SCIE news and events

New films for Social Care TV

A new set of films released today point social care workers and managers in the direction of good practice when providing social care for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people.

• See media release for details

Get Connected

Care providers who don’t currently have good access to the internet, can now be supported, as a new ICT programme opens for business. Organisations can apply for a slice of the £12 million of investment grants being distributed by SCIE.

• See media release for details

SCIE response to National Audit Office dementia report

SCIE´s Chair Allan Bowman says: "The National Audit Office are right to bring to prominence the issue of implementing the national dementia strategy. As the body responsible for gathering and disseminating evidence of what works in social care, we are well aware of the need constantly to strive to close the gap between policy aspiration and the reality on the ground in too many places. But the job of spreading good practice is made easier because of the many great examples of services where staff are giving dignity, respect and a decent quality of life back to people with dementia."

• See media release for details

CBE for SCIE Chief Executive

Julie Jones, Chief Executive of SCIE has been awarded a CBE in the New Year's Honours List 2010. Speaking about the announcement Ms Jones says: "I am surprised and delighted. It is a real honour and I also take it as a recognition of the crucial work carried out by the social care sector." Ms Jones joined SCIE in 2007.

New SCIE board members announced

SCIE is delighted to announce the appointment of three new trustees to its board. Louise Brown, Sukhvinder Kaur-Stubbs and Stephanie Palmerone came out on top of a high-quality field of candidates.

• See media release for details.

Online help for social care organisations

Get Connected is launched today. Adult social care providers in England can apply for a share of £12m in investment grants.

• Visit the Get Connected section for more information.

SCIE response to Care Quality Commission reports

Commenting on the Care Quality Commission’s first major statement on the quality of adult social care, Allan Bowman, Chair of the Social Care Institute for Excellence, says:

“This is a valuable and welcome contribution to the national picture on the quality of social care. Naturally it’s good to see reported improvements, but as the Social Work Task Force has highlighted this week, no one in the sector can afford to be complacent.”

• See media release for details.

Personalisation: two new mental health publications

Two SCIE publications are launched today addressing the implications of personalisation for those providing mental health services; an At a glance briefing for all staff working in mental health and a report for leaders and managers. SCIE says it’s important to ensure that people with mental health problems can take as much control as possible over their support arrangements, to pursue their recovery and to achieve social inclusion on their own terms.

• At a glance 18: Personalisation briefing: Implications for community mental health services
• Report 27: Leadership for personalisation and social inclusion in mental health
• See media release for further details.

Social care entente-cordiale

Today sees the signing of a French and British agreement on social care good practice. The international concordat looks at how SCIE and Agence Nationale de l’Evaluation et de la Qualite des Etablissements sociaux et médicaux-sociaux (ANESM) can work together as key players in the drive to improve quality in social care services.

• See media release for details.

SCIE’s response to the Queen’s speech

“Of course we need as a nation, to consider how we pay for care in the future – but it’s equally important to ensure that the services we use are cost-effective, personalised and delivered by a well-supported, skilled workforce.”

• Click here to read SCIE Chair, Allan Bowman’s statement.

Care and Support Green Paper

The Big Debate has now finished. Click on the link below to read SCIE’s response to the Care and Support Green Paper.

• Shaping the future of care together: Response from the Social Care Institute for Excellence (413kb PDF file)

Dementia awareness for all older people’s workers

SCIE responds to the Alzheimer’s Society report 'Counting the cost – Caring for people with dementia on hospital wards'.

• See Media release

Dementia Gateway launched

The Dementia Gateway materials go live today. It’s the first time that such a comprehensive set of resources have been developed. It’s everything that you need to know about dementia for staff, managers, carers, commissioners and people with dementia.

• Visit the Dementia gateway
• See Media release

Get the picture with Social Care TV

It's a first for social care – your own broadband channel. View or download films and useful resources on the key issues in social care.

• Visit Social Care TV
• See Media release

Restraint: new materials and resources

The use of restraint is a challenging and at times controversial issue for the many workers who provide care and support in domestic and residential settings. Today sees a new set of resources available to the workforce, to support them to understand when restraint is appropriate, how to make informed decisions, and to introduce approaches to help avoid its use.

• At a glance 16: Managing risk, minimising restraint
• e-learning resources with accompanying training guides
• Report 25: Minimising the use of ‘restraint’ in care homes: challenges, dilemmas and positive approaches
• Report 26: Restraint in care homes for older people: a review of selected literature
• Media release

At a glance personalisation briefings

As the personalisation agenda moves from the ‘what’ to the ‘how’, SCIE is developing a series of 'At a glance' briefings to present an overview of the implications for different professional groups involved in the transformation process. The following briefings are currently available:

• At a glance 06: Personalisation briefing: Implications for commissioners
• At a glance 07: Personalisation briefing: Implications for home care providers
• At a glance 08: Personalisation briefing: Implications for housing providers
• At a glance 10: Personalisation briefing: Implications for carers
• At a glance 12: Personalisation briefing: Implications for advocacy workers
• At a glance 13: Personalisation briefing: Implications for voluntary sector service providers
• At a glance 15: Personalisation briefing: Implications for user-led organisations (ULOs)
• Media release: User-led organisations steer the way ahead on personalisation (3 November 2009)
• At a glance 17: Personalisation briefing: Implications for residential care homes
• Media release: Care homes at the heart of personalisation (9 November 2009)

Welcoming the Social Work Task Force report

SCIE’s Chief Executive Julie Jones says that the Task Force, in its interim report, “has listened to the views of a range of people. We were one of the groups that proposed that leadership of social workers should be strengthened and that all social workers need knowledge and skills in working with individuals of all ages, families and communities.”

• See media release for details.

Media contact

Iris Steen | Director of Communications | T: 020 7089 7122 | M: 07885 736 643 | Email: iris.steen@scie.org.uk

Steve Palmer | Press and Public Affairs Manager | T: 020 7089 7117 | Mobile: 07905 471 711 | Email: media@scie.org.uk