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Newsletter July 07
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Surrey Care
www.surreycare.org.uk Newsletter Issue 10 July 2007
Supporting Social Care Providers in Surrey
Contact Details
Erica Lockhart Chief Executive Tel/Fax: 01372 360593 Mobile: 07738 227362 Email: Erica.Lockhart@surreycare.org.uk
Surrey Care Association
Lisa Mack SCA Administration Mobile: 07779 584397 Fax: 01252 782938 Email: Lisa.Mack@surreycare.org.uk
Surrey Care Association Ltd, PO Box 320, Leatherhead, KT22 2BG
SCA May Conference
Once again the SCA May Conference was a great success with over 120 delegates attending. We learnt a lot from sharing the experiences of Care UK in implementing their comprehensive software management tool. The investment in money and time is now paying dividends.
The Conference attracted over 120 delegates. Alan Thomson (below) spoke on tax.
SCA
and our work with
SCC
AQAA was the subject of a presentation from colleagues from Berkshire Care Association and also an update from CSCI. Nicola Anderson from Care Services Improvement Partnership (CSIP) gave providers hope that there would be a closer working arrangement with the Primary Care Trust and her offer to work more closely with Surrey on the major commissioning shifts was welcomed.
You will be aware of the many changes happening at Surrey County Council. SCA Board members discuss the work plans with SCC at a formal quarterly meeting with the Strategic Director of Families Andrew Webster, Heads of Service Dave Sargeant and Jon Muller, and Executive Member for Adults and Community Care Sally Marks. Recent matters discussed have included late payment of invoices, fee levels, cost model, procurement strategies, use of Training Strategy Grant, communicating with providers, revisiting the Concordat and the use of the Compact (for voluntary sector). These are big agendas and SCA directors are actively working on your behalf to take matters forward. SCA will be making a contribution to the planning and implementation of SCC’s Closer to Home programme Accommodation workstream. The Extra Care, Supported Living, In House Homes elements of the programme aim to offer positive choices to vulnerable adults and young people by increasing housing care and support options in non-institutional settings.
Who would have thought tax would prove a popular seminar topic? However, Alan Thomson from accountants Chantry Vellacott gave us a lively presentation, highlighting key points, which was very well received.
SCA November Conference - see Diary Dates - back page
Working together across the South East
Care Associations across the South East have been meeting recently through the SECAS (SE Care Advice Service) project. Some smaller Associations are working towards joining together, as we did in Surrey a few years ago. Others are looking to develop further with paid officer support. What we all have in common is shared issues and challenges as social care providers in the South East. Taking this into account, and also mindful of an increasing regionally-based focus for funding and workforce development, we are now exploring the potential for establishing ourselves as a
■
formal organisation to share ideas and to take opportunities to bid for regional funding. If you have businesses or organisations elsewhere in the South East and want to be put in touch with Care Associations in those areas, please speak to Erica Lockhart for contact information.
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See Inside:
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SECAS in Surrey
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Skills for Care - South East
Learning Disability Workshop
National Training Strategy Grant
SECAS in Surrey
SECAS (SE Care Advice Service) is providing impartial brokerage to help employers develop their workforce and access the learning and training they need. So far, 31 organisations in Surrey have taken up the opportunity to work with SECAS Advisors to profile the skills of their workforce and to access training and funding to address skills gaps. Feedback from employers shows they find the Personal Development Plans generated by SECAS give them clear evidence of the nature and size of skills gaps that they were aware of, but previously couldn’t quantify. However, employers are reporting confusion about what training is mandatory and how often it should be updated. Through SECAS, SCA is working with employers, training providers, Skills for Care and the Learning and Skills Council to address these issues. SECAS is free to employers (you must be a small / medium sized business) and is provided by SCA in partnership with South East Skills for Care. Contact Sarah Pearce, SECAS Project Manager on 07877 578018 or email sarah_t_pearce@yahoo.co.uk
News from
■ Our business is focused around meeting the needs of service users and their carers, so a report commissioned to find out what was happening in Surrey to support staff training has produced some excellent examples of good practice and guidance for working with service users and carers in training. A major conference was held on 5th July with 95 participants representing care providers, training providers, people who use services and carers. SfC board member Anne Pridmore opened the day highlighting that service users were no longer just recipients of services but were increasingly employers. services and carers to influence social care training and workforce developments”. Presentations from the day are on the SCA website under Downloads. ■ Calling all Assessors in Surrey – the Assessor Network has been relaunched with Godalming College CoVE (Centre of Vocational Excellence). A full programme of free CD training is being offered. For further information about any of the workshops or to join the network, please email elainestaff@godalming.ac.uk or call 01483 423292. ■ New pages on Skills for Care work in Surrey are now on our website www.surreycare.org.uk (look on menu for Skills for Care). Find out who your representatives are on the Surrey Skills for Care group. Any questions, contact Erica Lockhart who coordinates Skills for Care activities in Surrey, supporting Andrew Lord who is the Chair. ■ Wanted – Care Ambassadors! – our new training programme based on Train the Trainer will happen in September. See our flyer in this newsletter for what's involved.
Sally Jagger consultant and Anne Pridmore SfC England board member representative for disabled people as employers
Her introductory remarks stressed “the importance of people working in social care to increase involvement of people who use
Surrey chef wins national competition
Congratulations to Richard Marsh, chef manager at Broome Park nursing home, who has won a silver medal at the Sodexho 2007 Salon Culinaire competition. The live event is designed to showcase the talents of Sodexho’s staff and to encourage them to be creative at every level. As a result of this win, Richard will be entered in the company’s annual Star Awards in November. Mike Choy, proprietor at Broome Park said “We were delighted but not surprised by Richard being awarded this prestigious accolade. His performance at work is over and above the call of duty. He produces quality food in line with our residents’ nutritional needs and this has enhanced their daily lives.”
Workshop on major changes to Learning Disability provision
A full house at the workshop held at the Grange Centre on 28th June acknowledged the importance of understanding the major changes happening in the LD sector. The packed programme of speakers shared a wealth of knowledge and practical experience. If you weren’t there you missed an important opportunity to see how the shape of provision will impact on your business and the potential challenges, as well as opportunities that it brings. We will be arranging further workshop sessions with Surrey County Council (SCC) and Surrey PCT. Workshop sessions covered the implementation of the South East Cost Model, details of which will be sent
LD workshop audience listening intently to one of the presentations
out shortly to Learning Disability services. SCA has given feedback on this model and some changes have been made, but it is a key part of SCC’s future procurement strategy, and those providing services to the council will be required to complete it. Further information about the model can be found on www.sece.gov.uk Presentations from the workshop can be downloaded from our website www.surreycare.org.uk
We b s i t e t ra f f ic
We are delighted that so many employers and staff are now turning to our website for the latest information on training and funding. There were nearly 4,000 visits to our home page in the first six months of this year, which shows a considerable increase on last year. Over half our web visitors clicked through to the Downloads pages to access presentation notes and flyers, with one in three clicking
through to training and/or news pages. Latest news on the Stop Press pages also attracted over one thousand visitors. Our website is updated regularly, so you can be sure of accessing the most up-to-date information for you and your staff. Visit www.surreycare.org.uk
STOP PRESS: see the latest funding sheet under Funding.
Launch of Epsom Downs Business Centre
www.andynewboldphotography.com
4th July saw the launch of the Epsom Downs Business Centre, a new employer services division of NESCOT college. We heard from Duncan Ballatyne OBE, entrepreneur of Dragons Den fame, about how he made his first millions from the sale of Care homes, and Chris Banks CBE, Chair of the Learning and Skills Council who talked about their work in supporting employers. Erica Lockhart receives a signed copy of Duncan Ballantyne’s Representing SCA and Skills for book “Anyone can do it”. Care, Erica Lockhart was the first to ask a question about how the LSC were addressing the issue of Sector Skills Agreements non-eligibility and previous level 2 A small number of employers attended the qualifications preventing employers taking event to discuss the priorities for workforce up funding opportunities. Chris Banks could development in the years ahead. This was a make no promises as this is a Treasury very fruitful session and we expect to hear decision but he did agree to pursue the by the autumn how these priorities will be issue. Representatives from other sectors reflected in Skills for Care business plans in also spoke up on what is a common the region and here in Surrey. problem here in Surrey.
Skills for Care TSI update
The SCA Skills for Care funding is being confirmed for 2007/08. We are waiting for the final figures but expect it to be similar to last year at around £183,000. For the first time we were not able to meet all claims during the year, despite an extra payment from Skills for Care. Some employers have had their claims returned as, unlike in previous years, we were unable to secure the shortfall in funding from SCC. So the message remains – submit throughout the year and do not wait until the year end by which time all the money may have gone!
Photo: Andy Newbold
National Minimum Data Set (NMDS)
SCA now has a small team of Advisors who are contacting employers by telephone to offer them assistance to complete their NMDS Organisation Questionnaire. For employers engaged with SECAS, their SECAS Advisor will be able to assist them to complete this. Employers who are intending to claim Skills for Care TSI funding (£75 per completed NVQ unit), will now need to enter their organisation NMDS reference number on their claim form. This number is issued by Skills for Care upon receipt of a correctly completed NMDS Organisation Questionnaire. Employers should complete a Questionnaire for each service unit registered with CSCI. If you are in the process of completing your Questionnaire, please send it via John Adcock the project coordinator, who will provide a quality check before sending it directly to Skills for Care. If you have already completed your Questionnaire please let John know so we can record your completion. This will enable SCA to draw down more funding. If you would like assistance to complete your Questionnaire, please contact John Adcock on 07974 030096, email johnladcock@hotmail.co.uk If you would be interested in attending an NMDS workshop, please contact Lisa Mack on 07779 584397, email Lisa.Mack@surreycare.org.uk
National Training Strategy Grant News
We are pleased to report that the 2006/07 allocated grant of £817,153 for the independent sector for was all spent. A recent SCC report indicated that: ■ £160,400 was spent on the mandatory training programme ‘Underpinning Knowledge Training’ with 78 workshops and 1170 staff benefiting ■ £50,000 spent on the grant to SCA to support our work, with a further £24,525 allocated to admin support for TSI funding from Skills for Care ■ £608,869 was spent on payments direct to 119 care providers for in-house and other training: 27% were from charities, 70% from private, 2.5% from voluntary and 1% from statutory ■ Additional funding went to support events like the Showcase and Skills Festival and smaller projects. For 2007/08 an initial budget allocation of £750,000 has been set. After consultation with many employers at events and through Skills for Care, SCA submitted proposals for over £1million to fund a range of workforce development activities. SCA are in the process of working with SCC on the priorities for using this money, which also includes an increased grant to support the work of the Association. We know that you are keen to see the mandatory training programme again, and value the funding support for in house training and other courses, as well as the administration costs of the TSI partnership (£75 unit through Skills for Care). We also have on our list Train the Trainer and specialist trainer updates, English and communication skills, assessor training, funding towards the Showcase event plus lots of other requests. As soon as agreement is reached we will let you know via the website and at our events and in the newsletter. Don’t forget to register on the home page of our website for updates.
Capital Grants
Fifty three companies have benefited from this new grant of £1,095,000 from Dept of Health. It was allocated to local authorities to enhance the physical environment in care homes registered to provide nursing or personal care where the majority of places are for older people. Many applicants were disappointed or didn’t receive as much as they hoped but the priority was given to those with the highest percentage of residents funded by Surrey County Council, or those with dementia. As so often happens, there just wasn’t enough money to meet all the bids. SCA were involved in the process of selection and found it a very fair one. Visits will be made in the autumn to care homes who received funding to see what a difference the funding has made. We do not know if this grant will be available in future years.
Dom Care Network 4th July
Domiciliary care providers packed into the Conservatory at Whiteley Village to hear Mark Glaister, Head of Families Procurement, and Jon Muller Head of Older Peoples Services talk about the major changes ahead. 81% of all provision is now in the independent sector with the intention to increase this to 85% this year. There are 141 suppliers to SCC and this number cannot be sustained. 20% provide most of the care hours purchased by SCC. Mark very clearly explained the process that will be used in around two month’s time – they will be tendering for a preferred supplier list and also identifying providers in geographical zones. Providers will be tiered on price and quality using a balanced scorecard approach. There will be training sessions on the process in the next few weeks. The tendering will be done on a reverse auction basis. Our next Dom Care Network meeting is planned for 11th October. We have also invited Jon Muller and Mark Glaister to attend these meetings on a regular basis. We will be informing providers as we hear more information, so please ensure Lisa Mack has your email address to speed communication in the coming weeks.
Training Update
■ The good news is that we still have funding left to meet your staff needs for Level 2 qualifications and our contract is being continued for 2007/08. We know there are some problems for some staff with the eligibility criteria but do talk to us as we may be able to help with other funding sources. Don’t forget, it’s not just Level 2 in Health and Social Care – we can also help with Skills for Life, IT, Customer Service, Business Admin, Team Leading, Level 3 for those needing it for their job role, and also for support staff. Contact Erica Lockhart or Lisa Mack ■ Your staff not eligible for Train to Gain funding? - then try the ESF Learning Hub project which has a waiver for non EU staff needing NVQ Level 2 and also offers the added benefit of Skills for Life training. Contact Ashna Khan on Tel: 020 8453 5376 Email: akhan@thelearninghub.co.uk
New for staff aged over 50
Retirement
■ A wealth of training opportunities as part of this over 50’s research project called ReGROW funded by LSC and ESF. More information on our website www.surreycare.org.uk. Although this is an ESF project, it can also accept non EU resident learners but they must be aged over 50. Staff must be employed but it may be possible to offer volunteers spare capacity places when available. Contact Vijay Sahota on Tel: 020 8746 9031 Email: Vijay_Sahota@a4e.co.uk
Our best wishes for a happy retirement go to Ros Black, Chief Executive of Cherchefelle Housing Association. Tim Waller, SCA Chairman took the opportunity to thank Ros for her great contribution during her time as SCA board representative for Supporting People Providers.
in brief…
Petition for senior carers
Immigration Matters On-line reports that it is proving impossible to get new work permits or renew existing ones for those with visas as Senior Carers. See the full story on the website under News Stories. An online petition has been set up - check out our “Save Our Senior Carers” on-line petition to the Prime Minister at http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/SaveCarers/ and if this directly affects you, bring it to the attention of your local MP. With 70% of our Care workforce in Surrey being migrant workers this must affect you!
Dates for your Diary
SCA November Conference date
15th November is date for the next SCA Conference - with a difference. Subject to funding and sponsorship, we are intending to have a mini Showcase event for Surrey, with keynote speakers and a range of seminars. We are looking for sponsors, so do let us know if you are interested or can introduce us to likely sponsors.
AGM date and venue
Note the evening of 3rd October in your diary for our SCA AGM. Venue to be notified but to include buffet supper and the chance to network.
Event Skills for Care South East AGM Training Providers Network SCA AGM Dom Care Network SCA Conference & Showcase Date & Time Venue
Discounts on your supplies
Costs are rising, so to support you in keeping down your costs we have negotiated discounts with suppliers through a partnership with Spectrum. You need to register as a SCA purchaser to access the discounts. Even some of those who prided themselves on having done good deals with their suppliers have found themselves very surprised as the discounts on offer. Call Jackie Spooner at Spectrum on 020 8605 0546
25 September 10.00am – 1.00pm TBC - Surrey 26 September 10.00am – 1.00pm Nescot 3 October 7.00pm 11 October 1.30pm – 4.00pm 15 November 9.30am – 4.00pm TBC Whiteley Village TBC
Accredited Training Provider Guide
Enclosed with this newsletter is a copy of the new Guide to Accredited Training Provision in Surrey which we hope you will find useful. The guide has been produced by SCA with funding from the Learning and Skills Council Surrey. The guide is also available on our website under Downloads.
Please contact Lisa Mack for all the above events to register a place via email: Lisa.Mack@surreycare.org.uk
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