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North Tyneside 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.

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What good looks like

About

  • Region: North East
  • Type of locality: Urban
  • Year of launch: 2023
  • Academy type: Care Academy
  • Funding model: Local authority funded
  • Key features: Provider-led and council-facilitated

Background and context

In 2022/23, the adult social care sector in North Tyneside had a workforce of approximately 7,400 people – comprised of 6,900 filled posts and 500 vacancies. The staff turnover rate is estimated to be 23 per cent, which is lower than the regional average of 26 per cent.

The North Tyneside Care Academy is a partnership between North Tyneside Council, the NHS, social care providers, the voluntary sector and local schools and colleges. Launched in 2023, it aims to meet regional workforce challenges, promote social care as a career, and create career progression opportunities for those already working in social care.

The Academy is currently in the very early stages of implementation. It is anticipated that delivery partners and providers will help shape the specific objectives of the Academy. These are likely to evolve and develop over time as the Academy responds to the constantly evolving needs of local providers.

Delivery model

The Academy is located within the council commissioning team and is managed by a full-time Care Academy Coordinator. The commissioning team supports the Care Academy Coordinator by connecting and interacting with providers to drive engagement with the Academy. The Academy has a steering group which consists of several care providers, including Pinnacle Cares, Be Caring and LD:NorthEast.

Building on strong relationships with local providers, the Academy describes itself as ‘provider-led and council-facilitated’. Workshops and steering group meetings are held face-to-face to encourage engagement.

We want providers to be steering group members.”

The steering group is chaired by the Care Academy Coordinator. It began as a workshop for providers and others involved in the Academy with the aim of establishing more collaborative working. The purpose was to understand the key issues providers are facing and use this knowledge to map and co-produce solutions. Activities and plans are subsequently being developed based on provider feedback.

Our goal is to always reflect on what we have done and look at what we improved on. This includes the relationship we have with our providers, as the Academy is designed to be 'theirs' and something they can develop with us.”

Funding

The Academy is currently council funded. The team have been able to access adult social care funding to support recruitment events and roadshows. There are plans to explore alternative funding streams as the offer evolves.

There is a shared understanding among the delivery team that outcomes and impact will need to be evidenced to secure future funding.

Funding isn’t just going to grow on trees. We will need an evidence base to support future funding applications.”

 

Scope and activities

The Academy is developing its offer based on provider feedback. Current activities include:

  • signposting and support for those who are new to care and working in care
  • values-based recruitment aimed at those who are new to care
  • recruitment roadshows and events
  • developing connections between providers and job seekers, for example, placements
  • promoting care as a career via case studies and promotional materials.

Promoting care as a career

The Academy has developed connections with local schools and colleges and is in the process of setting up in-person events with local care providers to attract younger people into care sector roles. The Academy intends to develop a webpage to promote careers in care. The website will highlight careers fairs and events that are being attended by local providers. Those who are interested in working in care can liaise directly with employers and discuss work placement opportunities.

What makes it good?

The Academy developed a steering group early on so that providers could share challenges and ideas and establish shared goals. It allowed the Academy to foster relationship-building and collaborative working from the outset.

“Bringing the right people together to connect on the issues they’re having meant the collaboration aspect came naturally.”

The Academy is conducting scoping and needs assessments based on provider feedback to ensure that its offer is relevant and reflects the needs of the sector.

Communicating the aims and objectives of the Academy successfully was also key to achieving buy-in from stakeholders. This involved having a clear understanding of the Academy’s vision prior to implementation.

“Focus on really understanding what your Academy is for and then sell that.”

In addition, there is a strong focus on branding and marketing to gain recognition in the sector. An external company was hired to help with website design to get an online presence.

 

Challenges

The Academy described their biggest challenge to date as the process of securing buy-in from stakeholders at the start. It has been necessary for them to maintain a strong focus on communicating aims and to emphasise that the Academy supporting the external workforce was needed.

“Getting people on board with it [the Academy] was challenging at the start. But nothing is going to change overnight. It’s a process.”

Looking forward, funding and resources for the Academy also present a challenge. Currently funding only allows for the team to build on existing planned events and digital presence (a dedicated website and social media page). The Academy is planning, however, to work with partners to identify potential future funding streams.

Impact

The Academy is planning to measure impact by:

  • measuring website traffic/data
  • tracking the number of applications received, number of positions filled and the number of people attending events
  • reviewing retention statistics from providers
  • gathering feedback from participants, learners and providers, for example, through steering group meetings, provider forums, surveys and case studies.

The Academy developed video case studies highlighting the experiences of those who have benefitted from the Academy’s support by securing social care roles with LD:NorthEast - Liam – Community Outreach Worker and Lindsay – Team Lead

Further information