Projects

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The Basics to Care (3.2a) project led by UNISON and Careconnect has enabled the development of an effective model for combining basic skills provision and NVQ Level 2 for employees in the care sector in London. It has attracted considerable demand to date from small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the care sector across London which are often affected by lack of resources for the effective promotion of lifelong learning among employees.

• Above: learners improving their ICT skills during a Basics to Care session.

The project delivers a pan-London basic skills programme to improve participation and progression of SMEs’ employees and meet the social care sector’s statutory regulatory demands for staff to be qualified at least at Level 2, by 2008. The project is based upon a close partnership with SMEs to ensure that training meets organisational and individual needs and addresses the current difficulties of engaging employers and learners in basic skills within the sector.

An innovative model of supported, flexible learning enables London-wide delivery of customised computer-based courses to employees with no or low levels of qualifications complemented by paper-based training and written guidance material. Basics to Care has helped to develop a sector-specific partnership model between UNISON, the trade union for the sector; Careconnect learning, the main provider of IT based care training; Skills for Care Sector Skills Council and SMEs across London. Additionally, this project fits with the NHS Skills Escalator approach and other sector strategic priorities in London.

The Basics to Care package offers basic skills/ESOL (English for speakers of other languages), information and communications technology (ICT) and/or vocational training leading to NVQ Level 2 in health and social care. Delivery is based on the needs of the individual and takes place at the workplace, or at Careconnect’s training rooms in Shoreditch, depending on what is most suitable for learners and their employers. Fifteen SME managers are also training as basic skills tutors to ensure the long-term sustainability of the project.

The project aims to contribute to the development of equality and diversity within the labour market by engaging learners who often face multiple barriers. Social care is a low paid sector employing a significant proportion of people from black and minority ethnic (BME) backgrounds, often on a part-time basis. Barriers to learning include negative previous educational experiences, low self-esteem, basic skills deficiencies, lack of access to training, the reluctance of employers to invest in training, and childcare issues. The project has been proactive in dealing with barriers through a range of support measures including loan of laptops, digital voice recorders for those with writing difficulties, small group and/or one-to-one support for non-native English speakers, and female assessors for Somali women.

UNISON has also been holding discussions with employers to encourage equal opportunities. As a result, Basics to Care has recruited significantly large numbers of beneficiaries from hard-to-reach groups thanks to its responsive approach not only towards the learners’ skills needs but also their cultural needs. 93% of beneficiaries come from non-white British backgrounds and the project has been very successful in encouraging care staff of African background (28%), Caribbean background (22%) and Asian background (18%). Eleven care workers with learning disabilities have also been supported. Surprisingly, 22% of the learners are men, which is over-representative of the composition of the workforce as a whole, and largely reflects the demands of some of the minority client groups who use significantly higher proportions of male care workers.

In order to break down barriers to ICT which might affect learners, tutors and assessors try to ensure students become familiar with computers through good technical support, with delivery in small groups complemented by one-to-one support where necessary. One of the important soft outcomes which has emerged from Basics to Care is also the creation of a peer support group, and many of the learners with more ICT experience help out fellow student during the lessons.

Project delivery

The project will be delivered between January 2005 and December 2006 and planned outputs and outcomes include:

• 165 beneficiaries, including care managers, enrolled on programme
• 35 SMEs supported
• 125 beneficiaries completing Basics to Care programme (including accredited basic skills/ESOL and/or ICT)
• 100 beneficiaries completing NVQ Level 2 training following completion of Basics to Care programme
• 15 care managers completing NVQ Level 4 as final result of manager programme
• Dissemination of good practice guide, covering impact on regional skills agenda (FRESA, Skills for Care), and development of NVQ-focused material to support progression from basic skills entry levels to NVQ.

ESF Matters: Making a difference to people’s lives

The project’s beneficiaries

To date, the full target of 165 employees starting on the training has been achieved, out of which 124 have fully completed the Basics to Care programme and are now working towards the NVQ at Level 2. Some learners have already expressed interest in progressing to Level 3, demonstrating the project’s successful approach in promoting lifelong learning.

• Above: Group of learners at care home in West London with their NVQ trainers.

Learners supported include Tahmina Faruq, who works as a middle manager at a domiciliary care agency based in East London, working primarily for members of the Bengali community. Several of her staff are working on the NVQ Level 2 in Care and part of her role is to support these members of staff with their awards. Tahmina is taking the ESOL option of the City and Guilds Adult Learner Support Award in order to be able to support those members of staff who do not have a strong background in English. With the support of her assessor, David Satenstein, she is working closely with her staff to help them identify and improve their skills.

• Below: Tahmina, one of the managers receiving support from Basics for Care.

17 employees at Wakefield Centre in West London, all previously without formal qualifications, have received support from Basics to Care and are now in the process of completing their work towards the NVQ Level 2. Cynthia Linton, Activities Officer at Wakefield, is enjoying the course, finds it very useful and is grateful to her trainer Paul: “He is very patient and understanding and you can call him at any time for help.” The NVQ course has enabled her to learn a lot about different areas of her work. It helped her to appreciate the importance of effective health and safety for her job as an organiser of activities for the care home’s residents. Now that she has finished the NVQ work, she wants to progress towards further learning and plans to enrol in an activities-related course. The creation of a peer support group was a fundamental factor in making this a successful learning experience as highlighted by another learner, Carmen: “Very interesting course, I enjoyed it. It was good to learn with all my colleagues. More experienced colleagues helped out and it was nice working in a group.”

• Below: Basics to Care ICT session.

33 SMEs have been supported as part of the project to date, and the fact training is provided for free has been instrumental, as many companies in the care sector are very small in size and do not have the adequate resources for training. The project has had an impact on the SMEs participating and their approach towards training. A number of employers have indicated that they now have a policy for basic skills training in place and will include basic skills within their training activities. The comments below highlight the positive response from employers:

“Very satisfied with contact with Ray and Jessica [the tutors]. Have only heard good comments from the learners regarding the training.”

“Layout of NVQ2 is one of the best seen… Greatly dispelled fears of care workers. Fantastic use of IT.”

APASENTH (Asian Parents Association for Special Educational Needs in Tower Hamlets) is a home care agency whose 16 employees have received tailored support through Basics to Care, following initial assessment of their skills needs. For 13 of the learners, this was their first exposure to English language materials. They have now gained the necessary confidence to overcome the language barrier, have been able to increase their sector-related vocabulary and communication skills and are able to use technology such as the Internet. The manager at APASENTH is completing his Registered Manager’s Award and has enrolled on a Skills for Life awareness course to help him understand his staff’s training needs.

Funding

The project has been granted £539,722 of European Social Funding under Objective 3 (Specification 3.2a).

The funding has come through the Pan-London co-financing round which is managed by ECOTEC Research & Consulting on behalf of the five Learning and Skills Councils in London.

Further information

For further information about European Social Funding and the LSC Pan-London ESF Objective 3 Programme, please visit:

• www.esf.gov.uk
• www.lsc.gov.uk

To find out more about the LSC Pan-London ESF O3 Programme, please contact the LONDON O3 Team within ECOTEC (020 7089 1976;

To contact Margaret Ball at Careconnect Learning, please phone 020 7613 2005 or e-mail . Further information about UNISON and Careconnect Learning is available on their Web sites.

Learning and Skills Council

The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) is responsible for funding and planning education and training for over 16-year-olds in England (excluding higher education). For any media enquiries about the LSC please contact Bronte Turner on .