SISCo Project

Integrating basic skills in social care induction

Alexander BraddellSISCo Consultant

Work relevant to embedding

SISCo Project: support for managers

Skills Escalator Centre: support for departments

Learning through Work: on-the-job basic skills

learning

Lessons from Learning through Work Basic skills matter at work for safety, quality and flexibility

Organisations lack skills and development strategies

Work practices reinforce low skills problems, despite

investment in off-the-job training

Work activity offers development opportunities

Systematic support for on-the-job learning could

– Support work teams to apply basic skills more effectively

– Enable individuals to develop stronger basic skills

– Support better people / performance management

SISCo – Supporting Induction in Social Care

Project partners: SCIE (Social Care Institute for Excellence),

Skills for Care (Sector Skills Council), SEEDA (SE RDA)

Integrate basic skills with induction

‘Proof of concept’ 18 month pilot project; began March 06

Nationally representative sample of 20 SE employers

Facilitated by workplace basic skills learning providers

SISCo aim

Motivate and enable employers, managers to take

action on basic skills

Question 1.

Why don’t employers, managers already take

effective action on basic skills?

Basic skills in social care workplace

“Literacy, language and numeracy skills are essential skills for

social care. Substitute the words ‘communication’ and

‘measuring and calculation’, and the message becomes clear.

All staff, whatever their role in the organisation, need those

skills to understand and follow procedures, interpret the needs

of service users, convey information to and about them.”

‘Essential Skills for Health and Social Care’ (UNISON report 2005)

SISCo research findings

Managers…

1. Acknowledge basic skills issues in their workplaces

2. Lack confidence, expertise, resources to take action

3. Are only willing to address basic skills issues within

existing constraints (time, resources)

Basic skills in the workplace

Little specification of any kind of skills; focus on evidencing

competency against occupational standards

Most skills assessment done during induction period

Basic skills = ‘Can or can’t read / write / speak English’ (broad

brush stroke approach)

Basic skills issue = individual skills deficit = ‘difficult issue’

Area for specialist intervention, outside of work

Help for managers

Definition of basic skills that managers can work with

Safe, practical way to check if employees have basic skills

required for their jobs

Practical guidance to specify, communicate, monitor and support

the application of basic skills

Help to make it easier to compare key occupational standards

SISCo basic skills definitionBasic skills = social care skills = ability to

process (i.e. use and understand) information and

communicate

as required by the job, defined by the manager, to work safely

and meet quality standards

Issues for managers: risk management, quality assurance

Focus on collective competence, not individual deficits

SISCo tools

User-friendly assessments to make skills visible

Practical action plans to specify, communicate,

monitor and support the application of basic skills

‘Compare standards’ tool to make relevant

occupational standards more accessible

Assessments Paper-based for flexibility (downloadable pdfs)

Bank of 15 minute job-related ‘skills checks’

Explains skill requirement to member of staff

Guides manager through ‘safe’ discussion of basic skills with

member of staff

Provides structure for manager to check skills

Presented in language managers (and staff) can relate to

Action Plans Paper-based for flexibility (downloadable pdfs)

Short, practical step-by-step plans for managers to take action on

basic skills issues, within existing constraints

Dual orientation: organisational and individual

Focus: effective collective application of skills

Priority: risk management, quality assurance

Presented in language managers (and staff) can relate to

What’s different about SISCo? Aimed at employers, not SfL providers

‘Basic skills’ defined as ability to process information and

communicate as required by job role

Grounded in social care standards, not educational standards

Prioritises risk management, not individual progression

Focused on skill application to work safely, meet quality standards

‘Assessments’ administered by managers, offer staff genuine

learning about job and skills required

Action plans oriented to collective competence, respect constraints

managers operate under

SISCo Project

Integrating basic skills in social care induction

www.sisco.org.uk

Alexander BraddellSISCo Consultant

alex@bscity.fsnet.co.uk