Information and support from Skills for Care

20 November 2025

Throughout November, we’re focusing on how integrated working brings services together to deliver better, more connected outcomes for people who draw on care and support. You can visit our ‘integrated working and social care’ webpage to access practical tools and resources, as well as real-life stories of integrated working in action.

To coincide with this focus, we’ve updated our useful short guide ‘A Workforce Strategy for Adult Social Care: Supporting the Government’s three shifts’ explaining how the Workforce Strategy fits with the Government’s plans for more integrated services outlined in the 10 Year Health Plan.

The Skills for Care and Development Alliance is commissioning the next phase of a UK and Republic of Ireland-wide research study into the impact of workforce regulation in adult social care. This phase explores lived experiences and perceptions of regulation from care providers and people who draw on care and support. The Alliance is seeking applicants with experience in qualitative research, stakeholder engagement, and a strong understanding of adult social care and workforce regulation.

Recruitment support

Developing your workforce

Support for leaders and managers

Workforce intelligence

Regulated professional workforce

Events

Blogs and articles

Recruitment support

Recruit to retain

Are you looking to boost staff retention, enhance wellbeing, and attract people who grow with your organisation? Our ‘Recruit to retain’ programme offers practical, values-based strategies to strengthen recruitment and support staff development.

Over three days, you’ll learn to define your organisation’s core culture, embed values into everyday practice, and recruit individuals who share and reflect those values - creating a more engaged, committed, and resilient workforce.

Booking is now open for our January cohort. This programme is also available for commission.

⇨ Find out more

Developing your workforce

Providers share the benefits of Care Workforce Pathway

Hear how Walnut Care and New Directions Rugby are using the Care Workforce Pathway to help you plan and prepare to adopt the Pathway in your own organisation. They highlight how the Pathway is supporting recruitment, retention, and career development. These and our other case studies offer valuable insights into approaches that work, lessons learned, and advice on getting started.

⇨ Explore our case studies

Personal assistant network

Are you a personal assistant (PA) looking to connect with others? Join our supportive online network on Tuesday 9 December, that brings together PAs to share experiences, celebrate success, and explore challenges. It includes updates, guest speakers, and opportunities to shape future support. Open to all employed and self-employed personal assistants.

⇨ Sign up

New training directory for people who employ their own care and support

A range of fully funded training is now available for individual employers and their personal assistants. User-led and disabled people’s organisations across the country are offering a range of learning opportunities available both face-to-face and online, covering vital care skills and how to be a good employer. You can search the directory on our website.

⇨ Find out more

Support for leaders and managers

Moving up: developing Black and Asian leaders in social care

Are you a Black or Asian leader, or aspiring leader, looking to overcome challenges and progress your career in social care or health? This popular programme supports professionals at all levels to build confidence, enhance leadership skills, and develop a strong personal brand.

Delivered through live online workshops, self-led virtual learning, and peer-focused coffee mornings, participants gain tools to influence, lead effectively, and grow within their organisations.

With the last few places available for the December cohort, we have now opened bookings for February.

⇨ Book your place

Delegated healthcare activities in action

Guided by our delegated healthcare activities guiding principles, we’ve captured real-life case studies highlighting how delegated healthcare activities can work differently across regions and settings, but with the same goal of improving outcomes for those who draw on care and support.

Explore our latest resources to see what we learned and how you can apply these approaches in your own setting to deliver safe, effective, and person-centred care.

⇨ Find out more

Celebrating over 50,000 webinar views

We’re excited to share that our registered manager webinars have been viewed over 50,000 times! Explore over 35 recorded webinars covering a wide range of topics, including delegated healthcare activities, CQC assessment support, effective leadership and supervision, and digital, data, and technology in care.

Gain practical insights and tips to enhance leadership, improve quality, and harness technology to support your workforce and service improvement.

⇨ Take a look at our range of webinars

Workforce intelligence

Care Workforce Pathway mapping with ASC-WDS

Did you know you can use the Adult Social Care Workforce Data Set (ASC-WDS) to map your staff to a Care Workforce Pathway job role category? Using this feature is a useful way to get familiar with the nationally recognised framework for careers in adult social care. It will also make it easier for you to unlock the other benefits of the Care Workforce Pathway, including helping you with workforce planning and attracting and keeping staff.

⇨ Find out more about ASC-WDS

Bespoke reports for your organisation

Did you know we can help you to interpret adult social care data for your organisation? We can work with you on things like analysing workforce data by a defined geography or help you benchmark your performance on key metrics against other service providers in your area.

⇨ Find out more

Regulated professional workforce

Final preceptorship workshops to strengthen the social care nursing workforce

Our preceptorship workshops provide guidance for those who want to become preceptors for newly qualified nursing staff and/or take on the preceptorship lead role for their organisation. 100% of previous attendees said they found the workshops helpful. Take a look at what 97% said they learnt.

Book onto our final workshops today.

▪ Become a preceptorship lead: Wednesday 26 November: 11:30 - 13:00 | Online

▪ Become a preceptor: Thursday 27 November | 10:00 - 13:00 | Online

Join our nursing forums

Nursing Workforce forum: Tuesday 18 November | 14:00 – 15:30 | Online

You’ll hear from care providers about setting up collaborative approaches to support apprenticeship placements and an ICB about the value of placements in social care settings.

Nursing Education forum: Wednesday 19 November | 14:00 – 15:30 | Online

This session will focus on Dementia in Higher Education Network, and research will be shared on the experiences of ethnic minority groups living in care homes.

⇨ Find out more and register your interest to join

Global majority nursing network:

Wednesday 26 November | 13:00 - 15.00 | Online

This network is for the Black and Asian registered nurse or nursing associate workforce. It’s a space created for you, by those who understand your journey, and you’ll have the opportunity to network and share experiences.

⇨ Find out more and register your interest

Events

Personal assistants network

Tuesday 9 December 2025 I 10:00 - 11:00 I Online

The personal assistant network offers an opportunity for peer support and collaboration. Connect with others, share your experiences, celebrate your successes, and seek support with your challenges.

⇨ Book now

Creating a Positive Workplace Culture seminar 

Thursday 11 December 2025 | 10:00 – 15:30 | Online

This interactive online session includes guided discussions and hands-on exercises to uncover workplace norms, address negative behaviours and develop a tailored action plan that enhances wellbeing and team cohesion. 

⇨ Book now

Delivering Outstanding Care seminar

Tuesday 20 January 2026 I 10:00 - 15:30 I Online

Exceed CQC expectations and achieve an Outstanding rating by learning what Outstanding care looks like. This one-day seminar will explore how you can identify gaps between Good and Outstanding care and how to be Outstanding in the context of the Assessment Framework.

⇨ Book now

The Managers Conference 2026

Monday 9 - Tuesday 10 March 2026 | Wyboston Lakes Resort, Bedfordshire

With a dynamic and creative programme, the extremely popular Managers Conference will champion and support the crucial role of managers in adult social care and bring together managers from across the country to share knowledge, ask questions and network with colleagues.

⇨ Book now

Blogs and articles

Why integrated working matters for social care

As we launch our ‘Integrated working and social care’ spotlight, our CEO Oonagh Smyth discusses what integrated working means and why it’s important.

What’s happening with integrated working right now

We explore key developments happening with integrated working across adult social care, including Neighbourhood Health Services and delegated healthcare activities.

Resources to support integrated working in social care

These handy resources can help support your understanding and involvement with integrated ways of working.

How my role as a trusted assessor supports integrated working

Pam Ward, Care Home Trusted Assessor, Warrington and Halton, tells us more about her role and how it’s supporting smoother transitions from hospital to care home.