Our Providers’ Course – Excellence In Care
Course dates: The Providers’ course will begin on 4th October 2023 and will finish on 25th September 2024. Please see the full list of dates at the end of this page. We take a break in December and for all of August.
Course format: All our courses take place online, via Zoom, on a Wednesday evening, led in person by our CEO Belinda Schwehr. There will be one session every 3-4 weeks, and each session will last 2-2.5hrs. Each session will consist of a 1.5 hour lecture, followed by a break-out session and then a whole group Q&A for questions raised in the Zoom Chat or the break-outs. Sessions end between 9pm and 9.30pm, depending on the pace and the number of questions.
Each session is recorded, enabling you to access the recording again at a later time (and for a period of up to 3 months at the end of your course). Each session also comes with detailed slide presentations for you to review, as well as curated reading materials for preparation for the following session or consolidation after the lecture on the same topic.
Who’s it for? Care homes’ management, home care agency management, supported living providers, special housing needs housing associations’ management arms, day care services, special schools, children’s care home management.
Course content: We will study 14 topics arising from and around the Care Act – please see the full list of topics at the end of this page – using past and current case law, and delving into case studies and reading links. We will also be looking at how accountability can work in practice, given the two different legal frameworks of health and social care, whilst those bodies are busy trying to integrate in a meaningful way.
Does it count for Continuing Professional Development (CPD) points? It depends on which body one is trying to satisfy! We do provide certificates of attendance and course coverage on application, if you have had reasonable attendance or we can see you’ve accessed the recorded materials.
What does this course cost?
If you are employed by a business and wanting to take this course outside of the Gold or Platinum level of our Retained Service Model Agreement with CASCAIDr/CASCAIDr Trading Ltd – then it costs £325 (no VAT applicable) – to be paid in advance of the course start date.
If your business has subscribed for the Gold level you may send 2 managers on this course for £100 each; if you are a Platinum subscriber, you may send 3 managers for that same £100 per person. See here for those packages https://cascaidr.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/CASCAIDr-Trading-Ltd-Retainer-Model.pdf
If your business buys into this Retained Service Model Agreement during this course, you will be provided with a refund of £225 per person up to the 2 or 3 applicable number of places, linked to the level of package purchased.
No refunds are offered for anyone who decides it’s not for them – you get the recordings, so you don’t lose out.
What are the technical requirements for taking part in the course?
– Computer/Laptop with Windows 10 or above, or Apple Mac.
– Internet connection, preferably 10Mbps or above.
– Zoom software (a basic ‘free’ account is fine).
What are the entry criteria for taking part in the course?
- Familiarity with Key Legislation: Acquaintance with the adults’ social care landscape, encompassing at least some understanding of the Care Act and the essence of the Mental Capacity Act.
- Curiosity and Research Skills and Acumen: An inquisitive mindset, coupled with internet research proficiency.
- Interest in the law governing your Commissioners: An ability to think in a logical way and laterally, across subject-matter based on rules and principles and comparisons.
- Concern for Social Justice and faith in Public Law: Belief in public law as a force for social justice, aligning with conventional ethics such as interest in accountability, non-discrimination, anti-oppression and fairness.
- Realism: Understanding that the reality of adult social care law and people’s legal rights and the public sector’s obligations may be different from the rhetoric.
I want to join! What do I need to do now?
– If applying independently of any Retained Service Model contract, please send an email to pamelahoyer@cascaidr.org.uk, expressing your interest in the course and outlining your key reason/s for undertaking it. Please let us know whether you are applying as self-funded, or as paid for by your employer.
– We will acknowledge receipt of your application within 7 days and we will let you know whether your application has been successful ASAP, but no later than Friday 18th August 2023. If successful, we will then send you details as to how to make payment and other relevant information.
– Otherwise please indicate the name of the company under whose auspices you are being nominated for this course, as part of our Retained Service Model Contract and confirming that that business is a Gold or Platinum level contracted provider. We will acknowledge receipt of your application within 7 days and we will then send your employer a discounted invoice ASAP, but no later Friday 18th August 2023. At the same time we will send you any other relevant information.
Dates and Topics covered in the Providers’ Course
**Please note dates are subject to change, although changes are rare**
| Date | Session number | Session title |
| 4 Oct 2023 | 1 | Introduction and sorting out Learning Circles and the basics of how law ‘works’ in this field |
| 25 Oct 2023 | 2 | Advocacy rights, client and family involvement and participation – the scope for the provider’s contribution on a review/revision exercise |
| 13 Dec 2024 | 3 | Assessment Rights under the Care Act – and opportunities for providers to help/act as assessors |
| 17 Jan 2024 | 4 | Eligibility under the Care Act – and why it matters to providers on review and revision exercises |
| 21 Feb 2024 | 5 | Care Planning and Choice of Provider and Top-Ups under the Care Act/CHC and s117 – why lawful care planning matters to providers and clients |
| 13 Mar 2024 | 6 | Reviews and Revisions – how the contractual side of the relationship operates in parallel to the public law rights of the client |
| 3 Apr 2024 | 7 | Carers’ Rights under the Care Act and how a person’s informal supporters can affect the sustainability of the care package |
| 24 Apr 2024 | 8 | The Mental Capacity Aspect of the Care Act – why providers can’t operate without staying up to date with this developing field of law |
| 15 May 2024 | 9 | Direct Payments – rights, wrongs and opportunities for providers of engaging in direct payment arrangements in home care and supported living |
| 5 Jun 2024 | 10 | Continuing NHS Health Care – understanding why the workings of the line between health and social care matter to providers and clients |
| 3 Jul 2024 | 11 | S117 Mental Health Aftercare – scope of s117 care for those complex supported living services for people detained in psychiatric hospital |
| 24 Jul 2024 | 12 | Charging law and why the way you are persuaded to contract can end up in a cost shunt to clients, and how to help stop that happening through DRE and wellbeing payments |
| 4 Sep 2024 | 13 | Commissioning Relationships and why public law rights under the legal frameworks studied, mean that Commissioners do not in fact control the market |
| 25 Sep 2024 | 14 | Complaints and other remedies – against providers, as well as by providers, and by your patients/clients compared to other alternative forms of dispute resolution and judicial review |