04 May 2026
Risk assessment sits at the heart of our work. It's how we understand what someone's facing, what support they need, and how to keep them safe.
At WithYou, we talk a lot about what good practice looks like. But describing what "good" looks like on a slide only gets you so far. Sometimes you need to see it.
That's why we've been working with BCP Council's Drug & Alcohol Commissioning Team (DACT) and Bournemouth University to develop a film that brings risk assessments to life as part of the pan Dorset drug and alcohol risk training.
Why we made it
The pan-Dorset risk training has been running for years, developed collaboratively between service providers and commissioners across the area. It takes place quarterly, jointly facilitated by DACT, WithYou and REACH, and every member of our BCP staff team goes through it. The idea of the film came about in response to feedback and the need to create something that could be part of induction, training and revisited to support good practice.
The idea was to capture the nuances of assessing risk, including body language, the way answers are given and what needs to be explored more, all while remaining calm, honest and open, and provide a ‘fly on the wall’ experience to help improve practice and the experience for people who use our services. Staff wanted examples of what good risk assessing looked like.
Working in partnership with Rebecca Bond, Senior Lecturer in Post-Production at Bournemouth University we created a short film taking the viewer through a typical risk assessment conversation. Staff from WithYou played both the assessor and client, and two students, Scarlette Freyone and Charlie Potter led on film direction and editing, and did an incredible job bringing the project to life. It shows motivational interviewing in action, how to support someone to take ownership of their own plan, and how to stay calm and professional when the conversation is a difficult one.
How it's landed and next steps
Feedback from the video has been incredibly positive. Attendees at the training where the film premiered said the conversation felt natural and collaborative, a good example of best practice, and that the assessor's reassurance came through clearly on screen. As one DACT colleague put it, it's "a great piece of partnership working to improve performance within the treatment system."
We'll be embedding the film into our training and making sure it's accessible to staff at the point they need it. A companion piece on telephone assessments is also on the cards and we are exploring creating new videos to further support our other areas of our training programme.
A final thank you to Scarlette and Charlie from Bournemouth University. They gave their time and their skills to a project that will improve the experience of both our workforce and the people who come to us for support.
Want to learn more about WithYou in BCP? Visit wearewithyou.org.uk/local-hubs/bournemouth-christchurch-and-poole