Level 5 Leader in Adult Care

Overview of the role

Leading the care service and managing teams of carers to look after adults with care needs.

A Leader in Adult Care has responsibility for managing community or residential based services. This role has a large element of leadership, whether with other care workers and networks or in leading the service itself. A successful apprentice will have met all the requirements. They have a responsibility to ensure the service is safe, effective, caring, responsive to people's needs and well-led. They may be a registered manager of a service, unit, deputy or assistant manager. They will be responsible for ensuring regulatory compliance of the care given and the values and training of staff with established standards and regulations.

A Leader in Adult Care will guide and inspire teams to make positive differences to someone's life when they are faced with physical, practical, social, emotional, psychological or intellectual challenges. They will be a leader of the care team and will develop and implement a values-based culture at a service or unit level. They may be responsible for business development, financial control, organisational resilience and continuity as well as for managing risk and leading on organisational change.  

A Leader in Adult Care may work in residential or nursing homes, domiciliary care, community day centres, a person's own home or some clinical healthcare settings. The role of Leader in Adult Care in this standard also covers Personal Assistants who operate in a management role, but they may only work directly for one individual who needs support and/or care services.

Personal attributes and behaviours expected of all leaders in adult care

• Care - is caring consistently and enough about individuals to make a positive difference to their lives
• Compassion - is delivering care and support with kindness, consideration, dignity, empathy and respect
• Courage - is doing the right thing for people and speaking up if the individual they support is at risk
• Communication - good communication is central to successful caring relationships and effective team working
• Competence - is applying knowledge and skills to provide high quality care and support
• Commitment - to improving the experience of people who need care and support ensuring it is person centred

Who the course is for

This course is for managers or aspiring managers working in Durham County Council commissioned service.

Learning method

This Level 5 course is delivered face to face one day per month in a college setting with work based assessments.  It typically takes 18 months to complete.

What you will learn

By completing this course, you will achieve a Level 5 Leader in Adult Care qualification.  You will learn what knowledge a Leader in Adult Care must know and understand

Course content

Tasks and responsibilities  

• Statutory frameworks, standards, guidance and Codes of Practice which underpin practice in relation to the safe delivery of services
• Systems and processes needed to ensure compliance with regulations and organisational policies and procedures including health and safety and risk management
• Principles of risk management, assessment and outcome- based practice
• Principles and underpinning theories of change management including approaches, tools and techniques that support the change process
• Legislative and regulatory frameworks which inform quality standards
• Theories and models that underpin performance and appraisal including disciplinary procedures

Dignity and human rights

• Legislation and policy initiatives on the promotion of diversity, equality and inclusion in services they lead
• Legal and ethical frameworks in relation to confidentiality and sharing information

Communication

• Range of tools and strategies to enhance communication including technology

Safeguarding

• Legislation, national and local solutions for the safeguarding of adults and children including reporting requirements
• The elements needed to create a culture that supports whistleblowing in the organisation

Health and wellbeing

• Models of monitoring, reporting and responding to changes in health and wellbeing

Professional development

• Principles of professional development
• Goals and aspirations that support own professional development and how to access available opportunities
• Elements needed to create a culture that values learning, professional development, reflective practice and evidence-based practice
• Systems and processes necessary to ensure professional development opportunities are identified, planned, sourced, evaluated and recorded for workers

Leadership skills

• Theories of management and leadership and their application to adult care
• Features of effective team performance

By completing this course, you will learn what a leader in Adult Care must be able to do:

Tasks and responsibilities

• Implement strategies to support others to manage the risks presented when balancing individual rights and professional duty of care
• Implement strategies to support others to manage the risks presented when balancing individual rights and professional duty of care
• Develop and apply systems and processes that monitor and sustain quality of the service, including assessments, care plans and service delivery
• Lead and support others to work in a person-centred way and to ensure active participation which enhances the well-being and quality of life of individuals
• Manage all resources in delivering complex care and support efficiently and effectively
• Encourage and enable both staff and people who assess care and support to be involved in the co-production of how the service operates

Dignity and human rights

• Develop and lead implementation of organisational practices to create and sustain a culture that actively champions dignity and respects diversity, inclusion and fairness in the workplace
• Develop and lead a culture that values courage in working in ways that may challenge workers' own cultural and belief systems

Communication

• Develop and implement organisational processes to ensure that records and reports are written clearly and concisely and to keep information safe and preserve confidentiality
• Translate policy and guidance into understandable information for a range of audiences including people who access care and support, carers and families and other colleagues to enable them to recognise and respond to potential

Safeguarding

• Implement systems to train and support work colleagues to enable them to recognise and respond to potential signs of abuse and or unsafe practices, following organisational policies and procedures
• Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of organisational policies, systems and processes for safeguarding

Health and wellbeing

• Lead the implementation of policies, procedures and practices to manage health, safety and risk to individuals and others in health and social care to ensure compliance with legislation, standards and guidance
• Implement health and safety and risk management policies, procedures and practices to create a culture that values health and wellbeing in the organisation
• Monitor, evaluate and improve health, safety and risk management policies and practices in the service

Professional development

• Apply evaluated research and evidence-based practice in own setting
• Take initiative to research and disseminate current drivers in the adult care landscape
• Embed systems to improve performance of self and/or work colleagues through supervision, reflective practice and learning and development opportunities

Leadership

• Embed systems to improve performance of self and/or work colleagues through supervision, reflective practice and learning and development opportunities
• Show a well-developed sense of their own behaviour and impact on others modelling a values-based culture
• Create a supportive culture that values initiative and innovation and recognises the variety of skills of all within the service, both workers and individuals supported
• Adopt a team approach, recognising contributions of team members and able to lead a team where required

Entry requirements

• Level 4 or above qualification in a related subject
• Minimum level 2 English and maths
• Employed permanently by a provider who is commissioned by Durham Council

Course dates and times

Proposed start date of the programme is April 2024.

How to book

We are currently accepting expressions of interest from individuals interested in undertaking this course.  This is not a formal application.

To express an interest, complete the form at Expression of Interest for Level 5 Leader in Adult Care (Apprenticeship) form

Funded places are limited.  Those who meet the criteria will be invited to undertake a formal application process.