LGBTQ+ Learning Framework supports staff personally and professionally
09 Feb 2024
3 min read
- Culture and diversity
- Good news story
- Learning and development
This #GoodNewsFriday and in recognition of LGBT History Month we hear from the Reablement and Sensory Service at West Berkshire District Council about how the LGBTQ+ Learning Framework has supported them.
Skills for Care published the LGBTQ+ Learning Framework last year.
This project was funded by Skills for Care and was developed by Dr Trish Hafford-Letchfield from the University of Strathclyde in collaboration with the LGBT Foundation.
The framework aims to provide a base for identifying the insights, knowledge, understanding and skills that the social care workforce need to help them work affirmatively, inclusively and effectively with individuals from gender and sexually diverse communities.
During LGBT History Month, we’re hearing from organisations who’ve used the framework about how it’s supported them.
The Reablement and Sensory Service at West Berkshire District Council has been focusing on bringing the learning framework to those they’re working with every day. They’ve taken every opportunity to ‘Talk LGBTQ’ in their day-to-day work.
This has included talking with care homes in their local area about the framework and raising awareness of the framework when they visit to encourage dialogue about LGBTQ+ issues and learning.
They've also sent out short snippets about the framework in their regular newsletter to older people in the community often posing a thoughtful question for people to consider.
Additionally, they've been raising awareness of the framework within interdisciplinary regional forums with health and third sector partners.
Within their team they've started conversations on how to redesign care plans that signify choices on expressing gender and sexual identities and consulting with the team on how they want this to be taken forward.
Plus they’ve been using team meetings and supervision to talk about how to introduce, educate and discuss these changes with older heterosexual and cisgender individuals who sometimes don't understand and on occasions object to being asked about their gender and sexual diversity.
Discussions with colleagues are used to support each other when issues arise. They’ve also been using resources from the framework in supervision and thinking about how to provide more support to LGBTQ+ staff members.
Another change has been staff routinely using their own pronouns, and they’re currently exploring how they might set up an allyship forum.
Truly Pinkarchevski, Team Manager, says:
One of the benefits us that staff themselves have been more open, and one member of staff really wanted to talk about their own experiences and why they never came out in their life, so the LF has encouraged us being more inclusive about ourselves. Resource implications?– if anything, this framework has made it easier, as accessible can be done at your own pace.
Find out more about the LGBTQ+ Learning Framework.
If you have a good news story to share email us marketing@skillsforcare.org.uk.
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