Earning the Advocacy Quality Performance Mark (QPM) 2025 - blog by Jane Kingston, Head of Advocacy

The QPM audit provides an opportunity to reflect on practice and procedures and hear what matters from people who use and commission our services. We value the chance to review our service with experienced assessors who understand the challenges that the advocacy sector is facing. The QPM enables small advocacy organisations like ours to demonstrate our worth and communicate our quality. The framework of the Advocacy Charter ensures consistency and clarity on how to deliver good advocacy. We offer thanks to Kathy and the QPM team for spending time with our advocates, trustees and stakeholders to get to know what we do and how we do it. It's a joy to read that the systems we have in place are effective, as we strive for continued excellence and respond to all feedback.

We are absolutely delighted to read such a glowing report from our assessor. Delivering quality service really matters to us and is one of our six strategic objectives. To read the positive comments from staff, commissioners and people who have accessed advocacy is validation for the hard work shown across our team over the last three years.

As Head of Advocacy at Connected Voice, I am regularly reminded of the dedication and passion our skilled team of advocates devote every day. The audit has focused on how values drive our work - we are supported well by a board of trustees that understand advocacy and our mission, and this has helped to fund and steer some of our recent work to meaningfully engage people who use advocacy services. It was good to read that this was a key observation in the audit, and this is something we aim to build on.

Our service has adapted and evolved over the last three years in response to changes in commissioning. We have been involved in new partnerships and research, and have developed new ways to diversify income. As service leader, I am proud to see that the changes we have made have been positive and enabled us to be responsive to our communities. The audit commends us for our ability to adapt and change to ensure a sustainable model of delivery and, in turn, our ongoing success.

The audit also highlights our community responsiveness. During this period, we have seen communities suffer from reductions in community-based support, increases in isolation and poverty, and increased civil unrest and extreme politics. Our role has become more relevant and important in giving a voice to those who feel marginalised or victimised, and to campaign for change in our localities. 

We have prioritised time for local and national research over the last three years to make sure people feel visible and that their issues are addressed. Developing strong partnerships with universities to analyse case work and facilitate workshops to capture the voices of older people in safeguarding and victims of hate has been worthwhile. We couldn't do the work we do without the strong partnerships we have developed across the VCSE and with statutory services, and without the understanding we have developed with local authorities, the NHS, the Ombudsman, and many more.

As a leadership team, we appreciate the daily struggles that advocates face in the health, social and criminal justice sectors, and have devoted time and resources into a thoughtful employee support package with a focus on team development. In a time when advocacy is known nationally for poor terms and conditions and disparity amongst other sectors, we feel particularly proud that the audit shows positive feedback from our team who feel pride in their roles and feel supported at Connected Voice. 

Everyone in both our frontline and office teams will feel proud to read this report, and hopefully recognise their contribution to it. A heartfelt thanks to all who are involved in making this service what it is.