our news, your views and updates | 12 January 2012

The enews includes news from Skills for Care and information you may find useful from across the sector.

Apprenticeship Week will take place from 6 - 10 February 2012.
The aim of the week is to improve awareness of Apprenticeships and raise their profile. The theme this year is Get with Apprenticeships and will showcase the talents, skills and commitment of real apprentices and their employers.

The National Apprenticeship Service has produced a toolkit to provide more information about the week and how you can get involved. It is now available to download at: www.apprenticeships.org.uk.

Skills for Care will be promoting Apprenticeships in social care through a number of activities during Apprenticeship Week. These will include a series of videos case studies and a dedicated Apprenticeship bulletin. More information will be available on our website - visit www.skillsforcare.org.uk/apprenticeships and click on the news and activities page.

Introducing the Assessed and Supported Year in Employment
Skills for Care is working in partnership with the Children's Workforce Development Council (CWDC) to support the Social Work Reform Board in developing proposals for the Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE) for newly qualified social workers. The programme is due to be implemented in September 2012 and will succeed the existing Newly Qualified Social Worker (NQSW) programmes.
Further information and the first downloadable briefing is available on our website www.skillsforcare.org.uk/asye.

Workforce Development Fund
2011/12 is a transitional year as vocational qualifications change from national vocational qualification (NVQs) offered under the national qualifications framework to new qualifications offered under the Qualification Credit Framework (QCF). Skills for Care is committed to supporting the sector during this transition and is taking the following action in order to support our WDF members in both the long and short term:

• Extending the range of QCF units that are eligible for claiming workforce development funding to include all level 2 and 3 units and adults pathway in the level 5 diploma.
• Extending the deadline for NVQ unit claims which now need to have been completed by 16 March 2012 and submitted by 30 March 2012

For more information visit Workforce Development Fund.

Keeping risk person-centred
Skills for Care has created new support products to emphasise a person-centred approach to risk. A person-centred approach seeks to focus on people's rights to have the lifestyle that they choose, including the right to make 'bad' decisions. The person-centred thinking tools help people and those who care about them to think in positive and productive ways about how to ensure that they can achieve the changes they want to see, while keeping the issue of risk in its place.
For more information and to view the resources visit: www.skillsforcare.org.uk/risk.

A 'top ten' of improved knowledge areas
Issue 17 of the NMDS-SC Briefing series stands back to consider how much our knowledge of the adult social care workforce has improved in the last six years. It identifies 'top ten' areas where prior to the NMDS-SC, little or no information existed. New knowledge areas include how NMDS-SC information has been used to estimate and project the size and structure of the workforce as well as facilitating a better understanding of pay, use of migrant workers and of individual sectors.

It is available at: http://www.nmds-sc-online.org.uk/research/researchdocs.aspx?id=1.

Whistleblowing helpline
From 1 January 2012, the Government-funded whistleblowing helpline will change to a free-phone service provided by the Royal Mencap Society. The new service is now available to staff and employers in the social care sector providing a place to raise concerns about people who use services being put at risk.

The new helpline number will be 08000 724 725 and will operate weekdays between 8am and 6pm with an out of hours answering service available weekends and public holidays. A web-based service is also being developed. For more information visit http://www.dh.gov.uk/health/2011/12/whistleblowing-helpline/.

Adult Learners' Week Awards
The Adult Learners' Week Awards recognise outstanding adult learners and inspiring learning projects. If you know someone whose life, health and wellbeing has been transformed through learning, or who works on an innovative project that has made a significant difference to adults' lives, then why not nominate them for an Adult Learners' Week Award?

The closing date for nomination is 27 January 2012. For more information visit www.alw.org.uk.

Skills for Care has published Learning through Work, a series of learning modules that develop communication and number skills in the adult social care workplace.

They are designed to help supervisors deliver bite-size chunks of learning wherever natural learning opportunities arise as part of day to day care work. Each booklet is divided into segments that can be read in less than three minutes and also includes learning questions and quizzes to promote discussion. The booklets include Reporting, Writing skills, Bodily functions, Physical Health, Using numbers, Number skills and How much, how often. For more information visit www.skillsforcare.org.uk/publications.

Nominations now open for Worldskills UK 2012
Worldskills is the world's largest vocational skills competition and will be held in Leipzig in 2013. The UK heats will be running from April - July 2012 by the National Skills Academy. Winners will go through to the national finals in October 2012.

Worldskills is an opportunity for employers and training organisations to showcase the skills of staff and students of all ages and to celebrate excellence in social care.

The Skills Academy is looking for nominees from across the social care sector, so if you think you know someone who deserves a place in the competition, why not put them forward? For more information visit http://worldskillsuk.apprenticeships.org.uk/ or contact Emily.bari@nsasocialcare.co.uk.

- in your area -

Funding available in Yorkshire and the Humber
The Skills Enhancement Fund is providing a 50% co-funded development opportunity for Level 3 Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement (QCF) through training provider Concerto Services, for social care employers (voluntary, private and independent sector employing less than 5,000 staff) based in Yorkshire and the Humber wanting to train work based assessors. The programme involves two days training plus tuition and assessment in the workplace.

Interested candidates will need to meet eligibility criteria and should contact Lawrence Baylin, Concerto Services on 01484 663399, or email lawrence.baylin@concertoservices.co.uk for costs and further information as soon as possible as places are limited.

Workforce development event for employers in NW and SW London
Maintaining a capable and competent workforce in challenging times
Thursday 9 February 2012, 10am - 3.30pm (registration from 9.30am)
Hammersmith Town Hall, King St, W6 9JU

Investing in workforce development continues to be a challenge for social care employers and this event will look at some of the resources and support available.
Along with a range of keynote speakers, there will be several sessions looking at best practice and practical solutions. For further information and to book a place, please download the flyer below:
Workforce development event for employers in NW and SW London.

Employer and education/training providers event in the North West
Thursday 9 February 2012, 9.30am - 4.00pm
Preston Grasshoppers Rugby Football Club

The event will provide an opportunity for training providers and care providers to gain the latest information about training and development. There will be information on Apprenticeships, funding and networking opportunities.
Workshops include dignity in care, functional skills and the new Ofsted.
For more information visit: ETP 9 February.

Skills for Care area network sessions in the North West
Innovating better practice in hard times
Thursday 23 February 2012, 9.45am - 4.00pm
Leyland Hotel, Preston

This event is for all social care employers from private, voluntary and independent organisations, including direct employers in the North West.

Those who attend will hear innovative workforce development examples from across the sector, understand more fully the cycle of innovation and how it can help your business and have the opportunity to discuss key messages/solutions related to innovation to feedback to the Department of Health.
For more information visit: Innovating Better Practice in Hard Times.

- events -

Skills for Care annual conference 2012
The value of workforce development in tough times
Thursday 8 March 2012, Hilton Manchester Deansgate.

Confirmed speakers include:
Paul Burstow MP, Minister for Care Services
Sharon Allen, Skills for Care CEO
Peter Hay, President of ADASS

In tough times it is critical the people who work in adult social care have the skills, knowledge and qualifications to deliver high quality social care.

The conference will bring together a mix of keynote speakers and workshops to demonstrate continuing to invest in the development of a well trained and flexible workforce is essential for every social care provider to not only survive but thrive.

To book your place and for more information visit: www.skillsforcare.org.uk/conference2012.

Promoting quality through the workforce
The National Care Forum and Voluntary Organisations Disability Group in partnership with Skills for Care are holding two free events in February 2012 for frontline managers of voluntary and non-for-profit organisations.
21 February - London
23 February - Manchester

The aims of these events are to:

• provide managers with an understanding of the wider social care policy context and tools to assist them in supporting frontline staff improve the quality of service delivery
• promote an understanding of the new regulatory and monitoring framework and its implications for staff development.

For more information download the flyer below:
Promoting quality through the workforce

Learning disability unit development
As part of the development of new qualifications, Skills for Care would like feedback on a sample of draft units being developed across different qualifications.

Four new units have now been developed as part of the phase two development of Learning Disability units for inclusion in the health and social care diplomas.
To view these units and provide feedback click on the link below:
draft units for consultation. The deadline is Friday 20 January 2012.

- tenders -

Research to support evaluation of NMDS-SC
Skills for Care is committed to the National Minimum Data Set for Social Care (NMDS-SC) as a means to providing outstanding workforce intelligence relied upon by government, strategic bodies, employers and individuals. To assist in realising and maximising the benefits of NMDS-SC, Skills for Care is currently undertaking an evaluation of NMDS-SC and is seeking tenders for two pieces of research:

• Evaluating the impact of NMDS-SC: Quantifying employer benefits
• Evaluating the impact of NMDS-SC: Research and policy impact

For more information click here.
The deadline for responses is 12noon on Wednesday 8 February 2012.
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Skills for Care works to ensure the adult social care sector has a modern, flexible and highly skilled workforce to deliver quality care. We are committed to working with employers and other key stakeholders to ensure we are supporting their needs and those of people who use services and carers.