The following press notice is issued by the Economic and Social Research Council's Research Centre on Skills, Knowledge and Organisational Performance based at Oxford and Cardiff Universities. Please address any enquiries to the contact tel nos/addresses on the notice. Info on SKOPE can be seen on the organisation's web site: www.skope.ox.ac.uk.
Who cares about care skills?
New research by Howard Gospel and Paul Lewis, Department of Management, King's College London for the ESRC Research Centre SKOPE warns that improvements in the provision of care in homes for old people and the disabled and in children's homes could be set back if Government regulations ignore the need for the competence of qualified staff.
In the late 1990s, widespread concern about deficiencies in the skills of the care workforce and the quality of the services of care providers led the government to introduce a statutory framework to regulate a variety of aspects of the provision of social care including the number and qualifications of workers.
Repeated case studies in the same care homes carried out by the researchers in 2003 and 2008 showed that employers have taken seriously their obligations and have engaged in more training. One manager said that the qualifications targets had 'pointed out how important it was that people were trained and (had) put a boot up people's backsides'. However, the researchers also say that 'evidence suggests that the impact of the regulatory framework has been less pronounced than in our sample'.
The benefits of the NVQ qualification process are mixed with some recognition of skills and knowledge already acquired but in other cases the NVQs have incorporated more 'real material', induced more 'self reflection' and provided 'underpinning knowledge'. Staff are more reflective, more willing to question current practices and more able to contribute to the provision of better services. The researchers have concluded that 'the linking of regulation to training was innovative and has had positive effects on the level of training and qualifications in the sector.'
However, change had begun under the previous Government. The regime has moved from twice yearly inspections to visits triggered by an assessment of risk, and the focus of inspections has moved from inputs to outcomes. Perhaps significantly, while the qualifications targets are still formally addressed by inspections, the box which used to be ticked if the home under inspection met the training targets has been excised from inspection reports. A review of the national minimum standards is under way.
Howard Gospel says that 'with public sector cuts on the way and other financial pressures likely, it is doubly important that the care sector does not lose what has been gained from better training and development. The danger is that recent changes may undermine the scope for further development. There should be a blend of outcomes and target-based approach'to regulation.
Notes for Editors: SKOPE Research Paper No 89 'Who Cares About Skills? The Impact and Limits of Statutory Regulation on Qualifications and Skills in Social Care' has been written by Howard Gospel and Paul Lewis, Department of Management, King's College London for the ESRC Research Centre SKOPE.
The paper is published on SKOPE's web site: www.skope.ox.ac.uk or is available from the SKOPE Secretary, School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University, Glamorgan Building, King Edward VII Avenue, Cardiff CF1 0 3WT.
For further information contact: Howard Gospel, tel 01865 516700 and e-mail h.gospel@kcl.ac.uk; Ken Mayhew, SKOPE Director, tel (0)1865276434 and e-mail ken.mayhew@pmb.ox.ac; and John Stevens, press coordinator and associate fellow, tel (0)1732 362895 and e-mail john.r.stevens@talk21.com.
