Esmeralda’s story

Esmeralda is an  Assistant Manager in the Front Door / MASH (Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub) at a London Borough.  She took part in a Grit programme for local authority staff.

It was completely transformational—genuinely life-changing—and I didn’t expect that at all. I’ve never said that about a training course before. I don’t have to explain the impact it’s had; people can see the difference in me.

What was the standout moment? Honestly, all of it.

I’d been going round and round in the same old circles, almost on autopilot, held back by my limiting beliefs and the idea that, as an “introvert”, I should simply accept the way things were. Grit helped me break out of that mould. It showed me that I could do something about where I was heading—all I needed was to look at the journey from a different perspective. That’s when the breakthroughs happened.

Grit helped me recommit to my goals and reminded me why I chose this path in social work. Supporting students is something I’m still passionate about. It’s up to me to make more of it and take it further. Realising that was incredibly freeing.

I’ve started taking the lead in driving student engagement across the service. For example, I initiated and ran an onboarding day for around 15 students placed in different teams across the service. They got to know one another—and people beyond their immediate teams—creating a peer-support network, their own cross-team community. This was my contribution to our One Borough value, helping to increase connectivity and joint working. Following Grit, we established the One Borough Champions, and I became one of them.

A big part of my job is progressing referrals from MASH across the service. At times, there can be differences between teams about referral criteria. Now, when there are grey areas, I bring together key people from the relevant teams and say, “Let’s deal with today’s crisis first and focus on what the family needs.” We don’t start by asking which team the family or challenge belongs to. We start by asking what the family needs. We work collectively to find the best solution for the family. We’re much more connected now, which makes everything so much easier.

We’re also exploring ways to develop more joint initiatives between Children’s and Adult Social Care, including training and joint working. It used to feel as if there was an invisible wall between us; now that wall is coming down.

A recent experience made me feel so welcome. I walked across to Adult Social Care with a query, unsure who I would need to speak to. I scanned the area until I spotted a familiar face—a fellow Grit attendee from Adults’ Services—and went straight over. I said, “I’m sorry, this might not be for you, but I’m coming to you because you’re a familiar face.” He smiled and waved me over, saying, “Come, come! That’s why we did the training together, so we can link in better.”

Although the query wasn’t for his team, he pointed me in the right direction and sent me the document I needed. Within 15 minutes of walking across from Children’s to Adult Social Care, the family had been supported and advice had been provided. This is what can happen when we all commit to our own goals and to supporting one another in achieving them.

One Borough has become more than just a slogan. We’re living it.

And all of this grew out of the Grit programme.