IMPACT at Ategi: Early Learning on What Helps Staff Stay in Social Care

Social care plays a vital role in the lives of thousands of people, yet it remains a sector facing persistent challenges around workforce stability. While many organisations struggle with high turnover, Ategi has managed to build something different: a highly local, committed team of support workers who often stay for years rather than months. This made Ategi a strong case study for the IMPACT programme – Improving Adult Social Care Together – a UK-wide initiative exploring how evidence, lived experience and frontline practice can drive meaningful change. As part of this work, Celia Netana, an IMPACT Facilitator, has been embedded within Ategi to learn directly from staff, managers and people supported by the organisation, focusing on what genuinely helps people stay in social care roles and what lessons might benefit the wider sector.

To understand this work in more depth, we spoke to Celia Netana, the IMPACT Facilitator embedded at Ategi. Celia has been based in the Pontypridd office one day a week since September, spending time listening to staff, managers and people we support. We caught up with her to hear more about what she’s been doing during these first months, what she’s learning so far, and where the work is heading next...

Celia’s role and the first four months at Ategi

Celia has been based in Ategi HQ in Pontypridd for 1 day a week, since September 2025 and has enjoyed taking time to get to know everyone and listen to a range of perspectives including from people supported by Ategi, staff and managers. Over the last 4 months Celia has held workshops and 1-1 meetings with all Ategi Wales staff including the senior leadership team, Locality Managers, current and some former support workers and office-based staff.  This has been a chance to introduce herself and the IMPACT project and to get people involved in this work. She’s taken part in team building activities, training, a staff forum meeting and dancing at the Christmas disco! 

Celia has also made contact with organisations and individuals outside of Ategi, to find out more about staff retention activities elsewhere in Wales. This includes speaking with Further Education colleges and Higher Education Institutes to understand more about what keeps people who are new to social care in their jobs and what makes them want to leave. 

Early Themes and Reflections: What We’re Learning About Staff Retention

So far, work has been done to ask Ategi staff what they think are the key priorities around improving staff retention.  At the moment priorities have fallen into 3 broad themes which have highlighted both what is already working  well and also where there are areas that may be improved. These themes are

• A supportive working environment
• Appreciation and recognition
• Fairness and good work/life balance

Why Staff Retention Matters: The Bigger Picture for Social Care

Staff retention is a key issue throughout the social care sector and is important to tackle in terms of quality of care, support for care teams and also the future of social care provision.

The IMPACT team wrote an evidence review drawing on existing academic and social care sector work looking at staff retention where key causes of people leaving the sector are reported to be poor working conditions, excessive workloads, insecure employment, low pay, limited progression and lack of supportive management. There are also some key statistics stating over 25% of newly qualified social care workers plan to leave social care within 12 months (Social Care Wales, 2023b). We’ve had some really interesting discussions around reasons why people leave social care roles such as low pay, precarious working hours and lack of progression.

Celia has made contact with the We Care Wales network based in Local Authorities around Wales to understand more about retention activities happening in other organisations across Wales.

It’s been interesting to hear research evidence on these topics can sometimes be different to people’s own lived experience and practice knowledge.  This is key to IMPACT’s work of building up understanding and ideas from people directly involved in social care to help bring about positive change not just in Ategi in Wales, but potentially scaled up to other organisations and parts of the UK as well.

Whose Voices Matter Next? Including People We Support in the Conversation

Over the next few weeks Celia is working with support workers and managers to design workshop and 1-1s with People We Support both those with Learning Disabilities and those with substance misuse issues and complex needs. It’s really important to make sure we capture the experiences and reflections on the impact of good or poor staff retention from people who use care services.

Also, Celia’s speaking with local Further Education colleges and Universities that include work placements as part of their Social Care qualifications. This will help build understanding of the experiences of people new to working in social care and what encourages them or contributes to them wanting to stay or leave the sector.

What’s Next: Next Steps for IMPACT at Ategi and Beyond

As well as furthering our understanding by speaking with People We Support about their experiences and thoughts on improving staff retention, IMPACT has a focus on bringing about positive change. The next stage of this work is about helping staff and People We Support to identify priorities for the remainder of the project.  

Did you read our first article about Ategi and IMPACT?

Read it here

IMPACT in context

IMPACT is a £15 million UK centre for implementing evidence in adult social care funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Health Foundation. 

It is not a traditional research project, instead IMPACT draws on insights from research, lived experience and practice knowledge to make a difference to front line services and people's lives. This involves using evidence to bring about practical improvements and longer-term cultural change.

Now in its third year of project delivery and supporting a range of delivery models, IMPACT has developed over 60 projects to date. Ategi were successful in their application to the Facilitator model of delivery with the aim of improving staff retention in adult social care, recognising that investment in the workforce is crucial for the provision of high-quality care and support.

Find out more about IMPACT here