Customer Engagement Round-up: February 2026
Every month, we pull together a round-up of customer engagement information, including:
- Training, employment, and support
- Opportunities to get involved
- Latest updates, news, and information
- Coming soon
If there’s anything you’d like to see, or you have any questions, please email customer.engagement@stonewater.org
Apply now for our popular Sustainable Futures training
We’re really excited to announce that Sustainable Futures is back! Join us on our eight month customer training programme focusing on the environment, sustainability, and all things green.
Led by our own Sustainability team it’s the perfect opportunity for anyone interested in the environment and the changes that organisations, like us, are making to support decarbonisation. You’ll learn a lot, can gain qualifications to boost your CV, and be part of a team providing feedback about Stonewater sustainability projects. Be quick, applications close on 10 April!
Jobs at Stonewater
Check out our latest vacancies including some flexible, part-time, and home-based roles.
Have your say on the Housing Ombudsman’s business plan
More social housing residents around the country are using their right to complain, leading to a 500% rise in cases sent to the Housing Ombudsman over five years. The Housing Ombudsman would like your view on their approach and priorities. The consultation runs until Thursday 26 March.
Connect with Eden Communities
The Eden Project communities network holds spaces for community minded people to get together to support one another in making good things happen wherever they are in the UK. Their next online meetup is on 1 April.
Share your views on how you access information (STAIRS)
The Social Tenant Access to Information Requirements (STAIRs) is a new policy introduced by the government. It makes sure that, as tenants of a housing association like Stonewater, you have access to information about how we manage your home. The Housing Ombudsman would like your views on how it handles complaints related to this policy.
Longleigh Foundation’s new and improved leaflet
We’re proud to share that Longleigh Foundation has already provided more than £41,000 in support to 65 households this year. This vital help is making a real difference where it’s needed most and where customers need support.
With feedback from our Scrutiny Panel, they’ve launched a new and improved leaflet that’s clearer and makes it even easier to see the support available and how to apply for it. One member said:
“Everything works, easy to understand, really liking the click or scan QR codes”.
Connecting with young people
Scrutiny Panel Chair, Trevor, and Dani from our Customer Engagement team took to the road to visit Exeter Foyer, a supported housing scheme for younger people. They had an inspiring day chatting with residents and colleagues and came away energised and with a greater understanding of what’s working well, how young people are engaged, and what could encourage them to join the Panel.
"The visit offered clear insight into both the challenges and successes at Exeter Foyer and how good communication and sharing ideas across different schemes makes a positive difference. It was a refreshing experience, and for me it highlighted the importance of initiatives that empower young people in our community." Trevor, Scrutiny Panel Chair
Making retirement living engaging
Staying active in your community is a great way to live well for longer. Our Scrutiny Panel recently reviewed the ways Stonewater helps people in retirement living get involved in local activities.
They learned about the services on offer and spoke with colleagues and customers about what was going well and what we could improve. They’re finalising their recommendations and working with our teams to implement them. Once approved, we’ll publish a summary on our website. You can check out previous Scrutiny reviews on our website.
Customer Complaint Learning Panel (CCLP) make gas services more customer friendly
Our CCLP reviews complaint cases to help us make changes that benefit all of our customers. After reviewing five gas services cases covering things like gas safety inspections, heating, hot water and servicing. The Panel came up with 14 recommendations focusing on clearer written responses to customers, making sure our contractors know their responsibilities, better record keeping, and making sure vulnerable customers get the right support.
The improvements are already being put into action, and the Panel will meet again in August to review progress.
Boosting life changing skills for different generations
With so many services now online, it’s not always easy to get your head around all the apps, emails, or online forms. To help bridge the digital divide, we arranged for two of our less digitally confident Retirement Living Schemes to have a free We Are Group training session to help them learn useful everyday skills, such as keeping in touch with family and managing bills and money online.
Young people at one of our Foyers got involved in a fun, interactive employability session with We Are Group. They focused on learning key digital skills useful for the workplace, improving teamwork, and picking up helpful meeting tips. This was followed by CV, job application support, and mock interviews to build confidence for their next steps.
“The employability training group was a massive success here. There were a lot of laughs coming out of the room, which was amazing and refreshing to hear and see. They all came out of the session with massive grins and were all speaking very highly about what they learnt and how it can be used.” - Amelia, Foyer Senior Support Worker
Community Champions, the shining stars of the community
Did you know? We have a whopping 41 Champions that cover 45 schemes. They volunteer their time to do regular local walkabouts and help keep neighbourhoods looking their best by sharing issues and ideas with Stonewater colleagues.
In February, they completed 29 walkabouts highlighting things like missed bin collections, flytipping, and broken lights. But it’s not just about spotting problems, they also share brilliant ideas for improving their communities such as community days, gardening and flower planting, parking, direction and scheme signs. These are ideas that we may be able to support or fund.
All issues were passed on to the right teams, and Champions have shared that many of them have been resolved in just a few days.
Fantastic turnaround for customers at Five Ways
Customers at Five Ways told us that some services like grounds maintenance, cleaning, and repairs weren’t working as well as they should. To help us find out more, we held an online community meeting so customers could share their feedback and ideas for improving things.
We pulled together an action plan and visited the scheme to chat with customers. It was great to see the improvements where trees and shrubs have been cut back, communal repairs have been made, and there’s been progress towards replacing electronic gates. We’ve had fantastic feedback with customers saying ‘they’re chuffed with the improvements, and it’s the best it’s looked in years’. We’re looking at recruiting a Community Champion for the scheme, and we’ll keep working with the customers at Five Ways to make sure they know their feedback leads to action.