Endorsement Framework

Transcription

1 Endorsement Framework for providers A unique badge of quality for learning and development providers in the adult social care sector Handbook

2 Endorsement Handbook Version: 3.2 April 2018

3 Foreword from our CEO The endorsement framework was created to help employers in the sector find high quality learning and development providers and programmes. We developed the framework in response to an increasing demand from employers who were looking for a quality mark that promoted excellence in social care. This quality mark would ultimately have a direct impact on those who use care and support services. The aim of the framework is to highlight and celebrate high quality training provision which underpins the core skills and values of outstanding adult social care work. This handbook helps explain the framework, detailing the standards and the quality indicators within it. Using experienced professionals as application reviewers ensures a rigorous, transparent and auditable process from start to finish. I d like to welcome you to the endorsement framework and wish you every success with your application. Sharon Allen CEO, Skills for Care

4 Contents This handbook is your complete introduction to becoming an endorsed provider. However, it should be used in conjuction with the self evaluation and dimension explained documents. All these can be found on the Applying and renewing page: 1. Introduction 4 2. Benefits 5 3. The stages of endorsement 6 4. Types of endorsement 7 5. How to be endorsed 9 6. Routes to endorsement Tips for applying Submitting your application Outcomes Once you re endorsed 17

5 1. Introduction Why we need an endorsement framework The endorsement framework has been developed with employers, learning providers and people who need care and support. It s been designed to help reassure employers, in times of increasing financial pressure that the training they commission will be high quality. By choosing an endorsed provider they are guaranteed: the quality of learning and development provision they purchase is of a high quality the provider has demonstrated their commitment to the values which underpin good social care. As a learning provider, gaining the Skills for Care endorsement immediately indicates that your provision is high quality and specifically designed for the needs of social care. The principles of the framework follow and expand upon the values of delivering care and embed the dimensions of the Leadership Qualities Framework and the National Occupational Standards for learning and development. The framework specifically focusses on achieving a better outcome for those who access services. Inclusivity: Embracing all providers of education, training, learning and development, including colleges of further and higher education, work-based learning providers, local authorities, employers and individual trainers. Authority: Basing evaluation and judgement on clear, demonstrable evidence of practice that reflects the values of social care. Leadership and management: How well-led the provider is. Quality and assessment: Evidence of the impact of the training. Where other quality marks coincide with the interests of the endorsement framework, they can be used in conjunction with the supporting evidence submitted. If you ve already achieved Matrix or Investors in People, these awards can be used as supporting evidence too. A rigorous quality assurance mechanism is urgently needed, to police a market in which it is very easy to set up as a training provider, and in which too many workers are signed off as competent without necessarily being so. The Cavendish Review 5

6 2. Benefits Gaining endorsement brings the following benefits: Raise the profile of your business: details of your organisation and courses will be promoted in the endorsement directory on our website. Product quality: commissioners of learning and development will feel assured that if they come to you, they will receive the best possible product. Quality mark: you can use the relevant quality mark on your marketing and publicity materials. Quality assurance: those looking for learning and development will be able to select from a list of provision which has been through a sector specific quality assurance process. Reflective tool: providers who have been endorsed have found the process to be an invaluable opportunity to review processes and practices. The endorsement framework can be used as a developmental tool to put in place appropriate systems, key processes and procedures within your organisation, which is particularly helpful if you are new to the sector. Endorsement is a statement of quality to our partners, employers and learners. A thorough screening process demonstrates and reassures our key stakeholders of our commitment to quality. The process itself has helped our organisation focus on the quality of our offer. Chris Wilkins, Beacon Education Partnership, Endorsed Provider 6

7 3. The stages to endorsement The middle pages of this handbook explain the three stages to becoming endorsed: 1. The decision phase - is endorsement for you and your organisation? 2. The application phase - how you complete the application form and what sort of evidence you should gather to meet the criteria 3. Endorsement phase - how you get reviewed and what will be the outcome? Who can apply? If your organisation or individual provides education, training and/or learning and development to the adult social care sector you can apply for endorsement. This includes: education, training, learning and development providers further education colleges higher education institutions local authorities individual trainers private learning and development providers voluntary organisations employers offering programmes or courses to their own employees or to the employees of their organisations. Where adult social care provision is only a part of an organisation s suite of programmes, you might want to seek endorsement for that particular department. Excellent training contributes to excellent care 7

8 4. Types of endorsement Endorsed provider You become an endorsed provider when you have completed your application successfully and had it confirmed by our dedicated endorsment team that you deliver quality care to our sector. Visit to find out how you can start your application to become endorsed on our Applying and renewing section. e-learning endorsement Our endorsement framework also offers endorsement to online learning. We ve developed robust quality checks for this important part of adult social care learning and development provision to uphold the values of the endorsement framework. You can find out more about endorsing e-learning at Both types of endorsement level has four dimensions to complete, each with criteria that require information on: Leadership and management Quality assurance and improvement Staff development Working with learners Other existing quality marks that organisations and individuals already have, for example Investors in People and Matrix can be used to enhance application evidence along with external quality assurance checks from Ofsted and awarding organisations. However, you DO NOT have to hold or be subject to these to become endorsed. We cannot endorse what might be good and therefore it is important that suitable learning is already place and that evidence can be provided to demonstrate the impact your training has had. 8

9 5. Routes to endorsement There are two routes to endorsement. Online This route is an opportunity to gather and document all your evidence and complete the full application form in your own time. Your self-evaluation will need to be supported by demonstrable evidence and, where appropriate, quantitative (statistical) data. You should be able to identify what you do well, what needs to be improved and how improvement can be monitored, achieved and evaluated. You could begin by identifying possible: kinds of evidence in relation to the dimensions sources of evidence in relation to the dimensions evidence from other quality approval schemes. You ll need to think about the value of the information you use as part of your management, planning, evaluation, quality assurance and improvement activities, as part of your application. Reflective questions You might find it helpful to structure your thinking around the following questions when applying: what are we trying to do? why are we doing it? how are we doing it? why is that the best way to do it? how can we improve it? The key to a successful application will be your ability to tell the story of your organisation and your provision why and how you do what you do. Every story will be different, but the endorsement process has been designed to celebrate this difference, whilst working to very clearly articulated underpinning principles. Mark Poland, Programme Manager, Skills for Care 9

10 6. Tips for applying Are we ready for endorsement? Use our self-assessment tool to find out if you re in a position to start your endorsement journey. You can find it on our webpage under how to apply. Appoint a co-ordinator You ll need to identify someone within your organisation to coordinate your application. This person will: decide which route to endorsement is best for you and your organisation oversee the preparation of your application including delegating to others have sufficient authority to act on behalf of your organisation be able to coordinate the completion of your application gather supporting evidence need to be available for site visits and respond to the reviewer s questions. There is further help for co-ordinators in the next section of this guide. Making a start In preparing your application, don t just describe what is already in place. You should evaluate your current provision against the requirements for endorsement. You need to present relevant evidence for each of the dimensions and statements that reflect what is actually in place. If you identify any shortcomings, you should address them before applying. Gathering evidence The evidence you produce for review should demonstrate the uniqueness of your organisation, your target audience, and what you are trying to achieve. This will relate to your organisation s mission, your expressed values, and your aims and objectives. If you already submit tenders or bids, you may already have a lot of this information in one place. Evidence will vary depending on the size and type of operation and the type of learning programmes you offer. Your evidence might be: policy documents market research outcomes of evaluations marketing materials evidence of staff continuing professional development statistics relating to your organisations growth learner participation and achievement rates. 10

11 Completing the application Section 1: Applicant details You should provide details about your organisation, the range of programmes you provide for adult social care and which of these programmes are included in your submission. This section is to give our reviewer a good overview. Section 2: Supporting evidence When filling out section two, please ensure you make reference to supporting evidence for each of the dimensions, and that you clearly signpost reviewers to that evidence. Section 3: List of evidence This gives you an opportunity to number and list all your evidence, to enable the reviewers to easily link your application form with your evidence. Section 4: Submission checklist To help the reviewer, please ensure that you reference your evidence in the narrative of your application and on the list at the end of the application form. The reviewer will only consider the information submitted. The self-evaluation and supporting evidence submitted in the application should reflect your quality assurance and quality improvement arrangements. You can read more about the application process later in the handbook. Referencing your evidence It s your responsibility to ensure that the reviewer can easily test and verify what you say in your application form by finding the relevant evidence. The application form gives you details of the format for your application, examples of the amount and type of evidence required and how you should present it. You might then want to ask yourself: have I missed anything? have I missed anyone? is there anything we are currently using or doing which is not effective or giving us the information we need? is there anything we are currently using or doing which may be giving us unreliable information? If you need any further guidance about each part of the application process please visit our website 11

12 7. Submitting your application When you are satisfied that your application meets all of the requirements, your completed form and the supporting evidence document to Once you ve submitted your application we ll send you an invoice for your application fee. Your application will then be sent for review, and submitted to the next available review panel. Remember: 1. Only the application form and supporting evidence needs to be submitted to Skills for Care. 2. If you need any further guidance about each part of the application process please visit our website Reviewers will make judgements about the evidence presented in the context of your mission, aims and objectives. The reviewers will be looking for genuine reflection and evaluation, as well as a description of policies and procedures of your organisation. 8. Outcomes Once your application has been reviewed, the report and it s recommendations will be passed to a review panel for validation. You will be informed in writing of the panels judgements and the outcome of the review process. You will then receive the final summary report containing information which informed the outcome. Grading - Endorsement All applicants are given a grading by the panel: Grade 1 will immediately be endorsed as a Centre of Excellence (subject to an annual renewal fee and documentation). A certificate of achievement valid for a 12 month period will be sent. It will be replaced annually during the three year period on receipt of renewal documents and payment one month prior to expiry date. Grade 2 will be endorsed by Skills for Care and receive an action plan for partially met criteria. They will be required to complete any partially met criteria in dimensions three to six during the period of endorsement. They will be sent a certificate of achievement and a logo. During annual renewal, evidence will be required to meet the relevant criteria. 12

13 Grade 3 cannot be endorsed at this stage and will be sent an action plan detailing the requirements to meet partially met dimensions in one and two. They will have three months to fully implement the action plan before being awarded recognition. Grade 4 cannot be endorsed at this stage. The review of the application has demonstrated that certain evidence presented does not meet that dimension and further clarification or evidence has been requested. The applicant has up to six months to provide evidence which supports and meets the relevant dimension criteria. However, this information can be submitted as soon as the applicant feels it s suitable. Once approved, the applicant can be endorsed. 9. Once you re endorsed The endorsement directory One of the key benefits of being endorsed is the ability to gain new business. In order to encourage this, we ve developed the endorsement directory. This is an online directory providing contact information and course details of all our endorsed providers viewed by thousands of adult social care employers who visit the Skills for Care website every month. If you d like to take advantage of this opportunity, we ll contact you for the following. Provider profile page Using your application form, we ll list your contact details together with a brief overview of your organisation. You can check this information and amend it if you wish. Course listing Using a CSV file, you can send us your course details. We can upload this information into our directory so that employers can search for your courses. There is guidance available for putting this file together. Duration of the Endorsement You will need to pay an annual fee and provide an annual update to Skills for Care indicating any changes in your operations, client groups, services and programmes offered. This update will be reviewed by Skills for Care representatives to ensure that any changes in practice are unlikely to jeopardise the quality of provision. 13

14 Terms and conditions To download a copy of our terms and conditions, please visit our website Situations when suspension of endorsement might occur If you no longer meet Skills for Care endorsement requirements, for example because of a significant number of complaints received or as a consequence of a major change within the organisation, this may result in temporary or permanent suspension of endorsement. If this occurs, the following process will apply. You will be given a time-limited opportunity to put into place corrective actions. For the duration of this period your entry in the endorsement directory will be suspended and you must cease to use the Skills for Care logo. Where you are not able to apply corrective actions, endorsement will be withdrawn and all endorsed programmes and courses will be removed from the directory. If you believe that the Skills for Care endorsement process has not been followed correctly you can make an appeal. If you wish to use the complaints or appeals procedure, please contact us at endorsement@skillsforcare.org.uk. Successful achievement of any of the endorsement levels provides multiple benefits to the applicant but is ultimately driven by the core aim of improving outcomes for people who need care and support. 14

15 twitter.com/skillsforcare facebook.com/skillsforcare linkedin.com/company/skills-for-care Skills for Care West Gate 6 Grace Street Leeds LS1 2RP T: E: endorsement@skillsforcare.org.uk skillsforcare.org.uk/endorsement Skills for Care