This April Skills for Care are Celebrating Social Care and recognising the dedication, compassion and hard work of the sector. The #CelebratingSocialCare campaign is now in its fourth year, after being launched for the first time by Skills for Care in April 2022. The workforce development charity says the annual campaign celebrates the amazing...
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...
CQC community mental health survey finds poor care
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) recently published the results of its 2023 Community Mental Health Survey, which revealed that people’s experiences of community mental health services are generally poor. The watchdog says that the survey, which received feedback from 14,770 people who received treatment for a mental health condition between 1st April and 31st...
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 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...
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...
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...
Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training ‘vitally important’
NHS England have developed a powerful video animation to help the health and social care workforce understand the importance of the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training package. It has been made available as the Department of Health and Social Care runs a consultation on its draft code of practice for the training. The Oliver McGowan...
Annual report shows social care workforce is growing again
Skills for Care have published their annual report into the state of the adult social care workforce in England, and it reveals that it has started growing again but will continue to face challenges posed by an ageing population. The Size and Structure of the Adult Social Care Sector and Workforce in England report...
New CQC public engagement strategy
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has published its new public engagement strategy setting out how it will listen, inform and involve people in its work. Supporting the organisational strategy previously published by the regulator in 2021, the new strategy also sets out how the CQC will work in partnership with organisations that represent people....
New guiding principles for delegated healthcare tasks
Skills for Care has published new guiding principles and supporting resources for the completion of delegated healthcare tasks. The workforce development charity for adult social care has worked with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and other partners to co-develop the voluntary guiding principles. The principles, which will support person-centred, safe and...
CQC says oral health care has improved in care homes
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has reported an improvement in the state of oral health care in care homes in England. The health and social care watchdog has published a follow-up to their first review of oral health in care homes, carried out in 2019, which reveals that a number of recommendations have been...
Skills for Care are #CelebratingSocialCare this April
This month, we’re joining Skills for Care in Celebrating Social Care and recognising the vital work carried out by the sector. The national workforce development charity is celebrating the remarkable people who work in social care and is encouraging others to join in their celebrations throughout April. They want to shine the spotlight on...
Six figure fine for health board that failed to follow safe working practices
A health board has been fined six figures after a patient died while being treated in hospital as a result of care that fell “below the required standards.” NHS Highland was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for failing to follow safe working practices in relation to the death of 78-year-old Colin...