Social Care Training & Development Ltd.

Professional Education

Diploma in Social Care Management

Student Handbook

Page:

Contents: 1.

1. Welcome 2.

2. Contact us & Introduction 3.

3. Learning Agreement 5.

4. Programme Design & Specification 6.

5. Attendance 8.

6. Assessment Plans 8.

7. Referencing &Plagiarism 8.

8. Award and Notification of Results 11.

9. Personal Development Plan Example 12.

10. Attendance & Behaviour 14.

1. Welcome to your studies at SCT&D Professional Education.

You are embarking on one of the newest and most innovative Management Development Programmes within the Social Care Sector.

SCT&D Professional Education is supporting the overall philosophy of the Social Care Training & Development in relation to raising the profile of Social Care workers and promoting Social Care as a recognised Profession.

This handbook is designed to provide a handy guide to the SCT&D’s Professional Educational service. It also explains your rights and responsibilities as a student studying with the Social Care Training & Development Professional Education scheme.

If however, there is any information you need which is not covered in this handbook, please do ask your personal tutor or contact us at our Medway office.

All the staff at SCT&D would like to offer you a warm welcome to your course and wish you every success in your studies.

John GranthamJohn Grantham MSC, Chartered FCIPD

Managing Director

2. Contact us& Introduction:

Telephone: 01634 887282

Email:info@socialcaretraning.org

Website:www.socialcaretraining.org

Our People:

John Grantham Chartered FCIPD – Principal Tutor& Programme Manager

Hannah Grantham Chartered MCIPD – Marking\Course Assessment Moderator

Alex Whitmore – Administration & Quality Assurance Officer

2.1 Introduction to programme:

The Diploma in Social Care Management is at an equivalent level to the Diploma 5 in Health & Social Care Management course.

The Diploma in Social Care Management is a stand-alone award, valid in its own right and accredited by Association of Social Care Professionals. Successful candidates receive the SCT&D\ASCP Diploma in Social Care Management.

The qualification is intended for:

Anyone working at a Management\Supervisory level within a Residential Care Home, Domiciliary Care Business or Social Care related Day Centre; i.e. Registered Manager, Service Manager, Team Leader, Senior Carer, Supervisor.

Someone aspiring to make Social Care a long term career in terms of developing their management progression.

Line Managers who wish to develop their business management capabilities within a Social Care business.

Owner\Managers new to owning a Social Care business.

The Foundation Level is suitable for any individual with at least 2 years experience within the Social Care field and a level 3 Diploma or equivalent. (Although we do not operate any formal entry requirement)

2.1.1 Assessment Methods:

There are 7 assessed parts to the Diploma in Social Care Management

1. Skills assessments consisting of two modules2. Written assignments consisting of 4 modules3. Exam x 1

In addition students also need to complete a knowledge statement for each skills assessment.

2.1.2 Course Structure:

Par

t 1Induction, CPD & General Study Skills

Managing Care Provision

Work Scheduling

Client Assessment

Academic Study Skills

Organisational Dynamics

Leadership and Management

Operational Management

Training and Development

P

art 2

Business Strategy in Social Care

Information Systems

Customer Service

Human Resource Management

Business Finance for non finance Managers

Marketing a Care Business

Business Presentations

Exam Preparation Workshop

2.1.3 Workshop Tuition and Home Study:

Your studies with SCT&D Professional Education will consist of 3 elements: Workshop Tuition, Home Study and Work Based Learning application.

Workshop Tuition:

Within the workshops we aim to cover key elements of the syllabus. However this is time constrained and you will also need to undertake some home study.

Home Study Guidance:

This will include pre-workshop activities, reading texts books\course materials and Internet based research.

Help:

If at any point you need any help with your studies, simply call us on: 01634 887282 and the most appropriate member of the team will be able to discuss how we can be of assistance.

Feedback:

We are always looking to improve our service and we value your with this in mind, we would be grateful if you could complete the student survey which will be emailed to you during your studies. We welcome your comments on your learning experience with us.

3. Learning Agreement

The Learning Agreement summarises the main rights and responsibilities of the learner and SCT&D Professional Education. It is important to keep for future reference.

SCT&D’s Responsibilities:

1. Clear, accurate and impartial information and/or advice about our learning programme and its variations, programme costs and entry requirements, methods of study and assessment, qualifications and progression opportunities.

2. A response to your application within 15 working days

3. An enrolment process that is efficient and learner centred.

As a learner, you have the right to expect:

i. An appropriate induction to the course and your programme.

ii. High quality teaching backed up by appropriate technical and administrative service.

iii. Regular discussions on your progress with your tutor

iv. Safe and appropriate environments in which to study and work.

4. To receive a response within 15 working days to any complaint under the formal Complaints Procedure and to a fair resolution.

5. Access to SCT&D’s Professional Education policies and procedures.

6. Your personal details to be handled sensitively and only disclosed to third parties in ways which support your progress and well-being or where required by law.

7. To be treated with respect and according to need regardless of class, sex, race, ethnic origin, religion, disability, age or sexual orientation.

I, the learner, agree to:

1. Pay all programme costs that are due from me to SCT&D (I understand that fees are not refundable).

2. Attend all timetabled activities punctually &explain absence or lateness if these cannot be avoided.

4. Take responsibility for my own learning, completing all assignments on time and to the best of my ability.

5. Conduct myself in a way that respects the rights of others and complies with SCT&D’s policies and procedures.

6. Take responsibility for attending the correct exams

7. Inform my tutor\SCT&D in writing, within five working days, if my contact details change (e.g. new phone number, address) or if I decide to leave the programme, giving reasons for this.

4. Programme Design

The programme is designed so that the initial element of the course provides a clearly Social Care focused foundation on which the more business focused aspects are built upon in the second stage of the course. This deliberately Social Care focused foundation is also intended to ease students into the method of studying adopted by SCT&D Professional Education.

Work Based Learning is a fundamental element of all parts of this programme and students should be aware of the need to actively seek to implement a relatively permanent change in behaviour in their management practice within their day to day employment and management roles.

4.1 Programme Specification

Brief descriptive summary:

This programme specification covers a range of elements that are key to business management, including; Accounting and Finance, Business Information Technology, Business Management, Human Resource Management, Marketing and Customer Service.

The programme design enables maximum flexibility of student choice in relation to when they study and when they can attend the tuition workshops.

SCT&D Professional Education Aims:

To continue to develop flexible approaches to programme delivery and student support, that will constantly reflect the needs &expectations of our students.

To provide a learning experience and support for our learners that encourages and properly sustains a diverse learning community.

To provide a learning environment that is free from discrimination and focussed on success for all learners.

To enable the development of students’ skills and personal attributes that will enhance employment opportunities on completion of the programme.

To establish a culture of quality enhancement and progressive innovation in learning, teaching and assessment that is anticipatory, enabling, supportive, rewarding and fully aligned with the Association’s strategy.

To provide a learning experience that is informed by research, work based learning application and reflecting on professional practice.

4.2 Programme Educational Aims:

The Management Development Programme is designed to produce Social Care Professionals who are better equipped to combine the management of client care and effective business management. The intention is that there will be a balance between incorporating practical business and management application and maintaining analytical academic attention.

The programme will provide challenging, comprehensive learning experiences and will develop students’ intellectual, communication and practical abilities, with the aim of providing students with transferable skills that will be of value throughout their professional lives.

Particular emphasis will be placed on the programme being aligned within the context of lifelong learning, to allow the development of key skills and to promote autonomous learning.

These skills being:

1. Self development management2. Motivation and initiative3. Team working 4. Verbal communication 5. Written communication 6. Problem solving 7. Analytical ability 8. Creativity and ability to handle new and changing situations

Programme Learning Outcomes:

Successful students will be able to develop and demonstrate transferable Management skills, in particular their ability to:

Argue rationally and draw independent conclusions based on a rigorous, analytical and critical approach to data.

Apply what has been learned within the workplace Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of organisations, the external environment

in which they operate and how they are effectively managed. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of markets, customers, financial

applications, business policy and strategy and management and development of people.

Use and manage communication and information technology in a business context. Develop appropriate policies and strategies within a complex changing environment

to meet stakeholder interests. Demonstrate a critical awareness of contemporary and future issues in business such

as knowledge management, globalisation and business ethics.

Upon Completion of the Programme students will be able to:

Contextualise and appreciate the theoretical perspectives of human behaviour within a business organisation.

Understand and apply the principles involved in forecasting, monitoring and evaluating the financial elements of business to enable effective management of a care business and its finances.

Appreciate the role of government and the impact of globalisation within their political implications upon management activity within the care sector.

5. Attendance:

Good attendance and punctuality are paramount to your success and you must comply with the official course timetable. However, if you are going to be late or absent contact your tutor by telephone and provide as much notice as possible. Or contact your tutor from 8.30am that day and provide an explanation for your absence. All information is treated in confidence.

Your tutor will record your attendance immediately at the start of each session and unless you have contacted your tutor on the day of your absence, your tutor will record you as absent from the workshop.

You must have at least 80% attendance at the tuition workshops (either with your own cohort or another where you have to re-arrange workshop attendance).

6. Assessment plan:

During the first workshop students will be issued with an Assessment Schedule which details the submission dates of assessments and timing of examinations. It is important to commence work on assessments as early as possible to avoid late submissions.

The combination of assessments helps to develop a range of practical skills needed within the workplace.

6.1 Submission of Assessments:

All assignments must be submitted on or before the specified submission date on the Assessment Schedule, these must be submitted by email to info@tsocialcaretraining.org

Assignments must be typed, include a bibliography, and be accompanied by a signed front sheet.

Your assignment will then be marked by your Tutor and returned to you within three weeks of the submission date. The returned assignment will have a grade, refer, pass, merit or distinction and will be moderated through our Internal Moderation process. This is where the Course Assessment checks the marking to ensure consistency and accuracy of marking to ensure it is accurate and fair.

If at any time you require additional advice and guidance on the submission of course assessment, you should liaise with your Tutor.

7. Referencing and Plagiarism:

Referencing work correctly is an essential part of study at this level and critical to the grade awarded. Students will receive Tutor input on the element of Study Skills during the first workshop. This will be reiterated when being briefed on the various elements of assessed work.

Plagiarism is when you pass another’s work off as your own, use somebody else’s work and pretend it is your own. This is a form of cheating. Plagiarism can occur when a student fails to reference an author or cutting and pasting paragraphs from different websites or handing in a paper downloaded from the internet or copying another student’s work. Plagiarism is easy to identify and expose. It is likely that your Tutor will be able to spot plagiarised work.

All parties to plagiarism are considered equally unprofessional. If you share your course work with another student and they plagiarises it, you are both considered as unprofessional as each other.

Plagiarism is an offence. Students found to have submitted an assignment that contains plagiarism will receive an immediate refer grade for that assignment and will have to re-submit that piece of work.

7.1 Deadlines, submissions and extension policies

If you fail to meet the submission deadline, your marks will be reduced as follows:

Late submission of 10 working days or more after the submission date will receive a maximum mark of 50%.

You may submit evidence of exceptional circumstances that you consider to have been the cause of late submission of assessment, and for which you do not wish to attract any penalty, to your Tutor. However, only with specific prior approval may a student receive a full mark for work submitted late. In such circumstances, your Tutor must be satisfied that a serious and unavoidable disruption to the students work plan has taken place.

Evidence of exceptional circumstances must be included in the email with the assignment submission.

7.2 Assessment Appeals

If you feel that you have grounds to appeal then you can appeal using the Appeals Procedure documented below.

APPEAL PROCEDURE in respect of DECISIONS BY SCT&D PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION

Definitions:

(1) With regard to Academic Appeals the following definitions are used:

“Academic Appeal” - a request for the review of a decision of SCT&D Professional Education that has implications for a student’s progression, assessment and final award

“Student” - any person enrolled or registered on the Management Development Programme [Diploma in Social Care Management] offered by SCT&D Professional Education.

“Assessment” - any assessment leading to a refer, pass, credit or distinction piece of submitted work which counts towards a student’s overall result

(2) This procedure is applicable to all students of SCT&D Professional Education, who should note the following:

Appeals which question the academic judgement of markers shall not be admissible;

Grounds for Appeal:

(1) A student is entitled to submit an Academic Appeal, based on one or more of the following:

a) that there has been an arithmetical or other factual error in calculating the grade, i.e. where scores are weighted within the skills assessment element of the assessment process.

b) that there were defects or irregularities in the conduct of the assessments or the briefing of the assessed piece of work or in written advice\feedback relating thereto which were not, in the student’s opinion, properly taken into account by the assessor, when such defects or irregularities or advice might, in the student’s opinion, have had an adverse effect on his/her performance.

(2) Appeals that are made on any grounds other than those listed above in (a) &(b) (including those that question the academic judgement of examiners) shall not be admissible.

(3) If a student wishes to appeal on the grounds that SCT&D Professional Education was unaware of extenuating circumstances which adversely affected his/her performance, the student should submit a request for consideration of extenuating circumstances, setting out in writing the details of the extenuating circumstances.

Submitting an Appeal:

Any appeal should be presented in writing to Social Care Training & Development Ltd., 45 Maidstone Road, Chatham, Kent. ME4 6DP not later than 15 clear working days after the official notification of your assessed grade

SCT&D Professional Education shall acknowledge receipt of an appeal normally within 5 clear working days. Where appropriate to the circumstances of the case, the appeal shall be referred to the appeal panel for consideration & adjudication.

The appellant shall be informed by SCT&D Professional Education of the action being taken to remedy the situation by means of an Appeal Outcome letter.

Appeal Panel:

This shall be made up of the Quality Assurance Officer & Marking\Course Assessment Moderator.

The Appeal Panel shall base its decisions on the evidence of the appellant’s submission and the testimony of any witnesses, together with any further evidence that it considers relevant. The Appeal Panel, when considering its decision, shall meet in private session.

Outcomes of an Appeal Panel:

The Appeal Panel shall be empowered to take one of the following decisions:

a) to reject the appeal and uphold the original decision of the assessor.

b) to uphold the appeal and to refer the case back to the assessor for a review of the initial decision.

The decision of the Appeal Panel is final with no further level of appeal.

The Appellant shall be notified of the outcome within 5 working days of the Appeal Panel’s decision.

8. Award and Notification of Results:

At the end of part one of the programme students who have passed all of their assignments will automatically progress onto part 2. Any students who have not passed an assignment will be given the opportunity [having received feedback] of a final submission.

Students will receive a letter at the end of part 1 and part 2 of the programme giving a breakdown of grades.

As part of SCT&D’s commitment to Lifelong Learning and Continuous Professional Development we strongly encourage students to reflect on the completion of their programme and to consider creating a Personal Development Plan to further enhance their learning and development of their professional management competence.

The aim of this plan is to have information about your skills, qualifications and development all in one place. The file should contain information and evidence about the experience and qualifications you have already achieved and your progress and development on your current course. Together, these should provide you with a clearer focus on personal and career goals and also provide invaluable when compiling things such as CVs or job applications.

A copy of a simple Personal Development Plan can be found on the following pages.

9. Personal Development PlanName:

Core Training and Development Requirements

Course Date Achieved and level (if appropriate)

Updated on

Additional Identified Training and Development

Course Date Achieved and level (if appropriate)

Updated on

General Development Requirements

What are my development needs?

What will I be doing differently as a result of development?

How will these needs be addressed?

What support is required and from whom?

Target completion date

Review Notes and date

10. Attendance and behaviour:

Alongside the following policies, SCT&D Professional Education also has certain rules about the behaviour that it expects from all students and staff. Drinking of alcohol is not allowed within workshops or any of SCT&D’s office locations.

The Social Care Training & Development does not tolerate the taking or selling of illegal drugs at any of its offices or training venues.

Students are expected to attend workshops. To stand the best chance of successfully finishing your course, you are expected to attend all timetabled sessions. Please note that if your attendance falls below 80%, your chances of successfully completing your course will be jeopardised. If you can’t meet these requirements or need to attend a workshop with another cohort, speak with your Tutor.

Here are some other examples of policies and guidelines for your information:

Accident reporting:

If you have been involved in an accident, violent/aggressive or dangerous occurrence, you must report this to your Tutor and they will complete the necessary paperwork. (A dangerous occurrence can include an incident that does not necessarily involve a personal injury, such as ‘a near miss’. These incidents must still be reported.)

Smoking policy:

The SCT&D’s smoking policy applies to all users of all SCT&D’s offices\training venues. To promote and support a healthy environment, and to comply with legislation, we do not allow smoking in any part of the buildings, including toilets, refectories or public areas.

Equal opportunities and diversity:

SCT&D Professional Education is committed to equality of opportunity for all students as expressed in the following statement of policy.

SCT&D Professional Education will work effectively to promote equality of opportunity to all students. We will endeavour to ensure that students are not discriminated against directly or indirectly because of their, race, colour, nationality, ethnic origin, religious belief, political inclinations, employment status, social class or caste, age, size, disability, HIV status, parental background, marital status or on the basis of their sexual orientation.

9.1 Introduction to equality and diversity

What is ‘equality and diversity’ about?

SCT&D uses a definition of ‘equality’ that focuses on respect for everyone, no matter who they are. This involves being fair, open, non-discriminatory and as inclusive as possible.

Diversity is more about respecting and valuing the differences amongst people, whether on the basis of gender, ethnicity, disability, sexuality or any other factor. SCT&D works hard to ensure that its culture and all of its practices demonstrate an active commitment to equality and diversity.

How does this involve learners?

When learners sign up to the Learning Agreement, each person is signing up to making their own, positive contribution to ‘equality and diversity’ so that the learning environment remains a safe, harmonious and respectful place for everyone in which to work.

A FINAL WORD;

Good Luck! We hope you enjoy the programme and are successful in achieving your personal goals. However, it is not going to be down to luck. It will depend on you and the team of tutors working together to achieve success. Make sure you ATTEND all classes, start assignment work EARLY, MANAGE your time, and submit assignments ON TIME.