This is our last enews before Christmas, and we'd like to wish everyone working in social care all the best for the festive season and a happy new year. We know the coming weeks will remain some of the busiest for people working in adult social care and we want to send our thank you for the work you do to support our communities now and all year round. We look forward to continuing to work to support you in 2025.  

In January, we’ll be kicking off the year by shining our spotlight on the importance of learning and development. Ensuring that staff have regular opportunities to develop within their career is crucial if we want to retain a capable and confident workforce. The campaign will feature plenty of firsthand insight into how different organisations from across our sector are offering their staff valuable learning opportunities and how it’s benefiting both staff and those being supported. 

Look out for our campaign updates in future editions of enews, on our website and on X, Facebook, and LinkedIn.  We’ll be using the hashtag #KeepLearning.

Recruitment support

Recruit to retain

The ‘Recruit to retain’ online programme offers practical, values-based strategies to strengthen recruitment, support staff development, and reduce turnover. Taking place over three days, the sessions will teach you to identify and communicate who you are looking for and attract and select staff who share your workplace values. Beginning in February 2025, ‘Recruit to retain’ will help you build a values-driven, supportive workplace that enhances staff wellbeing, reduces turnover and associated costs and attracts high-quality candidates.  

⇨ Book now  

Developing your workforce 

Apprenticeships standards survey

The adult social care trailblazer group has reviewed the Level 2 Adult Care Worker and Level 3 Lead Adult Care Worker apprenticeship standards. The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education is gathering stakeholder feedback on the draft standards (and the draft assessment plan for the level 2 standard) through a public survey. Your feedback will help ensure that any apprenticeships that are developed meet the training needs of relevant occupations, and that apprenticeships in adult social care are viable, high quality, and widely supported. 

⇨  Complete the survey

Support for leaders and managers 

Managers conference 2025 

Monday 10 March – Tuesday 11 March | Wyboston Lakes Resort, Bedfordshire | £355 +VAT

Join us at The Managers Conference 2025 for a networking evening followed by a full-day conference dedicated to you. The conference features a packed programme of keynote speakers, workshops and panel sessions plus a bustling exhibition featuring quality suppliers showcasing key solutions to support social care managers. 

Choose the workshops you would like to attend and build your own programme based on your priorities. With a dynamic and creative programme, you will have the opportunity to network with colleagues, share knowledge and ask questions. 

⇨ Book your ticket now

Workforce intelligence 

Manage your training and qualification certificates in
ASC-WDS   

The training and qualifications section of the Adult Social Care Workforce Data Set (ASC-WDS) is one of the most valued areas of the service. We’ve made it even more useful by adding the ability to upload a certificate to your training and qualification records. This means you can now record all your evidence in one place. You can view each certificate individually or download all the certificates for a staff member in one go, making it easy to share with the individual, CQC or your local authority. 

⇨ Find out more about ASC-WDS

Regulated professional workforce 

Digital skills communities of practice - limited places

Between now and February, we’re hosting a series of online community of practice sessions to increase digital confidence and technology skills for occupational therapists, social workers, principal occupational therapists and principal social workers who work in adult social care. Topics being covered are: 

1. What does artificial intelligence (AI) mean to me? 
2. Digital leadership 
3. The internet of things 

⇨ Find out dates, more information, and book

Events 

Evidencing CQC safe and effective staffing through workforce planning

Tuesday 14 January | 09:30 – 15:00 | Online | £250 +VAT  

Join our one-day, online seminar to help you demonstrate to the CQC that your service has safe and effective staffing. Learn how to workforce plan using current data and information tailored to your service. You will leave with exclusive, customised tools to help you ensure staff are competent and supported to provide safe, effective, and person-centred care. It will mean you have fewer compliance issues during CQC assessments and help you to make financial savings.    

⇨ Book your place

The Quality Assured Care Learning Service

Thursday 16 January 2025 | 10:30 – 12:00 | Online 

Learn more about the new Quality Assured Care Learning Service from the Department of Health and Social Care. This event will provide training providers with information about their eligibility to apply to the service and the quality standards they will need to meet. Skills for Care will also explain the process and demonstrate the application portal. 

⇨ Book your place

Digitising social care - exploring the benefits of technology in the delivery of care       

Tuesday 4 February | 10:30 – 12:30 | Online  

This national event for registered managers will explore the use of technology in adult social care, sharing experiences across the sector in how it can positively shape and impact the delivery of care services, and how to get the best results and benefits when using different devices and applications. 

⇨ Book your place

Being prepared for CQC assessment seminar 

Tuesday 11 February 2025 | 10:00 – 15:30 | Online | £120 +VAT 

With the changes to CQC assessment, this one-day interactive seminar brings together frontline managers to learn about the step-by-step ways to be ready to evidence that your service meets CQC expectations to achieve a Good or Outstanding rating. Discover practical ways to prepare for assessment and evidence the quality care you’re providing.  

⇨ Book your place

Improving your CQC rating seminar  

Wednesday 12 March 2025 | 10:00 – 15:30 | Online | £120 +VAT 

This interactive seminar is for services who have fallen below CQC standards and are looking for practical ways to recover and achieve a Good rating. Explore the benefits of making improvements, how to overcome barriers to improvement, how to action and evidence improvements and how to involve others in helping you to improve. You’ll gain an understanding of what you will be expected to evidence, successful approaches to recover from a Requires improvement or Inadequate CQC rating and how to demonstrate issues have been successfully addressed. 

⇨ Book your place

Skills for Care Ltd, West Gate, Grace Street, Leeds, LS1 2RP

Registered company no. 3866683. Registered in England

Registered charity no. 1079836. Group VAT no 135 5383 15

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