CMM - The Training Edit

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THE TRAINING EDIT

Finding and keeping people

Building a workforce plan

Digital skills training

Technology to improve efficiency

Developing future leaders Succession planning strategies

Bereavement training Supporting people with complex needs CMM The Training Edit

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WELCOME Welcome to CMM: The Training Edit, produced exclusively for the Care Show 2023. In this supplement, we bring you advice, tips and updates from some of the sector’s leaders working in the industry.

The adult social care workforce in England started growing again in 202223, according to data from Skills for Care.

The annual Size and Structure of the Adult Social Care Sector and Workforce in England report found that the number of filled posts – roles with a person working in them – increased by around 1% (20,000) between April 2022 and March 2023. The previous year, the number of filled posts fell for the first time on record, by around 4% (60,000).

The number of vacant posts includes posts vacant in the short term due to recent or anticipated staff turnover, posts created by employers who want to expand their businesses, as well as more persistent vacancies where the offer to potential staff is not sufficiently competitive in the local labour market. Some vacant posts may be covered by agency staff. It’s no surprise that investing in learning and development opportunities supports staff retention because workers feel valued and

can see that you’re investing in them. It might be the last thing on your to do list, but a simple workforce plan can help you look at capacity and capability across your organisation. On page 4, Jim Thomas, a Social Care Workforce Development Expert, shares what providers can do to ensure their workforce have the appropriate skills and knowledge to keep delivering quality care.

Social care charity, Community Integrated Care, has had its fair share of experiences implementing new technologies and systems across the organisation. Joanna Scammell, Managing Director for Technology Enabled Care (TEC) at the charity, outlines her top tips for getting digital skills training right on page 7 and shares essential resources to support with funding and wider support on emerging digital systems.

When a senior Chief Executive receives a resignation, the question they might ask themselves is – did we expect this to happen and were we prepared for the impact? On page 10, Samantha Crawley, Chief Executive of Bracebridge Care Group, shares her advice for ensuring a smooth transition at senior management level in your organisation and the steps that

providers need to take to develop people to become leaders and to understand what it takes to be a great leader.

Finally, CMM is always keen to highlight new and emerging training offerings and partnerships taking place in the sector.

With this in mind, we asked Clive Parry at the Association for Real Change (ARC) to tell us more about a new training offering on loss and bereavement and supporting people with learning disabilities and autism. He explains how co-production was at the centre of developing the training on page 12.

If you’re still looking for information, the resources on page 14 should help you to find further help. You can also sign up for free to the CMM website, where you’ll find thought-leadership on various topics, as well as a directory of organisations that specifically support adult social care providers.

We hope this supplement proves a useful tool for you to take away and refer to, or just to read and gather ideas.

The CMM Team www.caremanagementmatters.co.uk @cmm_magazine

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Recruiting and retaining people is a big part of a manager’s work.

It’s one thing finding workers, but it’s another thing holding on to them. In this article, Jim Thomas, a Social Care Workforce Development Expert, outlines what providers should consider in relation to training to enhance retention.

There are three key elements that providers must consider when recruiting and retaining people in their organisation: Capacity, Capability, and Engagement. This article is taking a training theme, so I’m going to delve deeper into the latter two, but I wanted to firstly explain why drafting a robust workforce plan is so important.

It might be the last thing on your to do list, but a simple workforce plan can help you look at capacity across your organisation.

Divide your workforce plan into short- and medium-term objectives and have no more than four objectives.

Your objectives might include maximising your training budget by ensuring that you know how to access 4

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funding and resources from other local sources. For example, do your local social care or health commissioners support low-cost training initiatives and do you know how to get the most out of them for your organisation?

Has your local business enterprise team got access to resources that could help you meet your capacity needs?

Your workforce plan might include a review of your existing staff team to anticipate pressure points. Pressure points could include having a number of people approaching retirement.

This might lead you to think about who needs to develop the skills and knowledge in your existing team to take on the jobs of people retiring.

Your plan might look at how the needs of people you support could change over the next couple of years and what you need to do to make sure that your workers have the capacity

to work differently.

Thinking ahead about capacity won’t always be accurate; taking some time to think about it can help you anticipate some of the things you might need to do and how you might find the resources to do things outside of your existing training budget.

Capability Wouldn’t it be good if everyone who worked in your service and/ or came to work in your service already had all the knowledge and skills they needed to start working straight away? Sadly, this will never be the case.

There are three things you need to think about when you are looking at the capability of your existing workforce and anyone new that you might be recruiting.

1. The behaviours and values that each person demonstrates at work and how the group of workers they work with influence those behaviours and values.

Values-based recruitment is an important part of your recruitment process and your retention scheme. Enabling people to explore and test how their values support and enable their work on a regular basis can help people feel good about what they do, call out poor practice early, and help the team to have a common sense of purpose and identity. Never assume everyone has the same values and behaviours and always be aware of how values and behaviours that are not good can become established very quickly.

2. The knowledge and skills that people have learned working for you, and in other

social care roles, and the things they still need to learn.

A learning organisation values formal and informal learning at work all of the time. What this means in practice is that each worker should have a learning plan suited to their needs that’s reviewed at least once a year. Some of this learning will be formal courses and workshops. Some will be on the job learning that takes place on every shift. Never rely solely on online learning – an important part of learning is being able to challenge each other’s understanding of a subject in a safe environment with others.

One way to do this is to make learning part of your team meetings and have an extended team meeting at least six times a year, where you all learn something new together.

3. The knowledge, skills and experience people bring with them from jobs outside social care might have nothing to do with caring for people.

It’s important to consider these other skills because they can help the people you care for and the wider team.

Engagement In your organisation, there are two things you can do to

ensure that your team feels valued and supported.

1. Make sure everyone has access to regular supervision and an appraisal system that isn’t just about getting the paperwork filled in.

Supervision and appraisal should be a safe place for people to explore what is going well and what isn’t going well at work (and sometimes at home, too). It isn’t about agreeing a list of jobs that need to be done. It is about listening, reflecting and resolving issues together. When supervision is done well it can be a place where problems in the workplace can be resolved before they become a big problem. I would suggest having a performance management system in place that is open, honest and makes sure that people know where they stand (and are treated equally and fairly).

Social care organisations are one of the biggest users of external support to resolve worker performance issues.

Getting the best out of people can require you to have challenging conversations with colleagues and your wider team. You also need to make sure that you are acting within the framework of employment law. One of the best resources out there to help you understand this is the Skills for Care/NHE Employers ‘People Performance Management Tool Kit’.

The key performance things to remember are that you need to treat everyone in the same way, all of the time, and never use bullying or intimidation to get what you need doing done.

2. It’s important to remember that time spent engaging with other people and organisations is essential.

There are four different types of external engagements that are good to develop. Each of these will be more valuable to you at

different times. Never assume you need to give each one equal attention, or that over time the amount of attention you give to each one will ebb and flow.

Wider connections Local education and training providers Keeping in touch with local education and training providers will help you know how many people are coming through those courses and looking for jobs.

It will also give you a chance to influence the curriculum, making sure that what people are learning reflects the needs of local social care services.

Local commissioners Local commissioners will have a good idea about what kinds of services they are likely to be commissioning going forward and what sort of knowledge and skills workers might need to work in those services. By engaging with commissioners outside of contracts, you can make sure that commissioners understand your workforce challenges and what they might be able to do at scale to support you. For example, making sure that the bus stop outside your service isn’t closed, meaning workers who don’t drive are unable to get to and from work.

Other local service providers There will be some recruitment and retention challenges that will be best met by working together. For example, having common training standards for certain sorts of induction training, bidding for learning and development resources as a consortium, using your collective voice to influence local decision making that may impact on your ability to recruit and retain workers.

Other local businesses Outside of social care there will be business networks that have similar challenges to you and

access to different opportunities.

There may even be opportunities for work that cuts across organisational boundaries.

Explore the work of your local Chamber of Commerce and look at whether or not membership of this or similar trade bodies might help you.

There’s no magic solution What works for you will be different from things that work for others. The most important thing you can do to support your recruitment and retention is to stay flexible and adapt your approach to recruitment and retention as local circumstances change. Never feel you must chase every funding opportunity, or every new idea for recruiting and retaining people. Do the things that work for you, your team, and the people you all support and stop doing (or change) them when they don’t work. Above all, be true to your values and respect and value yourself and each and every person who works in your organisation – I guess you could call that sound leadership.

Jim Thomas is a Social Care And Health Workforce Expert. For many years he was the Head of Workforce Capacity and Transformation at Skills for Care. He now runs a small workforce development organisation providing bespoke support to people and organisations, helping them to get the best out of their existing workforce and build their future workforce. He works closely with national and local organisations on all aspects of workforce strategy, training and education. www.longhouseman.com

This publication reviews the evidence and provides very practical, accessible guidance to people struggling with this issue as to what the evidence says might work: https://impact.bham.ac.uk/our-projects/ask-impact-guides/recruitment-retention-support-answers/ CMM The Training Edit

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The Digital Journey: TRAINING THE WORKFORCE IN DIGITAL SKILLS

Joanna Scammell, Managing Director for Technology Enabled Care (TEC) at Community Integrated Care, explains how social care providers can promote the importance of digital skills to the workforce to improve efficiency.

From AI to software, digital systems and technologies have already altered the world in which we work and live. Every role in our sector has already been impacted and it feels like we’re only just scraping the surface of the potential benefits that harnessing these technologies can bring.

As an industry that provides over two million jobs across England and Scotland and supports over 800,000 people, embracing digitisation in social care is also top of the UK Government’s agenda.

The Government’s Digitising Social Care Programme has been created to accelerate the adoption of digital care technology that will enhance the quality, safety and efficiency of care delivery. Its ambitious goal of having over 80% of Care Quality Commission (CQC) registered providers move to digital social care records by March 2024, is just one of the many ways they’re urging providers across the country to embrace the benefits that technology can

bring to our practice.

Employed successfully, technology offers incredible potential to improve communication, efficiency and productivity – empowering our teams, and ultimately ensuring that our front-line colleagues have the tools to deliver the best support possible.

However, embracing digital transformation is nuanced and requires meticulous planning, empathetic leadership, and comprehensive training for all. The benefits of digitisation can only be unlocked if we get the foundations right – and a key step is ensuring comprehensive digital skills training for our front-line colleagues.

As a national social care charity, at Community Integrated Care, we’ve had our fair share of experiences implementing new technologies and systems across the organisation. We’ve found the following five top tips to be instrumental in getting digital skills training right:

1. Taking colleagues on the journey Central to a successful transition to digital systems, and positive engagement in any new training, is ensuring that colleagues understand the “why” behind what we’re asking of them. Often, new digital systems will reduce duplication and free up capacity so colleagues can do more of the work they’re truly passionate about, as well as providing more timely and accurate information.

There’s work to be done before any training is introduced, including communicating effectively with teams to make these benefits clear. Engaging a small focus group of colleagues to help define the advantages can also lead to a more successful roll out. This focus group can play a crucial role in incorporating new systems, envisioning how work will change as a result, and acting as a test CMM The Training Edit

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THE DIGITAL JOURNEY: TRAINING THE WORKFORCE IN DIGITAL SKILLS

> case for the design of training and

subsequent improvements.

Remember, front-line colleagues will have different views from those of managers or support service teams on what the benefits of new systems are, so it’s important to represent a range of perspectives. Ensure that you capture colleagues with varying experiences – it’s very true that some of your biggest sceptics can become some of your strongest advocates, so secure representation of these colleagues early!

Bringing colleagues on the journey to digitisation also means encouraging innovative thinking and facilitating open forums for sharing concepts, experiences and discoveries. Doing this will create a culture of innovation where everyone feels comfortable and empowered to share their own ideas. Some of the best ideas for improvement come from our front-line colleagues, who know the people we support inside out.

2. Know your colleagues’ core training requirements Before embarking on comprehensive training programmes, it’s important to recognise that not all colleagues possess the same levels of digital skills. Rolling out a complex suite of training materials won’t land well or effectively if some colleagues still need support mastering the basics.

Engage with your workforce to gauge their current skill levels, their enthusiasm for digitalisation, and their specific training needs. This is not always evident, and we find that spending some time shadowing how systems are currently used, or not, can tell us a lot about what skills gap exists.

Establishing a baseline is the starting point for effective upskilling.

There are some really great resources already available in this space that you can draw upon for support. For example, you can access free advice and resources through websites such as Skills for Care and Digital Social Care.

3. Do your research around funding When looking to invest in digital technologies and training, it’s important to do your research around funding. There are already several sources for digital skills

available for social care providers to draw upon. Two examples are the Department for Health and Social Care’s (DHSC) Workforce Development Fund with Skills for Care and the DHSC’s Digitising Social Care programme, which currently has funding available for digital care records.

Membership organisations such as the National Care Forum are also invaluable – their quarterly Digital Transformation Forum is a great session for sharing learning as well as discovering funding opportunities. As is its Digital Leadership Programme, held in partnership with Skills for Care, specifically designed for registered managers working in social care to build confidence and the ability to identify and embed digital technology in the delivery of support.

4. Get the most out of your digital partners When seeking technology suppliers, don’t underestimate the power of negotiation.

Enquire about training packages and ongoing support for digital record systems, for example.

If you’re already using a digital care record system, make sure you check for any existing resources that come with them; training materials are often readily available but may not be outwardly advertised. Don’t feel like you have to reinvent the wheel!

Creating bespoke training modules isn’t always viable and you may already have perfectly good resources at your fingertips.

Remember, if you develop something bespoke, then you’ll be responsible for updating it, even if a newer version of the system comes out that you do not control – this can often be costly and time consuming.

5. Developing and implementing effective training Finally, if you do decide to create your own training programmes in-house, take into account the requirements of your workforce.

Remember that front-line colleagues are often short on time and will likely be completing any training around their busy day-to-day roles, supporting people in service.

Create bite-sized, easily accessible modules that cater to colleague’s schedules. Even better, involve colleagues in the development process, as this will

make the training more personal and relevant to them – and you’ll also likely have some passionate advocates of the training that you create, who can support in engaging their peers.

To recap, our top tips: • Take colleagues on the digitisation journey with you.

• Don’t make assumptions about the skill level of your workforce – invest time in assessing baseline skill levels and continue to re-assess learning requirements.

• Explore funding options to support digital skills development.

• Check with future or existing digital partners for any training offerings they may be able to provide to avoid an unnecessary additional expense.

• Ensure any in-house training that you create is personal and accessible to your workforce.

Pioneering a digital future In embracing digitisation, we’re not only shaping a more efficient social care system but also empowering our workforce. The positive impact of investing in digital skills is evident, with the potential to free up our colleagues’ time to focus on the core of their role – empowering the people they support to live fulfilling lives – and enabling people to have more choice and independence.

While the road to a digitally empowered social care sector is not without challenges, the strides we’ve already made stand as testament to our sector’s commitment.

Yet, there remains a gap between governmental aspirations for digitisation and the lack of parallel funding. Whilst as I’ve mentioned previously, funding does exist, it does not yet reflect the scope of the changes required. Infrastructure, particularly robust Wi-Fi networks, are an essential cornerstone of successful digitisation, and without these foundations in place and a commissioning framework to support new models of care delivery, more complex technology cannot be implemented effectively. To fully realise the advantages of digitisation, sustainable financial support is imperative.

Joanna Scammell, Managing Director for Technology Enabled Care (TEC) at Community Integrated Care. Email: joanna.scammell@c-i-c.co.uk Twitter: @ComIntCare CMM The Training Edit

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SUCCESSION

PLANNING:

PREPARING YOUR TEAM FOR THEIR NEXT MOVE Succession planning enables chief executives to effectively plan for the future. In this article, Samantha Crawley, Chief Executive of Bracebridge Care Group, shares her advice for ensuring a smooth transition at senior management level in your organisation.

The first question in any succession or skills gap analysis being carried out is to ask yourself, ‘If (insert name) resigned, would I be surprised and do I have people identified to take on that role?’

When we receive ‘surprise’ resignations, we must ask ourselves as leaders how we are monitoring and engaging with our employees.

We need to dig into the reasons behind the ‘surprise letter of resignation’ so that we can set clear engagement plans for our employees, to ensure we are up to speed about their lives, their development needs and their career pathways.

There are times when something happens in a person’s life that impacts on their whole world and, in these circumstances, we can and do find people resigning so that they can take care of what is going on in their world. In some instances, this is appropriate but in other times there are ways to ease the burden and work with the individual, to enable them to remain in their role whilst dealing with what is occurring – either way, an immediate conversation at point of resignation will teach us all something. There are three golden rules: 10

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1. Never leave the exit interview until the day the person is exiting.

2. Ensure there is a clear succession plan in place.

3. Manage performance issues and remember this quote:

‘The culture of any organisation is shaped by the worst behaviour the leader is willing to tolerate.’ — Gruenter and Whitacker Succession planning coupled with training and development planning, enables us to plan the future, whilst delivering results in the here and now.

Talent management So, what is succession planning? Succession planning is a strategic process within organisations to identify and develop potential leaders for key roles, ensuring a smooth transition when current leaders retire, leave, and/or are promoted.

This is also an opportunity to ensure you have a clear plan for people who may not wish to develop into another or more senior role but can be identified in the ‘retain and motivate’ category and this is the core employee category.

I always use an example of Mama J who ran the laundry in one of our care homes with enthusiasm, hard work and real dedication. She never wanted to develop into another role and loved her role in the laundry – it was important that we identified this and ensured that we had a clear plan to retain and to keep her motivated to continue to enjoy her role within the organisation.

A high percentage of our teams are made up of people like J

and it’s essential we identify each one and ensure we have a plan to retain them in our teams. There are many HR/Talent grids available on the web – I use one which denotes the ‘Core’ team at the centre and how we need to ensure we have people in the ‘right’ category with the right plan in place for the individual.

We see time and again where an individual is excellent in a role, so they are promoted to a more senior role where they struggle, mentally, physically and emotionally – this is most often not the person’s fault – this is down to a failure to plan and develop people into their next role and ensure they have the tools to be able to successfully navigate the requirements of their new place in the organisation.

Succession planning can reduce this happening in your business.

Planning for success The key benefits of succession planning offer a smooth transition and ensures continuity by reducing disruptions during leadership changes. Talent development fosters employee growth and prepares them for higher/more responsibilities. It increases retention and employee engagement and loyalty, because they see opportunities for advancement and/or they are valued for their ongoing contribution to the organisation.

Here’s some key areas to break down the steps needed: Leadership culture: Foster a culture that values leadership development and succession planning. Make it an integral part of your organisation’s values and practices.

Identifying key roles: Determine critical positions that significantly impact on the organisation’s (or your home’s) performance and viability. Identify potential risks associated with leadership transitions and develop strategies and the people to mitigate them.

Cultural fit: Consider the cultural alignment of potential successors with the organisation’s values and mission. Ensure there is a values match.

Diversity and inclusion: Ensure that succession planning promotes diversity by identifying and nurturing leaders from various backgrounds.

Succession criteria: Define the specific skills, competencies, and experiences

required for each leadership role.

Emergency succession: Prepare for unexpected leadership vacancies by having contingency plans in place.

Identifying high-potential employees: Identify employees with the potential and readiness to assume leadership roles in the future.

Development plans: Create personalised development plans for employees to close skill gaps and prepare them for leadership roles. This may involve training, mentoring, stretch assignments, and cross-functional experiences. Where improvements are necessary – be clear about where they are and what the individual needs to achieve.

Training and mentoring: Consider what training, workshops and mentoring opportunities are needed to develop successors for leadership positions. Pair potential successors with experienced mentors or coaches who can provide guidance, share insights and offer advice on career development. Expose potential successors to different departments and roles to broaden their skill sets. We offer all our leaders an Audible subscription and share leadership books to listen to and to discuss in our groups.

Performance management: Regularly assess and provide feedback on the progress of potential successors to ensure they are on track. Use quantifiable metrics to measure the progress of potential successors. This helps track their development and readiness for leadership roles.

This is the area that will also help you build a plan with under performers who have potential but are not delivering what they can – having honest conversations about where an individual is on the matrix will help them see where they are and that there is a plan to help them improve.

Remember Pareto’s 80/20 law here! We could be spending 80% of our time with 20% of the people (generally the people who are under performing) – plan to address under performers so that you can spend most of your time nurturing talent and not dealing with people who do not want to perform or do their role.

Feedback and evaluation: Continuously evaluate the effectiveness of the succession planning process and make improvements as needed. Transparently communicate the succession plan to employees, ensuring clarity and reducing uncertainties.

Feedback loop: Regularly collect

feedback from both current leaders and potential successors to refine the succession process. Create a feedback loop that includes input from various stakeholders, including clients/residents/people including current leaders, HR, and potential successors. This ensures a well-rounded assessment of candidates.

Succession planning software: Utilise specialised software to help streamline the succession planning process, track development progress and manage candidate information. There are hundreds of succession planning templates online.

Holistic induction and onboarding: During the induction process, focus not only on the practical aspects of the job but also on the values and mission of your organisation. Emphasise the importance of the inclusive and supportive environment you are creating, ensuring that all team members truly understand and believe in the mission. Discuss succession planning in interviews, induction and onboarding – it’s important that everyone knows and is involved in the succession opportunities of your organisation.

Succession planning is crucial for maintaining organisational stability, minimising disruptions and ensuring business continuity. It helps avoid leadership vacuums and talent shortages that can arise when key individuals leave. It enables us to keep key players and ensure we continue to motivate our teams.

I’ll end with a quote from Simon Sinek: ‘The courage of leadership is giving others the chance to succeed, even though you bear the responsibility of getting things done.’

Want to know more?

In episode six of CMM OFF THE PAGE, we asked social care leaders why good leadership is crucial to creating the right culture in a care setting.

Podcast guest Samantha Crawley, Chief Executive of Bracebridge Care, said that showing vulnerability and humility as a leader is key. Samantha says leaders should be brave. Listen to the podcast via the CMM website: www.caremanagementmatters.co.uk/ podcast

Samantha Crawley is the Chief Executive of Bracebridge Care Group. Email: Samantha.crawley@bracebridgecare.org Twitter: @samanth52379864 CMM The Training Edit

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YOUR PATH TO MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Training to support people with loss and bereavement ARC England (the Association for Real Change) has joined forces with industry experts to develop new training around loss and bereavement and supporting people with learning disabilities and autism. Clive Parry, Director at ARC England, shares insights into the new training and highlights the importance of co-production when developing training workshops.

The ARC UK strategy, developed in the spring of 2023, places much more emphasis on the people who draw on support, especially in relation to the impact we want to have on their lives.

For some years now, our teams in Scotland and Northern Ireland have been working directly with people with lived experience and we have made it our priority to develop co-production in England. The new loss and bereavement course represents the first time we have offered scheduled training which has been co-developed, co-written and co-delivered by an expert by experience.

Taking a new approach In September 2022, ARC England met with social care consultant and trainer, Beth Britton, and MacIntyre’s Best Practice Manager, Nicola Payne. It was the start of an amazing partnership and our first adventure in co-produced and co-delivered training.

We knew about MacIntyre’s incredible Dying to Talk project, so they were the obvious choice when we wanted a new approach for the bereavement training. In May 2021, MacIntyre secured almost £170,000 of National Lottery funding for the project to test solutions to break down the barriers people with a learning disability experience regarding end of life care, dying and death.

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Beth and Nicola then introduced us to their colleague Jess Hiles, who draws on MacIntyre’s support. Jess is employed and paid for the work she does within MacIntyre’s health team. Using their experience gained from the Dying to Talk project, Jess, Nicola and Beth worked together over the following months to plan, design and refine the course.

The result is the interactive and accessible online workshop ‘Supporting People with Learning Disabilities and Staff Teams during Loss and Bereavement’.

Jess, Beth and Nicola began to deliver the training to staff working for learning disability and autism support providers in March 2023. They have attracted some excellent feedback and the workshop has become our most popular training course, with dates scheduled into 2024.

When we wanted to refresh our loss and bereavement training, we spoke to members about what they needed. It was clear that what staff and managers would find most valuable was training that focussed on practical ways to support people with learning disabilities and autistic people through grief and loss and, crucially, training that came from the perspective of people with lived experience.

We knew that we wanted to do much more to involve experts by experience in the design, writing and delivery of our training courses, because this approach brings

a richness, a depth and an authenticity grounded in the knowledge that only direct experience can generate.

What we did not perhaps fully understand was how the process would bring us closer to each other. This has created an even stronger sense that we are working in a partnership in which each person’s contribution is valued; this is the only way we want to develop and deliver training in the future.

Learning outcomes The course has been designed to be suitable for all front-line staff, managers and team leaders. The aim of the course is to provide opportunities for people to share their experiences and to learn from the training team and other attendees. In our approach to writing the content, we were always mindful that loss and bereavement is a sensitive subject, which is why we ensure that pastoral care is available to anyone who may feel distressed during the workshop.

In terms of content, the workshop session covers the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of breaking bad news, real-world experiences of loss, emotions and different types of loss, coping mechanisms and support ideas.

We also explain the stages of grief, grieving in different ways and working

with healthcare professionals’ families.

How staff might experience bereavement when a person in their service dies is also considered. In addition, we talk about how to support staff with personal bereavement and we provide resources to help.

The course aims to deliver a range of learning outcomes for participants, which include understanding why we should talk to people with a learning disability about loss and bereavement; and understanding the many different examples of ‘loss’.

For providers working with people with a learning disability or autistic people who are experiencing a bereavement, we would suggest you: • Make time to talk with the person – as Jess says, ‘don’t bottle it up!’.

• Use active listening techniques to really hear what the person is saying.

• Be aware that right now, the person might be processing a loss from many months or even years ago.

• Treat the person with respect by being honest with them.

Attendees will develop the practical skills needed to support a person with a learning disability with their loss and will have an awareness of a grief cycle and will feel

confident working with other professionals.

They will also feel more confident working with families who are bereaved and be able to support colleagues and teams through bereavement.

Better together The collaborative work we did alongside colleagues at MacIntyre is something we are especially pleased with and the charity’s Chief Executive, Sarah Burslem, also believes strongly in authentic co-production.

Sarah commented, ‘It is really important to us that the training we provide is designed and delivered by people who draw on our support, the experts. The perspective of people with lived experience is the vital ingredient to make the training authentic and capable of having a lasting impact. The icing on the cake for the loss and bereavement training has been the partnership with ARC England, an organisation that is values-driven and focused on change.’

Beth Britton summed up her experience by saying, ‘It’s been fabulous to work with Jess and Nicola on this training. Jess has taught me so much by sharing her experiences, outlook and emotions. It’s a

privilege for me to be a co-trainer.’

The course has now been delivered to individuals from many different organisations and backgrounds and the trainers contribute their own experience of bereavement. Such is the welcoming, safe and open atmosphere created by the team that participants regularly feel comfortable to share their own personal experiences of grief and loss.

The team is experienced in supporting participants with any difficult feelings that may arise and further support is always available to those who feel they need it.

One workshop participant said, ‘It’s been extremely useful learning from someone who has experience. I have gained skills and knowledge to feel confident and better equipped when having to support others during loss, bereavement and with their grief.’

As Jess wrote in a MacIntyre blog about meeting lots of new people on the training, ‘I’ve been nervous, scared… and happy.’

At ARC England, we are delighted with the success of the training and the experience of working with Beth, Nicola and Jess has been so enjoyable and productive that we are developing more co-produced training.

Keep an eye on our ARC’s training pages at https://arcengland.org.uk/scheduledshort-courses-workshops/ and ARC’s Twitter feed (@ARCEngland) to find out more.

Clive Parry is the Director at ARC England. Email: clive.parry@arcuk.org.uk Twitter: @ARCEngDirector

CMM The Training Edit

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RESOURCES Online

Associated Retirement Community Operators The main body representing housing with care providers in the UK. • Web: www.arcouk.org Association for Real Change A third sector and membership organisation supporting providers of services to people with a learning disability and/or autism.

Web: www.arcuk.org.uk Association of Mental Health Providers The leading representative body for voluntary, community and social enterprise mental health organisations in England and Wales.

Web: www.amhp.org.uk Care England Membership association body representing independent care providers.

Web: www.careengland.co.uk Care Management Matters Resource directory including employment law specialists, recruitment agencies and more, as well as thought-leadership articles on best practice in recruitment and retention.

Web: www.caremanagementmatters.co.uk Care Provider Alliance Brings together the main national associations, collectively representing the whole adult social care sector to ensure a co-ordinated response to the major issues that affect it.

Web: www.careprovideralliance.org.uk

Care Workers’ Charity Advancing the financial, professional and mental wellbeing of social care workers by making grants, signposting to resources and providing access to services.

Web: www.thecareworkerscharity.org.uk Care Quality Commission Information for care homes, home care companies, specialist colleges, extra care housing, Shared Lives schemes and supported living services.

Web: www.cqc.org.uk/guidance-providers/ adult-social-care The King’s Fund Explore a range of development courses, each one specifically designed for every step in your professional development.

Web: www.kingsfund.org.uk/courses National Care Association Representing small- and medium-sized care providers and affiliated local associations, National Care Association liaises with national and local Government and key stakeholder groups including the Care Quality Commission.

Web: www.nationalcareassociation.org.uk National Care Forum The membership organisation for not-for-profit organisations in the care and support sector.

Web: www.nationalcareforum.org.uk

CMM: A SERIES OF EXCLUSIVE EDITS COVERING ALL THE TOPICS THAT MATTER MOST TO CARE PROVIDERS To read and download, visit www.caremanagementmatters.co.uk/article/ @CMM_Magazine

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CMM The Training Edit

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence Evidence-based recommendations developed by independent committees, including professionals and lay members, and consulted on by stakeholders.

Web: www.nice.org.uk Registered Nursing Home Association The Registered Nursing Home Association is the only national association exclusively representing the interests of owners of SME care homes with nursing.

Web: www.rnha.co.uk Skills for Care On the Skills for Care website, you can find a range of resources and guides to support with your team’s development across a variety of areas. You can also find a directory of endorsed training providers offering specialist training for social care staff at all levels. • Web: www.skillsforcare.org.uk/Developing-yourworkforce/Developing-your-workforce.aspx Social Care Institute of Excellence (SCIE) CPD-accredited training, consultancy and free e-learning and videos.

Web: www.scie.org.uk Voluntary Organisations Disability Group VODG is a membership body representing over 100 organisations within the voluntary sector who work alongside disabled people.

Web: www.vodg.org.uk

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