Everyone should have an equal opportunity to access high quality care and support to meet their individual needs and people should not be disadvantaged due to their background, culture or community.
Workers need to be sensitive to people's needs and have the confidence to discuss individuals' differences to find out how they can best offer care and support.
CQC say there's growing evidence that equality and human rights for people using services and staff needs to play a central role in improving the quality of care. Equally outstanding: Equality and human rights - good practice resource explores how care providers can put equality and human rights at the heart of improvement work.
Our resources support you to develop awareness of the standards on equality and diversity to allow you and your team develop an inclusive and confident approach to diversity.
Learning resource: 'Confident with difference'
Are your workers confident in having conversations about ability and disability; cultural identity and customs; sexual orientation or gender identity; religion or faith; and relationships and support? Would they feel awkward or be afraid of saying the wrong thing or causing offence?
Do they understand how people's background, culture and community can influence their past experiences, future aspirations, relationships and their care and support needs, as well as potentially their expectations, or reservations, about accessing care and support?
'Confident with difference' is a series of five short films and activities to support you and your team to consider how well you currently embrace diversity and what you could do to improve. It consists of five short films with supporting activities; four are for managers and leaders to use with their teams and one film's aimed specifically at managers and organisation leaders.
Access 'Confident with difference'
I'm really passionate about the work Skills for Care has been doing around being confident with difference. It’s a challenge to us all to ensure that we can focus on the individuals that we work with and begin to learn about the experiences that have made them who they are today. This resource won’t immediately break down the barriers of engaging with those of us from various communities, including LGBTQI, ethnic minorities or Faith groups. It will however help us to become confident with the differences that many people engaging with our services have and help us to understand and celebrate these differences, making our service offer and our organisations all the richer for it.
Mark Rounding
CEO, AGE UK Bradford
Safe to be me
Safe to be me produced by Age UK in partnership with Opening Doors London, helps managers and workers understand how to support older people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) and helps training providers ensure courses include discussions and scenarios relating to the needs of people who are LGBT.
Manor Community
Manor Community have developed a flexible learning resource to help providers supporting people of working age to improve LGBT+ inclusivity for staff members and people drawing on their care and support.
Moving Up
Moving Up is a leadership programme aimed at black, Asian and minority ethnic leaders wanting to take the next step in their learning and development. It supports managers who have the desire and drive to progress in their career, but are facing blockages and resistance preventing them from doing so.
Find out more about Moving Up.