Heart of the South Care Agency - Training - Heart of the South

This organisation recognises that its most important resource is it's employeesl. Good practice and Duty of Care are the standards by which we are judged. We believe that the skills and expertise of our workforce are of paramount importance in ensuring that we provide the best possible service to our many clients. It is committed to the training and development of it's entire workforce so that they will gain the necessary skills to reach their full potential. This will assist in enabling the organisation to acheive it's aims and objectives that are: To provide specialised, high quality care and rehabilitation to vunerable people through a well trained and supported working team. By increasing the skills and knowledge of it's staff the organisation will produce confident, highly qualified staff working as an effective and efficient team.

The individual training and development needs will be identified through:

A training neeeds analysis supervision questionnaire
An annual performance appraisal
Requests from employees
Care Standards Requirements

The training and development needs identified will be met through a variety of activities depending on the nature and extent of the requirements deemed necessary after assessment.

All internal training provided by the organisation will be provided at no cost to the employee. External courses and professional qualifications may be fully or partly funded by the organisation depending on the nature of the training.

Employees are responsible for their own devolopment and as such may inform the organisation of their development needs and take part in prescribed development activities.

As part of the organisation's continuing commitment to training and development, employees are asked to provide feedback on the value and effectiveness of the training and development they undertake. This information will be used to assess and improve the training process.

This policy respects equal opportunities and applies it to all employees.

Staff Development

Staff development, which includes all aspects of training, is one of the elements of Heart of the South's Human Resources Strategy. The aim of this strategy and it's supporting policies and procedures is to provide a working environment in which staff are able to maximise their performance, commitment and contribution to the aims of the Agency.

Staff Development is the term used to include all activities, which are undertaken by and for staff in order to maintain, up-date and enhance their work related knowledge , skills and capabilities.

Guiding principles

The following principles guide the Staff Training iniative and apply to all aspects of staff development and training activity delivered both centrally and by individual academic or support area's. (There is a profound commitment to staff development in our organisation, Lifelong Development and Training being a strong belief of our Founder and Director.)

1. All employees regardless of age, grade, gender, disability or ethnic background or nature of their contact of employment are expected to undertake staff development and training, which is viewed as a continuous process throughout employemnt.

2. Staff are required to assume responsibility for their own development and training, which includes both participation in planned activities and making use of opportunities to learn when they are presented.

3. Staff development and training is an obligation for line managers who are responsible for identifying individual training and development needs and supporting and encouraging staff.

Formal processes, induction, appraisal and training needs analysis are used at the individual level and staff development and training takes place from the start of your relationship with our organisation.

4. Accountability for staff development and training rests with managment at every level.

5. Staff development and training provision will be evaluated and reviewed to ensure that it is adequate, relevant, effective and provides real value for money.

Priorities for Staff Development and Training

Identified strategic priorities for staff development and training , in the short to medium term are:

Staff development and training for the care worker
Staff development and training to support care workers
Leadership and management development
Best practice in the manageement of people
Enahancing service delivery

Staff development and training priorities will be regularly reviewed by the Registered Manager and the Training Development Manager, both of whom have responsibility for our Staff training and Development policy.

Development Plans

Heart of the South Agency in partnership with local College's and other support services will be required to prepare training and development plans, which will reflect the achievement of academic and operational plans and the outcomes of the appraisal processes for different catorgories of staff.

These plans will be approved and reviewed annually by the Registered Manager and the Training Development Manager.

Training records

Training records will be maintained by Heart of the South Care Agency Ltd. subject to data protection requirements.

Funding Policies

The Agencies central budget for staff development and training is administered by the Training and Development Manager. These funds are allocated to support hear of the South in the achievement of training objectives. Funding is available for Individuals and they need to consult the Registered Manager on training needs. We receive Goverment funding for all statutory training, if funding is not available under this scheme, the Training and Development Manager will source funding.

Charges for Training

Charges are not imposed for attendace at courses funded from Heart of the South's Training and Development Budget. However individual's who have booked a place on the course, will be charged the full unit course for that training. Where a NVQ has been started and funded by Heart of the South and the mamber of staff leaves before the NVQ is completed then the balance of thje payment will be the responsibility of that member of staff.

We conduct regular supervisions and appraisals, using this opportunity to identify and discuss staff training needs. Staff are expected to complete all mandatory courses within the guidelines set down by CSCI. These consist of, and not exhaustive, NVQ 2,3,4 and a three day thorough induction before commencement of work.

Review of the Policy

The Staff Development and Training Policy will be revised and up-dated as and when needed. To increase our workforce with the appropriate qualifications and to improve through training the effectiveness of Human resource management we access social care funding from surrey care association, for more information please see www.skillsforcare.org.uk