Recognising excellence in social care training

At the National Skills Academy for Social Care, we are relaunching the Endorsement Framework for adult social care training providers, writes Debbie Sorkin, the academy’s head of membership and engagement.

We promote excellence in learning and development, and our Endorsement Framework is a clear marker of this, recognising and badging excellent learning and development. 

When employers and learners look for training, they want to know that what they are commissioning or buying is the best possible choice.  The award is a tool for self-evaluation, professional development and quality improvement and can be used as a mechanism for organisational and staff development to make a real difference. 

The Endorsement Framework will be linked to our Leadership Qualities Framework (LQF), which spells out the particular personal qualities and leadership behaviours for people working at all levels across social care.   

It will help individuals and organisations to focus on what really matters to people who use services, their families and carers.  To support colleagues, we are developing a self-assessment tool that will enable providers to place themselves on the ladder of leadership progression and ultimately on their journey to an Excellence Award.

To start the re-launch of the Endorsement Framework, academy chief executive Diane Lawson provided an inspirational input to a recent training day for our new team of reviewers. 

Judith Salmon, chair of the reviewers and president of the Association of Care Training and Assessment Networks (Actan), said:  “In contrast to other generic quality marks, the skills academy has developed a  unique quality mark that relates to learning and development in adult social care, which requires individuals and organisations applying for endorsement to demonstrate how their work reflects the values that underpin the best of social care provision, as well as education and training.
 
“Leadership, management and professional skills remain key to maintaining standards and in making a positive difference to the lives of people who use services. We feel the Endorsement Framework will be instrumental in supporting adult social care managers, leaders and workers to develop the knowledge and skills, as well as the right values to support service changes.”

By becoming an endorsed provider you receive a host of benefits in terms of development, but also a clear return on your investment.  You become part of a unique group ready to make a difference and contribute to an exciting leadership journey. Ultimately, endorsement is a unique quality mark that makes you stand out from the competition and brings opportunities to grow what you do. 

To find out more, please go to our website or email to find out about the support we can offer.

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