The relevance of the quality of human resource management to staff morale, effective recruitment and reduced turnover is clear, yet in every part of the social care sector human resource management remains underdeveloped.

So Scie has established a programme of work on human resources with a particular focus on leadership and the nature of leadership in social care. It has launched two training packs: "Learning Organisations: A Self-assessment Resource Pack" and "Leading Practice: A Development Programme for First Line Managers".

The resources are based on the premise that informed decision-making can best take place in the climate of a learning organisation and that, as the arbiters of practice standards, first line managers are key individuals in a social care organisation. Yet they are often given little help or recognition in undertaking this role.

The concept of a learning organisation has been developing in the past 30 years as attempts have been made to identify the key characteristics of successful organisations. The principal features of learning organisations are structure, organisational culture, information systems, human resource practices and leadership.

The Learning Organisations pack has been designed to enable social care organisations and service users to assess what a learning organisation is and to what extent you are working in one or receiving service from one. It also provides guidance on creating a culture of learning in the workplace.

The Leading Practice pack recognises the vital role played by first line managers as leaders of practice and invites them to develop their leadership and practice skills through learning together in the workplace.

It is designed to be run in-house to ensure organisational as well as individual learning. The programme contains 12 sessions comprising activities and discussions, with each session focusing on a different theme.

Patricia Kearney is director of practice development at Scie