What Matters is Camden Adult Social Care’s (ASC) approach to supporting people.  It is our attempt at putting people at the heart of what we do.

We can trace the inception of our What Matters approach back to as early as to the implementation of the Care Act 2014.

The Care Act 2014 introduced the well - being concept and placed strength - based principles at the centre of how we work with and support people.

There are 3 pillars that underpin our approach:

• Being strength-based 
• Working in a relational way
• Considering the impact that trauma might have on the people we support.

We set out with the assumption that the person is an expert in their own lives and that they are best placed to judge and determine what a good life looks like for them.

This signalled a shift in our way of thinking by highlighting what is strong rather than focusing on what is wrong.

Strength - based practice principles are in stark contrast to the care management approach dominating Local Authority interventions prior to the introduction of the Care Act 2014.

We have come a long way in moving on from taking a one size fits all approach to well - being.

Our What Matters approach was coproduced with the people of Camden and has been our way of working since 2019.  It is the golden thread that runs through everything that we do in ASC.

It is not just something that we write on paper or how we speak in meetings, but rather a mindset that underpins everything that we do in ASC.