These learning resources support middle leaders to develop quality care services based on good practice and guidance. Most of the learning resources are free to access but some incur costs. They include toolkits, learning frameworks, guides and case studies that require varying time commitments for completion
The learning outcomes are how to:
Take the lead in improving the quality of care
Plan for improvements that are co-produced
Test ideas, challenge thinking and agree on actions
Implement and sustain quality improvements
Share and spread the learning The learning resources include how to make small changes that can make a difference quickly, as well as those intended to support middle leaders to implement a long-term plan of improvements to the quality of care.
Making It Real is a set of statements that describe what good care and support looks like. It is organised into six themes.
This practical guide shows how middle leaders can use the resources in Making It Real to make care and support work better for people, leading to better lives.
Making It Real acts as a compass. It guides people who want to make things better. It can be used in different ways by different people and organisations, from people who draw on care and support themselves through to people that work as middle leaders in adult social care.
Learning method: guide
Duration: approximately two hours hour to read
Learn more about:
how to use Making It Real as a conversation starter for changes to quality care and that are values led, co-produced and lead to genuine change
building themes and statements into quality improvement performance frameworks
creating Making It Real boards to oversee work towards the statements
using Making It Real statements to develop questions for feedback sessions with people who draw on care and support.
This guide provides an overview of how to implement personalisation in adult social care. While this guide offers an introduction to the principles and practices of personalisation, implementing these concepts within individual councils will require tailored approaches for local contexts.
Learning method: guide
Duration: approximately two hours to read
Think Local Act Personal’s Making It Real statements provide a practical way to begin this process in coproduction with people who work in social care and those who draw on care and support. It is linked directly to the Care Quality Commission’s Single Assessment Framework.
In this guide, you will encounter key questions designed to prompt reflection and discussion, helping you to identify areas for further enquiry and action within your own organisation. It has been developed by the Think Local Act Personal policy team alongside people who draw on care and support, including family, friends and carers.
If you are involved at any level in improving health or social care, this resource will provide the information you need for your first steps towards making quality improvements, giving your improvement project the best possible chance of success.
Whether you are experienced at running improvement projects or not, this blend of project management and improvement tools, combined with practical knowledge and firsthand experience should prove to be useful.
Learning method: guide
Duration: 60 minutes reading time
This resource is not intended as a complete guide but provides a short overview with the most relevant tools and other resources signposted for further exploration. If you want to deliver sustainable improvements with greater speed and confidence, this resource will help you take the first steps. A five-step improvement approach has been defined to provide a systematic framework from the beginning to the end of your improvement project for sustainable success.
This report proposes a straightforward model which details the necessary steps to offering useful alternative provision.
The model identifies important layers of organisation and principles. These around key values (strength-based, co-produced, empowering people) and working approaches (shared data, building networks, developing over time) that need to be in place to create a good quality alternative offer to run alongside the traditional front door.
Learning method: guide
Duration: varies depending on the theme or focus that you require support with within the guide.
Learn more about how to:
develop the community coordinated approach to supporting the adult social care front door model
apply a different approach to the front door: the community coordinated approach
understand and apply the community coordinated front door model for adult social care.
This practical guide shows how you can use evidence to improve care and services. It is for anyone with an interest in improving practice. These practical steps are drawn from NICE working in partnership with NHS organisations, local authorities, social care providers and voluntary organisations, as well as published literature.
The guide sets out the most common steps taken when putting evidence-based guidance into practice. You can follow them exactly or take a more flexible approach. Each step has tips and actions to help you get started depending upon the context of your quality project.
Learning method: guide
Duration: approximately one hour to read
Learn more about how to:
take the lead in improving the quality of care
understand the current ways of working
plan for co-produced change or improvements
improve the quality of care and measure the impact
The quality improvement zone is a learning and resource site from the NHS Education for Scotland quality improvement team. It provides information and resources to support people with experience at all levels of quality improvement to develop their knowledge. The team provide learning, development and networking opportunities to build skills, knowledge and confidence, enabling the public and third sector to use quality improvement methodology to deliver better services, care and outcomes.
The zone is free to access. It includes resources to support the development of quality improvements. For example, learning programmes, tools, guides and frameworks.
Learning method: toolkit
Duration: varies depending on the chosen learning resource
Learn more about:
the will and desire for change
understanding current levels of quality and opportunities for improvement
how to choose and use the best tools to support your quality journey at each step
ways to test ideas, challenge thinking and agree on actions
how to implement and sustain quality improvements
use effective methods to share and spread learning.