Wokingham: Prevention First: Turning Insight into Early Action

Wokingham — Prevention First: Turning Insight into Early Action

Wokingham’s prosperity is well recognised — with strong schools, low unemployment, and active communities. Yet, like many growing areas, it faces emerging pressures from population change, housing costs, and an ageing demographic. Beneath positive averages, subtle inequalities and shifting needs are beginning to surface. To sustain wellbeing and opportunity for all, early, preventative action is key.

Our Approach: Revealing the Story Behind the Data

Working closely with Wokingham Borough Council, Impera Analytics built a “Between the Averages” segmentation model — a data-driven tool designed to highlight where early, joined-up support could have the most impact.

The analysis revealed that more than 3,500 households across Wokingham would benefit from earlier, place-based help to stop issues escalating into crisis. From this, four key resident segments emerged:

1. Families in Need of Support – often in work but facing low pay, rising rents, and health challenges, particularly in Shinfield and Norreys.

2. Struggling Young Adults – concentrated in South Lake and Norreys, experiencing insecure work, low income, and mounting mental health pressures.

3. Refugees and Vulnerable Migrants – individuals seeking stable housing, fair work access, and community connection through ESOL and qualification recognition.

4. Vulnerable 50+ Households – older residents facing isolation, digital exclusion, and financial strain.

Developing the ‘Prevention First’ Model

The findings became the foundation for Prevention First — a borough-wide shift from reactive crisis response to proactive early intervention.

The model rests on three core pillars:

1. A Shared Foundation for Prevention

Wokingham’s Early Intervention and Prevention Policy ensures residents get the right help at the right time — fairly, transparently, and with dignity.

2. A Multi-Agency Prevention Consortium

Analysts, welfare teams, GPs, educators, and community partners are working together through a shared data network to act before problems escalate.

3. Local Pilots with Visible Impact

Pilots in Norreys, Shinfield, and South Lake use trusted community spaces to provide:

Financial guidance and Money MOTs
Job pathways and skills training
Peer-led mental health support
Housing stability and volunteering opportunities

These community touchpoints create early help without stigma — local, approachable, and human.

Prevention First is helping residents access financial, wellbeing, and training support earlier — reducing hardship and strengthening community confidence. Over time, this approach will mean fewer crises, better skills and employment, stronger social connections, and a borough-wide model for ethical, data-driven prevention with measurable public value.

Looking Ahead: Prevention as the New Normal

Prevention First is about resilience and belonging — families feeling secure, young adults finding purpose, and older neighbours staying connected. With 15+ staff trained in citizen-led methods, Wokingham is showing that compassion and cost-effectiveness can go hand in hand. Data is no longer just numbers — it’s the bridge between policy and people.