Welcome to this fortnight's edition of the Skills for Care London e-news.
Over the coming months we will be sending a regular bulletin listing all the latest news, views and updates. We hope that you find it useful and informative, and we welcome your contributions.
News headlines
Dementia support
Specialist dementia advisors have started work in 22 pilot areas. They will give sufferers and their families ongoing support, and help them get the most from the care and support system. Their introduction is one of the ways the National Dementia Strategy will transform services. Around 570,000 people in England suffer from the condition, which is a bigger cause of disability in later life than stroke. Several of the pilots aim to reach people who don't speak English, have learning difficulties, or are from black and ethnic minority groups. A further 18 sites will test practical and emotional support networks for families and carers.
Find out more about the projects here.
Apprenticeships, LeaRNS and career pathways briefings
Skills for Care has been asked by the Department of Health to develop apprenticeship opportunities by working with up to 5 Local Authorities to increase the number of apprenticeships in social care.
LeaRNS is a national web-based information system supporting the professional development of social workers at pre and post-qualifying levels. LeaRNS has been developed by Skills for Care with employers of social workers and social work education providers. The initiative is funded by the Department of Health.
The career pathways tool has been developed as part of the Skills for Care CPD strategy. The CPD strategy identifies that employers can contribute to recruitment and retention in the sector by providing a range of opportunities to progress careers.
To learn about how Skills for Care is helping to progress apprenticeships, LeaRNS and career pathways programmes please read here.
NEW national career pathways e-tool
Skills for Care nationally are in the process of developing a career pathways e-tool - this is due to go live on www.skillsforcare.org.uk in the next few weeks. The e-tool is for people considering a career in social care and for those already working in the sector who are keen to see what career development opportunities there are. Within the tool will be a series of regional links. The purpose of these is to enable further links to be made to employers' sites with actual job vacancies – part of the point of the e-tool is to take enquirers as far as possible towards actually achieving a (new) social care job, so the links to actual employers are very important.
Skills for Care launch online funding guide for employers
Skills for Care has launched a unique interactive online funding guide after employers complained they were struggling to find their way through the dizzying maze of training resources. In response to those complaints Skills for Care has created an easy to use guide pulling together for the very first time more than 50 regional or national funding sources.
Employers can now easily access information and guidance on funding, grants, material and resources and training support and also quickly search specific areas of interest.
The online funding guide can be found at www.skillsforcare.org.uk/funding
National Minimum Data Set for Social Care Briefings - Issue 9
With the launch of the National Dementia Strategy it is the perfect time to place extra focus on those working with older people with dementia. The strategy places particular demand on the knowledge and skills of the social care workforce and the NMDS-SC helps provide a clearer picture of this workforce.
The briefing contains information and analysis in relation to this workforce including levels of capacity and utilisation, turnover and vacancy rates, pay rates and qualifications.
Read the latest briefing. For access to other NMDS-SC briefings, or to update your NMDS-SC details, log on to www.nmds-sc-online.org.uk.
Free Leadership and Management qualification for Care managers
Four Counties Training have a few spaces available for managers working/living in specific London boroughs to take part in a customised and flexible programme specifically designed to meet the needs of managers working in the Care sector.
The programme, NVQ Level 4 in Leadership and Management for Care Services, consists of regular one-to-one sections at the workplace to enable learners to develop a portfolio of practical assessments, professional discussions and job related written evidence. Ideally the programme would suit skilled individuals already working at the required level and requiring qualification to meet National Minimum Standards.
For more information, please contact Brenda Tseng, Care Programme Support to take up this limited offer. Email: Brenda.tseng@fct.uk.com Tel: 02088405188
Events
Register now for the CfA TQS Awareness Day on 9th September 2009!
The new Training Quality Standard (TQS) is becoming increasingly important to training providers, both for the generation of new business and in order to become commercially competitive in the promotion and delivery of work-based training. To assist the strict process of application completion the CfA will be holding a TQS Awareness Day on 9th September 2009.
Time: 10am – 3pm Location: Newham College of Further Education, East Ham Campus, High Street South, London, E6 6ER
How to register: To register for the event please email Uta Sempf uta.sempf@cfa.uk.com. The agenda will be sent upon registration.
Skills for Care London Regional Conference 2009
Date: 30th September 2009
Venue: Westminster Central Hall, Storey's Gate, SW1H 9NH
Cost: £85 + VAT. Discounted places will also be available for delegates from charities/voluntary organisations that employ less than 25 staff. We have reserved a number of places for people who use services. If you are interested in attending, please contact Michael Armstrong at Michael.Armstrong@skillsforcare.org.uk
The topic for the 4th Skills for Care London Annual Conference is 'The Workforce Speaks: Learning in action with London's adult social care employers'.
The conference will provide an opportunity to learn about the work being undertaken in London and hear from the individuals who have contributed to and benefited from our regional programme of workforce development activities over the past year. The Joint Improvement Partnership (JIP) will be supporting the event and this year our guests include keynote speakers Ian Winter - Deputy Regional Director for Social Care at the Department of Health and Moira Gibb – Chief Executive, London Borough of Camden and Chair of the Social Work Taskforce. We are pleased to announce that Alzheimer's campaigner Barbara Pointon will also be contributing to the day.
There will also be an opportunity to participate in discussions about regional development in workshops throughout the day. Workshops will be run on a range of topics, including:
- The Qualifications and Credit Framework
- Dementia
- Apprenticeships
- Learning in Action
- The Principles of Workforce Redesign
Please click here to download the conference flyer. You can register your participation as a delegate at the conference by completing the form at the back of the flyer and returning it to our office.
The video of last year's conference can be viewed here: (please note that you need QuickTime installed on your computer in order to run this).
If you are interested at exhibiting at this event, please download the exhibitor booking form here
To amend your contact details, be added to our distribution list, or to provide us with your feedback, please e-mail sfc.london@skillsforcare.org.uk
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