The care exchange from Skills for Care

S2 E4: I’m handy with a drill - Skills for Care | The care exchange

Series 2 Episode 4:  I’m handy with a drill

Hear from Becky Coles who in 2020 became the youngest CQC registered manager of a newly built respite service. Becky shares her career journey, from work experience aged 15 through a range of roles via apprenticeships, to becoming a registered manager. She also talks to us about what it’s like to build a brand-new facility (hard hat included!), build up a team which feels like a family and develop local connections. 

Resources

• Workforce intelligence team: Our workforce intelligence team work with the data collected in Adult Social Care Workforce Data Set (ASC-WDS) and share intelligence and insight into the sector. They produce various reports that help identify what the adult social care workforce in England looks like today and what it might look like in the future including information on registered managers. 
• ASC-WDS: is an online data collection service that covers the adult social care workforce in England. Join over 20,000 care providers already using the free ASC-WDS online service and discover all the benefits it can have to our sector and your organisation.
• Think Care Careers: find out more about careers in social care.
• Registered manager networks: We support over 140 local networks across England. Our networks are a place for managers to come together with other managers in their local area and share guidance and experiences and provide support. 
  

S2 E3: Fly your wings - Skills for Care | The care exchange

Series 2 Episode 3: Fly your wings

Mark Topps was a registered manager for six years, and in this podcast he reflects on his learnings during that time including the importance of sharing, making the role what you want it to be and having a good work-life balance.

Mark discusses the importance of standing up for what you believe and challenging things you don’t agree with. He also shares his top tips for using social media to network, find support and latest guidance. 

Resources

• Learning from events: this 35-minute, digital interactive learning module is designed to support managers and leaders in all adult social care settings to carry out learning reviews. Find out more about the module. 
• Putting the social media in social care: This blog talks about how social care providers can use social media for their organisation. Read the blog.
• Social care managers Facebook group: used every day by managers to support one-another by sharing advice, guidance and experiences. Join the Facebook group. 

S2 E2: The snow globe effect - Skills for Care | The care exchange

Series 2 Episode 2: The snow globe effect

Martyn Dawes, registered manager and author, talks about how we all have a tendency to overthink things. He believes that for managers in stressful situations it’s important to stop, step back and create time to reset and wait for the answers to come. He also stresses the importance of making the right decisions, against making the easy decisions. 

Resources 

• Wellbeing resource finder: find trusted resources to support your own and others wellbeing. Access the wellbeing resource finder.
• People performance management toolkit: Managing people performance well has a big impact on the quality of care your service provides. It is key to motivating, supporting and encouraging your staff.  Find out more about our people performance management toolkit.
• Martyn Dawes – The Overwhelmed Manager. Find out more about Martyn’s book. 

S2 E1: Springing out of bed in the morning - Skills for Care | The care exchange

Series 2 Episode 1: Springing out of bed in the morning  

Guest Kate Terroni, CQC Chief Inspector for Adult Social Care, talks about the sleepless nights she suffered before her first CQC inspection. She discusses how leadership is a privilege, how happy workers equal high-quality care and the importance of keeping well. Kate also discusses coproduction and it's importance. 

Resources

• Registered manager networks: Join a local network where you can connect with other managers at a local level, building a supportive network and sharing best practice and learning. Find out more. 
• Support for registered managers: At Skills for Care, we aim to provide as much dedicated support and information for our registered managers and front-line managers as we can. Some of the things we have available to help include: 
  • Social care managers Facebook group: used every day by managers to support one-another by sharing advice, guidance, and experiences. Find out more  
  • Registered manager membership: as the membership organisation for registered managers, we can support you with exclusive resources, discounts and a monthly newsletter to help you keep up-to-date with sector developments and best practice and share ideas with like-minded peers. Find out more 

S1 10: Everything is solvable - Skills for Care | The care exchange

Series 1 Episode 10: Everything is solvable

Hosts Ali and Pia reflect on the amazing managers who have shared their experiences and tips throughout the series. The conversation includes common themes that have emerged, highlights some of the useful suggestion’s guests have made and discusses how they relate to the new CQC strategy.

We’re extremely grateful to all the managers who have contributed to this first series of ‘The care exchange’ and celebrate the incredible work being done every day by registered managers across the country. The Care Exchange will be back with series two in October 2021. 

Resources

• Find your locality manager - as well as running workshops and networking events, locality managers can work with you to understand your organisation and facilitate access to our bespoke services.
• Support for registered managers - As the membership organisation for registered managers, Skills for Care’s support will help you with the issues you face on a day-to-day basis.
• Join a local network where you can connect with other managers at a local level, building a supportive network and sharing best practice and learning. Find out more.
• Registered manager webinars cover a range of topics to support managers and their services. They are 30-minutes long and are delivered to a live audience and recorded for further viewing.
• Wellbeing resource finder - find wellbeing resources that have been selected as particularly relevant for the social care sector. All the resources are from Skills for Care’s trusted partners and have been grouped into the topics. You can filter your results to reduce time and energy searching for resources for yourself and others.
• Delivering good and outstanding care - Our ‘Good and outstanding care guide’ shares recommendations and best practice from 'good' and ‘outstanding' rated services, under each area of inspection. You can use the guide to benchmark what you're doing now and decide where to make improvements.

S1 E9: Just try to add lemon curd - Skills for Care | The care exchange

Series 1 Episode 9: Just try to add lemon curd

Azhar Juri talks about being a mental health nurse and registered manager of a residential care home for people with enduring mental health issues. 

Azhar shares their thoughts on developing a positive culture to support staff “to be the best they can be”, being honest with yourself and how WhatsApp is a lifesaver. We also talk about Azhar’s very personal journey and how Bollywood dancing changed everything.

Resources

• Mental health: our website has information on the skills and knowledge that staff who work in mental health services need, including the ‘Mental Health Core Skills Education and Training Framework’ that can help you to design and commission high quality training that meets the needs of the people that you support.
• Equality and diversity: our resources help to develop awareness of the standards on equality and diversity to allow you and your team develop an inclusive and confident approach to diversity. Take a look at our ‘Confident with difference’ resource.  

S1 E8: Oh lovely, we’re home - Skills for Care | The care exchange

Series 1 Episode 8: Oh lovely, we’re home

Debbie Dry, registered manager of Windsor Lodge, a small care home for older people in Buckinghamshire talks about residents being at the heart of everything and how that drives her desire to constantly improve quality. She explains how she ensures that any training her staff do, is a learning opportunity for everyone and has an impact on the care delivered. Find Windsor Lodge Care Home on Facebook.

Resources

• Leadership Qualities Framework: describes the attitudes and behaviours needed for high quality leadership at all levels. 
• Learning from events digital module: This 35 minute, interactive module is designed to support managers and leaders in all adult care settings carry out learning reviews. Learning reviews are an approach that bring people together to holistically explore an adverse event or near miss. They allow teams to explore different perspectives and create a positive action plan that supports individuals and seeks to avoid repeat incidents. You can claim £100 from the Workforce Development Fund for every employee who completes the module.

S1 E7: Can I run something past you? - Skills for Care | The care exchange

Series 1 Episode 7: Can I run something past you?  

Our guest Joseph Hughes is from City Care Partnership. He is the registered manager of two outstanding rated services that support people with learning disabilities.

He explains that managers don't have to be the best at everything and shouldn't be afraid to ask for help. Joseph discusses how he wants his workforce to feel valued, comfortable, well trained and all with funded walking boots!

Resources

• Learning disability webpage and newsletter - we have a range of resources that explain what skills and knowledge workers need to support people with a learning disability, their carers and families, and how adult social care employers can develop their staff. Find out more and sign up to the newsletter for regular updates.
• Supporting individuals with face coverings and other COVID-19 related challenges: our guide sets out how to support people with learning disabilities and autistic people with some of the current COVID-19 challenges. You can also find a range of resources which include easy read documents, videos, social stories, and webinars - Find out more.
• Delivering good and outstanding care: our ‘Good and outstanding care’ range draws on practical examples from Care Quality Commission (CQC) reports and regulated providers, to share best practice, help you prepare for inspection and improve your service. The range includes free online guides, practical seminars and consultancy, and tailored support - See the resources.
• Registered Manager Network: Thousands of managers attend the local networks that we support across England. At each network, managers share knowledge, hear from guest speakers and access peer support. Our networks are now being delivered virtually and through WhatsApp groups. Stay in touch with each other during these challenging times and join your local network today. 

S1 E6: It‘s your time to shine - Skills for Care | The care exchange

Series 1 Episode 6: It's your time to shine

We’re joined by Karyn Ross who is the registered manager of the Shared Lives scheme in Coventry. Karyn’s service has received an outstanding CQC rating in her last inspection and she shares how she used her mantra ‘plan, invest and record’ to prepare.

Karyn discusses promoting personal relationships, student placements  bringing new ideas and why her team are always open to learn new ways of working and continuing to improve.

Resources

• Good and outstanding care guide: Karyn talks about how she used Skills for Care’s ‘Good and outstanding care guide’ when she prepared for her latest CQC inspection.
• Skills for Care has resources on supporting personal relationships, developed in partnership with CQC:  the resources will help you to think about what your workforce needs to know and understand about personal relationships, and how they can create a training plan.

S1 E5: You can’t juggle all the balls - Skills for Care | The Care Exchange

Series 1 Episode 5: You can’t juggle all the balls

Carly Rochester, manager of Lodge Group Care’s domiciliary home care service discusses her respect for home care workers, pandemic teamwork and how it’s so important to value your workforce. 

Carly explains the importance of using the workforce's different skills and how she has learned to delegate, let go of some responsibilities and trust and empower members of her team. 

Resources

• Partnership working: Our resource ‘An introduction to working with partners – a practical guide for social care managers’ would be really helpful if you’re thinking about partnership working. You can purchase a copy through our bookshop. 
  
• Delegated healthcare tasks: If like Carly your staff are providing more clinical tasks the delegated healthcare tasks resources can be helpful. The two short guides support decision making and provide information and guidance on delivering delegated healthcare tasks safely and competently.