A conference for health and social care professionals who can affect change in their workplace.

Date: Thursday 18 April 2013

Time: 9.30am (registration)– 4.30pm (lunch will be provided)

Cost: £50 per delegate

Venue: Somerset Cricket Ground, Taunton

In December 2012, the Government published its final report into the events at Winterbourne View Hospital. This conference will consider the impact of the findings of the report on care and support services, focusing on best practice for the social care workforce. The conference will feature a mix of interactive workshops and keynote speaker sessions on the following topics:
ƒƒrestoring self-determination

If you would like to attend the conference, please www.skillsforcare.org.uk/events to book a place.

Following last years' success with the WorldSkills competitions, the National Skills Academy for Social Care is encouraging employers and colleges to register staff who have demonstrated excellent skills and compassion whilst delivering care, to compete in the 2013 Caring Competitions.

On the National Skills Academy website there is a case study of the 2012 competitions which provides an insight into what is involved and the benefits of taking part.

This competition is an opportunity to showcase the high level of skills that social care has, so if you have an outstanding employee/learner that you think can take part please visit www.caringcompetition.com/news. The deadline for entry is 22 March 2013 with the heat locations to be confirmed at a later date.

If you're an employer keen to get started with the National Minimum Data Set for Social Care (NMDS-SC) then in just five minutes our new interactive e-guide can give you and your staff guidance and tips on how to do it. Once you're under way, you can visit the other bite sized sections of the e-guide to learn more about what you can get out of the NMDS-SC including how to use your data (best shown on our tailored NMDS-SC dashboard reports) to make informed business decisions or gaining eligibility to access funding.

For further information: https://www.nmds-sc-online.org.uk/eguide/Default.aspx

WIN a free Ipad!   2 Ipads to be won.  Complete the survey NOW!!

Information is key to the world in which we live and it is becoming increasingly important in the world of social care. In 2012 The Department of Health launched a key strategy paper, ‘The power of information: Putting all of us in control of the health and care information we need’.

This paper highlighted deficiencies within social care to use and share data and information to support the improvement of services and the experience for the service user. The way we use access, collate and use information is called ‘Informatics’. The paper expressed a vision to ensure that ‘informatics’ becomes a part of social care learning and development.

Skills for Care have been asked to carry out research to scope the roles currently employed in informatics in social care and to explore the need for further learning, qualifications or NOS in social care informatics for those in these specialist roles and indeed for the generalist social care worker who may still need to access and use information to support them in their roles.

We are therefore carrying out a public consultation to investigate the skills and knowledge to manage data, information and knowledge in social care for both the specialist and the generalist worker.

We really do need as many people as possible to respond to this survey and we are just as keen to hear from you whether you work specifically in information or whether you do not , even if this is the first time you have heard the term ‘Informatics’.

For this reason we are giving away 2 free iPads in a draw of those who respond. There will be one free for those in specialist roles and one for those in generalist roles.

There are 3 different surveys for 3 different types of role. Please select the survey that most closely describes your role. It should only take about 10 minutes.

• specialist worker within informatics/ information specialist operations in social care - https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/informaticsspecialist

• manager of a specialist informatics /information operations team in social care - https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/informaticsmanagers

• generalist worker in social care working outside specialist informatics operations – some example as might be residential manager, social care worker, residential worker, social worker, social work assistant, community care assistant, social care assistant, domiciliary care worker, day activities worker, or working in advice, guidance and advocacy, community support and outreach, employment support - https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/informaticsgeneral

Please note we you only need to complete this survey with regards to any aspect of your role that involves dealing with information, knowledge and data.

The closing date for replies is Friday 1^st March 2013.

In addition we are carrying out 5 public consultation events to investigate the skills and knowledge to manage data, information and knowledge in social care for both the specialist and the generalist worker.  If you would like to attend one of these events please email your full contact details, which venue you would like to attend and which session (e.g. AM or PM) you would like to attend to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it :

• 18^th February – London, Skills for Care offices (10am - 1pm or 1.30pm – 4.30pm )
• 1^st March – Birmingham (1.30pm – 4.30pm)
• 8^th March – Manchester (10am – 1pm or 1.30pm – 4.30pm)

It is really important that we have engagement from both commissioners of services and providers of services, large and small. We are very keen to hear from Local authorities, large providers and trade organisations about how they manage information, data and knowledge within their organisations.

A new way to see and use your NMDS-SC information.

Skills for Care has enhanced the NMDS-SC reporting offer, making the information derived from the NMDS-SC more accessible to all users.

The new dashboards, developed after extensive consultation with frontline employers, help users with a NMDS-SC account update the way they access and interpret NMDS-SC information.

Data is graphically presented in a new and easy to understand format with tailored interpretation, simple guidance and links to related resources. You can explore and customise a series of dashboards showing different topics including:

• ¡Recruitment & retention
• ¡Staff overviews
• ¡Workforce demographics
• ¡Pay
• ¡Qualifications and training
• ¡Local demand and intelligence

More information: http://www.skillsforcare.org.uk/research/N_M_D_S_-_S_C/dashboards.aspx

If you are not registered already then sign up at www.nmds-sc-online.org.uk

On the agenda this week: the Department of Health publishes a review of the service arrangements for providing information and advice to carers, and a new tool allowing users to search and compare any Care Quality Commission (CQC) registered home care, residential or nursing home provider is made available online at NHS Choices.

http://www.dh.gov.uk/health/2012/08/the-week-issue-259/

The Information Commissioner's Office has published 'A practical guide to IT security: Ideal for the small business', which covers topics such as physical security, anti-virus defences and employee awareness. The focus is on keeping personal data secure, so as to avoid a fine for a serious data breach, but much of it will help generally.

Source: http://voluntarynews.org.uk/news/2012/07/practical-guide-it-security

The latest local authorities' social care workforce report using data from Skills for Care's National Minimum Data Set for Social Care (NMDS-SC) has been designated as holding National Statistics status.

The 'Personal Social Services: Staff of Social Services Departments, England' report analyses the adult social care workforce in England's 152 local authorities, and is based on NMDS-SC information. The report was co-produced by Skills for Care and the Health and Social Care Information Centre.

'National Statistics' is the national standard for official statistics. The 'National Statistics' Quality Mark indicates that the statistics have been produced in accordance with a Code of Practice for Official Statistics. The Code of Practice requires the statistics to be produced, managed and disseminated to high professional standards. The statistics must be well-explained and meet users' needs. The 'National Statistics' standard has statutory backing.

The main findings of the workforce report are:

• As at September 2011 there were 160,300 jobs in adult social services departments in England which accounted for 9 per cent of all adult social care jobs.
• As at September 2011 there were 16,300 Social Worker jobs in adult social services departments. This figure was estimated to be virtually unchanged between 2010 and 2011.
• The majority (82%) of adult social services jobs in 2011 were carried out by female workers and 18 per cent were carried out by male workers.
• The average age of workers in adult social services jobs in 2011 was 47 years.
• The majority (88%) of adult social services jobs in 2011 were carried out by White workers with 12 per cent carried out by workers from Black and Minority Ethnic groups.

"Skills for Care is delighted that the report Personal Social Services: Staff of Social Services Departments, England, which has met the UK Statistics Authority's quality standards for production, management and dissemination, has been designated as National Statistics," says Skills for Care CEO Sharon Allen.

"Our local authority partners - the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services - can rely upon this comprehensive and robust workforce report to inform their workforce planning and development".

Skills for Care has a comprehensive offer of support for local authorities preparing to submit their NMDS-SC data in autumn 2012. For more information visit:

http://www.nmds-sc-online.org.uk/content/view.aspx?id=Local%20Authorities.

The latest issue of the NMDS-SC briefings series provides a spotlight on social workers and workforce planning and is the first time that a single job role has been analysed in this way in a published briefing. Using the NMDS-SC also means that the analysis is based on working social workers in the field - not just those registered as social workers.

See briefing at: http://www.nmds-sc-online.org.uk/research/researchdocs.aspx?id=1

Going for Gold AND Making Ends Meet

‘It’s More a Marathon than a Sprint’

Tuesday 16th October 2012, Arrivals from 9:00am for 9:55am Start – 4:15pm

BAWA 589 Southmead Road Bristol BS34 7RG

Keynote speakers include:

Andrew Kerslake (Institute of Public Care)  
Lucy Hurst-Brown (Brandon Trust)

For more information see attachement below for programme or visit www.careandsupportwest.co.uk

Attachments:

CSW Programme 16 Oct 2012-05 07 12.pdf

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