Skills for Care pilot for new registered managers

 Skills for Care want to work with new registered managers as part of an exciting 12 month pilot starting in April 2018.

The value of specific support for individuals new to roles with a significant level of complexity and responsibility is recognised across a number of sectors and professions. The pilot will test a model of support for new registered managers based on a combination of Skills for Care’s resources and guidance; we see this model becoming part of our future offer to registered managers.

New managers participating in the pilot will be supported to develop their confidence, knowledge and skills over 12 months; every manager participating will also have the opportunity to engage with and learn from peers.

What does the pilot offer?

Participants will join a local cohort of new registered managers, who will follow a 12 month approach to developing their skills, improving their confidence and engaging with peers. Participants will:

§  Be paired with a mentor (who will be a more experienced registered manager); they will support you to explore issues, challenges or opportunities that you encounter at work

§  Become registered manager members of Skills for Care, for two years, with access to exclusive resources, monthly newsletters and discounts on products and services.

§  Attend three face-to-face events with other new managers and Skills for Care; tailored around their needs and interests.

§  Have access to a scheduled series of seven webinars on specific topics, relevant to their role; participants must join a minimum of four webinars.

§  Have opportunities to develop their reflective practice.

§  Complete a gap analysis against the Manager Induction Standards (MIS) and produce a personal development plan (PDP).

At the end of the pilot participants will have received structured support, increased their knowledge and established a solid base for their continued professional development (CPD).

Who can participate?

We are looking for people new to the registered manager role, who have been in post for 12 months or less at the point of applying to join the pilot.

Places on this pilot are being offered at no cost, however participants will be expected to commit to the full pilot and to take-part in scheduled evaluation activity.

   What else do I need to know?

§  We anticipate that participation in the pilot will involve managers being away from the office for a total of seven days over 12 months. Additionally, managers will be expected to join a minimum of four, 45 minute, desk-based webinars.

 §  We are asking senior managers / leaders or owners, with registered managers participating in the pilot, to take-part in scheduled evaluation activity to help us measure the impact and effectiveness of the pilot. We will ensure that you are given advance notice of this and that your involvement will not be time consuming or onerous.

What if I don’t have any new registered managers; can existing managers get involved in any way?

Yes – Skills for Care are looking for existing registered managers to mentor a new manager, participating in the pilot, and we are offering a free training day to managers who do this. 

How could my manager(s) benefit from agreeing to mentor a new manager?

§  Skills for Care are offering every manager who agrees to become a mentor the opportunity to complete a free one-day mentoring training course; this will help them develop the understanding and skills they need to be a mentor

§  at the end of the course they will be given copies of materials which they can use in your service

§  the skills they learn can be used in your organisation; and the process of mentoring can help them reflect on their own practice

§  as part of the inspection process the Care Quality Commission (CQC) look at how managers and providers engage with other services and the wider sector; mentoring another manager is one way to demonstrate this.

What does a manager need to do to get involved?

We are asking that every registered manager who wants to get involved, commits to:

§  attending the one-day mentoring training; this will be delivered in February / March 2018 and a date will be confirmed by December 2017

§  being paired with a new registered manager in April 2018, who they will mentor.

§  A short application form will be available from December 2017.

      What is mentoring?

 §  mentors use their knowledge, insight, perspective, wisdom or space to help their mentee to develop in their role

§  a mentor does not give their mentee the solution to an issue; they help that person explore, understand and resolve an issue, challenge or opportunity – the key to mentoring is helping the mentee learn from their experiences

§  mentoring is based on a professional and confidential relationship; built on trust and clear boundaries between the mentor and mentee

§  a mentoring relationship is temporary, not on-going; at the start of a mentoring relationship it is important to set an end-date and be clear how often the mentor and mentee will meet or speak

§  mentoring can be a face-to-face or telephone based activity.

 How to get involved?

If you have a manager or managers who wish to be involved in the pilot, either as a new manager or a mentor email Lindsey.thomas@skillsforcare.org.uk for more information