welcome to skills for care's enews

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

Skills for Care welcomes new citizen-led markers
Skills for Care has welcomed the launch of new citizen-led markers for councils, organisations and people to check their progress with the personalisation agenda.

Making it Real - marking progress towards personalised, community-based support is a set of statements helping councils and social care organisations to check with people if they are really delivering on personalisation.

It has been launched alongside several new Think Local, Act Personal (TLAP) reports:

Personal budgets: taking stock, moving forward
Adult Social Care Minimum Process Framework
Re-thinking Support Planning
Improving Direct Payment Delivery

Skills for Care welcomes new citizen-led markers

Health and Social Care Volunteering Fund
The Department of Health's innovative funding programme, the Health and Social Care Volunteering Fund (HSCVF) was launched this week to help Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise organisations deliver an effective role within their local community. Care Services Minister Paul Burstow announced that up to £2.6 million will be available for national volunteering and social action projects in 2012. The programme has been designed to increase investment in volunteering in health, public health and social care. The programme supports health service priorities and feeds into the recently launched Department of Health's Strategic Vision for Volunteering.

Skills for Care, in partnership with local communities, neighbourhoods, employers and commissioners, is leading the development of practical tools that support the implementation of neighbourhood workforce planning and community skills development through a number of 'early adopters'. For more information see Community Skills.

Leadership Programme for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic staff
The National Skills Academy, supported by Skills for Care, the Local Government Group and ADASS is developing a new programme to address the low numbers of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic(BAME) senior leaders in adult social care.
It will seek to offer a unique six-month development opportunity to BAME managers with the potential and desire to move into senior leadership roles in the adult social care sector.

The programme will commence in January 2012 and there will be sessions available in both London and the Midlands. For more information see: Leadership programme for BAME staff.

To register interest contact BAMELeadership@nsasocialcare.co.uk or call Sophie Walsh on 0207 268 3279 by Friday 25 November 2011.

Still haven't found what you are looking for?
Skills for Care has completed the development of the Research Knowledge Base, a unique searchable database which allows users to access a wealth of information about the adult social care workforce. Containing research reports and related documents dating back to 2004, the Research Knowledge Base provides a one stop resource to access workforce intelligence within social care. With four quarterly updates, Skills for Care endeavours to maintain a current database which will allow users to make informed decisions when developing their workforce strategy.

Click here to access the Research Knowledge Base. To provide feedback and recommendations please contact researchkb@skillsforcare.org.uk.

Championing older people
With over 40 years' experience of working with older people and providing residential care, Anchor are involved in an initiative to ensure the needs of older people are understood and represented. To find out more about how you can get involved visit www.anchor.org.uk.

- in your area -

Funding towards QCF Awards for social care employers in Yorkshire and the Humber
The Skills Enhancement Fund currently has funding (via Framework ETS0099) that can support 50% of the cost of Qualification and Credit Framework (QCF) Awards (that can lead on to the Diploma in Health and Social Care at level 2 and 3).

Examples of these Awards are: L2 and L3 Award in Awareness of Dementia; L2 and L3 Award in Supporting Individuals with Learning Disabilities; L3 Award in Supporting Activities Provision in Social Care.

Training Providers must apply to the enhancement fund by 14 November2011. Contact Nicola Hudson on nicolahu@calderdale.ac.uk, or visit www.enhancementfund.co.uk.

Training Providers offering these 50% funded QCF Awards should then encourage social care employers to claim back money towards the cost of the employer contribution through the Skills for Care Workforce Development Fund (WDF) Partnerships, as units of the QCF Awards are achieved. Visit www.skillsforcare.org.uk/wdf for details of WDF Partnerships.

- events -

Save the date!
Skills for Care annual conference will take place on Thursday 8 March 2012 at the Hilton Manchester Deansgate.

This year the event will take place on the same day as the Accolades award ceremony, celebrating the very best practice in social care workforce development.

More information will be available in the next few weeks.

There are a number of sponsorship and exhibition opportunities available to suit a range of budgets to promote your organisation to the adult social care sector. For more information contact angela.grant@skillsforcare.org.uk.

Public access to board meeting
Thursday 24 November, 11.30am - 1pm
Skills for Care, 4th Floor, Lynton House, 7-12 Tavistock Square, London WC1H 9LT

The next Skills for Care board meeting will take place on Thursday 24 November 2011, at Skills for Care London offices. There will be limited public seating, to be allocated in advance only, on a first-come first-served basis.

Please notify Dawn Bolton in advance of the meeting and by no later than 12pm on 7 November if you wish to attend - email dawn.bolton@skillsforcare.org.uk or call 0113 241 1208.

- consultations -

Proposals for an ASYE
In September 2011 the Social Work Reform Board agreed a paper outlining proposals for implementing the Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE). The paper sets out the current position including work developing assessment models with employers and managing the outcomes of the assessment. It also includes information relating to capability statements and support for Newly Qualified Social Workers (NQSWs).

The Reform Board would like to know what you think about the proposals. You can let us have feedback on the proposals by emailing asye@skillsforcare.org.uk by 7 November 2011.
Full details can be found at:

- tenders -

Whistleblowers advice line
Giving frontline staff the ability to respond to systemic problems in the health and social care sectors is a powerful lever to significantly improving frontline care. There is already strong legal protection for whistleblowers, but local implementation has not always been effective. The Government has therefore taken action to ensure that individuals and employers are clear about their rights and responsibilities in respect of whistleblowing.

The Government supported whistleblowers in the NHS by contracting a free independent advice line provided by the charity Public Concern at Work since 2003. The current contract comes to an end on 31 December 2011. The Department of Health is now seeking bids from organisations that have the capability and expertise to run a confidential helpline for NHS and social care staff, support providers of NHS and social care services who wish to review their whistleblowing policies in line with best practice, and the promotion of whistleblowing in the NHS and social care communities.

For more information click on the following link: 2011330587

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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.