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care
Ambition to realityReforming social work
Transforming services Best Buttery Award Best of the best Net novices
SPRING 2012 | ISSUE 20
www.skillsforcare.org.uk
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National NewsNational News2 | Contents/National News
02 National News
04 Local News Sutton stars
06 Feature Ambition to reality
08 Spotlight Best of the best
10 Your shout Net novices
12 Sixty seconds with... Audrey Harmer - Project Manager
Careis published by Skills for Care.
All information was checked at the time of
going to press. The publisher cannot be
held responsible for any errors.
If you require this magazine in a different
format please email
Inside this issue
Find us on Facebook, follow us on
Twitter(@skillsforcare) or watch us onYouTube- www.youtube.com/skillsforcare
Growing the workforceSkills for Care estimate that the adult social care sector mayneed at least half a million extra workers by 2025. Finding andretaining those people will be no easy task, but Apprenticeshipscan make a signicant contribution to achieving this target.
An Apprenticeship is an industry-recognised qualication madeup of on-the-job training and off-the-job learning. The programmeis designed to meet the needs of both the employer and theapprentice and is available to anyone aged 16 and above. It isimportant for employers to recognise that there is no upper agelimit for Apprenticeships.
Skills for Cares Apprenticeships bulletin 2012 is now availablefeaturing information on the components that make up theApprenticeship framework, the key benets for employers andcase studies of those who have successfully implementedprogrammes.
If you havent received your free copy please email
There are also a number of new video case studiesavailable on our website, as well as an employer
guide to implementing an Apprenticeship programme.Visit www.skillsforcare.org.uk/apprenticeships .
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Transforming servicesSkills for Care has produced a practical guide to Using thePrinciples of Workforce Redesign, developed to support
the transformation of services in adult social care.The new practical guide will help people who are engaged inreshaping care services. It includes a range of tools to help
work through change constructively, transforming services tomeet the needs and expectations of the people who use them.
The guides publication is timely, coming during a period whenall providers of social care services are facing the dual challenge
of reshaping their services and managing changes to funding.
Order now and also receive a free copy of theaccompanying notes and resources publication.
Visit www.skillsforcare.org.uk/workforceredesign.
Welcome | issue 20 | 3
Reformingsupport for
social workersSkills for Care is working in partnership with the ChildrensWorkforce Development Council(CWDC) to support theSocial Work Reform Board in developing proposals for theAssessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE) for
newly qualied social workers. The programme is due to beimplemented in September 2012 and will succeed the
existing Newly Qualied Social Worker (NQSW) programmes.
A number of employers are involved in developing the ASYEmodel that will build upon learning from the existing NQSWframework to ensure that employers can effectively assessand support their newly qualied staff.
For more information and downloadable briengs visit
www.skillsforcare.org.uk/asye.
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www.skillsforcare.org.uk
WelcometothespringeditionofCare.
InthisissuewecelebratetheachievementsofthisyearsAccoladesnalists.Welook at howinteractiveworkshopshavehelpedembedsocialworkreforminworkplaces across thecountry.
Wealsofocusonhowonecouncilhasusedanonline systemtosupport qualityinductions.
2012willnodoubtthrowupmanyworkforcedevelopmentchallengesforallof us but Imcondent weare well placedtomeet themheadon.
SharonAllenCEO, Skillsfor Care
To be added to our distribution listor to order more copies please email
[email protected] call 0113 245 1716.
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Local NewsYorkshire and Humber
4 | Local News
North West
Route-way into care
To help recruit staff to their care home,Gainsborough House in Warrington worked inpartnership with Warrington Borough Council,
Warrington Social Care Partnership and JobcentrePlus to initiate a large recruitment drive.
The decision was made to offer pre-employmenttraining to long-term unemployed people usingSkills for Cares sector route-way. This meantpeople were rewarded with not only new skills,but also a qualication.
The 60 hour training programme ran over a threeweek period during school hours and fundingwas sourced by the community employmentlearning and skills service.
At the end of the programme six people wereoffered full-time employmentat GainsboroughHouse and a further six were employed by a local
domiciliary care agency.
For more information on thecare sector route-way please visit
www.skillsforcare.org.uk/caresectorrouteway.
Best Buttery
Thresheld Court is the only care home in Yorkshireand Humber to have gained the Buttery Awardfor Excellence in Dementia Care.
Home managerVal Gainsand her team havetotally transformed care over the last ten yearsfrom a service meeting mainly physical needsto supporting small group living.
Val also won Best Dementia Care Manager at theDementia Care Awards where the judges notedher passion, vision and personal leadership
qualities over many yearsValerie values staff forwho they are and enables their development.
As the number of people with dementia increasesit is important that the adult social care workforcehas the skills needed to meet their needs. Skillsfor Care has developed a number of dementiaspecic qualications.
For more information visit
www.skillsforcare.org.uk/qcf.i
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London
Local News | issue 20 | 5
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To view the videos visit
www.youtube.com/skillsforcare.
South West
Sutton stars
School children found out more about adultsocial care careers at the annual LondonBorough of Sutton careers event.
They ocked to the Skills for Care stand to hearmore about possible routes into the sectorincluding Apprenticeships.
The pupils also had a chance to experience whatit would be like to have a care need by trying on
spectacles to simulate the effects of the most
common causes of visual impairments, and tryingto unwrap chocolates wearing arthritis simulationgloves.
Ageless @ Work
Using funding from theEuropean Social Fund (ESF)through the Innovation,Transnationality and
Mainstreaming (ITM)Programme, Skills for Careis supporting social careemployers to recruit and retainolder workers in partnershipwith organisations throughout
the South West and Europe.
The Ageless @ Work projectfocuses on meeting new
challenges resulting fromdemographic changes, helpingtransform workplace cultures
so that organisations can betterdevelop the skills of olderworkers. The project has threethemes:
nResearching and analysinggood/innovative practice
nTransforming workplaceculture
nDeveloping skills of older
workers.
A number of resourceshave been created to help
support employers includinga video case study of alocal organisation usingApprenticeships to supportolder workers.
These are now availableto download from
www.skillsforcare.org.uk/recruitment.
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6 | Feature
Ambitionto realityHundreds of social work professionals joined a seriesof interactive workshops to help embed the social workreform agenda in workplaces across the country.
The workshops were delivered in partnership with the Social Work Reform Board to sharelearning and exchange views on current developments relevant to both Skills for Cares
social work programme and the Reform Boards proposals.Speakers at the events included Moira Gibb, who chairs the Social Work Reform Board,and Skills for Care CEO Sharon Allen.
Delegates heard how the current work of Skills for Care is supporting thereform agenda, and joined in discussion groups and interactive sessions basedon the products developed through the Social Work Reform Board.
Employers, social work programme providers, service users and carers whohad good examples of development work also shared their experiences.
I am proud to still be registered as a social worker soI was pleased to see so many social work professionals
attend these events to actively share their views on theReform Boards proposals.Skills for Care CEO Sharon Allen.
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Ambition to reality | issue 20 | 7
The events will take place
on the following dates:Tuesday 21 February - Durham
Tuesday 28 February - Leicester
Thursday 1 March - Lancashire
Tuesday 13 March - Huntingdon
Wednesday 21 March - Taunton
Tuesday 27 March - Slough
To book your place on one of the
freeworkshops go to
www.skillsforcare.org.uk/events.
Seven further workshops planned for early 2012 willcontinue the debate focussing on the implementation of thereforms and involve partner organisations working with thewhole of the profession.
Skills for Care has worked closely with partners tosupport the reform of social work, but it is absolutely
vital we continue to communicate with and involvepeople on the frontline,says Skills for Cares Social Work
Programme Head Graham Woodham.
So I would urge anyone with a burning desireto get involved in the debate to share their
experiences with others by signing up forthe new series of workshops in 2012.
For more information on Skills forCares work to support social workers
visit www.skillsforcare.org.uk/socialwork.
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Keep up-to-date with Skills for Care events on
Twitter follow us @skillsforcare.
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8 | Spotlight
www.skillsforcare.org.uk
This year has seen a record number of entriesfor our prestigious Accolades awards celebratingthe achievements of employers across the country.
The shortlisted nalists in all eight categories have passed a rigorous vericationprocess as our expert judges looked at how the organisations have developed
the skills and knowledge of their workforce.Our judges have reported back that the standard set by all the nomineesis as high as it has ever been as organisations recognise that staffdevelopment is key to meeting the tough challenges ahead.
The winners in each category will be on our website fromFriday 9 March 2012 www.skillsforcare.org.uk/accolades.
Best of the best
The Accolades over the last nineyears have become a benchmarkof how well an organisation is doingin developing a capable, condentand skilled workforce delivering high
quality services.
As always Ive been very impressedwith the high standard andcommitment to innovation shownby all the nominees, so I cant waitto meet the nalists to nd out for
myself what makes them so special.Skills for Care CEO Sharon Allen
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Accolades 2011/12 nalists
1. Best employer of under 250 staff
nCare Through the Millennium
nGordon McClurg
nSummercare
2. Best employer of over 250 staffnWoodleigh Care
nSt Annes Community Services
n1st Choice Care Homes
3. Best individual employer who employstheir own staffnPhilip Barton
nMel Stevens
nAbigail Bubb
4. Best provider of learningand developmentnJewish Care
nCheshire Centre for Independent Living
nPortsmouth City Council
5. Most effective employerinvestment in ApprenticeshipsnCheshire Centre
for Independent Living
nKent County Council
nHendra House6. Most effective employersupport for newly qualiedsocial workers (NQSWs)nPortsmouth City Council
nDerbyshire County Council
nSouth Tyneside Council
7. Best recruitment initiativesnCareMatch, Staffordshire
County Council
nLearning and Development Team,People: Adults and Neighbourhoods,Stoke on Trent City Council
nCare Plus
8. Most effective new approachto service deliverynSunnyside House, Thurrock
nDimensions
nLearning Disability Community SupportService, Leeds City Council
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10 | Your shout
Net novicesQuality inductions are critical in delivering quality careand e-learning is a growing method of supporting socialcare workers in their learning.
Gloucestershire County Council is just oneof many social care organisations investing in
online systems to support new starters fromday one.
They selected CIS Assessment to provide aneasy to use system to support managers andworkers through the induction and refresherprocesses as part of a blended learningapproach the council has adopted.
The system is designed to support workersto evidence their knowledge across theeight Common Induction Standards, butit must be supported by observationsof practical application of that learning,notes CIS AssessmentsAlex Knapp.
Any gaps in knowledge can then be re-assessed using a different set of questionsso we see what the workers have learnedand if they have remembered thatinformation.
The Health and Social Care Diploma is thenatural progression from the Common
Induction Standards(CIS). Many careproviders are already seeing greatbenets from linking the two veryclosely, so workers can progresseasily from CIS to the Diploma,especially with the recognitionof prior learning.
Online assessment ensures thatthe record of learning from the CIScan be mapped directly to theDiploma so that the evidencedoes not have to be reproduced.
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For the council there have been clear benetsincluding reduced training costs, supporting
manager development using the ManagersInduction Standards assessments andsupporting their three year safeguardingstrategy.
The online system has helped create a vibrant
learning culture and according to frontlinemanager Caroline Eaton, the investmentis starting to pay off.
We werent sure at rst, but now I think it isreally useful in checking understanding and
learning says Caroline. One of my olderworkers has really gained condence in usingcomputers through the assessments.
That condence in online assessment is shared
by generic rehab assistantAngela Pitts.The system itself is no problem to use. Noteveryone is condent using it at rst, so wetend to help each other out. With a little bitof support Ive found it really usefulnotesAngela.
For more information on the Common
Induction Standards visitwww.skillsforcare.org.uk/cis.
Net Novices| issue 20 | 11
We didnt just want to sheep dip new people through training, but
to make sure there was really effective knowledge transfer and tohelp people embrace IT.
Angela Willis, Gloucestershire County Council WorkforceDevelopment Manager.
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www.skillsforcare.org.uk
12 | Sixty seconds
Practical steps.
When Skills for Care createdOnly a Footstep Awaywe werelooking at how a careful analysis
of the skills that already exist in alocal neighbourhood could drive astrategic approach to communityskills development.
The idea was to enablepeople who use servicesand their carers living in thatneighbourhood to experiencea greater level of support andindependence.
Now Skills for Care -
in partnership with localcommunities, neighbourhoods,employers and commissioners -is leading the development
of a practical guide to supportthe implementation ofneighbourhood workforceplanning and community skills
development.
In order to test out the tools and
templates in Making use ofOnly a Footstep Awaywe are
working with 15 early adoptersites across England. Each sitehas been asked to consider thework so far on the guide and tofeedback from their experiences.
That honest feedback willenable the co-production of
a national set of guidelines,tools and templates to supportothers to focus on skills assetswithin neighbourhoods andcommunities to produce aworkforce plan.
The practical guide and the toolsthat are being co-produced focuson community assets and the
skill requirement of those people
who are supporting people -encompassing both formal andinformal support - where they live,to live full and independent lives.
The guide will encourageneighbourhoods and communitiesto access practical tools so theyare able to develop an innovativeworkforce plan.
The guide will build onpartnerships between people,their families, communities and
neighbourhoods and thoseproviding social care services.
For more information andto download Making use
of Only a Footstep Away visitwww.skillsforcare.org.uk/
communityskills.
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60 seconds with...Audrey Harmer
Project Manager - Community skills development
The guide will encourage neighbourhoods and
communities to access practical tools so they areable to develop an innovative workforce plan.