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SCIE: Influencing better policy and practice nationally

SCIE provides evidence and insights to inform decision-making and to influence, develop and evaluate policy to improve practice and outcomes.

New report: ‘Towards a National Care Service: raising national standards of care’

We have launched a new report, ‘Towards a National Care Service: raising national standards of care’, which sets out how national standards could help deliver greater consistency, fairness and quality in adult social care across England. The Government has committed to reform adult social care through creating a National Care Service, underpinned by national standards of care. Beyond this commitment, we know very little about what national standards of care will look like, how they will be delivered or what they are aimed at achieving.

SCIE, with support from The Access Group, has therefore hosted a series of roundtables to help define national standards of care and shape the government’s reforms.

Drawing on evidence from SCIE-led policy roundtables and lived experience, our report proposes a practical framework for translating shared values into clear, outcome-focused expectations for a future National Care Service.

Roundtable series on national standards of care: Appendices

The purpose of the roundtables was to co-produce the practical framework mentioned above that will support consistency, personalisation and quality across the country. These roundtables brought together policymakers, commissioners, people who draw on care and support, unpaid carers, providers and researchers to debate the principles, key opportunities and levers for change. 

The following appendices share insights from each roundtable discussion.

National standards of care: Articles

This collection of blogs and press releases brings together key insights from a series of cross-sector discussions led by SCIE in partnership with The Access Group. Drawing on perspectives from social care, health, government, regulation and lived experience, it examines accountability, trust and how national standards can genuinely improve people’s lives.

SCIE and The Access Group lead sector drive to define national standards of care

Towards a National Care Service – By Kathryn Marsden OBE, SCIE Chief Executive Officer

Taking first steps towards a National Care Service – exploring how we raise standards of care – By Kathryn Marsden OBE, SCIE Chief Executive Officer

Navigating the digital frontier: building infrastructure and empowering people through technology in social care – By Deborah Rozansky, SCIE Director of Policy, Research and Information and Martin Lowthian, The Access Group Quality and Compliance Specialist

Integration must start with people’s lives, not system structures – By Ian McCreath, Think Local, Act Personal (TLAP) Director

Who owns standards of care—and how do we make them work? – By George Appleton, Head of External Affairs, SCIE

A workforce strategy for social care: Expectations from across the social care sector

This report brings together insights from four sector roundtables held in autumn 2023 to set out shared expectations for a future social care workforce strategy—focusing on pay and reward, international recruitment, training and retention to support a growing workforce under increasing pressure.

Read report

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