Using the 'Principles of Workforce Redesign' (November 2011)

This follow up document to Skills for Care's Principles of Workforce Redesign, focuses on workforce development and involvement, is a practical guide to help people who are engaged in reshaping services.

It includes a range of tools to help work through change constructively, transforming services to meet the needs and expectations of the people who use them. Its publication is timely, coming during a period when all providers of social care services are facing the dual challenge of reshaping their services and managing significant budget cuts.

Starting Out, Common Induction Standards ('refreshed' 2010) worker's book

Skills for Care's Common Induction Standards (CIS) worker's induction book, called Starting Out.

Supporting Starters, Common Induction Standards ('refreshed' 2010) managers guide

Skills for Care's Common Induction Standards (CIS) complementary book for managers, called Supporting Starters.

Learning through Work series

Skills for Care's Learning through Work series. The series contain 7 bitesize Learners' guides along with a Manager's pack to help workers in various situations in care settings. 

This workforce planning guide is for all adult social care employers, whatever the size of their workforce, and is applicable across the public, private and voluntary sectors. It focuses on the care and support provider as a business and as an employer. Where micro-businesses, including people directly employing their own care workers, or indeed larger enterprises, might benefit from other materials or tools, these are signposted.

Providing Effective Supervision

Skills for Care and the Children's Workforce Development Council have teamed up to produce a step-by-step workforce development tool on providing effective supervision tailor made for the job. It plugs an identified gap in the Leadership and Management Strategy for social care.

SEARCH (interim edition 2010)

SEARCH (Standards for Employment Agencies in Registered Care and Health services) is guidance for those managing employment businesses placing staff into care settings, and for care providers making use of agency staff. Its 2005 edition detailed the relationship between the then DTI requirements on agencies and the regulation of the care sector. That edition is now out of date, and Skills for Care is working on how to replace it. In the meantime, however, section 5 of SEARCH continues to give valid guidance for what agencies and care providers using agency staff should do. As an interim measure, therefore, section 5 alone is available as a reduced-price publication.

In addition to SEARCH, please note that 2010 legal regulations about agency workers came into effect on 1 October 2011. For information please see the Dep't for Business, Innovation and Skills (www.bis.gov.uk/policies/employment-matters/strategies/awd) and the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (www.rec.uk.com/regions-sectors/sectors/nursing_social_care/join).

SME guide

Meeting social care's changing expectations is much more demanding in SMEs than in larger organisations. So Skills for Care has published a guide specifically for SMEs. It gives a checklist of what smaller social care organisations need to do to prepare their staff for the challenges and changes of personalisation and it makes the business case for doing so.

The New Manager's Guide

A workbook with 'sign-off' space, intended for new managers themselves, and aspiring or potential new managers, which includes a blank certificate of successful completion.

The New Manager's Manager

For those who manage new managers, or are mentors to them, with added information about assessing a new manager's induction progress.

Work Placement Guide for Employers

This guide helps employers understand their role and responsibilities when hosting a work placement. The guide also includes activities and suggestions for how to support and make best use of a work placement student. It is linked to the content of the Common Induction Standards where appropriate.

Work Placement Guide for Students

This guide will help students understand the expectations of an employers and the information and support they should receive when doing a work placement in a social care setting. The guide contains activities to complete while on placement and suggestion for how to make best use of the opportunity to see what it's like to work in social care.

Work Placement Guide for Teachers

This guide specifically addresses the core skills required for working within the adult social care sector. These core skills are included in the Common Induction Standards, a framework for training and development for all care staff at the start of their employment or when they change job role.