People management network

The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) has established a people management network to help managers, practitioners and HR professionals improve their policies and practices.

Members of the network are encouraged to share their ideas, problems and good practice.

They are supported by the People Management website which provides evaluation tools and an extensive directory of resources for developing effective procedures.

Read more

Sharing best practice

The JIP and Coventry City Council have produced a case study chronicling the development of safeguarding practices and procedures in the city.

The study describes measures put in place to bring about improvements in safeguarding vulnerable adults.

Contact: Mark Godfrey, Assistant Director, Adults Social Care,
email: Mark.Godfrey@coventry.gov.uk

Tools for commissioning

The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) is holding an event to demonstrate to commissioners its toolkit for working with User Led Organisations (ULOs).

The event will take place on 17 May 2010 at Aston Villa Football Club, from 10.00hrs to 15.30hrs. The programme consists of:

• raising awareness and understanding of the toolkit
  sharing knowledge of best practice in commissioning and ULO development
• enhancing awareness of the regional support available to promote and develop ULOs
• contribute towards the development of an action plan for commissioning ULOs
• The event will be of interest to Commissioners from a range of organisations and those looking to get a better understanding of.ULOs.

Contact Anthony Walters, email: anthonygwalters@yahoo.co.uk .

Looking to the future in Herefordshire

Herefordshire Council and NHS Herefordshire will be holding their first conference to examine the latest workforce issues and priorities arising from personalisation of social care, and to contribute to shaping local action for change.

‘A Workforce Fit for the Future: Making it Happen in Herefordshire’ takes place on Thursday 1 July 2010, at Hereford Race Course, from 9.00hrs to 14.00hrs.

The event is for people working in health and social care, who have responsibility for workforce planning, human resources, service redesign, business development or change management.

It will provide an opportunity to:

• hear speakers from the Department of Health, West Midlands Strategic Health Authority, Herefordshire Council & NHS Herefordshire set the context for the future of health and social care.
• contribute to discussion and debate about how best to address the future workforce challenges, and identify options and solutions for Herefordshire
• gather information and ideas from a wide range of market stalls, including Skills for Health and Skills for Care, along with exemplars of best practice from across the region
• learn about and try out some of the many tools available to support workforce planning and development
• join a local Workforce Improvement Network to stay ahead of the game, share tips, ideas and concerns, and focus on future opportunities and challenges.
  
  Contact Clair Rogers, email : clair@actforfunding.org, telephone : 01432 261816.

Legal Guidance Training - Using Direct Payments for Employing a PA

This free event takes place in Digbeth, Birminghan on 11 May 2010, from 9.30hrs to 16.00hrs.

Training will cover:

• pros and Cons of employing a PA
• the scope of Direct Payments – what personal budgets can be spent on
• paying the full amount for services, including the social care charge
• liability risks for the service user and the local authority
• managing the risks
• tax and NI and benefits implications
• necessary paperwork
• channelling the Direct Payment through a suitable person
• the CRB and ISA regime – what service users should be told
• alternatives to employing a PA – purchasing services, or using a self-employed person

Training is suitable for personalisation and personalisation finance leads, direct payments leads, legal staff in adult social care, adult safeguarding leads and commissioners in adult social care.

Contact Paul Johnston, email: paul.johnston@impactchange.co.uk, telephone: 01670 528 438.

New hub for PPF

The new website, Putting People First: Transforming Adult Social Care, is now live and replaces TASC – the Transforming Adult Social Care website.

It provides news, information, events and resources for social care practitioners, to help them implement personalised care, promote good practice, share knowledge and deliver improved results for patients.

The site is hosted by the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE).

Visit www.puttingpeoplefirst.org.uk

Round up of Skills for Care news and events

Skills for Care supports a range of workforce developments in the region and has held a number of events this year.

Mastering change
A series of Master classes have been organised to help social work practitioners adapt their roles to meet the needs of transforming adult social care. Classes are delivered by University of Worcester and Coventry University.
Read more

Skills for Care and Foundation Degree Forward are collaborating in a series of developmental pilots to design and deliver foundation degrees for the Adult Social Care workforce. University of Staffordshire and University of Worcester were successful in their bids to pilot the degrees in Long Term Conditions and Learning Disability.
Read more

£1000 cash and free training offer
Job Centre Plus and the Department of Health have launched Care First Careers, a new initiative to help employers recruit the talent they need. The scheme offers £1000 and free pre-employment training to employers who recruit a new care worker.
Read more

Route into social care
Skills for Care is working with Jobcentre Plus to provide a way for unskilled, unemployed people to find employment in adult social care. Known as a ‘sector route-way’, the scheme helps to equip people with skills and build their confidence so they can move into entry level jobs.

There are three key elements:

• development of local partnerships between social care employers, learning providers and Jobcentre Plus
• a route-way toolkit, which is a set of practical resources designed specifically for Jobcentre Plus staff
• the route-way course, which is a pre-employment training programme that lasts at least 60 hours and can be taught flexibly over a three to six week period.

Read more

Accolades award scheme opens
The Skills for Care Accolades 2010, in partnership with the DH, is now open and taking nominations in 14 categories. Achieving an Accolade proves you are improving the lives of people using social care services through workforce development.
Read more

Analysis of social care workforce
Skills for Care in the West Midlands has commissioned analysis of the National Minimum Dataset for Social Care (NMDS-SC). The report presents an overview of the adult social care workforce in the region, including an analysis of pay, turnover and vacancy rates. It provides an assessment of the impact of the recession on the sector, and some regional workforce projections based on national scenarios. Recommendations are made for maximising the potential of the dataset, including expanding the coverage of the voluntary sector which will be key in future service design and delivery.
Read more

Assisting directors to bring about change
The Integrated Local Area Workforce Strategy (InLAWS) project is a joint initiative between Skills for Care and the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS). It aims to develop effective ways of supporting Directors of Adult Social Services (DASS) with workforce commissioning across their local area.
The vision is to have the right workforce doing the right things at an achievable cost. This will involve synchronising service commissioning, financial and workforce strategies.
InLAWS will assist directors in bringing about change to achieve towards personalised and safe adult social care. It will provide a common approach and practical tools to help directors ensure a steady supply of skilled, capable and competent practitioners for established social care providers and service users with responsibility for buying their own care.
Read more

A national InLAWS event is taking place on Wednesday 30 June 2010 in central London. The event will be publicised in the Skills for Care national enews bulletin throughout April and May.
Read more

Joint Skills for Care / Valuing People Learning Disability Workforce Network
Another successful Workforce Network event was held on 9 March 2010. It featured updates on the Qualifications and Credit Framework, Valuing People Now and the Common Induction Standards refresh project. The meeting was jointly funded by Valuing People and Skills for Care West Midlands, and organised by the British Institute for Learning Disabilities (BILD).
Read more

Skills for Care has developed a Guide to Workforce Planning for providers of adult social care, as part of the InLaws project. It is designed for busy employers who need help with planning their workforce. Contact joanne.keenan@skillsforcare.org.uk

West Midlands Alliance of Assessors, Verifiers and Trainers in Health and Social Care
The sixth of our Alliance events took place at the Village hotel on 10 February 2010. Trainers and assessors from around the region were given important regional and national updates about the skills agenda, and were able to take part in a wide range of workshops. The next Alliance event takes place on May 19th at the Village Hotel, Walsall.
Read more

End of Life Care Regional e:Learning launch
This event was jointly organised by the West Midlands Strategic Health Authority and Skills for Care West Midlands, as part of a series of national and regional launches of e:learning materials for End of Life Care. It produced some interesting ideas for further investment in health and social care workforce development for 2010 /11.
Read more

Dignity Project
Skills for Care West Midlands is using its sub regional dissemination model to promote the Dignity campaign to social care organisations. An assessment of the effectiveness of this approach will be published on the organisation’s website.

The organisation and Department of Health West Midlands staged a ‘Celebrating Dignity’ event in April. One thousand delegates attended. Key note speeches were delivered by actress and older peoples’ rights campaigner, Amanda Waring, and Falklands veteran Simon Weston.
Read more

Learning and the Personal Assistants Workforce
Held in March this year, the workshop was an opportunity for learning providers to expand their understanding of how the personalisation agenda is transforming the social care sector. Its purpose was to share good practice in delivering learning to people funding their own care, and to consult on draft guidance for training providers. The event was attended by over 70 people and evaluation was very positive.
Copies of the latest version of Guidance for Learning Providers on Direct Payments is available from Jerry Conway. Email: jerry.conway@lsc.gov.uk

Practitioners’ symposium
Skills for Care West Midlands staged the Regional Social Work Practitioner Symposium earlier this year, to explore and discuss the implications of the Social Work Task Force recommendations, and to inform delegates of national and regional projects that will assist in implementing the 15 recommendations.
Read more

Profiling Skills for Care West Midlands

Skills for Care is an employer led organisation and the expert body for advising on training standards and development needs of over one million social care staff in England.

The organisation works with employers and training providers to establish necessary standards and qualifications that equip social care workers with the skills needed to deliver improved standards of care.

Skills for Care West Midlands is one of nine regional offices in England. Its team members are:

Sue Johnson, Regional Development Officer, with responsibility for implementing the Skills for Care National Workforce Development Strategy. This includes responsibility for standards and qualifications. Email: sue.johnson@skillsforcare.org.uk .

Mary Keating, lead for Regional Adult Social Work Development. Priorities for this year include supporting implementation of the recommendations of the Social Work Taskforce, kicking off with support to employers to undertake the “Health Check”.

Other priorities include continuing to support the strong employer and university stakeholder networks, working with employers to identify and disseminate best practice in relation to the Newly Qualified Social Worker Scheme (NQSW), and continuing development of first line social work managers. Email: mary.keating@skillsforcare.org.uk .

Olivia Redgrave, Regional Development Officer. Olivia co-ordinates work supporting recruitment and retention of social care workers. This includes initiatives to improve the image and status of the profession, and promoting it as a career of choice. Specific projects include apprenticeships, the accolades award scheme, sector routeway for social care, care ambassadors, the recruitment initiative Care First Careers and the annual social care recruitment campaign. Email:olivia.redgrave@skillsforcare.org.uk .

Stuart Baird, Regional Development Officer, responsible for regional workforce planning. This includes coordination of the National Minimum Dataset for Social Care (NMDS-SC) in the region which collects key sector intelligence across statutory, private, voluntary and independent providers. Stuart also oversees the West Midlands Specialist Care Skills Brokerage Programme which provides a single point of access for all relevant learning and development funding for the adult social care sector. Email: stuart.baird@skillsforcare.org.uk

Ruth Beard, Regional Coordinator with responsibility for Specialist Care Skills Brokerage and Training Strategy Implementation (TSI) funding. Specialist Care Skills Brokerage advisers support social care organisations in areas of business development, sustainability and training.

TSI funding is from the Department of Health and supports individuals working in adult social care. The funding is available for adult NVQs in care training, Common Induction Standards (CIS), Manager Induction Standards and the Learning Disability Qualification (LDQ), and other qualifications relevant to the adult social care sector. (Please note the Manager Induction is not yet mandatory) Email: ruth.beard@skillsforcare.org.uk

Jan Burns, Regional Development Manager. Jan’s principal role is the development and implementation of a regional business plan, which blends delivery of the national work plan for Skills for Care (via a contract with the DH) with the interests and priorities of stakeholders in the West Midlands region. This entails building effective collaborative relationships with key strategic players in health and social care; maintaining contact with skills, funding and development bodies; retaining an overview of the regional economy, the demographics and labour market trends, and their effects on the social care sector. Email: jan.burns@skillsforcare.org.uk

Liz Heaven, Senior Regional Development Officer, has substantial experience in social work, learning and development. In addition to managing other team members and supporting the business operations of the organisation, she is also involved in a wide variety of strategic forums and projects supporting the delivery of transformed services.
Email: liz.heaven@skillsforcare.org.uk

Helen Wilcox is the Chair of Skills for Care West Midlands Regional Committee. She describes herself as privileged and excited to be in the position at such a crucial time in the evolution of social care. She aims to build on her long and varied experiences of working with Skills for Care, her role as an employer, and as a social care employer representative. Helen believes the most effective way of driving up standards of care is by valuing people who work in the sector, securing excellent learning and development opportunities for them, and inspiring leaders and managers.

Skills for Care Regional Office
The West Midlands regional office team, lead by Liz James, provides a wide variety of support to the Regional Development Officers. They monitor contracts and budgets for the various work streams, and deal with general client enquiries on matters as diverse as funding, meeting details, apprenticeships and publications.

The team also co-ordinates the Skills for Care West Midlands events and provides an exhibition stand to disseminate information about the organisation’s work at sub-regional events. It also maintains and updates information on the West Midlands regional website to make sure important changes are relayed to stakeholders.

For general enquiries contact Liz James, Office Manager, email: liz.beard@skillsforcare.org.uk, telephone: 0121 250 3803.

Visit: westmidlands.skillsforcare.org.uk

Mainstreaming personalisation in Staffordshire

A mandatory six and a half day staff training programme has been devised in Staffordshire, to ensure personalisation of adult care becomes part of mainstream social services’ culture.

The Personalisation Training Programme has been designed to promote independence, choice and control for service users, and equips staff with the skills and knowledge needed to secure innovative options for care and support.

Front line social care staff, including colleagues from the health sector, are required to attend the training course, which covers:

• person centred thinking
• the Resource Allocation System (RAS)
• outcome based support planning
• person centred reviews
• direct payments
• support broker awareness
• key worker role awareness

A half day briefing session on the programme is delivered to all senior managers who are either directly or indirectly involved in the delivery of the personalisation agenda, or the assessment and care management of service users.

The briefing looks at the purpose and necessity of the training programme, the content of the workshops, the learning outcomes for staff, the expected outcomes for service users, and how it will inform personalisation.

Contact: Nichola Glover-Edge, Personalisation Development Manager, telephone: 01785 854377, email: nichola.glover-edge@staffordshire.gov.uk .

Push for more PAs in the region

JIP’s project to increase the number and quality of personal assistants (PAs) in the region is gathering pace, with draft specifications in place for a PA register and an online market place.

Personalised care – the practice of service users receiving direct payments which they use to buy care services - is leading to increased demand for PAs.

The online market and the register will make it easier for people to book PAs who have been vetted and are registered, directly.

The developments are part of a wider initiative that includes:

• producing legal advice for PAs and employers on employment rights, health and safety, and on the implications for local authorities


• analysis of barriers to direct employment from both the employer and PA’s point of view


• developing a business case for local authorities to invest in PA capacity building measures.

The project summary is available from Paul Johnston, Impact Change Solutions Ltd, email: paul.johnston@impactchange.co.uk, telephone: 07847 318672.

Calling all SMEs

Representatives of the National Skills Academy for Social Care want to meet and talk with employers in small and medium sized businesses and organisations, to find out how to best support their needs.

Set up in October 2009, the academy specialises in helping social care workers improve their skills, and is training some of the estimated future one million care workers needed to care for the ageing population.

The academy works to boost the quality and quantity of qualified workers. It provides up to date advice and information about training courses, funding, and details of trainers.

Contact Debbie Sorkin, email: Debbie.Sorkin@nsasocialcare.co.uk

Read more

Regional recruitment online

Wmjobs is an online recruitment site for people seeking work in the West Midland’s public sector, and for employers advertising jobs.

The site allows applicants to apply to authorities throughout the region, through a single point using one application form.

Job seekers can receive job alerts by email or SMS, and register with a talent pool that is searched by employers on a regular basis.

The site is funded by IEWM. It was set up to promote local government jobs and career opportunities; to improve the image of working for local government; to attract a wider range of candidates, and encourage collaborative working on recruitment and redeployment.

Councils wanting to join the scheme should contact
Karen James, telephone: 0121 245 0188 or
email: recruitmentportal@wmlga.gov.uk .

Read more

IEWM Investing in local people

Improvement and Efficiency West Midlands (IEWM) has invested in a number of initiatives to support the development of local government workers in the region.

IEWM has put £2.3 million into people and leadership development with the purpose of:

• improving leadership at both member and officer level
• increasing awareness and understanding of people and development issues in organisational change and transformational programmes
• establishing ‘core skills development programmes’ for officers and members
• reducing areas of skill shortages
• helping 90% of local authorities achieve the West Midlands Member Development Charter.

For more details contact: Rebecca Davis, Head of Organisational Development,
email: rdavis@westmidlandsiep.gov.uk,
telephone: 0121 678 1045.

In separate schemes IEWM has launched a guide to apprenticeships for public sector employers.

The online toolkit gives advice on effective processes for taking on apprentices and shares best practice in the region.

The guide has been developed in partnership with the National Apprenticeship Service and is sponsored by the IDeA.

Read more

Contact Katrina McGuigan, email: kmcguigan@westmidlandsiep.gov.uk,
telephone: 0121 678 1073.

IEWM has also funded a regional coaching pool partnership formed by local authorities in the region. Trained coaches are deployed throughout the West Midlands to coach colleagues in other councils in the partnership.
The aim is to:

• give local authorities access to quality and free of charge coaching for employees
• enhance a culture of learning
• raise awareness of coaching skills
• share learning from the partnership with colleagues regionally and nationally.

Read more

Contact Samantha Baker, email: sbaker@westmidlandsiep.gov.uk, telephone: 0121 245 0156

Workforce planning takes shape

JIP’s workforce planning project has identified its priorities for the rest of the year, to ensure the region’s adult social care workforce is geared up to deliver transformation of adult social care.

Regional priorities reflect those at a national level, namely:

• leadership


• recruitment and retention


• workforce remodelling


• workforce development


• joint and integrated working


• regulation

The partnership is seeking information from local authorities about their key concerns, identifying gaps in the regional workforce, ensuring coherent planning, promoting efficient use of resources and the effective delivery of workforce activity across health and social care.

Contact brian.walsh@coventry.gov.uk

Building a bigger and better workforce

Moves are under way to increase the number of apprenticeships in adult social care and to employ thousands more people in the sector, as part of an England wide strategy to develop a high quality workforce to deliver personalised care and build a national care service.

The Adult Social Care Workforce Strategy aims to boost the status of social care so the sector can attract and retain the brightest and best workers.

Initiatives include:

• increasing the number of apprenticeships by around 1,300
• CareFirst, a scheme to get 50,000 long term unemployed people working in social care. Employers will receive a subsidy of £1,500 to take on trainees aged between 18 and 24
• targeting groups that have not traditionally taken up careers in social care
• establishing a new national management trainee scheme to encourage graduates and top quality executives to move into the sector
• a new voluntary registration scheme for home care workers from April 2010 to help safeguard people who use services and improve quality
• developing more social care awards to raise the status of working in the sector, and to recognise the contributions made by individuals already working in social care
• more support for newly qualified social workers in their first year.

The strategy provides a framework for local authorities with responsibility for transforming services to develop the workforce to the scale and standards needed to meet the requirements of transforming adult social care.

Six themes underpin the strategy, they are:

• leadership
• recruitment, retention and career pathways
• workforce remodelling and commissioning
• workforce development
• joint and integrated working
• regulation

Approximately 1.5 million people work in adult social care in a variety of roles, with over two thirds in the private and third sectors.
Read more

JIP e-bulletin No 12 May 2010

Dear Colleague,

Since confirmation of plans earlier this year to set up a national care service, the focus on building a workforce fit to deliver transformation of adult social care has intensified.

Our growing ageing population has led to an increase in demand for support and care services; this in turn has led to extensive examination of how we meet the demand and deal with the consequences.

The response – transforming social care – brings together a number of issues and expectations, specifically: finding ways to provide more, better and innovative services; making available resources stretch further; and personalising care, giving service users greater choice and control.

None of this can be achieved if we, the care service practitioners and providers, don’t change the way we do things.

As the lead director for developing the social care workforce in the West Midlands, I am delighted to see a number of schemes set up to help reshape the social care workforce, and help staff in the region adapt to change.

The training and social care standards organisation, Skills for Care, has commissioned detailed analysis of the National Minimum Dataset for Social Care – an important document that will help councils plan their workforces for the future. We feature this and other Skills for Care activities in this month’s bulletin, along with other initiatives in the region.



Brian Walsh,
JIP Steering Group
DASS Workforce Lead
Director of Community Services in Coventry