The company I work for is one of the largest providers of domiciliary care in the country, we currently have 4200 staff who provide in excess of 200,000 hours care each week from 150 offices across the United Kingdom. I am a regional trainer covering the south west of England. My role includes providing the initial induction training to new employees as well as the annual update training for existing staff. I also have to source external training for staff when required either as part of their Continual Professional Development (NCFE & RQF courses) or when extra skills are requested by the branches to meet care requirements. The branches I cover have recently been treatment of disease, disorder or injury (TDDI) certified, therefore there has been a significant upskilling of the current care staff to meet the necessary standards required.
Although the induction training programme we provide to our new staff is produced in house by the training department in head office it is tailored to and meets the Care Certificate Induction Standards, it is delivered via a five day classroom based setting and then followed by at least a week of guided practical experience out in the community.
The induction programme consists of a number of elements. There is an assessment workbook which comprises sixteen modules. This is where the inductees record all their answers as we progress through the week.
A learning and development passport in which they record all training they undertake while working, alongside details of any external training and/or formal qualifications gained.
As a company we firmly believe in supporting new employees through their first few weeks of employment and beyond so we have a system in place we call the footsteps programme.
This programme runs during the 12 week probationary period. This programme provides the new employee with 8 meetings during this time with senior care & office staff, either in the field or office based to ensure they are confident within their role, to address any concerns, answer questions & to fill in any gaps in knowledge, or to reinforce existing knowledge.
To ensure compliance with company policies and procedures before starting each induction I need to check I have all of the required teaching aids, tools, handouts and materials needed and that the room is suitable for the purpose as there are a number of legislations that have to be met before any training can take place, for example.
the Regulatory Reform fire safety Order 2005, which places a duty on me to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the safety of employees and non-employees in relation to fire precautions, to carry out risk assessments to identify, manage and reduce the risk of fire.
The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER), ensures that the work equipment I provide meets the requirements of PUWER. In that I need to ensure that it is suitable for use, and for the purpose it is to be used, that it is maintained in a safe condition so that people’s health and safety is not at risk and that it is inspected regularly to ensure that it is and continues to be safe to use.
The Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations1998 (LOLER), this set of regulations mean I need to make sure that when I am using any lifting equipment that the requirements of LOLER are met. This includes making sure that all lifting equipment is suitable for the proposed use, the load being lifted and anything attached (slings or harnesses) must be suitable and used in such a way as to minimise the risk of injury, that the equipment and any accessories are clearly marked with the appropriate information (safe working loads, testing dates) and to ensure that lifting equipment used for lifting people is checked on a six-monthly basis.
The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, requires me to take appropriate precautions against the risk of death or injury arising from electricity during work activities.
The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992, These Regulations cover the provision of basic health safety and welfare in the workplace. I need to ensure the maintenance of all equipment used, the temperature of the workplace, make sure there is adequate ventilation and lighting and the provision of suitable sanitary conveniences.
The Health and Safety at Work act 1974 this is an Act whose purpose is to secure the health, safety and welfare of all persons in the workplace. It requires me to take reasonable care of the health and safety of myself, my colleagues and any third parties at work by being responsible for my acts and omissions. This extends to co-operating with my employer to enable them to fulfil their legal duty.
The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. This is about how health and safety is managed in my workplace, including ensuring risk assessments are carried out, that all appropriate and necessary training and instructions are delivered.
All new staff are given a Health declaration form ; an assessment of learner needs during the interview process to not only promote equality, diversity ; inclusion but also to ensure that each individual learner’s requirements are identified and met and we can then make suitable adaptions to their individual learning plan as required so they can participate in the training on an equal basis.
This may also include referring to Human Resources if they need support with the cost of travel to induction or accommodation for the duration of the course.
If an inductee identifies as having Dyscalculia, Dysgraphia, Dyslexic, an Auditory Processing Disorder or any other learning difficulty I can refer to our learning disability specialist trainer for advice and support in how I can provide a suitable environment to facilitate their learning.
We have a number of staff for whom English is not their first language and in the past we have provided them with a training buddy during the induction process who is fluent in both languages or provided them with 1:1 training to enable them to access the training.
The inductee’s capabilities are also assessed each day after they have left when the sections answered in that session are checked and if any of them show they are having difficulties we would address that with them the next day and offer an appropriate level of support.
During the week’s induction programme we will also work alongside other professionals, such as the administration staff who attend one of the sessions to explain contracts of employment and outline the terms of service, The Quality Officer responsible for the areas they will be working in & the clinical lead nurse to arrange any specialised training necessary for complex care packages. I also have to work with other external professionals to ensure that all training is carried outs safely and efficiently, for example I have to ensure that all equipment used during induction and update training is checked and tested in line with PUWER & LOLER by suitably qualified people, any external educators are booked (nutrica nurse, dementia champions external assessors) I also have to contact suppliers of materials and printers to prevent running out of workbooks, staff handbooks, reference notebooks and general stationary.
A number of different learning styles are utilised within the induction curriculum including Visual (PowerPoint presentations, video & photographs) Kinaesthetic (puzzles, picture matching, practical Moving & Handling) Auditory (large group discussions, smaller group work, Q&A sessions & instructional talks).
The workbook has a number of differing ways to answer the question and demonstrate knowledge, there are straight forward questions to be answered, multiple choice questions, missing word exercises, word searches & picture puzzles.
These workbooks are retained after induction and placed into the employee’s file to provide evidence of training during CQC inspections and annual company compliance audits.
To enable us to meet the roles and functions of a teacher we have:
Developed our training programme to be an interesting, engaging and informative method of delivery utilising mixed learning styles
To comply with our duty of care towards inductees and existing employees I always ensure there is a safe learning environment and that it is safe for people to attend, we recently had to cancel a number of days training as I assessed the risk too high for people to attempt attending during the recent spell of bad weather.
I can evaluate the effectiveness and impact of the training on the group both holistically and on an individual learner basis by marking all completed work both group and singular, giving practical and constructive feedback, by monitoring the effectiveness of group exercises and tasks and asking questions to check retention level of previously given information.
I always strive to portray a professional role model for learners by always being smartly and appropriately dressed, being punctual for the start of lessons and returning from coffee/lunch breaks, by always being organised and having all relevant materials for the day ready in advance, practising active listening, remaining polite and respectful in all interactions and to always act within my professional boundaries and competences.
I contribute to the administration of the training courses by maintaining comprehensive records of all training delivered to each individual, all external qualifications entered and gained, details of all enhanced training delivered by specialist instructors, by ensuring the training matrix on the company intranet is current and accurate and updating staff files as necessary.
THE TRAINING CYCLE
Training is much more than a single point event, it is a process that begins way before the individual enters the learning environment and continues after they leave. It contains five steps as outlined below.
The first step is the Training Needs Analysis (TNA).
Carrying out a comprehensive initial assessment on the individual and ongoing analysis of the group will allow for the identification of the learners current level of knowledge and what input is required to enable them to reach the necessary standard.
The second step is to Develop Learning Objectives.
Once a need for training has been established and we know what outcome is required we can design the training to deliver the desired objectives. Performance Objective: this is the level of knowledge or skill that the individual should have once training is completed. Training Objective: this is a statement of what I aim to achieve within the training to enable the learners to reach the performance objective, for example “this learning session will promote and foster a positive learning environment that will inspire inductees to participate in both the theory and practical elements of the lesson and empower them to raise any questions or concerns they have”.
The third step is to Design and Develop the Programme.
Once the objectives have been identified planning the shape of the training programme can start. This is when the decisions on how to accomplish the objectives are made. It includes deciding what type of teaching style is best for the intended target of the lesson, how many individuals are going to be present, accommodating the mixed abilities within the group, the amount of time necessary to deliver the training, the materials and tools and aids available.
The fourth step is to Implement the Design.
This is the section of the cycle where the programme is presented to the learners by the teacher using presentation skills to relay new information to the learners and facilitator skills to encourage those present to take an active part in the dialogue and participate in practical activities. During this phase the teacher needs to remain alert to the learner’s reactions to the material presented to ensure they remain engaged in the lesson and that the requirements of the lesson are being met.
The final step is to Evaluate Performance
This is the time after the lesson has ended where the teacher can reflect on the session to determine whether the objectives previously identified were met and the desired outcome achieved, it is also when improvements and changes and alterations can be made to the course. These evaluation can be based on learners’ written or verbal feedback, self-evaluation of the lesson, its delivery and learners’ reaction, feedback from colleagues, from formal supervisions and appraisals and in the long term from the learners’ ongoing performance after taking part in the training.