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Through membership we support managers to develop best practice and knowledge, keep up-to-date with sector developments and share ideas with like-minded peers.

For £35 per year, you can become a member of our growing community of registered managers and gain access to exclusive resources to support your role and your service.


Membership benefits

  • printed copy of our Social care manager’s handbook
  • an exclusive monthly newsletter, including practical information and guidance
  • access to Good and Outstanding care guide: Single Assessment Framework version and 34 Quality Statement Recommendation checklists
  • an exclusive annual resource when you renew your membership
  • offers and discounts on courses, and other benefits from our endorsed providers of learning and development
  • the chance to train to become a mentor, or receive mentoring
  • discounts on key resources, programmes and events
  • a membership certificate and logo
  • access to further resources and guidance. 

A recent survey of our registered manager members looked at the benefits of membership and 97% of respondents would recommend membership to others. Take a look at all the findings from our survey

Become a member    Member login area

 

Membership isn’t just about the fantastic resources our managers have received, it’s about creating a shared identity and status around the role of the registered manager.

Nigel Taylor
Head of Learning and Development, Care Tech

 

Bulk membership 

When you invest in your managers you’re investing in them, their service, their staff and the quality of care they provide. Social care employers, organisations and commissioners regularly buy membership in bulk on behalf of their registered managers. 

We can offer a 10% discount on all purchases for 10 managers or more.

Email membership@skillsforcare.org.uk to find out more bulk membership.

 

1. A printed copy of our Social care manager’s handbook

  • The handbook is a comprehensive guide to key aspects of the registered manager role, set out in sections mapped against our Manager Induction Standards and the Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management for Adult Care, plus an additional section on digital leadership, skills and technology. Each section covers a particular area of the work of a registered manager, providing information, guidance and practical tips to support you in your day-to-day work.

The handbook is particularly useful for new managers, as are the guidance and toolkits available. Colleagues need to feel valued and have access to flexible support networks and resources.

Melanie Holloway, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Lead
Metropolitan Thames Valley Homes

 

2. Exclusive monthly newsletter

  • Each month our newsletter brings you information, guidance and updates from Skills for Care, other organisations supporting the adult social care sector, and other registered managers. 

3. Good and outstanding care guide (Single Assessment Framework version)

  • Members receive exclusive access to this comprehensive online guide about CQC inspection co-produced with The Outstanding Society. Each section explains how to prepare your service to evidence what you do around the 34 Quality Statements, backed-up with practical checklists to strengthen your quality assurance.

4. Exclusive annual resource when you renew your membership

  • Every year the membership team produces a new resource exclusively for our renewing members. The resource for 2023/24 renewing members is a hard copy of ‘Compassionate Leadership’ by Professor Michael West CBE.
  • Previous renewal resources have included the third edition of the 'Good and outstanding care' guide, ‘An introduction to working with partners – a practical guide for social care managers,’ and ‘Time to Manage – a practical guide for social care managers.’
  • Access to the third edition of the 'Good and outstanding care' guide is still available to you as members, alongside a range of revised downloadable checklists and tools designed to help you meet the requirements of the Care Quality Commission.

5. Offers and discounts, and other benefits from our endorsed learning providers

  • Discounts and other offers on national and local learning and development courses, both online and face-to-face, provided by high quality training providers who we have endorsed.  

6. The chance to train to become a mentor, or receive mentoring

  • Our mentorship offer gives members who would like to develop their skills and support their peers as a mentor, the opportunity to join one of our mentoring workshops. Members are then given the opportunity to mentor another member.
  • Members who wish to be mentored and receive advice and guidance about their current issues and development journey can request to take part, after which we will look to pair them with one of our mentors. 

7. Discounts on key resources, programmes and events

  • Members receive discounts on a range of resources and events, including discounts on a variety of items in our bookshop. (These discounts are variable and subject to Skills for Care’s wider work activity.)

8. A membership certificate and logo

  • Members can demonstrate their membership status, and their commitment to developing their knowledge and best practice, with our hard copy certificate, sent out to all new members alongside the Social care managers handbook. Members are also welcome to use our membership logo on their email and letters, to let other professionals know they are one of our valued registered manager members and part of a professional community of practice.

9. Further resources and guidance

  • A regularly-refreshed selection of guidance, templates and planning resources shared by our partner Quality Compliance Systems (QCS).

All members renewing their membership from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024 will receive a hard copy of ‘Compassionate Leadership’ by Professor Michael West CBE.

‘Compassionate Leadership’ explores how attending to, understanding, empathising with and helping those you lead can support them to respond effectively to the challenges they face in their work. The four elements of compassionate leadership play a crucial part in all aspects of your role as manager, including staff wellbeing, retention, and creating safe, supported cultures within your services.

Among other topics, the book looks at

  • The evidence for how compassionate leadership can drive better outcomes for both the people providing and those receiving care and support
  • Approaches to lead and develop a compassionate culture throughout your service
  • How to use a compassionate approach to leadership to drive quality improvement and innovation in your organisation.
  • The ways compassionate leadership can underpin and support a culture of diversity and inclusion in your organisation.

These areas of focus are presented alongside practical resources, case studies and discussion questions.

Registered managers need the support of other registered managers.

Marlene Kelly, Registered Manager
Auburn Mere Care Home

 

The care exchange

To hear more from Professor Michael West, you could listen to our podcast where we spoke to him about compassionate leadership.  He discussed how ‘listening with fascination’ is so crucial for managers and explains how to create more effective compassionate teamwork. He also talks about how to support a stressed workforce and why it’s so important to practice self-compassion. Listen now

Looking for a mentor?

By becoming a registered manager member, you have exclusive access to our bank of qualified mentors. You’ll be matched with another member who has been trained as a mentor, based on the areas of development you're looking for.

For more information, please email membership@skillsforcare.org.uk


 

Join our growing group of mentors

Our members have the opportunity to learn and practice skills in mentoring. They can choose to join our growing group of existing mentors who provide peer-to-peer support for other members.

We ask all members interested in joining our group of mentors to take part in one of our mentoring workshops, to learn concepts, skills and techniques around mentoring best practice. We run these workshops three times a year, both for our new mentors and as an opportunity for members to train and hone existing skills in mentoring.


 

Free mentoring workshops for registered manager members

Our next workshop for registered manager members interested in becoming mentors is in two parts and will take place on:

  • Session 1: Wednesday 28 February 2024 | 10:00 - 13:00
  • Session 2: Tuesday 12 March 2024 | 10:00 - 13:00

Register now

N.B. your membership number will be requested when booking to allow us to confirm proof of current membership – this can be found on your certificate, or on your membership page of our web portal.

Our mentors attend training to help them develop skills in mentoring, including techniques for questioning, listening and providing feedback, before being paired with a member to help them confront challenges and develop in their role.

I have found my mentoring sessions with my mentor very beneficial. We have discussed many topics, but I was particularly interested in developing a better system for governance. I have already adopted some of the tips my mentor shared for some audits I was not already doing and will be implementing these. I have also devised a matrix so that audit and compliance folders can be easily found and identified by staff. I particularly liked her suggestion for reviewing all audits every six months to identify any recurring themes and to ensure that any action plans raised have been carried through. We have also prepared information to display for all staff on the location of isolators for all utilities in the event of an emergency and senior management not being in the building.

June Stephenson, Director and Registered Manager
Orchard House Care Home Scarborough.