Another Care Sector First!
Avery Healthcare has notched up yet another first for the adult social care sector with the official Accreditation of our Advanced Senior Carer (ASC) Training Programme by City & Guilds. The course enables senior carers to extend their skills and to further support and assist nurses to ensure that high quality care is provided for residents.
City & Guilds (C&G) is the leading skills development organisation, providing services to training providers, employers, and trainees across a variety of sectors to meet the needs of today’s workplace. C&G qualifications are valued by employers across the world, helping individuals develop their talents and abilities for career progression.
Avery’s ASC Programme is at the leading edge of sector development, helping to raise standards in care and enhancing the knowledge and skills of our senior carers to take on a specific nurse support role. It provides a clear career pathway for Senior Carers to progress, including a route towards the new Nursing Associate role.
The intensive five-month programme is delivered on a blended learning basis, and is comprised of nine clinical modules and two management modules. A wide range of resources support the learner, with the focus on practical hands-on training, work-based competencies and evidence-based practice on all modules. Course graduates clearly demonstrate increased practical and leadership skills along with greater confidence, freeing up our nurses to spend more time supporting those residents with more complex needs.
Achieving City & Guilds Accreditation requires a consistently high standard of performance and quality that demonstrates to learners, customers, other professionals and stakeholders alike the excellence and relevance of the Avery Healthcare ASC Programme. C&G has provided Avery with invaluable industry benchmarking and support to maximise the value of its programme.
All the Avery Programme trainers are care sector experienced and also hold a formal Adult Teacher Training qualification. They create an effective learning environment, ensuring a wide range of support for learners including teaching, mentoring, marking, feedback and quality assurance processes.
In their report, the External Quality Assurer from the C&G noted the positive impact that the programme had to the business for both care standards and the retention of staff, that there are good HR and CPD activities are in place at Avery, with excellent resources made available to trainers and learners. It further noted that excellent administration systems, equal opportunities and barriers to learning are all in place.
Shelley Parker-Wain, Head of Training and Development for Avery confirmed that we plan to increase the number of Advanced Carer graduates they develop in future. She stated, “I am delighted that City & Guilds recognise the value of the Avery Advanced Senior Carers Programme. It is very rewarding to see learners flourish, improving their skills and knowledge, which will further enhance the high standard of care delivery to our residents. Our Senior Carers can draw confidence from this Accreditation, that the programme is of a high standard, and that it will develop them further on a solid career pathway within Avery. This valuable partnership working with the awarding body will continue for many years, enabling many more learners to achieve their career goals and for the standards of our care to improve”.
