DanceSyndrome is an award winning dance charity based in Lancashire with a special focus on including everyone, with or without disabilities.
They provide dance workshops, leadership training and consultancy. Their performance artists attend special events and exclusive performances, emphasising what people with learning disabilities can really do. Julie Nicholson, Managing Director of DanceSyndrome, is proud to share the story of its origins through the inspiration of its founder, Jen Blackwell.
I first met DanceSyndrome founder, Jen Blackwell, in the very early stages of her journey. I was working for UnLtd and supported Jen and her mum Sue to find funding to help them get the organisation off the ground.
I was inspired by their desire to overcome barriers they faced in supporting Jen to have a career of her choice. Jen has Down’s syndrome, but she has never let this fact stop her living the life she wants. She went to mainstream school but met with challenges when she left the education system.
If you speak to Jen and ask her why DanceSyndrome started, she always says:
“Before I started DanceSyndrome I felt very alone. I was always, always dancing. Dancing helps me to focus that energy. I wanted to dance for my career and make my own choreography, but there wasn’t anything for someone like me, with a learning disability.
Nobody was willing to support me to have a career in dance or to let my voice be heard. That’s why we had to make our own opportunities through DanceSyndrome, for me and for other people like me too.”
DanceSyndrome began in 2009 and was registered as a charity in 2013. Over the years, our small charity has gone from strength to strength, not just working in local communities but also with businesses and public sector organisations to try and make the world a more inclusive place.
Our work is divided up into three distinct areas. We deliver community dance activities, artistic development opportunities and training and consultancy.
What sets us apart from other organisations is our application of a co-delivery model to all aspects of our work, with people with learning disabilities taking visible leadership roles working in equal partnership with professional dance artists. We provide the training needed through our own accredited leadership training course, Dance By Example, which can be a Level 1 or Level 2 qualification through the Leadership Skills Foundation.
We have recently secured Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation status, which supports our artistic development strand. Our team of performers delivers high quality co-choreographed performance pieces which can be performed at festivals, awards ceremonies, conferences and other special events to inspire audience members to see what people with learning disabilities can achieve if given the right support.
We also deliver training and consultancy for businesses, students and qualified dance artists so that people can look at how they can make their own professional practices more inclusive and accessible.
As we go from strength to strength, we are getting so much recognition for our work, with a range of local and national awards from the dance industry, third sector and beyond. Our most notable recognition was the Queen’s (now King's) Award for Voluntary Services, which is the voluntary organisation equivalent of an MBE.
As a result of her work with DanceSyndrome, Jen has received a significant number of personal awards too. She has made TV appearances alongside her favourite celebrities, including popstar, Alexandra Burke and professional dancer, Giovanni Pernice. Her proudest moment without a doubt was hearing she had been recognised with a British Empire Medal in the 2023 King’s Birthday Honours.
I asked Jen how she felt about receiving the BEM:
“I’m amazed to receive this honour for what I love doing. I’m proud of who I am and the achievements of DanceSyndrome. It’s an honour to inspire others to dance and live a life of their choosing. I believe that everybody can dance and do things they love no matter how other people define us.”
“DanceSyndrome is my life, it makes me want to keep going having people who support us. It’s important to have fun, do something that makes you laugh and be kind to yourself and those around you. That’s what we do at DanceSyndrome. We can do anything if we work together.”
“I want everyone to have the chances that I’ve had and to be able to make their voices heard, so I want my charity to keep growing as much as it can. Being recognised in the King’s Honours helps us to tell more people about our amazing charity. I’m so thrilled that I was given a BEM.”
Jen's vision all those years ago has resulted in some truly life changing experiences for so many people involved in the work of DanceSyndrome! To find out more about our work and how to get involved, please visit the DanceSyndrome website.
]]>Mental Health Nurses Day takes place this week (Wednesday 21 February), an opportunity to celebrate the unique contribution nurses and support workers make to our profession.
A registered nurse for more than 20 years, David Wilmott has worked across a number of services, including acute and mental health.
He is currently Director of Nursing at Cygnet Group, an independent health and social care organisation which provides services for young people and adults with mental health needs, acquired brain injuries, eating disorders, autism and learning disabilities within the UK.
David shares his story of how leaving school with few qualifications didn’t hold him back in reaching his nursing ambitions.
I left school with two O Levels and I didn’t really have a career in mind, but nursing was in the family and my mum told me I’d be good at it. So, I thought, ‘why not?’
I started as a health care assistant at the Royal Gwent Hospital, in Newport, South Wales, in 1991 and loved it. As a consequence of my enthusiasm, I decided to do three nights a week at night school to get my grades to train to be a student nurse.
I then spent 10 years in various clinical roles before moving into mental health commissioning and leadership. I joined Cygnet Health Care in 2018.
Having struggled academically at school, becoming a registered nurse was the proudest day of my life. It felt a real achievement.
After that, becoming a ward manager was amazing. It's a role which gives you the unique ability to change the quality of care for patients. No doubt it’s one of the most challenging roles, but also rewarding. It gives you the chance to recruit and develop nurses, influence standards and shape the quality of care. It was an immensely exciting time.
I moved into a leadership role because it provided the opportunity to influence nursing care on a larger scale. There’s scope to guide the direction of nursing within an organisation but also through wider networks such as the MHN Directors Council which influences national programmes of work.
In my opinion, making the workforce fit for the future is the biggest challenge facing the nursing profession. There are challenges around attracting people into mental health nursing in particular. There’s no denying it is a tough job and incentivising people is vital.
When I went to university, I didn’t have to pay tuition fees, I had a bursary, but now it’s more challenging to finance courses like mine. I hope this issue can be addressed so more people are able to pursue an education in mental health nursing (and other specialisms).
The pandemic elevated the status of nursing and the clinical expertise our workforce brings. It showed the highly skilled and numerous talents we have across the profession. Nurses and care workers come from a range of backgrounds that truly represent the diversity of our society. Without a doubt, these careers have an impact on so many lives. I think the world realised how vital nurses are to us all.
I am proud that here at Cygnet there are many roles available in nursing and more career pathways opening up for support workers, carers and nurses. Wherever you are in your career, there are always opportunities. Don’t be afraid to ask colleagues, friends or relatives how they got to where they are. Their successes could be all the inspiration you need.
Looking for a meaningful career where you’ll be able to make a real difference to people’s lives every single day? Whether you’re new to care or you’ve got years of experience, we’re the number one place to find a job in social care.
Support workers are the backbone of health and social care organisations, providing year-round care for service users, patients and residents. Leanne Flint joined Cygnet Healthcare as a support worker in 2008. Here, she writes about the training and personal development which has helped her progress.
I’d been working for an NHS GP surgery and, after many years, felt I needed a new challenge. My next-door neighbour worked at Cygnet and told me how rewarding the job was. I looked online and found a health care support worker vacancy at Aspen Clinic in Mexborough.
I attended the interview and was shown around the unit. Interestingly, one of the service users was also on the interview panel, asking me questions and giving me advice. It must have gone well as I was offered the role later that day. I agreed and never looked back.
When I was growing up, a member of my family suffered very bad anxiety, depression and post -traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This changed my life completely, making me grow up very quickly.
At the time, mental health was a taboo subject. I can remember having weekly counselling sessions and asking what mental health support was available for carers. Although this was a difficult experience, it gave me a better understanding of the complexities of living with mental health conditions.
On my first day at Aspen Clinic, I was nervous, but I still found the courage to step through the doors at 8am. It was the best decision I ever made.
I attended the night staff’s morning handover and met the full team. This included the hospital manager, head of care and nursing, occupational therapy and support colleagues. They were the nicest people I have ever met. They all worked as a team and I could see from the outset no one was considered more important than any other.
Support workers’ roles vary hugely, as no two days are the same.
The day on the ward gets properly underway with morning coffee and a breakfast club with the service users. This gives us time to chat with the people we support and ‘put the world to rights.’
We have different responsibilities throughout the day. This could include helping a service user with supermarket shopping, attending hospital appointments, or supporting their therapy sessions at a local animal centre.
This role has really opened my eyes to the value of the support we give every day. It really does make a massive impact on people’s lives.
As a team Leader, my role now involves assisting the support worker team through daily work allocations, planning monthly rotas, annual leave and staff supervisions. I still spend as much time as possible interacting with the team and the service users.
During my 15 years at Aspen Clinic, I’ve been offered so much training. I’ve completed NVQ Level, 1, 2 and 3 in Health and Social Care, all funded by Cygnet. I have also been trained in recording ECGs and phlebotomy. I have been qualified for over 12 years.
This training has helped me progress from my role as a health care support worker to team leader and carer lead. My role now includes supporting the unit and helping service users’ families, working together as a team to deliver the best care.
My advice to anyone looking for roles within social care is to join a care provider committed to helping colleagues realise their potential, accomplish career goals and climb the ladder of success.
I’m also fortunate to work for an employer who values colleagues’ opinions and ideas on how to move forward and improve services. In this way, we all live up to the values of integrity, trust, empowerment, respect, and care.
We can talk to our Chief Executive at any time about new ideas for the organisation. There aren’t many places where you can do this, and I always feel valued as a member of the team.
To come from a small town, with a basic knowledge of mental health, to now being directly involved in the development of services and our team, has been an incredible journey.
My advice to anyone considering careers in care? Never think you’re ‘just a support worker’. We work as one to deliver outstanding care to everyone. The smiles you see on their faces warms the heart every time.
]]>The Messenger Review, published in 2022, set out an ambition to review system wide leadership development. It was an opportunity to help the health and social care system strengthen leadership and management across both sectors in England. It was also a way to help people new to their roles to better understand what is expected of them.
Sir Gordon Messenger and Dame Linda Pollard’s wide-ranging review drew up seven recommendations:
The commitment to include the whole system is refreshing and needed. Indeed, as recently evidenced by the announcement of a package of adult social care workforce reforms, the care sector is already re-shaping itself in the spirit of these recommendations.
These reforms, developed and rolled out in close collaboration with our friends at Skills for Care, Think Local Act Personal and other valued sector partners, include the launch of a new Care Workforce Pathway. This is the first time the various social care roles and career paths have been brought together in a single place for care colleagues, providers and trainers to create and progress through rewarding, long term career plans.
Also, in the spirit of Messenger’s recommendations, we have a new, accredited entry level qualification, the Care Certificate. Having this accreditation is so important to foster confidence in care providers, people drawing on services and care colleagues themselves. You cannot underestimate the value this peace of mind generates if everyone knows the right skills, experience and values are being demonstrated.
Lastly, £75 million of funding has been released for hundreds of apprenticeships and digital training courses to help more colleagues embrace the latest technology and apply it in care settings.
These initiatives, each in their own way, mirror or complement similar actions and goals in the NHS. The joint approach has been led by Skills for Care colleagues. Part of this involved creating a comprehensive induction package; a generic resource helping care and NHS colleagues to understand the context, expectation and diversity of the services they provide.
In collaboration with NHS colleagues, this resource aims to foster a mutual understanding of how the health and care system works in the best interests of all. Contributions from national organisations and front line providers have been critical in creating meaningful content and making sure it resonates with the needs of the workforce and the people they support.
We need to make sure people joining the care sector know and value that they are part of something bigger than their role. So much of what we do is about fostering community spirit and the supportive connections that spring from it. Core induction standards, which speak to this ideal, will be published later this year for all to access.
Forging a shared understanding of the health and social care system – and the increasingly diverse population it serves - is vital if we are to develop leaders fit for a different and more positive future.
Resourcefulness and creativity must go hand in hand with inclusivity and diversity if we are to solve the societal problems of our age.
On these points of inclusivity and diversity, I am so proud of the work with the Florence Nightingale Foundation and their leadership programmes for global majority nurses.
Elsewhere, we are working with NHS colleagues to explore how we can create joint learning programmes for aspiring managers to become the leaders our system needs. Learning together, they will grow their skill sets and aspirational leadership in the best interests of their teams, services and the people they support. The Messenger review has shone a helpful light on the exciting road ahead.
]]>With enormous thanks to current and former Chief Social Workers for Adults, Lyn Romeo and Mark Harvey, the Social Care blog is pleased to share this fantastic blog from Southend Museums' Ciara Phipps. Her team have been exploring different ways to work more closely with social care council colleagues, to help more people understand and value the role arts, culture and heritage play in fostering good health, wellbeing and inclusive communities.
After the success of community co-curation projects, and in response to the radical transformation in how we work with community partners, we embarked on the creation of a project designed to develop transferable skills and promote enrichment. This involved working with heritage professionals on a project to conserve significant waterlogged archaeology, excavated from the Thames Estuary.
We believe passionately more women from underrepresented backgrounds should see heritage, arts and culture roles as viable career options. With this ambition in mind, we felt it would be meaningful to work with 10-15 local women, from a diverse range of backgrounds, including those with caring responsibilities, such as single parents and those who are new to the UK.
Individuals from these groups are often forgotten and frequently experience barriers to employment. We contacted a Southend-based charity, Welcome to the UK, established in the city since 2014. We’ve been working in partnership with them for the past year.
The charity started through the personal experiences of its founder and was set up to support families from overseas to positively engage in their community. They offer support and training, including English classes, school applications, health advice and community events, such as visits to our museums, where we invited them for tours of our art, archaeology, and local history displays.
Since 2014, Welcome to the UK have helped more than 250 families from 16 different nationalities overcome the challenges newcomers face when they move to a new country. The charity has plans for expansion and to work with more partners in local schools and religious and cultural centres, which is where our project comes in.
After securing funding for the conservation treatment of a group of objects excavated from the Thames Estuary, which are currently stored in water, we felt this was an ideal pilot project for ‘Collections Carers’. We felt confident there would be beneficial outcomes for participants, the charity and the museums service.
We aimed to provide access to this maritime collection through a series of training and development workshops designed to provide useful experiences and skills for the group’s settlement and career prospects.
Working with participants during six weekly sessions, we covered aspects of collections care, such as object handling, first aid for marine finds, packing and storage, as well as documentation, and of course health and safety when dealing with this type of material.
Alongside the theoretical and practical learning, we were keen to develop the so called ‘soft skills’ such as communication, teamwork and decision-making, benefiting from an interpreter joining us at each of the sessions to support these outcomes.
To support the group, most of whom have school-age children, the sessions took place during term time and on days linked with the usual programme of events at Welcome to the UK, as well as aligning with the museum service’s regular volunteer programme.
From these sessions, we hoped to not only provide transferable skills, but also encourage conversations and shared stories and experiences. Each of our participants received a certificate at the end of the project and hopefully gained some valuable new transferable skills.
We also hope it encouraged the development of existing skills and knowledge but ultimately that they enjoyed their experience with us and left feeling more confident and comfortable in their new community.
The project has been a resounding success, with the participants being happy and grateful for the chance to work with the collections and practice their English in a relaxed environment. We view it as the springboard for a long-term partnership with Welcome to the UK and aim to expand to other areas of our collections, and to other community groups and participants.
Not only has this project made a positive impact on our citizens but has positively impacted Southend Museums colleagues also. This transformation in practice is just the beginning, opening up many opportunities to deliver socially inclusive projects with the potential to create lasting legacies.
Whilst we as museums will continue to preserve, engage with and care for our history, we are excited to work in new ways, collaborating with new people to tell the stories of the future.
]]>Experts by Experience are people with lived experience of using, or caring for someone who has used, health and or social care services.
The Cygnet Experts by Experience (EBE) programme is a testament to the paradigm shift taking place in a sector embracing co-production and the value of people with lived experience.
This is about giving service users a voice at every level of the organisation, providing hope and inspiring others. We help shape discussions and act as a reminder to consider and incorporate the fundamental lived experience perspective. The role is about creating change and representing views, with elements of peer support and advocacy being part of our day to day.
When I first took the role of EBE Lead in 2018, there were around 23 services at Cygnet. Today, we have over 160, creating many opportunities for the growing Expert by Experience team to harness lived experience.
From a modest beginning with three EBEs, Cygnet now boasts a team of over 30, supported by hundreds more, whose insights can be tapped into through the extensive networks of our support organisations.
This growth hasn’t been all about numbers though; we now have the ability to make a bigger impact through fostering positive and inclusive cultures on a national level.
Externally, our team has been involved in everything from the Independent Review of the Mental Health Act, the Rapid Review into in-patient mental health services and numerous pieces of national guidance and legislation.
Each and every EBE has their own unique journey and challenges to overcome. Having the courage and passion to support others is something we must all take time to appreciate.
Cygnet has actively embraced and integrated lived experience into its working fabric, with a positive and accepting culture being a key driving force behind the programme’s success.
Cygnet's positive culture has been instrumental in shaping an environment where the voices of EBEs are heard, valued and actioned. There is recognition that diverse perspectives contribute to a more comprehensive and effective approach to health and social care services.
In addition to the significant growth in services, the influence of EB’s has brought about transformative organisational changes. They have played a pivotal role in implementing People’s Council meetings, now a regular feature at every service, giving people a voice at every level of the organisation.
Beyond the service level, their impact extends to the incorporation of individuals with lived experience in board meetings both regionally and nationally, and everything from co-producing training, initiatives and policy to recruitment processes, guidance and quality improvement projects.
Our collaborative efforts have contributed to the creation of gaming rooms and social hubs, fostering spaces that go beyond traditional care settings and contribute to the holistic wellbeing of people accessing services.
Through partnerships with Experts by Experience, the People’s Council and the Procurement department, catering staff, and suppliers, we worked together to enhance the quality of food in our service. Initiatives such as Chef Development Days, co-producing menus, and a national group food chat, means food quality satisfaction has nearly doubled in under a year.
We have also been involved in many fun initiatives over the years, including the Music 2 Empower project, launched in October 2019. This project aims to share the positive effects of music therapy across our services and showcase talented service users.
More recently we have had the pleasure of supporting the Co-sustain project which promotes recycling and sustainability amongst service users.
I am eagerly anticipating a future where Experts by Experience play an increasingly pivotal role in shaping national policy, fostering positive cultural change and making sure services continue going above and beyond with lived experience perspectives at their core.
This year, we will launch Cygnet’s Co-production Strategy, reflecting our commitment to enhancing and developing existing structures, with power-sharing and working together as equal partners being the primary aim.
]]>I’m the Learning Development and Quality Manager at specialist dementia care provider, Vida Healthcare’s training centre, Vida Academy, which was recently opened to support the career progression of our current and future colleagues. We’re always looking for new and innovative ways to support our workforce in their career progression and provide the highest quality of care to our residents.
My journey at Vida began over a decade ago after graduating from Sheffield Hallam University, with an advanced diploma in Mental Health Nursing Studies. It was whilst on placement I realised I wanted to work in dementia care. I found this to be a hugely rewarding experience and wanted to continue in the field. Working for an organisation committed to innovation and championing alternative approaches to health and wellbeing was hugely important to me.
I have since progressed through numerous roles at Vida Healthcare, including Team Leader, Registered Nurse, Clinical Lead and Quality Manager, before taking on my latest role as head of the Vida Academy.
The Academy was opened to establish a permanent base for our training department, following the growth of our team. The department invests in staff by promoting lifelong learning to provide opportunities for career progression and establish staff as dementia ambassadors.
I am responsible for managing the facility and the learning, development and performance team, as well as overseeing the creation and implementation of continuous training programs. My duties vary day-to-day. Some days are spent leading on courses and meeting new starters, while others are focused on ensuring Vida Healthcare’s certified PIDC programme is always meeting Restraint Reduction Network standards, focusing on behaviour support and interventions for residents.
My favourite part of the job has to be seeing practices taught in our courses being demonstrated across the three homes and making a positive change for residents. We offer a range of courses, from the induction programme for new starters and Care Certificate, to specialist training courses and apprenticeships from Level 2 to Level 6.
I’m honoured to have the opportunity to lead the learning, development and performance department and give other colleagues the opportunity to progress in their careers. I have worked at Vida Healthcare for years now and it really feel like we're a family.
I feel privileged to have the freedom to be creative, innovative and really make a difference to the lives of residents. Vida Healthcare recently received The Three R’s award for innovation practices in Recruitment, Retention, and Recognition at the Great British Care Awards 2023.
The importance of dementia education within care cannot be overstated. While immediate care needs must be met, it is also important to consider the long-term wellbeing of both care providers and residents. Careers in dementia care can be both challenging and rewarding and education is necessary in equipping carers with the knowledge and skills to adapt to the unique needs of each individual.
Click here to find out more about career development opportunities.
]]>Social care colleagues will have better training, clearer career paths and improved job prospects following the announcement of government plans to develop the domestic care workforce.
The Department of Health and Social Care has unveiled a package of measures that will reaffirm care work as a career, including the Care Workforce Pathway, helping to recruit and retain talent by providing new, accredited qualifications, digital training and funded apprenticeships.
Individuals drawing on care services were just as vital contributors to the Pathway's development as care staff, providers and other sector partners. Jennifer Pearl is a member of Think Local Act Personal’s (TLAP) National Co-Production Advisory Group (NCAG) and has a spinal cord injury. She feels fortunate to have a good home care provider and explains how identifying the right values and behaviours are crucial.
I very much value the care workers I have, all four of whom are well trained and understand my needs. More than that, they respect me and see me as a whole person. They feel part of my family, supportive in good and bad times. When, for instance, my daughter rang from holiday to say she had got engaged, I cried. My carer was concerned, until I explained they were happy tears.
The assistance I receive lives up to the Making it Real statement: ‘I am treated with respect and dignity’. That has not always been the case and I know many people do not have such a positive experience. This was why I was pleased to be involved in the development of the Care Workforce Pathway.
I was invited to join the Department of Health and Social Care’s Expert Consultation Group for the Pathway. This was daunting at first, but I was reassured when, at my first meeting in a modern building, the IT crashed!
Being on the group was a good opportunity to share my personal experience of extensively drawing on both social care and health care services and from being an unpaid carer for a relative with dementia. Also, the insight I have from co-chairing Inclusion Barnet, a Deaf and Disabled People’s organisation, and my work as an Expert by Experience for the Care Quality Commission.
At TLAP, I was a member of a project group set up to bring together people who draw on care and support to hear their views on the workforce values they expect to see in the people supporting them. The process was co-produced and I enjoyed helping to facilitate the three online workshops.
A large number of values were generated, but through a considered process we were able to whittle them down to a manageable number, taking the time to identify what people thought were the matching behaviours. I was struck by how many of the values were universal, in that you can see them applying across the board, wherever you work, in whatever role. For example, that you are trustworthy and flexible.
But it was recognised it is not all plain sailing for care workers. I have to go to bed by 8.00pm because the care organisation providing my service cannot operate any later. This is not uncommon. As it is, the care worker who sees me in the morning at 7.00am very often also helps to me bed, many hours later. Care workers are also often rushed, which makes it difficult to express the value of empathy, if they are visiting one person after another.
Care workers need to be recognised and valued more. For me, this means better pay, but also things like having allocated time set aside for training and development. It is important to me the pathway is rooted in values people who draw on care and support see as important. It is also essential to me we invest in the workforce, so everyone gets the person-centred care and support we all want to see.
]]>Social care colleagues will have better training, clearer career paths and improved job prospects following the announcement of government plans to develop the domestic care workforce.
The Department of Health and Social Care has unveiled a package of measures that will reaffirm care work as a career, helping to recruit and retain talent by providing new, accredited qualifications, digital training and funded apprenticeships.
Think Local Act Personal's Tim Parkin explains how his organisation helped gather views from care colleagues and those receiving or delivering unpaid care to inform the Pathway's shape.
I often hear talk about the importance of people having the right (or wrong) values and it's the same for organisations. The latter most frequently voiced through the media where an organisation is pinpointed as not living up to their publicly stated values, with the charge that what they say they stand for is not what their customers actually experience.
This gives us a clue as to why we should be bothered about values in social care. They are often seen as straightforward and non-contentious, for example, who would disagree with the statement ‘I am treated with respect and dignity’ from Think Local Act Personal (TLAP)’s Making it Real? No one, I suspect. But here’s the rub.
At their heart, values are based on beliefs about what we think is right or wrong. They act as a sort of compass, guiding the choices we make in life and influencing our behaviours: ‘the talk we walk’.
For people who draw on care, support from people who have the right skills, knowledge and training is important, but if they don’t hold the right values you are unlikely to experience good person-centred care and support. Values translate into behaviour, and that’s what people experience in their care and support, day to day.
That’s why TLAP was pleased to be asked by colleagues in the Department of Health and Social Care working on the new Care Workforce Pathway to find out from people with lived experience what they thought about the sorts of values they would hope to see in the people that support them.
A few organisations also ran their own sessions with the people they support. Most of the values people talked about felt distinctly achievable, for example the most highly rated were respect, reliability and honesty.
All the rich conversations we held were condensed into a series of straightforward value statements, which we are pleased have been incorporated into the Pathway. There is some nuance of course. For example, people wanted care staff to value safety, but didn’t want to be wrapped in cotton wool, so there are areas where a balance needs to be struck.
Much depends on workers being able to work with and alongside the people they support in the context of an ongoing relationship. This highlights the true nature of the skill and empathy that doing a good job requires, working with and alongside people. We look forward to continuing to support work to translate the values into practice as a central underpinning of good person-centred care and support.
]]>It feels like a long time coming (and there’s nothing wrong with extensive preparation to get things right) but finally, the Department of Health and Social Care has announced a package of measures to elevate the true value, variety and career potential of social care.
For the first time, there will be a national care career structure, the Care Workforce Pathway, with clearly defined roles and routes to professional development, underpinned with quality training and opportunities to discover the rewarding reality of the care sector first hand.
A new, accredited qualification, the Care Certificate, is also being introduced to further recognise and validate the work done by 37,000 colleagues. It is a benchmark standard, giving peace of mind to residents, families and care providers that people with the right skill set and values are joining the profession. This new qualification is portable, ending the need to waste time and resources retraining for skills already demonstrated in previous roles.
There will also be funding for hundreds of apprenticeships and digital training places so that new and existing care colleagues can keep pace with - and make use of - the latest digital and technological innovations in social care.
This robust package of reforms has been developed in close partnership with Skills for Care, Think Local Act Personal, the wise counsel of Lyn Romeo, Chief Social Worker for Adults and her network of principal social workers, care colleagues, those with lived experience and the wider sector. Find out more about our valued sector partners' contributions in this great blog from Skills for Care's Chief Executive, Oonagh Smyth.
The overall aim, from the outset, has been to provide better training, clearer career paths and improved job prospects for the domestic care workforce. More importantly, it’s about attracting, nurturing and retaining great colleagues with the experience and expertise to deliver truly transformative care and support to those who need it most.
Backed by £75 million in funding, the announcement is well timed as it coincides with another concerted push in our Made with Care recruitment campaign. Now more than ever, there are long term incentives for people considering this exciting, evolving and rewarding career.
2024 has therefore got off to a positive start with this announcement. With work also continuing to elevate and embed the practice and voice of adult social care nurses (a new professor of adult social care nursing, nursing leadership programmes for global majority nurses, and the expansion of our research and evidence base), I believe we’re entering a new era for social care, where our skills, experience and values are recognised and used to transform many more lives for the better.
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