Post by PeoplePlus UK

It’s hard to explain what a sense of community can do until you feel it up close - and that’s what today’s SRAG Summit, hosted by M Group in Oxford, gave us. Our theme was social mobility – something that can sit as words in a policy document until someone shows what it looks like in real life. Jo Whight did exactly that. Her story – devastating, determined and dignified – framed the day. Rob Wilson gave us the research: how investment that drives social mobility still flows disproportionately to the South, and why local decision-making is essential if opportunity is going to reach the communities that need it most. And then the G4S team, scaling up their security operations at Sizewell C in Suffolk, brought us back to people. Working with PeoplePlus UK and ANTZ UK, their social value strategy came to life in the room as we met brilliant local talent who've stepped into careers they didn’t picture for themselves. Lives are changing direction because potential has been recognised and given a place to grow. The sense of possibility for what's next was palpable. We celebrated new SRAG Charter Mark achievements by Northern College, RGIS, Mitie and M Group Highways – moments that recognise not perfection, but commitment, progress and intent. Every award reflects teams choosing to push boundaries and do more. We'll share more on these achievements soon. Add to this mix new partners – whatimpact, The School Outreach Company and the Employers' Initiative on Domestic Abuse – alongside established collaborators including ANTZ, Nuneaton Signs (best intro of the day "We're from Nuneaton and we make signs", where over 60% of their staff have a disability), RideTandem | B Corp™, Springpod, Transform and Achieve, Inspiration for All and many others. Each brings a different kind of expertise, connection or insight into the SRAG space, strengthening what the network can offer in 2026. To close, The Choir with No Name gave us something no slide deck ever could: connection, harmony and a reminder that community itself is transformative. Their voices and presence brought the whole room together. Thank you to everyone who travelled to be with us today. Thank you for the gifts for Helen & Douglas House. Thank you to new members and partners who’ll join us at the next summit in February 2026. The SRAG works because it's “and/and”: practical and human, ambitious and grounded, individual and collective - and because what we do together matters. #SocialValue #SocialImpact #SocialRecruitment #WhatNext #JoinUs