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Leadership and Management Strategy

Leadership & Management Strategy Update 2008


The Leadership and Management Strategy Update 2008 refreshes and extends the scope of the original 2004 strategy. Much has changed since then but the crucial role of effective leadership and management in delivering quality services and positive outcomes for those who use services remains central and now has an even higher profile.

The shared vision for adult social care as set out in Putting People First (DH 2007) will be realised only if there is effective leadership and management, both of current services and in the wider transformation that is now required. Social care agencies therefore need to ensure that their leaders and managers are
competent and confident to meet both their current operational responsibilities and the challenges of evolving services.

Key developments include the greater emphasis on entrepreneurial skills and the integrated delivery and personalised services. New types of employers and new types of manager are emerging, including people who manage their own services and budgets.


Leadership & Management original products

Skills for Care's leadership and management 'task and finish' group launched its strategy at the October 2004 national social services conference, having received approval from the then Topss England board.

The strategy is a significant contribution to implementing Modernising the
Social Care Workforce, the national training strategy for social care, and its supplementary report on management development (Topss England, 2000).

Skills for Care's leadership and management strategy documents include a main report which covers the state of affairs in leadership and management across the sector and makes recommendations for action.

The project has also developed a comprehensive set of 'products' to enable managers across the sector to implement the recommendations. In 2005, revised editions of some products, and a new employer's guide to them all, were published. All are available below.

These products are commended to all managers and leaders in social care - both adults' and children's services - including service users who are employers under direct payments schemes. Together the products make for a very thorough piece of work that will reward well time spent working through them and applying them to particular settings.

The strategy documents have also been published in hard copy and on CD-ROM in a pack.

The downloads below are 2006 editions, in which the main content is the same as the original 2004 and 2005 editions.

Skills for Care is continuing implementation and further development of the leadership and management strategy in adult social care. For children's and young people's services, the leadership and management strategy is being incorporated into the wider work of the Children's Workforce Development Council.

Leaders and managers in children's and young people's services are therefore advised to use the strategy documents, but also to maintain contact with CWDC (www.cwdcouncil.org.uk) to keep up to date with further developments.