An opportunity to secure sustainability

CARE England, the largest and most diverse representative body for independent providers of adult social care in England, has welcomed the Care Provider Alliance publication:- 'Provider Market Sustainability; Planning Support to Councils' as an opportunity for Local Authorities to recognise the pressures facing independent providers now and in the future.

Professor Martin Green OBE, Chief Executive of Care England, says:- "This report evidences the significant pressures care providers are currently operating under. It is now incumbent upon Local Authorities to recognise these pressures in their Market Sustainability Plans due to be submitted to the Department of Health and Social Care on 14 October 2022, to reflect the current and future reality of the sector to sustain the workforce and financial viability, whilst also to address the impact of rising energy and agency costs, as well as rising inflation."

Provider Market Sustainability; Planning Support to Councils reflects a number of care providers' thoughts on the Fair Cost of Care process and lays out their key concerns.

The Fair Cost of Care exercise is a process of engagement between Local Authorities, commissioners, and providers, data collection, and analysis by means of which Local Authorities and care providers can arrive at a shared understanding of the local cost of providing care. The cost of care exercise is aimed at helping Local Authorities identify the lower quartile, median, and upper quartile costs in the local area for a series of care categories.

The Care Provider Alliance (CPA) was tasked by provider members to produce this document for Councils to consider ahead of finalising their Market Sustainability Plans.

Alongside Cost of Care exercises, Local Authorities are required to develop and submit a provisional Market Sustainability Plan, which will be followed by a final Market Sustainability Plan when local Government budgets for 2023 to 2024 have been confirmed.

The key concerns for providers detailed within the CPA publication were workforce, energy, inflation, and Return of Operations / Capital:-

► Vacancies are up 52% in the last 12 months against a 48 year low in unemployment

► 60% of providers will need to uplift carer pay in addition to their annual pay uplift, due to the cost of living crisis.

► 88% of providers struggle to secure agency staff.

► 50% of agency staff used to cover long term vacancies.

► 26% cover short term vacancies and is additional to the staff costs they are covering.

► Recruitment costs are up 127% in the last 2 years.

► Overseas recruitment costs £3 to 5k per annum and in some locations, accommodation is unable to be sought.

► Even after the introduction of the Energy Bill Relief Scheme and the introduction of a cap, energy prices for providers are 3 to 4 times what it was 12 months ago.

► Food inflation is over 15% of total costs currently for care home providers.

► Insurance premiums can be 400% higher than pre-Pandemic levels.

Councils do not apply sufficient Return on Operations or Capital levels to sustain providers who need to maintain a profit / surplus to invest in their organisations and to stay in business... Martin Green continues:- "The Fair Cost of Care exercise was engaged with by around 32% of care homes, equating to 41% of care homes places in England. With such a significant representation of data, Local Authorities now have the evidence they require to secure the future sustainability of the sector. There is no room for further excuses. The Market Sustainability Plans must focus on the solutions required to address local issues around workforce pay and benefits, as well as address the provision of funding for providers."

Almost 50% of Secondary School Teachers surveyed do not feel confident delivering sex and relationships education

45% of Secondary School Teachers surveyed in the North West said they do not feel confident about teaching sex and relationships education, a new survey has revealed.

The findings; from a joint NASUWT and NSPCC survey of 1,034 Secondary School Teachers in the UK including 161 in the North West; come just a year after the compulsory curriculum came into effect in England.

The NSPCC has been campaigning for years for children across the UK to have access to high quality sex and relationships education, and believes these lessons are crucial in safeguarding children. To support Teachers, the NSPCC is launching its new UK-wide service called Talk Relationships.

The survey also revealed 26% of Teachers surveyed in the North West, don't feel confident answering difficult or sensitive questions in lessons. In the North West, 85% felt they needed more resources, 86% felt they needed more training, while 53% felt Government support had been poor.

One Teacher surveyed said:- "I've never been trained, and I've always delivered this curriculum on personal, social, citizenship and health education (PSCHRE) days with a large group of students, most of whom I do not know. Not having a rapport with these students makes it harder to teach sensitive topics meaningfully."

The survey highlighted that Teachers want better support, and the charity calls on the new Secretary of State for education, MP Kit Malthouse to prioritise guidance and training around sex and relationships education.

The NSPCC has developed Talk Relationships, which includes an online e-learning course which is free for a limited time, and 14 lesson plans developed in partnership with the PSHE Association.

The charity is also launching a dedicated helpline, where NSPCC experts will offer help and advice to any Teacher with a question or safeguarding concern.

The lesson plans focus on a wide range of topics that are included in the curriculum such as:- sexual harassment, healthy relationships and sharing sexual images.

Findings from the survey also revealed that currently many Teachers surveyed in the Region lack confidence when it comes to delivering certain topics covered in sex and relationships education:-

► 40% don't feel confident delivering lessons on pornography.

► 23% feel very confident delivering lessons on consent.

► Only 16% feel very confident delivering lessons on harmful sexual behaviour and sexual harassment.

The Talk Relationships eLearning aims to increase Teacher confidence in areas such as responding to safeguarding concerns in a classroom setting, managing challenging questions from young people and leading inclusive discussions.

Maria Neophytou, NSPCC Director of Strategy and Knowledge said:- "Sex and relationships education is vital for young people as it helps them understand the difference between healthy and unhealthy relationships, and that they have a right to be safe, heard and respected. The NSPCC has championed a holistic approach towards sex and relationships education across the UK for many years and following on from the thousands of testimonies off the back of the Everyone's Invited movement, it's clear that this education is now more important than ever before. Therefore, it's essential there are resources available to Teachers like those provided in Talk Relationships so they can feel confident engaging with pupils and delivering a range of diverse topics, whether consent, sexuality or online safety."

Dr Patrick Roach, NASUWT General Secretary, said:- "The provision of high quality SRE should be a core component of the curriculum in every School to enable young people to keep themselves and others safe and to help them make informed choices. The NASUWT has campaigned for PSHE and SRE to be key elements within all initial Teacher Training routes and continuing professional development packages. However, it is evident from the findings of our joint survey that many Teachers do not currently feel they are being equipped with the tools or time they need to be able to teach about these sensitive topics confidently. Teachers cannot provide pupils with the guidance and information they need if they are not themselves given ongoing access to pedagogical and practical training and advice. The Talk Relationships service will provide a valuable package of support for Teachers, but the new Secretary of State must also step up to the plate by ensuring access to comprehensive training for Teachers and ensuring that every School can benefit from specialist external sources of direct support and expertise."

Findings from this survey also highlight that Teachers see the value of this education, with 71% saying that they feel it is extremely important in creating a culture of safeguarding in Schools.

The launch of Talk Relationships comes following a pilot of the resources in 101 Secondary Schools. In the feedback 82% of Teachers said the materials had made a difference to their professional practice. The charity found significant increases in Teacher confidence among Teachers completing the training modules.

To sign up to access the Talk Relationship's e-learning course and lesson plans Teachers can visit:- Learning.NSPCC.Org.UK.

To get in touch with the dedicated Talk Relationships Helpline Teachers can call:- 08003895347 or email:- Help@NSPCC.Org.UK withp:- 'Talk Relationships' in the subject line. It is available from:- 8am to 10pm, Monday to Friday, and from:- 9am to 6pm, on both:- Saturday and Sunday.