A message from Jackie Irvine, chief executive of the Care Inspectorate
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"During this festive season, I want to express my sincere gratitude to all staff working in social work and social care throughout the country for their continuing professionalism and commitment to caring for people in our communities often in challenging circumstances.
"Whether you are working with children or adults, directly or indirectly, in a care service or in the community, I recognise the vital part you play in making a difference to people’s lives, keeping them safe and promoting their health and wellbeing.
"From all of us at the Care Inspectorate, we wish you and your families a peaceful and happy festive period and share our good wishes for 2024."
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Care home learns British Sign Language (BSL)
When Jennifer, who is deaf and communicates using BSL, moved into Fairview nursing home in Stirling, the staff were concerned that if they could not communicate with her, there would be unmet needs.
It was with this in mind that Hannah McMorrin, home manager, requested BSL training for all the staff. Determined to be able to communicate with Jennifer, staff signed up to learn BSL. This was a challenge, but staff were focused on the goal. Staff practised every day and noticed a marked improvement in Jennifer’s mood, who appeared to be so pleased that staff were making the effort.
During one of the lessons, another resident, Nan, joined in with staff and began to learn the signs as well. Karen, activity organiser, now regularly practices with Nan and Jennifer as a one-to-one activity. The goal is to have as many of the staff and residents able to communicate using BSL. The staff demonstrated the five Cs with their compassion (understanding what it is like to be isolated due to lack of communication), courage (it is brave to take on a new language), creative (created a care plan with common signs), curious (when Nan joined the group they were curious to see if she wanted to learn) and counted on (Jennifer could count on the manager to do everything in her power to make it possible for staff to communicate with her).
Hannah said: “The staff have worked really hard to learn some sign language. Even just being able to say good morning to someone makes the world of difference to someone’s day. Staff have been practising with each other and Jennifer has been more than happy to help staff with their learning.”
Sheila Murray, area director, said: "Of course we have a long way to go before being fluent, but we will keep going. Communication with our residents is important as it helps build satisfying relationships. It is key when getting to know our residents and them getting to know us. If residents can't communicate with others, they can't make their needs known. It is important for their health and wellbeing that we can communicate with all the residents. I am very proud of the staff who have taken this on and continue to learn and communicate with Jennifer."
Staff and residents from Fairview nursing home practising BSL.
Big tartan day out
Dundee care homes, Scottish Care, Dundee Volunteer & Voluntary Action (DVVA), and the V&A Dundee, held a big tartan day out earlier this year at the V&A Dundee. This coincided with international older people’s day, which is celebrated each year on 1 October.
In total,180 people attended the event, including all support staff and partners. Care home residents and staff were greeted at the V&A by a piper from Dundee City Pipe Band and were able to get involved in a number of both indoor and outdoor activities on the day, including Cycling Without Age Trishaws, balance, exercise and dance classes, reminiscence activities, tartan crafts and access to the wonderful V&A, Dundee Tartan Exhibition. There was also entertainment from Live Music Now and the fantastic highland dancers from Discovery Dance.
There are lots of activities available for people to access and participate in across Dundee, no matter where people live. This event allowed care homes from across the city to come together, socialise as well as find out and make connections with other care homes, different projects, and services that residents can get involved in. The aim of the event was to remind everyone that care homes are still part of the community and for anyone who lives in a care home, that this should never impact on them being able to connect and have connections with their wider communities.
In keeping with the theme, everyone was asked to wear a piece of tartan to celebrate the day and there were prizes for the best dressed residents.
Photo credit @erikascamera on Instagram
Engagement sessions support staff health and wellbeing in Edinburgh
Staff wellbeing is very important to the management of the Forbes nursery group in Edinburgh. The group has four nurseries across the city, and they wanted to introduce a positive way of bringing all of the staff together. This was so that staff could engage with one another away from work and help them to reconnect after the pandemic.
They are very fortunate that the nurseries are close to a large park and with the help of a local fitness trainer, staff were invited to take part in weekly outdoor fitness classes. These classes have enabled staff to mix with one another, have fun and get fit together with a lot of laughter during their workouts. These classes have been very successful with some staff attending regularly and others dropping in when they can. On occasion, other family members and even a family pet has turned up and joined in with the fun.
The nursery management were keen to support staff to feel good about themselves and have made sure that the sessions were accessible to everyone.
There is no expectation on staff to have a certain level of fitness, and the atmosphere is very relaxed. The exercises have been different each week and have included a silent disco, hula hooping, bootcamp and boxercise. They also try to build in time at the end for relaxation.
These sessions have been a great success with staff engaging with each other and encouraging each other to come along. Staff have said that it’s helped them to feel more motivated, pick-up old hobbies and sports and get moving a bit more.
Annabel Higgins, admin team said: "Having our weekly sessions with Kim is an incredible employee benefit at Forbes nursery. Not only has it helped with my general energy and fitness levels it’s also a lovely hour to catch up with staff from across the nursery group."
Abby Whigham, assistant manager said: "Not only have Kim’s classes helped with physical fitness, but it also has a positive impact on our general mental health. It’s great coming together each week and seeing team members who work at our other nurseries too. Kim’s positivity and energy is very motivating and inspirational, which is the perfect lift after a busy day at work."
Recently, they have also returned to visiting the local care home where the residents and children have exercised together. These activities have included parachute games and sensory balls with children’s songs and music from the 50s, 60s and 70s for the residents to enjoy.
Staff from Forbes nursery group.
The Promise in practice
Strathmore centre, a short break service in Fofar, was graded excellent during an inspection earlier this year.
So what made the service stand out? The fact that the staff team knew every detail of every young person using the service was admirable. Leaders and staff ensured that they were equipped for, and able to deliver the preferences for young people visiting the service for short breaks. This level of comfort and consistency was especially important at helping young people relax and to feel at home. This meant that restrictive practices were reduced massively as the service confidently and consistently varied practice to meet the needs of the young people. Every family member we spoke to said that the service felt like an extension of family in this way.
One parent told us: "It was difficult at times to trust anyone other than ourselves to care for our child, with the complex needs that they have, especially when they do not have a voice of their own. So, to be able to accept it from the team at Strathmore and accept the much-needed respite is testament to what they do."
This practice highlighted the service's commitment to the Promise by ensuring that quieter voices were heard and that families get support that is right for them and their families.
Claire Dickson, manager (residential resources) at Angus Council, said: "As a team we understand how precious the children and young people we care for are, and this is central to how we look after them. Therefore, knowing our children and adapting our service to meet their needs comes as second nature to us. This being recognised as part of our most recent inspection has reinforced our belief in what we do."
The Promise Stories of Change
Change is happening to keep The Promise. And across Scotland, people are finding ways to drive it. The Care Inspectorate is featured as the latest Story of Change on The Promise website with the focus being on the recent Secure Care Review.
Annual returns deadline extended
Based on feedback we have received from providers and their representative groups about the pressures and challenging context that the sector is currently facing, we are extending the annual return submission period for an additional four weeks. We understand these challenges and are committed to supporting services as much as we can. As part of this, we hope this extension will allow more time for this work to be undertaken.
We still plan to open annual returns on Monday 8 January 2024, with a revised deadline of Sunday 17 March 2024.
The annual returns will be available for services to complete through our online eForms system. All services must complete their annual returns electronically, using the eForms system. It is important that services regularly check their eForms account to make sure that their email address is up to date, and that only authorised people have access to their account. All services should check their eForms email address now to ensure they are notified when the annual returns go live. You can do that here.
Even inactive services must submit an annual return.
If you have any questions about the annual returns, please read our frequently asked questions, or visit our website for further information and guidance.
Early learning and childcare (ELC) improvement programme evaluation
Our early learning and childcare improvement programme team has published an evaluation report highlighting the programme's impact and reach, as well as recommendations for future development. The team would like to thank everyone who contributed to the writing of this document.
New guidance on vitamin D supplements for residents in adult care homes
We have published new guidance on offering vitamin D nutritional supplements to eligible residents in adult care homes.
Vitamin D is important for keeping bones and muscles healthy. Current advice is that groups at higher risk of vitamin D deficiency, including people living in care homes, are advised to take a daily supplement all year round. This advice is based on recommendations made by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) in 2016.
The guidance and a supporting letter for care homes can be found on The Hub.
A workshop on the new guidance has been arranged by the Scottish Government for care homes and professionals who support care homes. This takes place on Tuesday 23 January 2024, from 11:00-12.30, and will provide information on vitamin D supplements, the findings from the pilot in Ayrshire and Arran, how to use the guidance to support conversations around vitamin D and there will be an opportunity to ask questions.
Safe staffing resources on The Hub
We have been revising the information that is available on The Hub about our safe staffing programme.
In addition to providing information about the overall programme, we have now created three distinct areas of information for:
Each area contains information relevant only to that particular sector.
We have also created a series of posters which you can download and display in your setting. If you have not yet attended one of our webinars, you can register to attend the upcoming sessions in the new year.
To find out more information about the safe staffing programme or the Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act 2019, visit our area on The Hub or email the team at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Are you ready for the implementation of the Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act 2019 in April 2024? Let us know by completing our short poll.
Podcasts
Listen to Barbara Lawson, Anne’s Law project adviser and Ken Graham who moved into Glennie House Care Home during the pandemic. Ken shares his story and what is important to him to remain active as someone living in a care home. Ken said: I’m in a care home now. I used to go around care homes singing to the people to keep them entertained and now I’m getting entertained by someone.”
Recent publications
· Joint inspection report on adult support and protection in Dundee
Upcoming webinars
- To support the adults care sector to get ready for the enactment of the Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act 2019 in April 2024, we are delivering a series of webinars.
- To support the early learning and childcare (ELC) sector for the enactment of the Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act 2019, we are delivering a series of webinars.
- A workshop on the new vitamin D guidance for care homes and professionals who support care homes takes place on Tuesday 23 January 2024, from 11:00-12.30.
- Our care about physical activity (CAPA) team will hold two workshops on meaningful engagement, one for residential services and another for care at home, day care and sheltered housing services.
Stay up to date with all our webinars on The Hub. You can watch recordings of our webinars on YouTube.
Surveys
- In recognition of the need to refresh and update Space to Grow, we want to encourage you to share your views by completing our survey.
· The deadline for responding to the Care Inspectorate and Education Scotland’s draft version of the new shared inspection framework has now been extended. You now have until 19 January 2024 to take part in the online survey.
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