Team Starting
The first steps toward building support
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The first steps toward building support
Last updated
Was this helpful?
Team Starting is the process that helps someone begin building their support team. It usually starts when a person, family member, friend or professional gets in touch to ask for help with care and support. From there, a trained Team Starter works alongside them to build a team that’s right for their needs, preferences and circumstances.
This early stage is about gathering information, building trust, and working out who might be a good fit without rushing. The person receiving support (known as the Team Owner) remains at the centre of the process throughout.
What follows is a brief overview of how a team comes into being. In the next few sections, we’ll go into more detail about the role of the Team Starter, the steps involved, and how people create their profiles and promises — the foundation for how relationships begin.
There are a few ways people typically reach us:
By using the contact form on the Equal Care website
Calling 01422 754321
Emailing [email protected]
If a contract is in place (for example with a local authority or NHS body), referrers may have a direct route to refer
At this stage, only brief details are needed. Someone will check whether the support requested is something Equal Care can offer. If not, the person can choose to be added to a waiting list, which is reviewed regularly.
If a potential match becomes available - someone who fits what the person is looking for and is interested in giving the support needed - the Team Starting process begins.
If personal care or medication support is involved, a face-to-face visit is arranged. During this visit, the Team Starter helps complete a support profile and a trust assessment, recording what's important to the person and what good support looks like for them. If those types of support aren’t needed, the visit is optional.
The person is asked to review and approve what’s been written about them, and to sign the Getting Support Promise, which outlines what they can expect from the process and from the people supporting them.
This information is then shared - with the person’s consent - with prospective team members.
The person or someone they nominate is invited to the Equal Care platform. This creates a private Team Chat and access to profiles of people who have offered to give support.
The Team Starter (or an existing team member) supports with:
Looking through support worker profiles
Making initial contact
Arranging conversations and trial sessions
Trial sessions are always paid and take place with the consent of both parties. After the session, both the person and the worker decide whether they’d like to continue. If there are any concerns, the Team Starter is available to help resolve them.
When both sides feel ready to continue, the team begins to take shape. Each team develops differently: some grow quickly, others build over time. Some people want to coordinate things themselves, while others ask a trusted person to take the lead. Either way, the Team Starter stays involved for as long as needed to help the team settle in.
