. The intermediary did a great job at handling a sensitive issue professionally and respectfully.
Collaboration: Tegan Davis (Intermediary) and Katie Cole (Bookings)
Tegan and Katie were absolutely amazing in supporting an intermediary colleague through a difficult assessment, which involved issues relating to informed consent. The court user was unable to give informed consent to participate in the assessment (even when many different strategies to support their understanding were implemented), and a challenging situation then arose. Tegan provided reassurance and support over the phone. She then spoke to Katie, who took practical steps, liaising with others, to resolve the situation. The intermediary felt hugely supported by Tegan and Katie, and grateful for their help in the face of this tricky issue.
