Accolades awards magazine - Skills for Care

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Accolades awards magazine - Skills for Care
September 2021

Accolades awards
   magazine
Accolades awards magazine - Skills for Care
Skills for Care | Accolades                                                                      September 2021

                              Welcome to our brand new
                              Accolades awards magazine!
                              Having paused our usual in-person award ceremony, we
                              wanted to find a new way to celebrate those people and
                              organisations across social care who exemplify the passion,
                              commitment, excellence, and innovation in care. They are the
                              people who have and continue to support our families and
                              communities.
                              This is why we decided to launch the Accolades awards
                              magazine – a new publication that will put a spotlight on the
                              people and organisations who are going the extra mile to be
                              supportive employers and deliver personalised care.
                              In this edition, we take an in depth look at some of our past
                              award winners and finalists – each of whom have taken the
                              time to share information about their services, how they’ve
                              adapted during the pandemic, and to provide some useful
                              advice and ideas for their peers. We hope you find their stories
                              as thought provoking as we did. Maybe you’ll even spot an
                              idea or two that you can try out at your own service.
                              We also hope the Accolades awards magazine will become an
                              additional forum to celebrate those people going above and
                              beyond to champion and improve social care.
                              If you have a story or case study that you think should be
                              featured in our next edition, please don’t hesitate to get in
                              touch via accolades@skillsforcare.org.uk.
                              On behalf of everyone at Skills for Care, I want to take this
                              opportunity to thank all of you for the hard work, dedication,
                              and bravery you have shown over the past year. Your ability
                              to adapt under pressure, support your colleagues and deliver
                              high quality care under the most challenging of circumstances
                              has been nothing short of inspirational, and the whole country
                              is grateful.
                              We hope to be back with the Accolades in 2022. In the
                              meantime, we hope you enjoy this very special edition of our
                              Accolades awards magazine.
                              Best wishes,
                              Oonagh Smyth
                              Chief Executive Officer
                              Skills for Care
Skills for Care | Accolades                                                                                                                                                                                           September 2021

  Our values are our compass:
  they guide everything we do                                                                                                                                                                      Going the extra mile
                                                                                                                                                                                                   Thanks to technology, lockdown
                                                                                                                                                                                                   didn’t have to mean loneliness.
                                                                                                                                                                                                   Future Directions provided each
Future Directions CIC supports people of all ages         Recruiting the right people                                                                                                              house with iPads and partnered
living in supported tenancies, including people with                                                                                                                                               with Apple to provide training so
a learning disability, people with physical and mental    This approach is certainly working. Staff turnover                                                                                       people can get the most out of
health needs, autistic people and others.                 is low, with most leavers in their early 20s and still                                                                                   them. They kept in touch with
                                                          exploring long-term career choices. Future Directions                                                                                    family and friends and enjoyed the
At the last inspection, Care Quality Commission           actively enlists people from the communities they                                                                                        weekly Facebook live session with
praised the organisation for offering the people          serve, putting cards up in local shops or posting                                                                                        singing, dancing, jokes, games,
they support: “an exceptionally personalised              them through residents’ letter boxes.                                                              Being adaptable                       and shout-outs. They could
service which met their specific support needs,                                                                                                                                                    also take part in online activities
preferences and wishes, and which helped them             There’s a ‘recruit a friend scheme’ where staff                                                    Future Directions’ face-to-face
                                                                                                                                                                                                   including weekly yoga sessions,
live full and meaningful lives.”                          can earn anything from £100-£500 in high street              Being creative                        induction used to take place over
                                                                                                                                                                                                   community choir, brew and banter,
                                                          vouchers for referring a friend. There are career fairs                                            nine – 10 days for those recruited
                                                                                                                       In light of COVID-19, Future                                                and Sci-Fi Club.
This approach extends to staff, too. Even in              and neighbourhood events with Job Centre Plus, Job                                                 for mental health posts. But, the
lockdown, the managing director made time to              Clubs, day centres and mum and toddler groups, all           Directions has been doing more        pandemic meant this has had to        The 2020 Christmas party was
organise an online afternoon tea with colleagues and      providing a place to advertise jobs. The company             video interviews via Microsoft        change.                               a great success. “Usually, we
people supported, recognising the contribution of         uses social media to target young people and has             Teams and Zoom. But recently                                                would have a party in one venue
staff making a huge difference to people’s lives.         relationships with several local universities to help fill   it has returned to face-to-face       “Now it’s just two days. So,
                                                                                                                                                                                                   for staff and about 350 of the
                                                          nursing vacancies.                                           recruiting for a new service in       it’s more important than ever
                                                                                                                                                                                                   people we support,” said Emily.
We spoke to Emily Paine, Business Development                                                                          Rochdale.                             that people are driven by
Coordinator, and Paul Lord, Learning and                  Its values-based recruitment process has been                                                      doing the right thing for the         “This time we had presents
Development Manager, about Future Directions’ five        in operation for well over five years. Prospective           “We score candidates on their         right reasons,” said Emily. “We       and party food delivered to the
underlying values: put people first; go the extra mile;   staff are interviewed by people supported and their          answers and then the panel has        also make sure we support             houses. Everybody tuned in
be transparent; be creative; be adaptable.                families. This meeting is designed to identify the           a discussion. We ask, ‘Did you        new colleagues in skills              for the virtual Christmas party,
                                                          candidate’s values and ensure a good fit for the             get the right feeling from them?      development, often by having          complete with Christmas music
“These values are the key components of                   service. Then, there’s a second stage interview with         Do they have the right values?’’      additional colleagues working         and the bingo game and Santa
recruitment, staff development and career                 managers.                                                    says Emily. “Even though              alongside them so there’s             Claus appearing on screen.”
progression. Everyone leading and working at                                                                           we can’t have the people we           always someone to help them.”
Future Directions lives by those values when                                                                           support in the room with us                                                 Such was the event’s success that
shaping the service and engaging with the wider                                                                        right now, we’re still thinking       Recently, the organisation            Future Directions intends to keep
community,” said Paul.                                                                                                 about their specific needs and        recruited many people made            the digital gathering as an option
                                                                                                                       which staff would work best           redundant from jobs in retail, with   once the pandemic ends. Emily
                                                                                                                       with them.”                           no previous experience in care.       said:
                                                                                                                                                             It’s especially important that they
                                                                                                                       Future Directions is about to trial   receive training in the company’s     “We noticed that some people
                                                                                                                       a recruitment policy based on the     ethos, for which eLearning            liked it better. Some wheelchair
                                                                                                                       Mr Men and Little Miss characters     is currently the main delivery        users find it harder to get out
                                                                                                                       created by Roger Hargreaves.          method.                               and don’t always want to stay
                                                                                                                       Developed by Timpson, the shoe                                              for long. This way they will have
                                                                                                                       repair and key cutting firm, this     “Most care staff find it              a choice in how they socialise.”
                                                                                                                       profiling tool matches interviewees   daunting,” said Paul, “but
                                                                                                                       to different personality types. The   Future Directions recognises
                                                                                                                       Mr Men and Little Miss characters     this. We’ve added additional
                                                                                                                       have been renamed to fit the          interactive videos and
                                                                                                                       Future Directions values, the         checklists to the learning
                                                                                                                       goal being to recruit people with     platform and we’re now looking
                                                                                                                       the right personality traits and      to use the ‘flipped classroom’
                                                                                                                       attitudes for the job. Individuals    model – the blended use of
                                                                                                                       exhibiting the Nicky Neat and         online technology to support
                                                                                                                       Happy Harry traits will do well;      delivery of face-to-face
                                                                                                                       Grumpy Gill, rather less so.          sessions – in our inductions
                                                                                                                                                             later this year. This will reduce
                                                                                                                       “Sometimes, there are gut             time spent in classrooms and
                                                                                                                       reactions you can’t quite put         support blended learning;
                                                                                                                       your finger on; the Mr Men            staff can complete readings
                                                                                                                       model is a way of capturing           and work prior to the training
                                                                                                                       this,” Paul said. “It’s also an       session, which reinforces
                                                                                                                       inclusive model for the people        training more effectively during
                                                                                                                       we support because it’s visual.”      the face-to-face session.”            www.futuredirectionscic.co.uk
Skills for Care | Accolades                                                                                                                                                                                          September 2021

  Most effective approach to
  leadership and management                                                                                        members’ career goals and how to achieve them,
                                                                                                                   prioritising recruiting from within the organisation.
                                                                                                                   They use HR tools and allow staff and clients to
                                                                                                                        nominate individuals for promotion through
Manor Community – ‘Know the way, go the way, show the way’                                                                  Microsoft Teams and PerkBox to identify
                                                                                                                             ‘Risings Stars’, as well as those who
Manor Community support people with a learning disability, people with mental ill-health,                                      require extra support.
and older people, to enable them to lead as independent a lifestyle as possible. Their
services include community care, supported living, residential care and homecare, and they                                          The Rising Stars are then put on
pride themselves on promoting disability rights and adding social value to their local community.                                     a ‘Beam Me Up’ programme
                                                                                                                                       which includes intense training,
We spoke to Carly Smith, Registered Community Care Manager at Manor Community, who told us how the                                     mentoring with directors inside
organisation’s tight-knit culture, and a dedication to strong internal communications, learning and reflection,                        and outside of the organisation,      Looking ahead
have helped bolster support for team members and keep staff turnover low throughout the pandemic.                                     and peer support groups. By            Reflecting on last year’s positive experiences, Manor
                                                                                                                                        reflecting on different leadership   Community plans to continue taking advantage
                                                                                                                                        styles throughout this training,     of digital resources, such as Microsoft Teams, to
                                                          Carly emphasised that the benefit of promoting                                 and ensuring that managers          increase cross-organisation communication and
                                                          a safe environment shone through during the                                   can demonstrate how they             ensure no staff members are isolated by assessing
                                                          pandemic. At the start of the pandemic, all                                   embed Manor Community’s              usage levels. Each staff team will continue to use
                                                          management teams completed a 12-week training                                 values within their work, Manor      the group chat function to build team relationships,
                                                          course on resilience, to allow them to effectively                           Community has been able to            discuss best practice and raise any concerns,
          “Our leadership and management                  support their team. Every week a different member                          build a strong management team          ensuring every voice is heard even when teams
          approach is co-productive. Rather               of the management team leads a weekly all-staff call     with seamless progression. Carly told us:                 aren’t physically together.
         than leading top-down, all levels of             on Microsoft Teams and management also regularly
                                                          check in with staff individually. Carly explained:       “As many managers have worked their way                   Being committed to UN Sustainable Development
         management co-create, co-design                                                                           up through the organisation, progression
          and co-produce care practice and                                                                                                                                   Goals on an organisational level, Manor Community
                                                          “We found that because of our company culture,           opportunities are clearly demonstrated, tying into        will continue to drive its vision and direction through
                                strategies.               staff were able to openly discuss concerns, both         how management ‘show the way’. All managers               community work that drives social value, promoting
                                                          personal and professional, allowing management           are also required to spend time working on shifts         equality through diversity training and supporting
    “Directors work with the senior team,                 to rapidly find solutions.                               with the staff team, which increases cooperation          team members through perks such as counselling,
    who work with other staff, clients, and                                                                        and helps managers identify future leaders.               medical insurance, and guidance on healthy
       families – through family networks                 “We use knowledge management to find solutions
                                                          to any problem, giving rise to management’s              “For external recruitment, we ensure our job              lifestyles.
      and focus groups – to influence and
                                                          catchphrase of ‘knowing the way, going the way,          adverts emphasise our vision, mission and
    agree solutions. Everyone associated                                                                                                                                     By encouraging a culture of continual learning and
                                                          and showing the way’, which has really caught on         values, which we co-produced with our team                training, and looking at lessons learnt on a monthly
         with the organisation becomes a                  among staff over the last year.                          and user groups. Alignment with these values is
                        leader for change.                                                                                                                                   basis, Manor Community has continued to thrive
                                                                                                                   more important to us than formal qualifications           throughout the pandemic. They brought forward key
                                                          “When appropriate, management can also refer             and training – which candidates can receive
                                                          staff members for counselling sessions through                                                                     learnings that they will continue to embed as part of
    “We’re always looking to engage team                                                                           on-the-job – so our interview questions include           their leadership and management approach in the
     members in influencing management                    PerkBox, to help them deal with bereavement              scenarios and examples which allow people
                                                          and other emotional pressures. The best thing a                                                                    future, consistently adapting to change and ensuring
    decisions through polls and questions                                                                          with no formal qualifications, but who share our          learning and reflection flow through all levels of their
                                                          manager can do is know their staff on a personal         values, to demonstrate how they match the job
            on Microsoft Teams. As part of                                                                                                                                   structure.
                                                          level. They’re more likely to come to you in times       requirements.”
          this, we put a lot of emphasis on               of need.”
        promoting a ‘psychologically safe                                                                          Manor Community operates an extensive orientation
         environment’, whereby staff at all               Carly went on to explain that another strong driver of   programme for seniors and managers, tailored to
       levels are encouraged to speak up                  success within Manor Community is their recruitment      each level of leadership development. They hold
           about anything that doesn’t feel               approach. In line with their culture of continual        training and development records for senior staff,
          right, poor practice, inequalities,             learning, management consistently reviews staff          helping them identify learning and development
           or unconscious bias. We’ve had                                                                             needs. Manor Community also works with local
       such positive feedback from social                                                                               colleges to source appropriate diploma training
     workers, families and clients, and we                                                                               for leaders and management.
     see it as key to our low staff turnover                                                                            “By celebrating all achievements, we’ve been
                                 of just 2%.”                                                                           able to produce a happy, productive and
                                                                                                                          enthusiastic workforce, which ultimately
                                                                                                                            improves the quality of care,” said Carly.
                               Carly Smith
        Registered Community Care Manager

                                                                                                                                                                                         www.manorcommunity.co.uk
Skills for Care | Accolades                                                                                                                                                                                    September 2021

  Secrets of success:
  building on the community

Rooted in the local community, Lewisham Nexus (LN) puts the people they support at the
heart of everything they do. This was put to the test in 2020, a year that turned the care sector and local
communities on their heads.
The South East London-based service provides support to adults with a learning disability who have high
                                                                                                                                                                            The value of caring for your community
support needs and complex health and communication requirements, including autism and behaviours that
can be challenging.                                                                                                                                                         Feedback to team members, from the people
                                                                                                                                                                            they support and their families, has always
Nexus’ motto is ‘nothing about me without me’, and everything is designed to empower the people
                                                                                                                                                                            been very important at Nexus. Jacqui explained
they support, to take control of their lives and be more independent. For some, it’s a stepping stone to
                                                                                                                                                                            that feedback over the last year from families
employment, as people with a learning disability make
                                                                                                                                                                            and staff was exceptional.
up 8% of the current LN workforce, and the company
has a long-term mission to increase that number.
                                                                Keeping people at the centre                                 organisation and getting familiar
                                                                                                                              with our systems and processes.
Caring for staff in unprecedented times                         For staff, caring in new ways meant
                                                                complying with additional measures for                          “New staff get job coaching from
We asked Jacqui Shepherd, Day Services and Social               people they support. Nexus ensured all                          managers and work alongside
Inclusion Manager at LN, to tell us what makes the              families felt adequately supported during                      experienced colleagues who are                   “One family member wrote to us
Nexus workforce special:                                        critical points in the pandemic, providing                   their designated mentors. They’re                  saying that the calls we provided
                                                                regular calls and even helping to deliver                  also given time to read each person-                       ‘were a lifeline’ for her son.
“We have just under 90 people working for                       groceries and prescriptions when needed.                   centred care plan for the people                        Simply being there in times of
us right now. We recruit locally – 67% of our                                                                                 they’re supporting, communication
workforce are Lewisham residents and 80% have                   “Nexus has an unwavering                                                                                        need, and providing reassurance
                                                                                                                                 passports and other guidelines,                that families can count on us for
been with us for more than five years so our                    commitment to the people we support,                             so they quickly become familiar
turnover rate is less than 5%.”                                 their families, and individuals with                                                                             support, goes such a long way.”
                                                                                                                                 with the people we support and
                                                                disabilities. This ethos is at the heart of how           how the organisation works.”
But this community was challenged during the last               we work,” said Jacqui.
year as a result of the pandemic. In response, the                                                                        This is a two-way process, and Nexus                                       Jacqui Shepherd
company found new ways to bring people together.                This includes Nexus’ approach to recruitment;             makes every effort to learn about the new                           Day Services and Social
                                                                people with a learning disability are involved at   staff member by asking every member of staff                                   Inclusion Manager
“Using our Workplace on Facebook platform we                    every stage of the hiring and induction process,
were able to keep in touch with what has been                                                                       if they’re happy to fill out a one-page profile.
                                                                including interviews.                               Jacqui said:
happening across Nexus,” noted Jacqui.
                                                                “This is true for any post, from CEO to                                                                     So too with staff members. The senior
Staff used the platform to share inspirational stories,                                                             “This tells us a bit about them, what’s                 management team rang all staff members
                                                                business and finance manager, support               important to them and how best to support
videos, and photographs of virtual activities they              manager and support worker.                                                                                 on duty each day to ensure everyone was
and the people they support had participated in,                                                                    them at work. Profiles are displayed with               being supported. Following the Government’s
including everything from virtual performances of Nat           “We employ two people with a learning               their photo in the community building, for              announcement that families would not be able
King Cole, yoga poses, and apple pie making.                    disability – India and Bianca – who                 both staff and people they support to see.              to see each other over the holidays, Nexus
                                                                are trainers and are also experienced                                                                       gave £250 to every service to be spent sharing
As well as creating a ‘virtual community’, tangible                                                                 “Profiles encourage positivity within teams.
                                                                interviewers. They’re part of the recruitment                                                               an activity with support bubbles.
support was provided. The company posted online                                                                     Staff can identify what they like and admire
                                                                and selection team for new candidates, and          about their new colleague, who in turn can
training for employees on positive behaviour support            have also been involved in Senior Director                                                                  “Recognising the level of dedication our
and hosted regular staff questionnaires to inform                                                                   let them know what support they need.”                  staff have provided over this last year
                                                                interviews for Guys and St Thomas and
post-lockdown needs and policies.                               Lewisham NHS Trusts.”                                                                                       was really important to us – we wanted to
                                                                                                                    This person-centred approach is extended to
                                                                                                                                                                            give something back to them, in the most
All staff received a £50 supermarket voucher and                                                                    other aspects of Nexus’ work. For example,
                                                                Even during the pandemic, Nexus                                                                             valuable way we could”, said Jacqui.
a personalised thank you card from the senior                                                                        it’s developing an Advisory Council of people
                                                                continued to hire new staff and                         with a learning disability to ensure everyone,
management team, while all temporary employees                  provide induction training to                                                                               Lewisham Nexus’ commitment to
were offered full-time contracts to ensure they had                                                                      even those who don’t communicate with              its community demonstrates what is
                                                                make sure they settle in.                                words, has a voice. Nexus works with local
regular work and pay.                                           Jacqui explained, “All staff                                                                                possible during even the most exceptional
                                                                                                                           organisations to provide training in this        circumstances – the ability to bring people
                                                                are supernumerary for                                        area for staff and people with a learning
The Nexus community became closer than ever                     the first two weeks. This                                                                                   closer together, even when physically apart.
during lockdown. Jacqui said: “It really did feel                                                                             disability, and supports them to
                                                                means they’re not doing                                        participate in the People’s Parliament,
like we were all in it together. We found out what              regular duties but are
we’re capable of, and how well we can survive                                                                                  providing a platform for their views and
                                                                getting an overview of the                                    the opportunity to shape the future of
and thrive in such extreme circumstances.”                                                                                                                                lewisham.gov.uk/organizations/lewisham-nexus-service
                                                                                                                            services in the borough.
Skills for Care | Accolades                                                                                                                                                                  September 2021

  The Power of Care:
  a video series by CRG Homecare
                                                                                                                Adapting to the pandemic and beyond
                                                                                                                During the pandemic, CRG Homecare has also
                                                                                                                adapted filming in line with government restrictions,
                                                                                                                using Zoom and Microsoft Teams calls to record
                                                                                                                footage. The type of content being produced has
                                                                                                                also evolved, with the introduction of animations
                                                                                                                and video Q&As to help put minds at ease. Hannah
                                                                                                                explained:
                                                                                                                “Care is constant, so we haven’t stopped the
         “There are three types of people: those who work in care, those who need care, and                     series; we’ve adapted and become more creative
    those who know someone who needs care. Care is perceived differently by everyone and                        with it, and we’ll monitor and evaluate the
                                      that’s what the ‘Power of Care’ campaign is all about.”                   campaign’s impact later this year.”
                                                                                                                As a rolling campaign, CRG Homecare continues to
                                                                                          Hannah West           collect stories for future videos that will highlight the
                                                                                     Marketing Manager          relationships between care workers and the people
                                                                                                                they support, and the acts of kindness care workers
                                                                                                                show every day. Hannah told us how important
October 2019 saw CRG Homecare – the UK’s third largest homecare provider, specialising in personal care         it was to the organisation to show the realities of
for people with a learning disability, autism and mental ill-health – launch ‘Power of Care’.                   care work, but to also celebrate and champion
                                                                                                                its invaluable care workers.
The campaign encompasses a video series highlighting relationships between those who work in care and
those who receive care. The videos focus on the difference care workers make to people’s lives, the desire to   “We all say those who work in care go the
do so ultimately being what makes a successful care worker, according to CRG Homecare research.                 extra mile. In reality, they go the extra ten. We
                                                                                                                want everyone to know how much pride our
We spoke to Hannah West, Marketing Manager at CRG Homecare, about what made the campaign such a                 colleagues take in their work.
success.
                                                                                                                “There’s a lot of myths about working in care
                                                                                                                – that it’s all about making cups of tea or
Bringing a job description to life                      The videos are also sent to candidates throughout       providing care for older people. But the reality
                                                        the recruitment process. CRG Homecare found             is this line of work is as diverse as it can get.
“Many care providers experience employee                that this helped engage candidates throughout           We try to spread this message whilst dispelling
retention issues because it’s hard to grasp the         the process, despite needing to complete lengthy        myths.”
role of a care worker from a job advert. These          applications, safeguarding checks and mandatory
videos give candidates a clearer understanding          training.                                               Analysing what has made this campaign a success,
of the role and highlight the qualities you need                                                                Hannah spoke at length about the filming process
for a career in care. We’ve been inundated with         “By regularly sharing these videos with                 and described in-house production as key to
positive feedback.”                                     candidates, we’ve seen a much lower dropout             authenticity and strengthening the videos’ impact:
                                                        rate during the recruitment process. The
Each video starts with clips of team members and        campaign therefore both encourages more                 “This campaign is all real. We’ve not hired actors,
the people they support using one word to describe      people to go into care, but also helps to keep          the videos aren’t scripted and they’re not over-
what care means to them. The videos then depict a       them in care as well by reminding them this is a        edited. Filming in-house has helped ensure the
day in the life of various CRG Homecare staff and the   vocation, not just a job,” said Hannah.                 people being filmed are at ease – we take the
people they support – from the CEO to social care                                                               time to build those relationships and film genuine
workers and branch staff – highlighting everyone’s      Having launched the ‘Power of Care’ campaign            interactions so many of the people we support
unique story and journey into care.                     in 2019, Hannah explains that the series helped         told us how much they genuinely enjoyed being
                                                        significantly with recruitment during the pandemic.     part of the process.”
Both a marketing and a recruitment endeavour, this      Hannah credits the videos with helping CRG
video series is published on CRG Homecare’s social      Homecare reach candidates from sectors hit hardest      The ‘Power of Care’ videos all feature John Townley,
media platforms and website. They even use it for       by lockdown, such as retail, leisure and hospitality.   CRG Homecare’s Director of Resourcing and
job adverts. Hannah said:                               She says:                                               Mobilisation, donning a suit in CRG Homecare’s
                                                                                                                signature bright orange. Hannah said:
“We now receive applications from people whose          “COVID-19 shone a light on social care and
values are more closely aligned with what we’re         the NHS. Our Q&A videos, exploring team                 “It’s not every day you get a director who sings
looking for. They may not have the direct skills or     members’ backgrounds and the induction and              and dances. For me, this really demonstrates the
experience, but these can be learnt on the job. It’s    training provided on the job, helped prospective        ‘Power of Care’ at CRG Homecare. No matter
having the right values that matter.”                   candidates realise the transferable skills they         who you are, you make a difference.”
                                                        already have and the support they will receive.”                                                                    crghomecare.uk.com
Skills for Care | Accolades                                                                                                                        September 2021

  Putting people first
  during the pandemic                                                                                          Standing up for social care
                                                                                                               Community Integrated Care has continued its
                                                                                                               efforts to fight for proper recognition for the
                                                                                                               social care sector throughout the pandemic,
Community Integrated Care is one of Britain’s largest and most successful health and
                                                                                                               championing the commitment and dedication
social care charities. They work in the community, delivering life-enhancing support to
                                                                                                               of those who work within it. Mark Adams, Chief
over 3,500 people with a diverse range of care needs, including a learning
                                                                                                               Executive Officer at Community Integrated Care,
disability, mental health concerns, age-related needs, and dementia. The
                                                                                                               told us:
charity employs over 6,000 committed colleagues across England and
Scotland.                                                                                                      “We believe that social care is the backbone
                                                                                                               of society, and our sector does not get
The Covid-19 pandemic has seen the charity step up to support its
                                                                                                               the recognition, funding or respect that it
colleagues in a range of new and innovative ways, ensuring their
                                                                                                               deserves. We set out to change this. That’s
employees have felt rewarded and valued for the work they’ve done
                                                                                                               why our strategy, ‘We Dare’, makes an absolute
in the most challenging of times. This has included the creation of a
                                                                                                               commitment to championing the sector – our
suite of wellbeing initiatives, enhanced recognition schemes, and
                                                                                                               colleagues, communities and the people we
the launch of a sector wide campaign – Unfair To Care – to lobby
                                                                                                               support.
the Government for better pay and conditions in social care.
                                                                                                               “Throughout the pandemic, our charity was
We caught up with the team at Community Integrated Care to find out more…
                                                                                                               proud to speak in the media regarding key
                                                                                                               issues affecting our sector, such as PPE, lack
Valuing our colleagues                                                                                         of testing and visiting. We wanted to make
There has never been another time in history when                                                              sure that the voices of our colleagues could
                                                         “We also recognised that between home
social care has been called upon to demonstrate                                                                be heard loud and clear on the things that
                                                         schooling and lockdown restrictions, it wasn’t
such extraordinary dedication, compassion and                                                                  affected them.
                                                         just colleagues’ wellbeing affected, their children
selflessness – coming together in the face of            were also having to adapt to lots of changes too.     “But we didn’t stop there. As the pandemic
adversity to protect those who need it most.             With that in mind, we sent personalised thank you     was taking hold, our charity was approached
Community Integrated Care has worked hard to             letters to our honorary members of Community          by BBC Panorama, which led to us inviting
highlight the commitment and dedication of care          Integrated Care – the children of our colleagues      them to shadow colleagues as they worked
workers, both within their charity and the sector as a   who had done a brilliant job of cheering up their     through the challenges of Covid-19. The
whole.                                                   family members throughout this crisis.                programme – ‘The Forgotten Frontline’ – was
Teresa Exelby, Chief People Officer at Community                                                               the first opportunity for the public to see the
                                                         “After an extraordinarily tough year, we used
Integrated Care, shared more:                                                                                  stresses and strains, high points and sad
                                                         Christmas as a way to truly celebrate the
                                                                                                               moments in social care during the pandemic.
                                                         amazing achievements of our workforce, who
“When it comes to showing our colleagues just            had sacrificed so much for the people they
how much we appreciate them – not just over the                                                                “Recently, we’ve been proud to launch a
                                                         support. From our annual Reward & Recognition         landmark piece of research, ‘Unfair to Care’,
past 18 months but every single day – we’ve tried        scheme Christmas Crackers, a special festive
to think about both the big and little things we                                                               which has found that many frontline social care
                                                         giveaway with prizes donated by our                   workers are undervalued by as much as 39% –
hope will make a difference.                             generous partners, to a shopping voucher              nearly £7,000 per year – in comparison to their
“We know the pandemic placed a huge financial            allowing colleagues to treat themselves               peers in equivalent positions in other public
burden on our colleagues, which is why we                to something on us – we made sure                     funded sectors.
launched our Emergency Pay Response,                     our workforce knew just how much we
providing support to people in two ways: an              appreciated them.                                     “Our report is the first ever independent
enhanced hourly pay rate for several months                                                                    analysis of the frontline support worker role
                                                         “This year, we’ve been proud to continue              and provides the much-needed evidence that
throughout 2020, and an improved sick pay offer          our approach. We’ve recently announced
for any colleague affected by coronavirus. We                                                                  breaks the stereotype that social care is a ‘low-
                                                         one day of additional annual leave, or the            skilled’ sector. After everything our frontline
knew that we wanted to make our colleagues feel          equivalent hours added to colleagues’
reassured and relieved – this investment of over                                                               carers have done for society in the last 18
                                                         pay. As well as this, we’re giving each               months, we will continue to do everything we
£1m really did help so many in their time of need.       of our services funds to hold a team                  can, to fight for the fair pay that those in social
“But we’ve also taken every opportunity to find          celebration this summer, so that we can               care so richly deserve.”
smaller, more creative ways of letting our teams         hopefully mark a new beginning after an
know just how thankful we are. Like delivering           extremely challenging chapter.                        You can watch The Forgotten Frontline on BBC
thousands of treat boxes, containing snacks,                                                                   iPlayer and you can read the Unfair to Care report
                                                         “We know it’s a drop in the ocean to what our         at www.unfairtocare.co.uk
drinks and sweets, to all of our frontline teams as      colleagues deserve, but we’ll continue to do
a token of appreciation and hopefully a bit of a         everything we can to remind our colleagues how
morale boost too.                                        much we value them, whilst trying to bring about
                                                         change for our sector.”
                                                                                                                   www.communityintegratedcare.co.uk
Skills for Care | Accolades   September 2021
Skills for Care | Accolades

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