Supporting your development

Are you a registered manager working in social care? Do you want help in developing a CPD plan?

Mile are offering 1:1 CPD coaching conversations with our project manager who can help you to:  

• Assess your current CPD situation and identify your goals
• Help you to consider how you’ll achieve your goals and identify relevant resources

If you would like to book one of these free 1:1 sessions please book via:

https://calendly.com/milepathway

A guide for registered managers when investing in Continuing Professional Development (CPD).

The case for investing in your learning and development as leaders in the health and care system has never been stronger. There is clear evidence of the link between inspirational leadership and the overall quality of care across the health and care system. ‘High-quality care and skilled, confident leaders and managers go hand in hand.’

There is an abundance of management and leadership training, both sector focused and in business skills and this is a mix of both accredited and non-accredited provision. When you start looking for an opportunity that is right for you the choice can sometimes prove overwhelming. In addition, the day-to-day management of services and the changing landscape of health and care can make it challenging for you to create space in your day and to prioritise your own learning and development. 

To help you make the right choices there are some important things to consider:

Why is Continuing Professional Development so important for a registered manager?

Everyone working within health and social care is expected to undertake regular CPD. Successful managers and leaders lead by example and should therefore commit to their own development to create a culture of reflection and continuous improvement across their service. Identifying and prioritising protected time to do this can sometimes prove challenging amidst the reality of managing a busy service. When choosing a CPD opportunity, considering the impact on both your service and you will be a motivating factor.

The Adult Social Care Key Lines of Enquiry from the CQC identifies the importance of managers and leaders undertaking and evidencing their own CPD by asking,  

‘Do leaders have the skills, knowledge, experience and integrity they need to lead effectively – both when they are appointed and on an ongoing basis?.’

The leader is identified as key in creating a culture of continuous improvement and development across services and in providing evidence for ‘well-led’ at inspection. 

‘Over 90% of services rated good or outstanding for being well-led by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) were also rated good or outstanding overall.’

In considering both the personal and organisational impact of engaging in leadership and management CPD opportunities considering the following questions can support your choice of CPD:

• How will this learning opportunity support quality improvements within your service and in the quality of life for people accessing care and support? 
• How will it inform any regulatory requirements for both your own continuous professional development and any quality improvements in care? This can be used in both your PIR submission and for inspection purposes when considering ‘well led.’
• Are you modelling best practice to the staff team by creating a culture where continuous professional development is a core part of the quality assessment and assurance processes in your service?
• Will engaging in this CPD opportunity motivate you and support greater feelings of job satisfaction in your role?

Helping you return to study

Returning to study after a break can sometimes be quite daunting. You may find the autonomy of learning as a professional very different to the more directed kind of learning you experienced at school or college. As such, it may be helpful to look at the current skills and resources you have and identify any gaps where support may be needed. Considering some of the following factors beforehand should enable you to complete your learning more confidently:

• Completing a skills assessment to Identify your strengths as well as any skills gaps

A skills assessment can be helpful at any stage of your career. This could be a more generic assessment of your transferrable skills and the things that motivate you such as a Skills Health Check from the National Careers Service or a sector focused assessment of your leadership skills in health and care from Leadership Academy via their Leadership Framework Self-Assessment Tool  

• Assessing and supporting your functional skills 

You may also want to consider your levels in English, Maths and Computer Skills and identify any gaps in these areas. There are many opportunities to develop confidence in these areas through your local Further Education providers, the local authority or via E-learning training providers. A national strategy focusing on the importance of numerical skills for daily life and within the workplace, the Multiply Project launched by Skills for Life, is now being run locally. To find out more about this and other initiatives that support the development of these skills you can contact your local council through https://www.eastsussex.gov.uk/libraries/adult-learning/courses-and-qualifications-in-libraries/available-courses  and [email protected]

• Supporting your study skills

The Open University offers a guide on returning to learn and improving your Skills for Study as well as activities to identify your preferred learning style and mode of learning such as online or face to face. You may also prefer a more practical, less formal assessment process. 

Doing these activities can help identify your optimum learning environment but can also help you to adapt when this is challenged to make it work for you. 

Finding the right training provider for you

(Adapted from Choosing a learning provider from Skills for Care)

When exploring potential learning opportunities from different training providers you can consider the following to help you make a more informed choice:

• Does the learning provider review and evaluate their learning opportunities? Do they ask for regular feedback from their learners?

• Is the learning provider endorsed by an organisation recognised as part of a quality assurance framework such as the Skills for Care Endorsement for learning providers scheme and the Skills for health endorsement scheme.
• Does the provider offer learning opportunities that are flexible, and meet your needs?
• Do the learning and development opportunities reflect the latest legislation and best practice in social care?
• Does the provider have trainers or assessors who are qualified with relevant sector focused experience?
• Are you supported to make an informed decision about the most appropriate learning and development options including a pre-course assessment to check prior learning?
• Does the course you are considering recommend learning pre- requisites? And/or prior levels of achievement? 
• Will you be supported throughout the programme and have different learning and assessment options been considered by the provider?
• Does the provider offer advice on a progression pathway onto further learning, development programmes or qualifications?