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County Durham Care Academy
This case study is part of the publication, "Care and Health Career Academies: What good looks like". Care and health career academies are relatively new initiatives, and the national picture is constantly evolving. This project was undertaken to develop a better understanding of care and health career academies in England. It aims to share emerging learning on the development of academies and insights as to what good looks like.
What good looks like
Background and context
County Durham is a largely rural area with an estimated population of 522,100. It is estimated that there are around 12,000 adult social care posts in the region. The staff turnover rate is 29.6 per cent, higher than the regional average of 26.4 per cent.
The County Durham Care Academy was established by the Durham County Council (DCC) Commissioning Services Team in 2019, in partnership with the council’s adult education service. The aim of the Academy is to support local social care providers to recruit staff and develop their existing workforce.
The Academy initially targeted those individuals who were new to care by developing a six-week ‘Routeway into adult social care’ programme. However, the COVID-19 pandemic changed its trajectory, shifting the focus to more imminent workforce needs and utilising digital training.
The Academy’s mission is to support the development of a well-led, skilled and valued social care workforce in County Durham. To achieve this, the Academy works with both adult and children’s social care providers, focusing on two key areas:
- recruitment and retention
- training and development.
Delivery model
A Multi-Agency Care Academy Partnership Group provides oversight of the Academy.
Key partners in the group include:
- DCC Adult and Health Services – Integrated Strategic Commissioning Team
- DCC Children and Young People’s Service – Durham Learn Service
- DCC Corporate Affairs – Marketing Team • North East and North Cumbria (NENC) Integrated Care Board
- County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust
- Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Trust
- Durham County Carers Support
- Unpaid Carers Network.
Provider engagement is achieved through a provider panel, Registered Manager networks and provider forums.
As shown below, the Multi-Agency Care Academy Partnership Group provides direction for a Business Planning and Delivery Group. This is made up of key Council staff who deliver the Academy’s services and report to the Multi-Agency Care Academy Partnership Group. The Business Planning and Delivery Group consists of a Care Academy Performance Group and a Care Academy Marketing Group.
Multi-Agency Care Academy Partnership Group Provides direction for the Business Planning and Delivery Group
Responsible for decision-making and reporting.
- Local health and social care organisations
- CEO of the local Unpaid Carers Network
Business Planning and Delivery Group Reports to the Multi-Agency Care Academy Partnership Group
Responsible for planning and milestone delivery.
Consists of a Care Academy Performance Group and a Care Academy Marketing Group.
The Academy team consists of six permanent members of staff. It sits within the Council’s Adult and Health Services Integrated Strategic Commissioning Team. The team has developed working relationships with several partners, including the local NHS organisations’ training and education providers, Jobcentre Plus and council employment support teams.
The Academy has developed a local offer with training and education providers that include New College Durham, Bishop Auckland College, Sunderland College and Northumbria University. Other organisations have also been commissioned by the Academy as needed, including:
- North East Ambulance Service
- GP Federations
- Pharmacists
- Charities
- Private training providers.
Funding
The Academy is primarily funded by the Council as a strategic priority area for Adult and Health Services. There is a relatively small allocation of the Council’s base budget for the Academy, which includes funding for recruitment and training activity. Additional funding streams have also enabled the recruitment of short-term temporary roles to add capacity to the Academy team when required.
Scope and activities
The Academy undertakes a range of collaborative projects and initiatives, including the following:
Recruitment and retention work
- identifying and highlighting where there is a need for social care staff
- marketing activities (for example TV adverts, newspaper editorials, case studies, social media campaigns, press releases, ‘day in the life’ videos) - Recruitment videos
- job brokerage, placements and recruitment training sessions
- international recruitment support for some providers
- targeted community outreach work completed by the employability taskforce within the council
- ‘Routeway’ programme – a Sector-Based Work Academy Programme for those wishing to pursue a career in social care
- Personal Assistant Induction Training (as a route into registering as a Personal Assistant)
- peer support for implementation and use of the Care Friends app, including funding for providers to buy licences for the app
- resources to support providers with their recruitment and retention activity – in the form of a website aimed at adult social care managers, which consolidates guidance, signposting and information about what is available.
Training and development
- identifying training provider needs through forums and Registered Manager networks, care home provider panels, emails and website feedback
- gathering attendee feedback for evaluation purposes and to inform future development and commissioning of training courses
- training for unpaid carers (in partnership with the Unpaid Carers Network)
- wide range of training for providers, examples including sepsis awareness, falls prevention and moving and handling
- support for Registered Manager network chairs (Care Homes and Domiciliary Care)
- specific support, for example, the ‘Walkers to Drivers’ scheme for domiciliary care and Positive Behavioural Support qualifications for learning disability support services.
Advice and guidance
- administration of Workforce Development Fund allocation on behalf of Skills for Care
- supporting provider-led Registered Manager networks by providing training, signposting and advice. The support includes presentations from the CQC on health or social care related topics and visits from NHS nurses, who deliver ‘bitesize’ training on things like infection prevention and control.
On stop shop for care providers: The Academy has developed working relationships with over 300+ care providers in the local area and has direct links and good working relationships with these providers, including provider forums, panels and networks. This has allowed the Academy to act as a one-stop shop for provider training. This includes coordinating promotion of local partners’ training offer and commissioning local and national training providers in response to feedback from the health and social care sector and providers.
Virtual work experience tool: The Academy has developed a virtual work experience tool, which introduces local health and social care employers and provides first-hand examples of the types of jobs that are available in adult social care. It allows users to ‘meet’ employees who describe their roles and day-to-day responsibilities in a virtual environment – providing real-life, first-hand examples of individuals working in care.
‘Routeway’ programme: This is a six-week fast-track programme delivered online and face-to-face on a part-time basis. Qualifications include Food Hygiene, First Aid and Level 1 Preparing to Work in Social Care. This gives learners a good basis for starting their career in care. The Academy utilises its links with local social care employers to provide learners with a guaranteed interview at the end of the programme.
What makes it good?
From the outset, County Durham Care Academy had a strong focus on branding and marketing and establishing a digital presence. For example, the Academy website enables providers to book courses online, thereby ensuring a seamless process for those looking to access the Academy’s offer. There is also a strong social media presence on Facebook and YouTube with regular updates on the Academy’s activities. Good quality media content has been important in ensuring that the Academy’s partners (in particular Jobcentre Plus across County Durham) can promote its offer.
We’re giving Jobcentre Plus staff something that’s easy to promote, something they can sell.”
The Academy also has a strong focus on inter-departmental collaboration and integration, which helps ensure there is no duplication of services. For example, referrals are made to the Academy by other council departments undertaking community outreach rather than the Academy targeting these communities directly. This enables a joined-up and effective use of resources and activities.
It’s about creating links and leveraging existing networks and referral routes.”
In addition, the Academy has been able to utilise existing, direct links with partners and providers to further enhance its offer. The Academy has links with more than 200 local providers and participates in a regional task group, where learning is shared with other councils that are in the process of launching an academy. As the most established academy in the North East, it has acted as a ‘trailblazer’, providing a blueprint for other academies in the region to refer to.
The Academy has also demonstrated an ability to be flexible with regard to their offer, for example by choosing to address more immediate workforce needs that arose during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Challenges
At design and implementation stage, it was important for the Academy to have a clear plan for its offer and what the collaborative partnership needed to achieve. Whilst this plan and the establishment of the Academy was agreed at a senior level across local health and social care organisations, it took some time for this to cascade down to work with individual teams. This included supporting providers with training, to ensure all their training offer was being promoted by the Academy, and that a complementary approach was being taken across organisations. Over time this systematic approach has been fully embedded, and the Academy is recognised as the lead for work with providers on their workforce development.
Having clarity on your offer is really important. Who are your stakeholders? Who are you supporting? What will you support them with? Answering those questions beforehand is crucial.”
Impact
The Academy’s tracking data shows that:
- for the training courses on offer, 547 training modules or qualifications were completed in 2021/2022, 553 in 2022/2023, and 733 in 2023/24
- 328 people were recruited through the Care Friends app
- 149 individuals have been supported into employment in the social care sector by the County Durham Care Academy since its implementation.
“[The Academy] is so well established now it is seen as a key part of the County Durham Care Partnership’s work.”
The Academy is currently developing a series of case studies which will highlight their impact for individuals, including how they have helped people to use existing skills to make the switch to a new career within the social care sector.
Further information
Website: County Durham Care Academy
Contact: [email protected]