[Image created by freepik.com] Caring at home and work is tough I know from my own experience how challenging it can be juggling a busy work life and looking after a family member, in my case my mum at the end of her life. Those six months were tough, emotionally and physically. I experienced every emotion you can imagine. I know many of my colleagues, past and present, have lived through similar times or are doing so right now. Supporting each other helps. We cannot care for others without taking care of ourselves, however difficult or impossible that feels. That's why I am very plea ..read more

DanceSyndrome is an award winning dance charity based in Lancashire with a special focus on including everyone, with or without disabilities. They provide dance workshops, leadership training and consultancy. Their performance artists attend special events and exclusive performances, emphasising what people with learning disabilities can really do. Julie Nicholson, Managing Director of DanceSyndrome, is proud to share the story of its origins through the inspiration of its founder, Jen Blackwell. Jen Blackwell: “Before I started DanceSyndrome, I felt very alone. I was always, always dancing ..read more

Mental Health Nurses Day takes place this week (Wednesday 21 February), an opportunity to celebrate the unique contribution nurses and support workers make to our profession. A registered nurse for more than 20 years, David Wilmott has worked across a number of services, including acute and mental health. He is currently Director of Nursing at Cygnet Group, an independent health and social care organisation which provides services for young people and adults with mental health needs, acquired brain injuries, eating disorders, autism and learning disabilities within the UK. David shares his st ..read more

Support workers are the backbone of health and social care organisations, providing year-round care for service users, patients and residents. Leanne Flint joined Cygnet Healthcare as a support worker in 2008. Here, she writes about the training and personal development which has helped her progress. Leanne takes a positive approach to life's challenges. She is just as positive about careers in care. [Image created by freepik.com] Looking for inspiration I’d been working for an NHS GP surgery and, after many years, felt I needed a new challenge. My next-door neighbour worked at Cygnet and ..read more

Improving leadership is a journey, but you have to lay a clear path to success first. [Image created by freepik.com] Ambition for excellence The Messenger Review, published in 2022, set out an ambition to review system wide leadership development. It was an opportunity to help the health and social care system strengthen leadership and management across both sectors in England. It was also a way to help people new to their roles to better understand what is expected of them. Sir Gordon Messenger and Dame Linda Pollard’s wide-ranging review drew up seven recommendations: Interventions on ..read more

With enormous thanks to current and former Chief Social Workers for Adults, Lyn Romeo and Mark Harvey, the Social Care blog is pleased to share this fantastic blog from Southend Museums' Ciara Phipps. Her team have been exploring different ways to work more closely with social care council colleagues, to help more people understand and value the role arts, culture and heritage play in fostering good health, wellbeing and inclusive communities. "[At Southend Museums] we believe passionately more women from underrepresented backgrounds should see heritage, arts and culture roles as viable car ..read more

The Experts By Experience Team (Raf second from left): "Cygnet has embraced... lived experience into its working fabric, with a positive and accepting culture being a driving force behind the programme’s success." [Copyright Cygnet Healthcare] Who are the Experts by Experience? Experts by Experience are people with lived experience of using, or caring for someone who has used, health and or social care services. The Cygnet Experts by Experience (EBE) programme is a testament to the paradigm shift taking place in a sector embracing co-production and the value of people with lived experience ..read more

"My favourite part of the job has to be seeing practices taught in our courses being demonstrated across the three homes and making a positive change for residents." [Image created by freepik.com] A centre of excellence I’m the Learning Development and Quality Manager at specialist dementia care provider, Vida Healthcare’s training centre, Vida Academy, which was recently opened to support the career progression of our current and future colleagues. We’re always looking for new and innovative ways to support our workforce in their career progression and provide the highest quality of care to ..read more

Social care colleagues will have better training, clearer career paths and improved job prospects following the announcement of government plans to develop the domestic care workforce. The Department of Health and Social Care has unveiled a package of measures that will reaffirm care work as a career, including the Care Workforce Pathway, helping to recruit and retain talent by providing new, accredited qualifications, digital training and funded apprenticeships. Individuals drawing on care services were just as vital contributors to the Pathway's development as care staff, providers and ..read more

Social care colleagues will have better training, clearer career paths and improved job prospects following the announcement of government plans to develop the domestic care workforce. The Department of Health and Social Care has unveiled a package of measures that will reaffirm care work as a career, helping to recruit and retain talent by providing new, accredited qualifications, digital training and funded apprenticeships. Think Local Act Personal's Tim Parkin explains how his organisation helped gather views from care colleagues and those receiving or delivering unpaid care to inform the ..read more