News and events archive

Double musical treat for old folk

The activity co-ordinators from Beech House, Laburnum Court, Arden Court, Pendleton Court, Worsley Lodge and Swinton Hall Care Homes dressed up as Santa and performed carols and festive songs for the residents of each of the homes. The residents were also entertained by youngsters from various schools near the homes.

The activity co-ordinators have recently completed the Certificate in Provision of Activities in a Care Setting (NAPA), and wanted to stay in touch with each other and took this opportunity as a way of utilising the skills gained to enhance the lives of the residents at the homes. The activity co-ordinators that took part are Linda Huntingdon, Sue Jones, Julieann Bennett, Anthea Austins, Catherine McClean, Angela McGinty, Karin Goodier and Denise Green.

Chance to take part in research

The Open University was keen to identify people in the social care provision, who were willing to share their thoughts about education and training in social care. DJS Research Ltd is an independent market research company and they onducted a survey on behalf of the Open University. The university is considering developing its undergraduate Health and Social Care curriculum and needed feedback about its proposals and the level of interest that would be shown in this type of course.

The survey was conducted according to the rules and regulations for the Market Research Society and lasted approximately ten minutes over the telephone.

Free dementia workshops

Skills for care are working in partnership with Skills for Health and offered free workshops to assist people leading and supporting the workforce who are working with people who have dementia.

The workshops were aimed at social care managers and training leads within employer organisations who wanted to support their teams to deliver high quality care to people with dementia.

The design of the workshops reflected best practice in workforce development - to enhance the cascade of materials by managers and training leads. The content of the workshops also utilised the good practice outlined in the "Common Core Principles for supporting people with Dementia" (published in May 2011).

Partnership event

The first partnership meeting of 2012 took place on the 23 January at Moores House.

Alex Knapp from The Grey Matter group was invited to give a presentation on the latest assessment tool, which could help organisations meet the CQC requirements and save money on training. The feedback from partners who attended felt that this would be a very useful tool to have in the workplace. We are now looking at how we can help our partners gain access to this tool. Further details are available on the CIS Assessment website.

Leadership and Management Advisory Service

An opportunity to gain funding was available from the Leadership and Management Advisory Service which is funded by the Skills Funding Agency. It aims to provide advice and support to leaders and senior managers within small to medium sized enterprises, that can clearly demonstrate the potential for high or fast growth. The service includes access to funding of up to £1,000, to enhance your business by building leadership skills and exploiting growth opportunities.

Promoting quality through the workforce

The National Care Forum and Voluntary Organisations Disability Group in partnership with Skills for Care held two free events in February 2012 for frontline managers of voluntary and non-for-profit organisations. The aim of the event was to provide managers with an understanding of the wider social care policy context and tools to assist them in supporting frontline staff improve the quality of service delivery, promote an understanding of the new regulatory and monitoring framework and its implications for staff development.

Live and Learn in Salford - English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)

Free ESOL classes for women from outside the European Union to help improve English language skills and improve communication skills in order to be part of the local communities, understand local surroundings and use health, local authority, school services and volunteer with confidence. Free crèche places available.

If you know of someone who may benefit from this opportunity, then contact Andrea McCusker on 0161 607 7176.

Essential building blocks for success (EBEEBIES)

This year's programme had been designed to provide a comprehensive training schedule consisting of:

Nine "bitesize" workshops covering a range of leadership and management topics.

Supported by three opportunities to access individual consultancy/coaching sessions across the programme. The sessions covered subjects on how to:

Underpin the Essential Standards for Care Quality Commission (CQC) requirements and the Skills for Care Management Induction Standards
Provide an opportunity to review practice against these standards and to start to build a portfolio of evidence that demonstrates compliance
Encourage and provide opportunities for peer support, sharing good practice and resources to be more efficient and effective
Develop action plans for improvement and compliance
Identify and receive resources which can be used for reference and continuing professional development

In addition to the above, participants also had the opportunity to be able to achieve two Qualification Credit Framework (QCF) Leadership and Management units which go towards achieving the Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management in Health and Social Care. For managers who already have a management award, this was a opportunity to "top up" their Continuing Professional Development (CPD)/qualification with these accredited units.

Great North West Care Awards 2011

On Saturday 8 October 2011, the Blackpool Tower provided a spectacular backdrop for the finals of the third Great North West Care Awards, where the twenty category winners were announced. Congratulations to Susan Porter, Sevacare UK Ltd, Worsley.

The awards are part of the Great British Care Awards, a series of regional awards which celebrates excellence in social care and pay tribute to those who work in the sector throughout England. The awards are all inclusive, bringing together the statutory, independent and voluntary sectors, as well as unpaid carers; promoting joint working.

There were a total of twenty award categories available for nomination, which represent all areas of the care sector, whether it be older people or specialist services and from frontline staff such as care workers and care managers to people who have made an impact in other ways such as training, specialist care in areas such as dementia and innovation.

Nominations came in from all corners of the sector and the region and successful candidates were invited for interview in front of a panel of sector experts.

Winners from the awards will be invited to attend the national finals for either the home care or care home sector which will take place in May and June 2012 at a prestigious venue in London.

Two-hour bite size 'Espresso Learning Sessions'

Results Driven Group were offering a broad range of leadership and management training in "bite size" sessions including assertiveness, communication, creating problem solving and delegation and empowerment.

The courses were available in a range of locations including Warrington and places work out from between £99 to £139 plus VAT per person (subject to number of sessions booked).

Find out more about what was available and the cost per session/place.

E-learning workshop

Due to the success of the managers e-learning workshops in August, the Partnership scheduled another session that took place on 4 October 2011. These informal workshops took managers, step by step, through what is available, how to register your staff and how to use e-learning effectively within their organisation.

If you missed out on this opportunity, then contact the Salford Care Training Partnership for details of further sessions or keep an eye on the CPD pages.

Salford Care Training Partnership cancellation policy

From 1 August 2011, the partnership introduced a charge for allocated places on courses that are not taken up on the day.

Find out more on how the cancellation policy is being implemented.

Key facts - The contribution of worker qualifications to achieving high inspection scores in care homes

A piece of work has been undertaken by Skills for Care to determine whether having trained and qualified staff contributes to achieving high inspection scores and, by implication, better outcomes for people using services.

Further details about the methodology and outcomes of the analysis are available on the Skills for Care website.

Presentation to providers

A copy of the presentation Keith Darragh discussed at the 7 April 2011 provider forum, about the Revenue Budget for 2011/12 is available for you to download at the bottom of this page.

Don't be a Cancer Chancer

The 'Don't be a Cancer Chancer' social marketing campaign ran in Salford during May to July 2011. The aim of the campaign was to raise awareness of the signs of lung, bowel and breast cancer and to encourage people to go to their GP early.

As part of the campaign people were encouraged to act as Cancer Champions and spread the message amongst their communities. No prior knowledge of the topic was needed and full training and support wasprovided throughout the campaign.

During the three-month campaign period we expected the Cancer Champions to engage with around 100 people, either through awareness raising sessions or through one-to-one brief advice. The campaign ran in Langworthy, Broughton, Barton, Winton and Little Hulton and targeted the over 50s.

This was a great opportunity to be involved in a really positive and worthwhile piece of work whilst at the same time learning a range of transferable skills.

If you work in the community and would like more information, please contact Kuiama Thompson, Public Health on 0161 212 4919 or Kuiama.thompson@salford.nhs.uk.