Learn To...0910

Quality learning with the individual at the heart of everything we do.

01227 844 449 www.learntocare.com Company Registration No.1937728

Quality results from training

01227 844 449 www.learnto.org.uk

Company Registration No. 1937728

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Learn to ... provides quality learning with the individual at the heart of everything we do.

Company Registration No.1937728

2 www.learnto.org.uk 01227 844 449 [email protected]

Message from John Bland, Chief Executive Officer

John Bland meeting the mayor at

opening of Kent Enterprise House

Research shows that 99% of people would recommend

other organisations to use Learn to ... for their training

In the past twelve months, there have been many exciting changes for Learn to …, Since

this publication‘s creation we have rebranded from Learn to Care. Although this annual

report reflects on a time we were named Learn to Care, we are now established and

rebranded Learn to … so will represent ourselves as such. 2009/10 saw Learn to ... move

into Kent Enterprise House and additions to the range of services we provide.

Throughout this time of change we have continued to deliver the great quality training

that we are renowned for. I would like to thank the staff for all the hard work, effort, and

ideas that they have come up with. The achievements

from this year have been incredible and I look

forward to 2010/11.

In 2009-10 we continued to

deliver great quality training to

our clients

John Bland

Chief Executive Officer

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This year has been about working alongside our employer partners. Employers have

asked us to deliver NVQs to meet their specific requirements, and we have risen to the

challenge with exceptional results, higher achievement rates, higher retention rates,

satisfied employers and happy learners. We have been developing bespoke training

courses to meet the needs of the employer and

the employees, delivering the training at the

place of work. Employees are therefore in a

comfortable environment which enables better

learning. This year we have also extended our

reach, delivering more day courses to employees

across Kent. I would like to thank our Learn to

… team for constantly delivering training to

such a high standard, fully supported by our

fantastic admin team. I look forward to seeing

what the next year will bring.

Cath Witney, Learn to …

Operations Manager

Message from Cath Witney, Operations Manager

Through our wide range of projects

and activities, I have compiled a list of

the top 5 achievements I am most

proud of...

1. Achieved Matrix Standard.

2. Learn to … staff gain qualifications including Customer Services, Safeguarding,

and Equality and Diversity.

3. Achieved £3,000 grant to work with Skills for Life development team to develop

an organisational approach to Skills for Life.

4. Working with new technologies- ‖Learning to Moodle‖, E-Assessments and E-

Learning

5. Offering new courses including coaching and mentoring, and management

Cath Witney

Operations Manager

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Learn to ... has been delivering NVQs to

the Health and Social Care Sector since

2001. During that time more than 1500

people have trained with us and more

than 300 care organisations have

benefited from more highly qualified staff.

In 2007 Learn to ... became part of

Enterprising Opportunities CIC to

maintain our ethos of high quality

training; to be able to offer more training

Introduction

opportunities; and to move into new areas of development. (Enterprising

Opportunities CIC is a social enterprise committed to developing sustainable

businesses which support development of individual and local communities.)

One way Enterprising Opportunities CIC supports the community is by

donating surplus profits as gift aid to registered charity Kent Enterprise Trust

(KET). KET is a Kent-wide charity enabling people to overcome individual

challenges through training, support and real opportunities.

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Social Impact

In the past year Learn to … has helped 475 people by giving learning and

development opportunities of which 217 were enrolled on a nationally recognised

NVQ programme. Therefore we have strengthened the Health and Social Care

workforce enabling employers to meet and exceed the Care Quality Commission

requirements which enhances the quality of life of vulnerable adults in Kent.

114 still on programme working towards a qualification

63 Community Care Workers have achieved their NVQ Level 2

25 Community Care Workers have achieved their NVQ Level 3

Our Assessors are able to give support to a large number of learners with literacy

needs. This activity helps in raising skills and supports progression with employers

who historically have a low level of skills within their workforce. This is being

strengthened by developing support with numeracy and IT by bringing in external

support.

149 learners in employment were supported to gain a first level 2 qualification and

of those 3 learners supported to achieve a literacy qualification at GCSE level.

In total 65 employers were supported over the 12 months (including 50 small, 9

medium and 6 large). Employers in the deprived areas included 5 in Folkestone,

17 in Thanet, 7 in Canterbury, 11 in Herne Bay, and 5 in Swale.

Learn to … helped 3 people with Skills for Life, developing employees‘ numeracy

and literacy to enable them to reach a level that will improve their prospects.

As well as offering these qualifications, Learn to … also offers day training courses

in many areas to ensure staff are fully up-to-date in all areas of their jobs, and in

many cases up to the legal requirements.

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We offer a range of courses including;

NVQ 2, 3, and 4 in Health & Social Care

NVQ 2 and 3 in Customer Service

VRQ 3 in First Line Management

Learning and Development Award

Leadership and Management

Mentor Award

Expert Witness

Assessors Award

Institute of Leadership and Management level 3 & 4

Leadership Management

Computing

Common Induction Standards workbook

E-Induction

Day Training Sessions

What We Offer

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The Matrix Standard

In 2009/10, Learn to … received the

Matrix accreditation. The Matrix

Standard is a nationally recognised

quality standard for organisations that

deliver information, advice and/or

guidance (IAG) on learning and work. It is useful for organisations that deliver IAG

both to external clients and to their own employees. This means it is a wonderful

accreditation for Learn to …, being part of Enterprising opportunities CIC, and

works as confirmation that they are providing opportunities for employment,

work skills, and training, all of which stem from Enterprising Opportunities CIC‘s

mission statement.

Organisations are awarded Matrix accreditation when they have shown that their

IAG service/s meet the Matrix Standard. Learn to… is now listed as one of 1743

organisations accredited to the Matrix Standard.

The Matrix Standard consists of nine elements of service delivery that

organisations will be assessed on before being awarded accreditation. They are:

Delivering your service:

People are made aware of the service and how to engage with it

Promotional activities ensure that information about the service is readily

accessible

People's use of the service is defined and understood

People are made aware of what they can expect of the service and

understand key policies and practices

People are provided with access to information and support in using it

People are supported in exploring options and making choices

People receive the impartial advice and guidance they need to make their

own choices

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Managing your service

Service delivery is planned and maintained

Measurable aims and objectives are defined and systems set up to deliver

the service

Staff competence and the support they are given are sufficient to deliver

the service

Staff understand the service, their role within it and are supported to

deliver it

Feedback on the quality of the service is obtained

Feedback is obtained from users of the service, those involved in its

delivery and other agencies

Continuous quality improvement is ensured through monitoring, evaluation

and action

The effectiveness of the service and planning improvements is evaluated.

There are clear benefits that stem from the Matrix accreditation. Learn to …

hope to benefit from…

Increased number of clients

Increased levels of funding

More effective advertising and marketing

Improved resources

Increased levels of income

Increased levels of productivity.

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Staff Development

This year many staff at Learn to … received qualifications in Preparing to Teach in

the Lifelong Learning Sector, Equality and Diversity and Safeguarding.

Clare Baker is the Training Co-ordinator for Learn to …and has just completed

an NVQ level 3 in Customer Services, her first qualification in over 30 years.

When asked how she felt at the beginning of the training she stated ―I was

nervous at having to do a formal qualification as I had not done any studying since

leaving college. However, my Assessor Ulanda was very reassuring so I soon

relaxed and actually started to enjoy myself! I was also worried about the

additional workload but as I used the e-assessment method it didn't add too

much extra.―

Clare added that ―The most rewarding part of NVQ was finishing it, knowing that

I had completed it felt good. I had a real sense of achievement and relief! My

family were very proud of my achievement as an NVQ level 3 is equivalent to two

A‘ levels.‖

Clare said that she has benefitted by studying Customer Services in different

ways. ―In some ways it confirmed my approach was right and that was rewarding.

It did, however, highlight different approaches that could be made.‖

Clare‘s confidence has been boosted since the completion of her award and she

has progressed an idea she had of offering a Managed Training Plan approach to

her customers. Not only has this helped ensure courses are filled and boosted

sales for Learn to …, it also ensures that Clare can remind organisations of when

their training is due, ensuring that they remain up-to-date with their requirements

for Care Quality Commission.

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Chris Abraham was approached by Chrissi

Martin, of Kent Enterprise Trust, asking if

she could help a young man (Robert Garland) who may have a learning difficulty.

He was currently working as a gardener with KET, paid for by the government

scheme, Future Jobs Fund / Thanet Works.

Chris learned that Robert had very poor life skills, was socially disadvantaged by

a chaotic family life, and had very low self esteem, with no expectation of

improvement in any of his circumstances.

With Chrissi as the intermediary, Chris met with Robert to assess what, if any,

support she could offer. She asked Robert to transcribe a paragraph read to

him from a Quick Read book. This took a considerable time, as he struggled to

spell even the simplest words, and frustration took its toll on his temper. His

assessment was graded at Entry Level 2.

Chris concluded that the challenge in supporting this young man would be two-

edged: not just to help him improve his reading and writing skills, but also to give

him a sense of self-worth, and to increase his confidence so he would be

motivated to achieve in other areas of his life.

In seven weeks, Robert has moved from being almost a non-reader to being

fairly confident in his reading. His reading speed has increased by at least 500%,

he is more comfortable with dolch words, and is willing to attempt more

difficult words. He very rarely, now, loses his temper in frustration at not being

able to read a word. From never having read for pleasure, he is now eager to

read ‗The Last Day‘, a Quick Read book by Andy McNab.

Skills for Life

Learn to received a £3,000 grant from Skills for

Life to develop an organisational approach to Skills

for Life training, this enabled the development team

to deliver higher quality training to people in the

workplace.

As the skills for life coordinator for Learn to ...,

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Using New Technologies

Maria Nicholls joined the All Seasons team in 2005 working the out of hours shift

and providing emergency cover for care users and workers. She progressed

swiftly up through the ranks to become Area Supervisor and in 2007 took on the

role of managing the mentoring process and inductions for new care workers.

With an original degree pathway in Human Resources, Maria completed an

apprenticeship in magazine publishing with the Institute of Personnel

Development, and then after taking some time out of work to have a family, went

to work for the NHS who provided her with additional training through a variety

of traditionally supplied courses.

Having joined All Seasons with ample qualifications in the field, she was

approached to do a continuous professional development course with the

Institute of Leadership and Management as part of her appraisal. Learn to ...

provided the course through E-learning, that is working remotely via the internet

in your own time and learning with and being mentored by a virtual assessor.

The ILM course includes one main mandatory unit and then the choice of 3

others. Maria chose Project Management, Leadership and Managing Change.

Tasked to complete each unit in relation to her work in terms of how she would

manage and lead a project in a management role, Maria found E-Learning to be a

very positive process. The virtual mentor is ever present and supportive, ―As if

they‘re in the same room with you, and because you are working at your own

pace there is time to write things down and think them through, making you feel

comfortable and confident in the process‖.

Maria was nervous of tackling one of the complicated new Health and Safety

directives but by working through it with the E-Learning process and the support

of her mentor, she gained all the confidence she needed to overcome her

concerns and complete the task. She said, ― E-Learning is focused and streamlined

and enables you to achieve much more than you thought you could‖.

Having achieved ILM Level 3 in Project Management, Maria has found many

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”

practical applications at work for what she has learned. She has created all the

procedures for the staff mentoring process and oversees all new staff inductions.

Maria wasn‘t thinking of doing Level 4, which is effectively a degree level

qualification, but said ―the beauty of the process is that it allows you to build

evidence/credit towards the next level with what you are doing for work anyway.

This makes it much less daunting to continue as I have already achieved 50% of

the level requirements and it will be easy to complete Level 4 within my normal

work schedule and with no added stress.‖

The way that social care is managed moving into the future there is no doubt

that care providers like All Seasons will need to expand and adapt to these

changes in a progressive and innovative way. There needs to be more awareness

of managing that change and supporting staff through the process with

confidence and experience gained from on the job training. E-Learning not only

supports this process but enables specific training to be achieved within the

relevant remit and schedule of work.

My tutor enabled

me to achieve

much more than I

thought I could.

Maria Nicolls—All Seasons

“

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Offering New Types of Training

Learn to … have increased the range to courses offered. Formerly Learn to Care

only offered courses in the Health and Social Care Sector. The name change

allowed us to branch out and offer the same great training but in new sectors.

Coaching and mentoring courses enable people to guide, support and empower

colleagues in the workplace and have proved very popular for middle

management. The selection of management courses have also been created

offering training including;

How to manage stress in the workplace

How to manage conflict in the workplace

How to make supervisions and appraisals work

Team management; How to get the best from your team

Learn to … are now accredited by Chartered Institute of Environmental Health

and now offer CIEH health and safety training. Learn to … still continue to offer

all other training and develop bespoke training depending on employers‘ needs.

Employers wanted a way in which their employees could get an NVQ and still be

cost effective. Learn to … now offer group NVQ qualifications, meaning

employers do not have to pay for one-on-one tuition and therefore the trainer

and the learners can meet more frequently. Through listening to employers, we

managed to meet and exceed their needs, offering NVQs that take less time to

complete

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Financial Breakdown

Income

Cost of Sales

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Look into the Future

resources, and assessments and a brand new website will bring a new way to

deliver our training, making it easier for individuals to learn or brush up their

skills in their own time.

We look forward to the ideas that our staff have that enable us to develop our

training to best suit our clients.

There are a lot of new challenges ahead for

2010-2011, We have new qualifications

being introduced– opening up our training

into new sectors, offering qualifications in

IT, Customer Services, and many more!

We are in the process of developing new

technologies including online learning,

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For more information please contact:

Enterprising Opportunities is a registered

Community Interest Company (CIC) is a social

enterprise. Our objectives are to support, promote

and develop Kent based social enterprises creating

meaningful learning and employment opportunities

for disadvantaged groups particularly in areas of

deprivation and growth regeneration

Tel: 01227 844 499

[email protected]

www.enterprisingopps.org.uk

Learn to … aims to provide quality learning with the

individual at the heart of everything we do.

Tel: 01227 844 449

[email protected]

www.learnto.org.uk

Kent Enterprise House

1 The Links,

Herne Bay,

Kent.

CT6 7GQ

Fax: 01227 200 120

Documents

Learn To...0910