New Workforce Strategy for adult social care a ‘call to action’

The new national Workforce Strategy for adult social care in England has been described as a “call to action” which provides a “long-term vision” for the sector. The sector-led Workforce Strategy has been developed by Skills for Care in collaboration with other social care bodies and stakeholders, including the Care Quality Commission (CQC), care...

Deprivation of liberty court applications reach record high

Court applications made for deprivation of liberty reached record high numbers in the first quarter of this year. Minister of Justice (MoJ) figures show that the Court of Protection (CoP) in England received just over 2,000 applications regarding deprivation of liberty under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) from January to March 2024. This...

Skills for Care campaigns for integrated care

Skills for Care’s latest campaign focuses on making integrated care happen. The workforce development charity says that integration between our health and social care systems is vital if people are to receive seamless services that offer higher-quality, person-centred care. That’s why their ‘Making integration happen’ campaign aims to support social care providers to understand,...

CQC publishes first local authority care assessments

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has published the first of its formal local authority care assessments. Britain’s care watchdog is now required to formally assess how all local authorities in England are meeting their adult social care duties under Part 1 of the Care Act 2014. This covers the general duties of local authorities,...

The new Care Workforce Pathway for adult social care

Developed by the UK government in partnership with Skills for Care, the new Care Workforce Pathway is a framework which outlines the knowledge, skills, values and behaviours required of people working in adult social care services. Co-developed by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), Skills for Care, representatives from the adult social...

Skills for Care are celebrating social care in April

Throughout April, Skills for Care will be Celebrating Social Care as part of an annual campaign. Since 2022, the workforce development charity has used the month of April to celebrate the adult social care workforce “a little bit louder” and highlight the “vital impact” they have on people using care services. Skills for Care...

CQC campaign encourages people to share care experiences

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has launched a new campaign to encourage people whose voices are often marginalised to share their care experiences in order to help services improve. Britain’s care watchdog says it knows that people “whose voices are seldom heard” are also often more likely to experience poorer care. Their Share for...

Skills for Care campaign celebrates registered managers

Throughout March, Skills for Care’s latest campaign will be putting the spotlight on registered managers in care. The workforce development charity will focus on championing and celebrating registered managers, which they describe as “the heart of their organisations.” The Championing Registered Managers campaign will run across their website, social media and other communication channels...

LGBT+ History Month 2024 focuses on medicine and healthcare

The theme for LGBT+ History Month 2024 in the UK is ‘Medicine – #Under the Scope’ – designed to celebrate LGBT+ peoples’ contribution to medicine and healthcare, both now and in the past. Founded in 2004 by Schools OUT, LGBT+ History Month runs throughout February each year and aims to reclaim the past, celebrate...

Skills for Care offer guide to new Social Care Certificate qualification

Skills for Care have published a new webpage, specification and FAQ guide to the new Level 2 Adult Social Care Certificate qualification. The new Social Care Certificate qualification, which is due to launch in June of this year, is based on the existing Care Certificate standards. The specification for it has been developed by...

Skills for Care’s learning campaign returns for 2024

Skills for Care’s successful learning campaign is returning for 2024 to inspire social care workers to ‘Keep learning for success.’ The campaign first ran in January – March 2023 to highlight how ongoing learning and development is “absolutely vital” for social care staff at all levels, and is being repeated this January and February....

New Good and Outstanding Care guide launched by Skills for Care

Skills for Care has launched an updated edition of its Good and Outstanding Care guide. The national workforce development charity partnered with The Outstanding Society to update the guide ahead of changes being made to Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspections. Outstanding care guide shaped around new CQC inspection framework Numbering 300 pages, the comprehensive...

One million people complete Oliver McGowan eLearning

Over one million people have now completed the e-learning segment of the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism. The “significant milestone” comes one year after the Oliver McGowan e-learning package was launched and seven years after Oliver’s tragic death in November 2016. The e-learning programme, which forms the first part of...

New campaign supports digital confidence in social care

Skills for Care have launched a new campaign to improve digital confidence among social care workers. The workforce development charity is running its new campaign throughout November and December to support people working in the social care sector to feel more confident with using digital technology. Skills for Care hope that the ‘Improving digital...

Training key to retaining care staff

Skills for Care has published its annual report into the state of the adult social care sector, and it reveals key factors for retaining care staff, including access to training and development. The annual State of the Adult Social Care Sector and Workforce in England report covers the period from April 2022 to March...