Care and health career academies: What good looks like

Background

The adult social care sector has faced significant challenges with recruitment and retention. Care and health career academies support local areas to think differently about social care workforce challenges. They support the workforce pipeline, boosting recruitment and retention, and workforce development.

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.

This guide builds on existing resources that have been developed jointly by Partners in Care and Health (PCH), the North West Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) and West Midlands ADASS, to support local authorities with the implementation of care and health career academies. These include:

• a toolkit with guidance on how to establish a career academy, including three case studies:
  • Fylde Coast Health and Social Care Career Academy
  • Borders Technology Enhanced Care Hub
  • ‘We Care Academy’, Leeds
• a maturity matrix to help local authorities evaluate their progress in establishing an academy.

The research also complements ongoing work in the sector, including the career academies implementation set, which is being facilitated by North West ADASS. For more information regarding this, please contact [email protected].

This What Good Looks Like guide showcases good practice, success factors and evidence of what works, to support sector-led improvement. It provides practical advice and insights from existing academies, to support others in the process, or considering, the development of a career academy.

The research undertaken to inform this resource involved:

• Scoping and identification of care and health career academies in England
• Consultations with 17 selected academies across different regions in England
• Six case studies undertaken to showcase examples of good practice:
  • Leeds Health and Care Academy
  • County Durham Care Academy
  • North Central London (NCL) Health and Social Care Academy
  • Caring Plymouth
  • Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Social Care Academy
  • North Tyneside Care Academy.

This guide has been developed by York Consulting LLP on behalf of Partners in Care and Health (PCH).

What is a care and health academy?

Care and health career academies are an emerging approach to addressing recruitment and retention challenges in adult social care. They deliver recruitment campaigns and services, offer careers advice and training to those interested in pursuing health and social care careers, and provide guidance and development to those already working in health and social care

They identify, facilitate, and deliver activities such as: 

• recruitment campaigns
• careers guidance and support
• training and continuing professional development (CPD)
• apprenticeships
• work placements
• coaching and mentoring
• undertaking research in collaboration with higher education and academia
• engaging with local schools to promote careers in care.

What is the national picture

This scoping activity identified 30 care and health career academies nationally. With 23 of these established in 2021 or later, it is clear that career academies in the social care sector are a relatively new phenomena and many are in the early stages of development. Two main types of career academy were identified:

Social care career academies, with a focus solely on social care – there are nine of these mostly located across the North East and North West of England. They concentrate predominantly on skills and careers in the adult social care sector, though some also support the social care sector for children.

Health and care career academies, which have both a healthcare and social care component – there are 21 of these in total. Whilst the research did identify some additional health and care career academies, these are primarily focused on healthcare and healthcare professionals so were not included in this study.

Evidence from the scoping exercise suggests that the number of care and health career academies is likely to grow over the next few years. A number of local authorities across Yorkshire and the Humber, the West Midlands, the North West and the South East are considering setting up career academies. Others are in the process of early implementation and are taking the next steps to go ‘live’ with an online presence. However, some of those academies that already exist face challenges with securing funding. This acts as a constraint on their ability to develop longer-term strategies and goals.

Figure 1: geographical spread of care and health career academies
 

The activities offered by care and health career academies can vary depending on regional and demographic priorities, academy size, type of funding accessed, and the academy’s aims and objectives.

As a minimum, activities typically involve guidance and signposting for those interested in a career in care, as well as basic recruitment services, such as job boards or linking job seekers with employers in the region. Larger academies often run additional targeted projects, such as those focused on the recruitment of underrepresented groups, young people, or training courses.

Careers guidance and support

Careers guidance and support activities include raising awareness of careers in health and social care and supporting people into suitable training and employment. Examples include:

• Collaborating with local job centres, for example, Caring Plymouth works with local job centres to meet benefit claimants and raise awareness of the sector.
• Signposting and support for those who are ‘new to care’ and those who are already working in health and social care. For example, the North Tyneside Care Academy and the North Central London (NCL) Health and Care Academy promote easy-to-navigate websites for individuals to access information and support.
• Outreach and engagement activities with schools to promote social care as a career. For example, Greater Manchester Social Care Academy, Trafford Learning Academy and We Care Academy in Leeds all work with local schools to introduce young people to careers in care through experience days or visits from care ambassadors.
• Coaching and mentoring to support individuals with CV writing and applications. For example, Norfolk Care Academy provides CV writing support and interview guidance for candidates who are on the academy’s six-week training programme.

• Redundancy support, for example, Caring Plymouth supports staff working at care homes that are at risk of closure, for example by signposting to other employment opportunities in the sector.

Training and development

Some academies offer training for care providers and individuals. The offer depends on the academy’s partnerships and regional priorities. Examples include:

• Pre-employment training and certified courses for those interested in pursuing a career in care. For example, the Talent4Care training programme run by Fylde Coast Health and Social Care Academy provides a six-week course with a guaranteed interview for those looking to get into care.
• Staff training for providers. For example, County Durham Care Academy offers training covering sepsis awareness, moving and handling, and falls prevention.
• Certified training courses for managers. For example, Fylde Coast Health and Social Care Academy offer Lead to Succeed and Well-Led Level 5 courses.
• Commissioning and procurement of apprenticeships and T-levels in health and care related disciplines. For example, Leeds Health and Care Academy supports collaborative apprenticeship schemes in their area.

• Training for unpaid carers and personal assistants. For example, County Durham Care Academy as in the example below.

Recruitment campaigns and activities

• Recruitment initiatives, such as local versions of the national campaign ‘Proud to Care’. For example, the NCL Health and Social Care Academy aims to raise the profile of working in the care sector by enabling those looking for work to access advice and local opportunities.
• Pre-employment programmes, often involving work experience and delivered on a values-based model. For example, We Care Academy in Leeds and North Tyneside Care Academy deliver values-based pre-employment models that include online profiling exercises, interviews and e-learning.
• International recruitment as a solution to workforce capacity challenges. For instance, some academies are supporting providers with international recruitment, such as Caring Plymouth, Greater Manchester Social Care Academy and County Durham Care Academy.
• Job boards. For example, Gateshead Health and Care Academy and North Tyneside Care Academy promote health and care roles in the region.

Text BoxJob brokerage and placements. For example, County Durham Care Academy provides a ‘matchmaking’ service to link applicants with local providers.

County Durham Care 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 potential candidates 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.

Targeting underrepresented groups

Many academies target underrepresented groups. For some, it is an element of their recruitment strategy, whilst others have made it their main focus for recruitment. Underrepresented groups are often seen as those that are ‘new to care’ or have never considered social care as a career opportunity. Therefore, they represent a good opportunity to grow the existing social care workforce.

Underrepresented groups include:

• care leavers
• 50 years old or over age group
• career returners (people returning to work after a career break)
• refugees and asylum seekers
• ethnic minority communities
• men.
• unemployed people.

For example, Caring Plymouth holds regular information sessions for the long-term unemployed, those who are over 50, refugees, those looking to return to work, and those seeking in-work progression. The NCL Health and Care Academy offers volunteering opportunities and pathways in health and social care for refugees.

Other activities

Other activities undertaken by some care and health career academies include:

• Research collaborations, for example, Fylde Coast Health and Social Care Academy and Leeds Health and Care Academy have worked with academic partners to undertake research which informs their support offer. This has included research to inform the type of training courses provided.

• Administration of the Workforce Development Fund (WDF) with local care providers on behalf of Skills for Care. For example, County Durham Care Academy provides this service to support the completion of health and social care diplomas and care certificates, among other things.

What types of delivery models are there?

There is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach when it comes to establishing a care and health career academy. An academy’s delivery model is often dependent on the local objectives, the level of funding it has managed to secure, and whether or not it has a healthcare component.

Delivery can be physical or virtual – or a blend of both. Some academies, such as Fylde Coast Health and Social Care Academy, have dedicated buildings to host activities. Others deliver entirely virtually, as exemplified by the Greater Manchester Social Care Academy.

There are currently two types of care and health career academy – those purely focused on social care and those that include both health and social care components.

Social care academies

Social care academies are typically located within the local authority organisation. Depending on their goals and priorities, the academy team might sit within adult social care commissioning services, as is the case for County Durham Care Academy. Academies can also be embedded within the workforce development team, as is the case for the We Care Academy in Leeds.

Dependent on funding, some academies have dedicated full-time resources to manage the academy, for example academy managers. Others rely on existing staff to take on the academy activities as part of their wider role.

In some instances, social care academies are hosted within other organisations. For example, the lead organisation responsible for delivering the activities of the Norfolk Care Academy is Norfolk & Suffolk Care Support Ltd, a non-profit organisation providing information, advice and support to the adult social care sector in Norfolk.

How are care and health career academies funded?

The level and scale of funding that academies draw on varies and is often dependent on whether the academy is healthcare or social care focused, or both. Social care academies are typically funded via local authority budgets, for example the adult education budget. Health and care academies usually receive funding from the NHS, for example, via the Integrated Care Board.

Most academies have one source of funding and sometimes for a limited duration, such as 12 months. Some academies that cover larger areas have been able to access larger pots of funding to support the academy’s activities and recruit full-time roles.

Some academies have managed to source additional funding, for example:

• Workforce Development Fund monies
• research grants
• charitable funding
• funding from the DWP

• funding from higher institutions

What are the funding challenges?

• Short-term funding does not allow an academy to develop a long-term growth strategy.
• Current financial constraints within the local government sector present barriers when looking to secure funding.
• Many academies are not aware of what type of additional funding is available to them or how to access it.
• As academies grow, they require more funding for their services to become scalable and sustainable.
• Too much dependency on NHS funding can result in a lean towards healthcare-related activities, sometimes at the expense of social care.
• Impact often needs to be evidenced to procure additional funding.

We’ve taken it [the academy] as far as we can. It needs an injection of funding to be scalable.” 
- Fylde Coast Health and Social Academy

It’s hard to find out about what type of support is available. There needs to be easily accessible information on funding options.” 
- Being Well Health and Social Care Academy

What does good funding look like?

Commitment and buy-in from senior leaders to the academy will help with the identification of core local authority or health funding and put academies in a stronger position to apply for additional external funding.

Ensure a clear link between an academy’s role and local social care workforce development strategies to help secure commitment and buy-in from senior leadership.

Procure funding for multiple years to enable an academy to focus on developing a longer-term vision and strategy.

Have multiple funding sources to help ensure an academy can remain responsive and flexible to evolving needs and requirements.

Have an awareness of the funding landscape to help diversify funding.

Make use of peer support networks and identify academies that have been on a similar journey. Ask them to share key learnings, including levers or approaches to securing commitment to and sustaining funding approaches.

Being linked so strongly into the strategic priorities of the local social care workforce strategy has supported and facilitated senior buy-in and access to funding for the academy.” 
- Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Social Care Academy

Overview 

Co-production and co-delivery activities are typically linked to an academy’s delivery model and can take different forms:

• Some academies work with local care providers to co-design and develop the academy offer based on provider needs.
• Others co-design and co-deliver activities in collaboration with a wider range of stakeholders, for example colleges, universities, charities, job centres.
• There are also examples of academies who work with people with lived experience to promote careers in care.

Relationships with local care providers

Most academies have close relationships with local care providers, this has involved, for example:

care providers as part of the steering group

• academies providing training for care providers
• collaborations with local care providers to offer work placements in health and social care
• care provider forums and networks.

The County Durham Care Academy works with 200+ care providers and connects with providers through forums and networks. They also act as a one-stop shop for provider training.

The Norfolk Care Academy and Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Social Care Academy work with local social care providers to offer work placements to learners and those interested in pursuing a career in care.

The We Care Academy in Leeds runs care provider forums to establish local employer needs which inform training needs analyses (TNAs).

Relationships with other stakeholders and delivery partners

Academies typically have relationships with a range of stakeholders and delivery partners as well as care providers.

Several academies have collaborative relationships with local colleges and training providers to co-deliver activities and support participants’ career development and learning. For example, this is the case for North Tyneside Care Academy and We Care Academy in Leeds. In many instances, the colleges and training providers are also members of the academy’s steering group.

Some academies work with the Job Centre and the voluntary sector or have developed research partnerships with academia.

There are also examples of academies working together on joint programmes and initiatives. For instance, the We Care Academy and the Leeds Health and Care Academy have joined forces in areas such as programme delivery and business administration, thereby strengthening the regional offer.

Our models complement each other very well and we work together to strengthen our local offer.” 
- We Care Academy, Leeds

Collaborating with learners and participants

Several academies engage with those with lived experience to support their recruitment and retention activities, for example through video case studies and interactive learner journeys. Examples include:

• the I…Care Ambassadors programme, supported by Leeds Health and Care Academy, which works with local staff in the health and care sector to promote careers in care.
• Care Friends, a Skills for Care partnership encouraging care staff to refer their friends for job opportunities on a virtual platform. County Durham Care Academy promotes and signposts to the Care Friends employee referral app.
• North Tyneside Academy have promoted care as a career using case studies and other promotional material gathered from participants and learners they have previously supported. They use lived experience case studies where individuals have secured social care roles.

What are the challenges for collaboration?

• It can be challenging to get alignment across different stakeholders with competing priorities.
• The needs of local care providers can vary significantly depending on their size and the type of care they provide.
• There is often a lot of community outreach and engagement work involved in developing a strong collaborative network.

What does good collaboration look like?

• Direct engagement with care providers can enable the sharing of ‘real-time’ information. This enables academies to meet the needs of individuals and organisations more effectively, both during implementation and delivery of activities.
• Be prepared to act as a mediator between different stakeholders that are involved in co-production or co-delivery.
• Small businesses are likely to have different needs from large employers and often also face capacity constraints. It is important to take these varying needs into account when working with care providers.
• Be prepared to undertake community outreach and engagement work to lay the foundations for successful collaboration and co-production.
• Prioritise projects and initiatives that align with the academy’s mission statement and that address regional needs – as opposed to the requirements of individual providers or stakeholders.
• Work together when it is beneficial or more efficient to do so.

How are outcomes and impact being measured?

Demonstrating and evidencing impact is important – not least because it can support future funding applications and achieve senior level buy-in. Many academies have mechanisms in place to monitor outputs from individual projects and activities, for example:

• number of course and training completions
• number of individuals into employment
• number of individuals into learning or education
• number of individuals engaged from underrepresented groups
• number of individuals who are still in employment after a certain period of time.

Other examples of measuring and capturing progress to improve outcomes include:

• case studies of those with lived experience
• surveys, for example participant or employer satisfaction surveys
• independent evaluations that are being commissioned to evaluate specific interventions.

For example, the Leeds Health and Care Academy commissioned an independent evaluation of its Connecting Communities with Health and Care Careers project in 2022.

Generally speaking, academies are more likely to have data collection methods in place to capture outputs, whereas outcomes and impact are more challenging to measure. Comprehensive monitoring and evaluation processes, such as independent evaluations or longer-term impact assessments, are less common.

What is less evident across most academies is the existence of frameworks to evaluate their strategic impact. That is, to establish the impact that an academy plans to or can achieve on its overarching goals, such as improved recruitment and retention in social care locally. In addition to tracking destinations and individual outcomes data, there is the potential for academies to more clearly define and measure how they have contributed towards the achievement of strategic goals, for example, through the development of a Theory of Change.

What are the challenges to demonstration of impact?

• There is little guidance for academies to draw on when it comes to developing a monitoring and evaluation framework that is fit for purpose and that can clearly demonstrate and evidence the academy’s strategic impact.
• Capturing impact can be resource intensive and could present a challenge for those councils unable to dedicate a lot of resources to their academy.
• It is challenging to monitor and demonstrate longer term outcomes when funding has a limited duration, and initiatives are short to medium term.

What does good demonstration of impact look like?

• Have clearly defined and measurable outcomes linked to the overall goals and aims of the academy, ideally prior to starting delivery. For example, through the development of a Theory of Change model.
• Develop an evaluation plan which assesses the impact of academy activities based on specific and measurable aims and objectives.
• To capture and demonstrate impact effectively, consider the following:
• the workforce challenges you are trying to address and how you plan to measure your progress with regard to mitigating them
• the data collection mechanisms you plan to put in place, including how data is collected and by whom
• any qualitative feedback you can collect to complement the quantitative data, for example from service users and partners.
• Consider undertaking independent evaluations of individual projects and initiatives to capture lessons learned, identify effective practices that can be sustained, and support applications for future funding.
• Make use of existing guidance and tools, for example the career academy toolkit and maturity matrix.
• Track participant or learner journeys and showcase these creatively, for example via video case studies or interactive virtual tools.