Training and Development Strategy

2005 – 2010

1. Introduction

This paper sets out the training and development strategy for the Camphill Rudolf Steiner Schools (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Schools’) for the next five years. The paper outlines the current regulatory context and proposes specific learning programmes, activities and outcomes related to organisational needs and compliance with legislative requirements. It also sets out a framework for the development and management of best practice training and development systems.

The implications for Camphill Schools have been clear for some time. In addition to assisting workers to gain relevant qualifications, we must create an effective staff development system that supports safe, ethical, legal and effective professional practice. We have made a good start in creating such a system but much still remains to be done. Whilst this paper recognises the progress that has been made, its primary focus is on the future and what has to be done to create a robust and reliable staff development system.

The term ‘co-worker’ is used generically to refer to all workers whether a volunteer or an employee. The term ‘social service worker’ refers to any person providing a care service as described by the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC).

This strategy has been developed and approved by the Training Group and Co-ordinators and discussed with the Curative Education Committee, Teacher’s College, Therapy College, House Co-ordinator Group and Craft Instructor Group.

2. Training Policy

The Training Policy sets out the principles and guidelines that influence and decision-making about training and development priorities and activities. Taking into account the culture and values of Camphill Schools, and external expectations and requirements, this document provides a framework for planning and decision making and identifies individual and group responsibilities.

3. The Current Regulatory Context

Registration of residential child-care workers

We are living in a time of great change in the social care sector due to the implementation by the Scottish Parliament of the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001. The Act has resulted in significant new regulation of social services in Scotland. Most significantly it established two new executive non-departmental public bodies. The Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care, or the Care Commission as it has become known, is responsible for the registration and regulation of care services against national standards. The Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) is responsible for national workforce planning, the registration of social services workers and the promotion and regulation of their education and training.

New Care Standards, to which all care organizations are expected to adhere, were introduced in 2002 and Camphill Schools is now assessed against these requirements twice each year. Whereas previously the respective authorities carried out day school and care inspections separately, the Care Commission and Her Majesty’s Inspectors for Education (HMIE) now jointly undertake the inspection process. This is proving very useful as it serves to provide a helpful overview of the Schools’ operations whilst identifying specific feedback in relation to the different aspects of curative education. The feedback is proving to be an important tool in helping the Schools identify training and development priorities.

It is a requirement that all ‘residential care workers’ and ‘managers in residential care’ register with the SSSC. A phased timetable has been set for the registration of all social services workers by 2010. To remain on the register in the longer term (and therefore be eligible to work in social services) these workers must hold qualifications relevant to their job role. The qualifications applicable for each type of job have been published by the SSSC and the qualifications framework crucially includes the Certificate in Higher Education (Curative Education), the Diploma in Higher Education (Curative Education) and the BA in Curative Education.

An analysis of the qualification status of workers in the Schools who are required to register with the SSSC has recently been completed and shows that most of the workers required to register from 2005 onwards are currently either qualified or are on a qualification route (i.e. the BACE or Scottish Vocational Qualification awards programmes). If workers possess the relevant qualification at the time of registering they will gain full registration. Others not yet qualified will be granted conditional registration subject to completing the award before re-registration in three years (i.e. 2008/09).

To satisfy future qualification requirements steps are being taken by the more experienced co-workers who do not possess a formally recognised qualification to gain an award relevant to their needs. This includes seven people who are undertaking the BA in Curative Education by ‘advanced entry’. We anticipate that the “Foundation Year” voluntary care workers will not require full registration and will therefore not need a relevant qualification immediately. However, those continuing to work within the community beyond this initial period will have to register with the SSSC and will be expected to work towards a qualification. In the future, therefore, it is anticipated that co-workers living in the community beyond Foundation Year will normally immediately enrol in the BACE programme to ensure they are eligible to continue working in the care sector. It may be necessary to consider an alternative qualification route for people who do not enrol on the BACE programme (e.g. SVQ/HNC). With these arrangements we do not anticipate any long-term difficulties in complying with the qualification requirements of those registering with the SSSC as residential childcare workers.

Regulation for ‘Early Years and Childcare’ workers is also being introduced. This affects the Schools’ Kindergarten provision. Similar, however, to the already published qualifications frameworks, the BACE qualifications have been recognised for registration purposes. We expect the situation in this part of the Schools to be similar to other spheres with no major problems anticipated.

The registration process will be an administrative challenge and we expect to have to provide significant support to individuals to help them to complete the paperwork required. One potential headache may be the official translation of documentation required to prove identity and clarify qualifications gained overseas. There is also an ongoing financial burden as there will be an annual worker registration fee of £30 (plus a Disclosure Scotland application in the first year and at re-registration) and this cost will need to be built into the School’s budget.

In addition to the individual registration requirements, employers and social service workers are expected to adopt codes of practice. The codes require employers to provide individual supervision and training and development opportunities to maintain and improve worker performance. In addition, they must put in place properly resourced opportunities to assist workers to meet SSSC criteria for registration and continuous professional development. Workers are expected to take responsibility for their own learning by endeavouring to improve their knowledge and skills through participation in training, education and supervision.

Registration of other professional groups

The Camphill Schools’ situation is unique and there are a number of roles where it is unclear whether or not SSSC registration will be required. In the near future we will be clarifying with the SSSC and the Care Commission who will need to register. Regulation in the other spheres of curative education is also increasingly likely and in anticipation of this, teachers, craft instructors and therapists are striving to gain academic and professional recognition for their skills, talents and experience.

Craft Instructors

Craft instruction is unusual in schools outside Camphill settings and the role of the craft instructor is therefore not regulated by any specific body. The activity, however, is a valuable element within curative education and is recognised as such by the Care Commission and HMIE. The Schools have therefore taken steps recently, in liaison with these regulators, to establish a qualifications framework for craft instructors. A draft paper has been developed and Council will be asked to consider this at a later stage.

Teachers

Whilst the Schools have a number of teachers registered with the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS), there are several very competent and experienced people who do not possess a formally recognised teaching qualification.

Whilst qualification is not currently a legal requirement within the Scottish independent schools system, and there is an agreement with the GTCS that teachers already in post can continue in that role within Camphill, we are nevertheless taking steps to systematically put relevant teachers through the state recognised Post Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) qualifying programme. This will serve to give our teachers the additional confidence that qualification can bring, enable them to register with the GTCS and more crucially contribute to improvements in the teaching practice and day-school education provision. Following an exploratory meeting held approximately five years ago with the General Secretary of the GTCS, it is planned to invite him back to the Schools to review the issues related to our teachers.

Classroom Assistants

Classroom Assistants work as part of the class team to provide a warm and supportive educational environment for pupils. As there are no clear qualification requirements for this role, it is proposed that a qualifications framework and training strategy should be developed specifically for these co-workers.

Therapists

Therapists are not currently regulated by statute but it is anticipated that this will become a requirement in the various therapeutic spheres within the next few years. A number of people have completed, or are currently engaged in, training programmes that will enable them to become registered practitioners in their chosen field. Some purely anthroposophical therapists are seeking external accreditation for their training and skills, although this is proving difficult. Where no relevant external professional bodies exist for specifically Anthroposophical approaches (e.g. eurythmy; therapeutic speech; riding therapy) it is hoped that the newly formed Anthroposophical Health Professions Council will gain recognition similar to that of the Health Professions Council (AHPC) and therefore be able to register Anthroposophical therapists. It is noted that the intention of the AHPC will be that all curative educators will be eligible to register with it.

4. Core Training

Core training focuses on the essential things that workers need to know and be able to do as soon as possible after they start work. It consists of induction and foundation training and learning for new workers, including basic health and safety awareness and skills. In addition there are things that everyone needs to learn to perform their task safely and competently. Whilst core training includes activities in which almost all new workers participate, there are also requirements for established workers. The full range of activities is as follows:

Moving and Handling

This is essential training for all workers. To deliver the training effectively, taking account of our particular needs, and to ensure we have expertise available locally, we arranged for 3 co-workers to train as manual handling trainers in 2003. Since then all workers have received instruction in manual handling relevant to their role. This has involved a basic 4-hour course for new co-workers and employees and an 8-hour course for all those responsible for managing situations where people-handling is required. Annual refresher training is now in place.

First Aid Training

All workers have participated in an ‘Appointed Person’ course (4 hours) within the past two years. As this training needs refreshed every three years, we will be starting a new training schedule towards the end of 2005.

To satisfy legal requirements at least one person from each estate is now trained to full first aid certificate standard.

We use an external training organization to deliver all our first aid courses.

Health and Safety Basic Awareness Training

All workers receive a health and safety briefing as part of their induction that covers their individual responsibilities and the key factors that they need to be aware of (e.g. fire safety, COSHH, RIDDOR, personal hygiene). A session on safety around horses has recently been added. In addition any job specific training (e.g. chain saw use for gardens/estates workers) will be provided before the task is undertaken.

Induction and Foundation

All new workers receive induction training and participate in foundation courses. Revised co-worker induction and foundation processes were introduced in August 2002 and each is reviewed and emended annually based on feedback from participants and supervisors.

There is additional work required to adapt the current induction process to fit the needs of the range of new workers now being appointed (e.g. classroom assistants). Further work is also required to adapt the existing co-worker induction and foundation processes for Cairnlee.

Strategies for Crisis Intervention and Prevention - Revised (SCIP-r)

SCIP-r was adopted in 2003 as the system to help ensure good quality support to children who express themselves through violent or aggressive behaviour. All workers with a child support or/and education role undertake the initial 2-day training course within three months of starting and attend regular ongoing practice sessions and annual refresher training thereafter. All relevant workers have been trained and the first round of annual refresher training has been completed. In addition, practice sessions have been held throughout the year. All the training has been facilitated by our five internal SCIP-r Instructors, supplemented occasionally by external instructors. The SCIP-r programme will continue to be supported and we anticipate that it will help develop our practice when working with particular pupils across the range of settings experienced by them.

Epilepsy Training

All workers caring for children and adults with epilepsy receive relevant training as soon as possible after appointment and always before they administer rectal diazepam. Refresher training is required every two years. Courses are arranged three times each year to cater for new recruits and the retraining of existing workers.

Food Safety

All cooks are required to undertake a Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland (REHIS) Elementary Food Hygiene Certificate and all those in post at June 2003 undertook the course at that time (regardless of whether they had already done it previously). New recruits are trained as soon as possible after appointment.

A training programme for all other workers handling food will be undertaken, starting in late 2005. The training will enhance worker understanding of food safety and is designed to promote best practice and prevent contamination and ill health resulting from food poisoning.

As a consequence of pending EU legislation, it is likely that further training will be required for those responsible for food handling risk assessment.

Following an Open Space Meeting in April 2004 there is an impulse to promote anthroposophical nutritional insights and more effective care and attention to organic food. It is likely therefore that there will be initiatives in this area.

Signalong

Signalong aims to empower children with impaired communication to understand and express their needs, choices and desires by providing vocabulary for life and learning. It uses a key-word sign-supporting system adapted from British Sign Language and has the widest range of BSL-based vocabulary in Britain, using a consistent method of drawing and describing signs. Although not mandatory, it is recommended that co-workers located in houses and other workplaces where Signalong is used, participate in an introductory course during their induction period. We do not currently have an available trainer in this approach and the training is purchased from an external source. We anticipate having an internal trainer available by the summer of 2005 and hope also to recruit and train another person to help with this instruction.

5. Future developments

BACE Developments

Development of the BACE will continue in line with the existing evaluation and review procedures already in place. The recognition of the BACE and its associated qualifications is resulting in an increase in applications from within the Schools and beyond (e.g. eight of next year’s Stage 1 students are from the current Foundation Year). Whilst this is an encouraging expansion it does create complex challenges for programme development and management that will need to be addressed in the coming years. One of the key developments proposed is the introduction of a distance learning route in 2007.

Support and Supervision

It is widely recognised that support and supervision has a key role to play in developing, maintaining and improving individual performance. Although support and supervision is widely practiced within Camphill Schools, it is generally accepted that the quality varies and its application is inconsistent. There is therefore a need to develop a policy that sets out the purpose and process of supervision and that specifies requirements and entitlements. An audit of the current reality in is being carried out and a working group will begin meting in the near future to develop operating guidelines. To properly implement a revised policy, it is anticipated that training for both supervisors and supervisees will be required and we expect to arrange training over the coming 12 months. This should enable a common understanding of the process to be developed with a view to refocusing effort and improving practice.

Worker Annual Review and Development Planning

It is proposed that we develop a worker review and development process (often referred to elsewhere as appraisal) to enable annual reflection on individual contributions and to create work and learning plans for the year ahead. We have no such system at present and it would be good people management and development practice to establish such a process (it is also likely to become a requirement in the near future). The development of such a process would lead on from the establishment of support and supervision and is therefore not likely to be implemented until 2006.

Autism Spectrum Disorder Practice

The Schools will be assessed by the National Autism Accreditation Scheme in February/March 2005. A separate section on autism spectrum initiatives (including specific training programmes) is included in the Schools’ Development Plan. In addition, the Training Group section of the Development Plan includes the intention to provide learning programmes for all those working with relevant children, including new co-workers, and opportunities for continuous professional development for all. The learning programme will be updated after consideration has been given to the learning implications arising out of the autism accreditation assessment.

Intensive Interaction

Intensive Interaction is a practical approach to working with people with learning disabilities who find difficulty in communicating or being social. The approach helps the person with learning difficulties and their communication partner to relate better to each other and enjoy each other's company more. In Intensive Interaction the carer, support worker, speech and language therapist or teacher aims at becoming a better communication partner thus supporting the person with learning disabilities to develop confidence. Following on from Intensive Interaction training several years ago, further work has been undertaken during the past two years with Phoebe Caldwell, a national authority on the approach. It is anticipated that further work using this approach will enhance our ability to work with children who have major communication difficulties.

Co-ordinators’ Development

This group have a very important function within the Schools and it is critical that co-workers are prepared adequately for the role and that they continuously update their abilities in relation to the tasks that face them. At the time of writing an assessment of the group is being undertaken by external consultants. It is anticipated that specific learning needs will emerge from this assessment that the group will need to address.

House Co-ordinators' Development

House co-ordinators have recently revised their weekly meeting schedule to enable some time to be allocated to development activities. A feature of their meetings has been the use of ‘action learning’ to develop solutions to real issues, problems, dilemmas and projects.

Four house co-ordinators participated in an introductory management and leadership training programme and several others may join this programme in the coming year. In addition to this the group has agreed to undertake a learning and development programme with an external facilitator later in the year.

Investors in People (IiP)

Scottish Enterprise Grampian carried out an initial ‘health check’ against IiP standards in 2003. This identified several areas for development that are now being tackled (e.g. improved communication; development of a training strategy; improved supervision arrangements; better training evaluation procedures). It is anticipated that we should be ready for re-assessment in spring 2006.

Ways to Quality

Ways to Quality is emerging as the key framework for organisational development and quality assurance for the Schools. Six people have already completed the basic training programme and three others the follow-up ‘Continuation Course’. A Camphill Schools specific course will be run in October 2005, April 2006 and October 2006 to enable a large group of co-workers to complete the basic course. Although there have been initiatives over the past eighteen months, it is acknowledged that the application of the process has just begun and much remains to be done.

Development of a Human Resources Database

New database software has been installed and is operational. We are now catching up with inputting data to ensure output reports can be created at will. Although the database was specifically designed for Camphill Schools, it is also applicable (with minor alterations) to other Camphill communities. Newton Dee Village, for example, has recently purchased the system from our supplier. We received a commission on this sale that has been set against our ongoing development costs. Should further sales be made the supplier has agreed to pay us similar commissions.

For further details relating to all these future development activities please refer to the Training Group section of the Development Plan. As annual organisational development plan reviews are undertaken, and Ways to Quality identifies other development requirements, there will be reviews of the training and development priorities.

Paul Henderson
Training Co-ordinator
08 June 2005