The Education Secretary has pledged the introduction of 300 new state nurseries in England within the next 12 months. The nurseries are set to open within English schools by next September to meet rising demand prompted by the introduction of free childcare for children from the age of 9 months. The new Labour government...
Creating a Happy and Inclusive Working Environment
In today’s dynamic work environment, fostering happiness and inclusivity is key to building an engaged and productive team. This is especially relevant as we celebrate both International Happiness at Work Week and National Inclusion Week. Both occasions encourage us to reflect on how we can create workplaces where everyone feels valued, supported, and empowered...
NSPCC reports rise in sextortion contacts
NSPCC has reported that their Childline service has seen a marked increase in the number of contacts they receive about sextortion. The confidential charity helpline provided over 900 counselling sessions for children concerned about sextortion – online sexual extortion – during 2023-24. This represents a 7% increase from 2022-23. During this same period, the...
NSPCC calls for early years support to better protect young children
The NSPCC is calling on the government to invest in early years’ services to ensure we are “keeping the youngest children safe from harm”. The national children’s charity has spoken out after data showed that almost 4 in 10 of its Helpline referrals involved children aged 5 and under. The NSPCC said that their...
Youth Mental Health Day urges young people to control their scroll
It’s Youth Mental Health Day and the theme for 2024 is #ControlYourScroll. Youth Mental Health Day is an annual awareness campaign falling on 19th September which aims to raise awareness and foster discussion around the mental health challenges young people face. This year, the mental health campaign, spearheaded by youth mental health charity stem4,...
A Guide to Supporting Young Minds
Youth Mental Health Day (YMHD), observed annually, aims to raise awareness and foster discussion around the mental health challenges young people face. In 2024, the theme is #ControlYourScroll....
Government pledges fair pay agreement for care professionals
The Care Minister has reiterated a government pledge to establish a fair pay agreement for care professionals as he reached out to services regarding “operational resilience” this winter. The Minister of State for the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), Stephen Kinnock, wrote a letter this week to local authorities and adult social...
New whitepaper outlines ‘first steps to fixing social care’
A new social care whitepaper has been published which sets out the “blueprint” for addressing the “severe challenges” faced by the sector. Released yesterday (17th September 2024), the whitepaper has been published by homecare technology specialist Birdie and includes insights from social care leaders and experts from across the sector. Entitled ‘Ready to Care:...
Skills for Care is driving change with their new workforce strategy campaign
Skills for Care’s latest campaign focuses on encouraging the care sector to implement its new workforce strategy. The new ‘Driving change in social care’ campaign is running throughout September to promote the ‘Workforce Strategy for Adult Social Care’, which was launched in July 2024 to improve working conditions in care and help create a...
How to Support World Alzheimer’s Month
September is World Alzheimer’s Month, a global campaign aimed at raising awareness, challenging the stigma, and addressing the issues surrounding dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. With dementia affecting nearly one million people in the UK alone, this month provides a crucial opportunity to show support for those living with the condition, their families, and caregivers....
The Benefits and Costs of eLearning
Methods for staff training have evolved significantly in recent years. Many assume new is always better, and a more digital approach to training certainly offers numerous benefits. However, this also comes with its own set of challenges. Before you make any decisions about how to train your staff, let’s look at both the advantages...
What’s Changing with the Care Certificate?
Here’s how the DHSC changes will affect the Care Certificate and how to train your new recruits....
Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training: Quick Guide
First Response Training is one of the first training providers in the country to offer the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism....
Statutory and Mandatory Care Training Guide
Skills for Care recently published their Statutory and mandatory training guide for adult social care employers. Here’s our brief summary of what employers need to know:...
World Alzheimer’s Month amplifies voices
September is World Alzheimer’s Month, an international awareness campaign that takes place every year, with 21st September designated as World Alzheimer’s Day. Led by Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI), the annual campaign was devised to bring everyone together to raise awareness of dementia and to try to breakdown the stigma and tackle the discrimination that...