Embrace digital with our current opportunities

Adult social care is undergoing significant change as it embraces the opportunities that new technologies provide. These advancements are streamlining business operations and empowering people who draw on care and support, essentially reshaping how services are delivered and experienced.

Equipping social care staff at all levels with essential digital skills is more important than ever. To fully embrace the benefits of these technologies, employees must develop the confidence and competencies to effectively use digital tools.

Skills for Care is committed to supporting this transformation by offering a range of resources and opportunities designed to help those working in adult social care to enhance their digital skills. By focusing on both leadership development and broader digital competency, the sector can achieve better outcomes for care providers and people drawing on care and support.

Get involved in developing our new
self-assessment tools

Skills for Care is working in partnership with the Digital Care Hub, Partners for Care and Health and Oxford Brookes to develop two digital self-assessment tools for adult social care, to support people in identifying what learning, training and resources they need when using technology in the delivery of care. 

These initiatives are part of a wider programme of work funded by the NHS Transformation Directorate (NHS-TD) and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).

Opportunities to get involved

We’re holding a series of engaging and interactive user groups in October and November for people working in adult social care to come together and help review and co-develop these new self-assessments with our team.

If you would like to register your interest in being involved in our user group sessions, you can learn more below.

'What Good Looks Like' for social care organisations

The 'what good looks like' will support each organisation in their digital development journey focusing on achievements, areas for improvement, baselines and targets, and making the case for change and progressing forward.

Find out more about the user group sessions and register your interest

Digital Skills Framework for people working in adult social care

The Digital Skills Framework means people working in social care can self-assess their digital knowledge and skills against the framework, and identify what areas of learning and skills they could further develop in their roles and in the delivery of care.

Find out more about user group sessions and register your interest

To get involved separately, outside of our user group, email us: digital@skillsforcare.org.uk.

Registered manager webinars

Digital social care records

Thursday 26 September | 14:00 - 15:00 | Online

Co-hosted by Skills for Care and Digital Care Hub, offers registered and frontline managers insights into digital social care records (DSCRs), their benefits, and key considerations. It also covers the NHS-TD ‘Clock is ticking’ campaign and provides information on available funding for digital transformation this financial year.

Find out more and book your place

Understanding your digital requirements under the Single Assessment Framework

Date TBC | Online

Providing practical advice, support, and information on how to meet the digital requirements of the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC’s) Single Assessment Framework, ensuring that you are well prepared to meet the evidence requirements.

With digitisation a high priority for the adult social care sector, it is important for managers to know what digital aspects are assessed and monitored within the CQC Single Assessment Framework and its set of quality statements.

Learning and development opportunities

Digital skills eLearning

To support adult social care staff to develop their knowledge and confidence in using digital technology, Skills for Care was commissioned by the NHS-TD to develop a suite of free-to-access ‘bitesize’ digital skills eLearning modules, in line with the Digital Skills Framework.

The eLearning modules were shaped and co-developed with people within adult social care, including care providers, local authorities, people drawing on care and support and subject matter experts. The modules are designed to support people working in adult social care to gain knowledge and understanding on how digital, data and technology is used in the sector.

They are free to access, with the opportunity to receive a completion certificate at the end of each module (or a single certificate for all seven modules if they are all completed).

Learn more about eLearning

Digital leadership programme

The digital leadership programme is a national development between Skills for Care and The National Care Forum for both new and experienced managers of adult social care services.

The four-day learning programme will support managers to have the underpinning skills, knowledge and models of digital leadership that can be practically applied when implementing technology in a care service and promote best practice.

It will improve confidence in identifying how digital technology supports the delivery of quality care and will enable managers to identify technology in the market, understand the barriers to technology adoption and how an organisation may choose to address them.

Book your place on the next cohort starting on Thursday 7 November .