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Education and learning | Involvement | Monitoring providers | Demonstrating continuous improvement

Education and learning

How do your dementia service providers improve their workforce through dementia education and learning approaches?

Ensuring a skilled workforce
Five main questions need to be considered to ensure the workforce has the necessary skills and ability to provide the best quality dementia care in the different settings:

  • What specific competencies (skills and knowledge and required to achieve the functions necessary to meet the needs of people with dementia) are needed?
  • What are the personal attributes needed to provide the best care for people with dementia in each specific setting?
  • At what level are these competencies required?
  • What exists in terms of provision that meets the requirements?
  • How can gaps in provision be filled most effectively?

Learning and education material

The role of accreditation
Evidence from national reports and anecdotal evidence from the South West Dementia Workforce network suggests much of the dementia education and learning is not accredited. There appears to be no consensus of whether all training courses should be accredited for introductory courses 6 due to the cost and time necessary.
However without developing quality measures and assessing learner’s outcomes it is difficult to standardise the provision of dementia education.

Qualification frameworks

  • The Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF)
    The Qualifications and Credit Framework is a regulated and credit-based qualifications system for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It provides a simple and rational organising framework that presents learner achievement and qualifications in a way that is easy to understand, measure and compare. It gives individuals the opportunity to learn in a more flexible way and enables a wider range of organisations, including employers, to have their training recognised.
  • QCF and Dementia
    Skills for Health, jointly with Skills for Care, has developed a range of units and qualifications (linked to existing National Occupational Standards) that specifically support workforce development for dementia services.
    http://www.skillsforcare.org.uk/qualifications_and_training/qualificationsandcreditframeworkQCF/dementia_qualifications.aspx
  • The Framework for Higher Education Qualifications (FHEQ)
    The Framework for Higher Education Qualifications in England, Wales and Northern Ireland FHEQ) applies to degrees, diplomas, certificates and other academic awards (other than honorary degrees and higher doctorates) granted by a higher education provider in the exercise of its degree-warding powers
    www.qaa.ac.uk/academicinfrastructure/FHEQ/EWNI08/FHEQ08.pdf

Learning approaches
There has been a considerable growth over the past decade with new use of technology to support and enhance learning and teaching.

The E learning picture is fast growing and there is a range of different e-learning, e-publishing, e-learning tools and devices and resources that are emerging within the market. This has led to moving away from classroom based teaching towards automating the training process by the use of online courses, delivered and tracked through learning management systems.

E-learning has both advantages and disadvantages:

  • Advantages – flexible learning, reducing need for travel, work at own pace, economy of scale, reach wide audience
  • Disadvantages – need for computer provision, equity of access, lack of face to face contact, need for computer literacy, academic honesty, not experiential, no opportunities for shared discussions

Learning transfer within the workplace
Research suggests that the role of teacher is still fundamental although as highlighted the mode of operation has altered 8. New models such as the Dementia Link Worker model (link to SWDP NWOW) and the ‘5 minute teach’ (see below) highlight innovative examples of sharing learning around dementia within the workplace.

Importantly the on-going learning is sustained through collaboration and teaching by someone with the formal knowledge and skills around dementia care and this can be enhanced by enabling this worker to access a teaching qualification. In busy workplaces offering a mixture of both formal and informal learning opportunities can help fulfil the variety of individual learning styles and offer greater flexibility to meet learner’s needs.

Plymouth 10 minute teach
Plymouth memory service assisted by Dr San Sreenath has developed a core knowledge set about dementia for the workforce. Topics covered include: neurological examination, bloods, the geography of the brain, scans and terminology.

The topics are introduced during the end of weekly team meetings using a slide set. The aim is that everybody should be able to teach the slides. This enables teaching ‘dementia for profession by profession’ starting with core base knowledge. Slides are randomly allocated to staff through a ‘tombola’ to make it fun. This has created a safe space for people to ask questions and learn about new approaches and evidence based practice.

Contact: Kate Anderson, Clinical Psychologist, NHS Plymouth, [email protected]

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Involvement

How do your dementia service providers ensure the voice of people with dementia and carers are included in education and learning?

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Monitoring providers

Have you a method of collecting evidence from your providers to ensure they are meeting minimum dementia competencies

As a commissioner or provider of health or social care services you need to be confident that people living with dementia and their carers are supported and cared for by a trained workforce, with the right knowledge, skills and understanding of dementia to offer the best quality care and support.

Core competencies need to be developed for people whom are not professionally qualified or registered. It is important to consider which specific competencies (skills and knowledge) are required for each role in specific settings and at what level are these competencies required.

  • Dementia Competency Framework
    The dementia competency framework suppports staff to gain the necessary knowledge and skills to provide high quality dementia care.
    http://www.southwestdementiapartnership.org.uk/dementia-competency-framework/
  • Common core principles for supporting people with dementia: a guide to training the social care and health workforce
    http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_127442
  • National Occupational Standards
    The National Occupational Standards (competences) include a specific suite, which defines the knowledge, understanding and performance criteria for service commissioners and these could support current commissioners and newly emerging commissioners as a common building block, for role development, and subsequent education and training initiatives to support these roles.
    www.skillsforhealth.org.uk/about-us/competences%10national-occupational-standards/
  • Knowledge and Skills Framework (KSF)
    The NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework (KSF) is a useful tool to:

  • Common Induction Standards
    The Common Induction Standards (CIS) provide a structured start for employees in the first 12 weeks of employment. They are designed for people entering adult social care, and those changing roles or employers. The CIS are produced by Skills for Care. The CIS were launched in 2005. A revised set was issued in May 2010. Until May 2011 both the 2005 and 2010 standards are valid. After May 2011 the old CIS will no longer be in use. The Standards are mapped to the General Social Care Council (GSCC) code of practice and if carried out in depth can provide evidence of underpinning knowledge towards the Health and Social Care Diploma at level 2 or level 3 (they are mapped to the mandatory units of the new Diploma).
    http://www.skillsforcare.org.uk/publications/publications.aspx

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Demonstrating continuous improvement

Are you assured that the dementia care providers from which you commission are demonstrating continuous improvement within the workforce such as through the use of observational tools, supervision and appraisal, and continuing professional development?

Continuous learning environment
For students to be motivated to learn they need to be interested in their work and through feeling involved and empowered within their organisation and being offered a variety of learning activities can help create a positive learning culture and climate.

However it is important to consider a few basic questions to meet the needs of the individual learners:

  • How do staff prefer to learn?
  • Are staff able to travel?
  • Timing?
  • Workplace based or away or home?
  • Do staff have access to IT in workplace
  • Do staff have access to IT at home
  • Is allocated time given for learning outside of role?

Motivation is also a key factor in learning and linked closely to attitude. Motivation is often seen as needs related 9. Other theorists 10 identified that it is essential to student motivation that the teacher identifies and communicates goals with students and generates expectations in them.

Leadership
Leadership is crucial within dementia workforce developments and commissioners need to have confidence that any provider organisation has a commitment to providing leadership at Board and senior clinician level. Furthermore there is the need within dementia care settings themselves to encourage leadership approaches through empowerment of staff and leading a culture of learning which is crucial to any transformation process 11

South West Dementia Partnership currently run a dementia leadership programme. Contact Steve Onyett 01278 432002 for further information.

Continuing Professional Development

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