Leading with Compassion : Supervisors Briefing

Research in Practice for Adults published a new briefing aimed at supervisors in adult social care, exploring the concepts and literature associated with what we understand to be involved in being a compassionate leader. This briefing is aimed at supervisors in adult social care and explores what is needed to support the development of compassionate leadership skills in both supervisors and people they directly support and work with. It includes: 1. Examples of leadership models and styles that lend themselves to compassionate practice and which promote an environment and culture that help compassionate practice to flourish in adult social care. 2. The links between national frameworks and opportunities which guide the development of compassionate leadership practice in adult social care. 3. An exploration of what compassionate leadership looks like and the role of supervisors in enabling leadership to be developed in others. 4. The challenges of ‘compassion fatigue’ and the need for resilience. The briefing also provides some practical tools to support the development of compassionate leadership skills across organisations

Quality improvement through the paradigm of learning

Purpose - If we are to achieve meaningful participation and co-production for older people in care, more radical approaches are required. This project explores an innovation where older people using social care were matched to community based learning mentors to develop partnerships within which learning interventions were facilitated. We explore how the concept of learning might be used as a paradigm to raise the quality of care in institutionalised settings using a co-productive and relationship based approach to promote wellbeing. Design/methodology/approach - A structured evaluation drew on qualitative data captured from interviews with older people (n=25) and learning mentors (n=22) to reflect on the potential benefits and challenges involved when introducing learning interventions in care settings. This was contextualised alongside data captured from stakeholders (n=10) including a care home manager, social care and education commissioners, Trustees and project staff to assess the interdisciplinary contribution of lifelong learning to quality improvement. Findings - Introducing learning interventions to older people within care settings promoted participation, advocacy and relationship-based care which in turn helped to create a positive culture. Given the current challenges to improve quality in care services, drawing on a paradigm of learning may encourage older people to retain their independence as care homes strive towards a person-centred approach. Promoting social activities and leisure using learning was found to foster closer working relationships between older people and the wider community. These had a levelling effect through reciprocity, using an asset based approach. There were benefits for the care provider as the partnerships formed enabled people to raise both individual and collective concerns about care and support. Originality/value - Raising and sustaining the quality of support for older people requires input from the wider public sector beyond health and social care. Purposeful engagement with other disciplines such as learning and leisure offers the potential to realise a more sustainable model of user choice, person-centred support and user involvement. Being engaged through learning can nourish membership in the community for marginalised populations such as older people living in care homes

Intersecting sexual and gender diversity, sexual rights for people with dementia in later life : an example of developing a learning framework

The proliferation of literature on dementia over the last decade has begun to address the experience of LGBTQ+ people’s experiences in later life. Changes in cognitive function can jeopardize the safety, wellbeing, and human rights of LGBTQ+ people if the social care workforce are not prepared or versed in responding to their unique needs. The intersection of age, cognitive function, sexual and gender diversity with the expression of intimacy and sexuality requires sensitive and respectful consideration. Yet, this is currently an under-researched and less understood area in social care practice. This paper highlights the main messages from the different bodies of contributory literature and introduces the national framework in England UK on LGBTQ+ ageing and its potential for supporting workforce development to consider its flexibility in supporting services to becoming more nuanced and affirmative in these areas of practice