Learning and Development
1. NHS City and Hackney is committed to
providing excellent development opportunities to every member of
its workforce; and develop a culture of sustainable improvement by
creating a positive work environment where everyone feels valued. A
team of dedicated training and development professionals provide a
specialist service to help managers and staff to equip themselves
with the right skills and knowledge they need to perform in their
roles to the highest standard while developing themselves to
progress in their careers.
Over the years we have developed strong links with the City
University of London and London South Bank University to support
our commitment to continuous professional and personal development
of all staff; including nursing and allied healthcare
professionals.
There are many learning and development opportunities within the
organisation as we strongly encourage and support work based
learning as well as providing access to numerous courses and
diverse ways of gaining learning and development
Some of the opportunities available to staff:
1.1 Accredited Leadership and Management Development
Programmes
We offer nationally recognised leadership and management
development programmes accredited by the Institute of Leadership
and Management (ILM). Currently, we run two programmes tailored to
address the needs of managers in first line and middle management
positions.
1.2 One to One Coaching
As part of our commitment to creating an environment that
supports each and every individual in their career development, we
offer one to one coaching sessions available all members of
staff.
Coaching sessions are used to facilitate the exploration of
needs, motivations, desires, skills and thought processes to assist
the individual in making real, lasting change.
1.3 English for Speakers of Other Languages
(ESOL)
Working in partnership with a local college we offer in-house
English courses for speakers of other languages. ESOL sessions have
been organised to run for two hours once a week over a ten weeks
period. Delegates are expected to attend all ten sessions to
successfully complete a programme that is suitable to their level
of competence in English.
1.4 Information Technology
A recent evaluation of the basic IT skills programme carried out
by NHS Connecting for Health concluded that; all students surveyed,
including admin staff, managers, clinicians, allied health
professionals and nurses, said they were saving time because of
their new skills. Learners who had previously described themselves
as basic IT users were saving an average of 24 minutes a day and
very basic users were clawing back an average of 38 minutes
throughout their working day.
We recognise the importance of having a workforce that is IT
literate and our dedicated in-house IT trainers offer sessions on
many IT related subjects including the NHS Basic IT skills training
(ECDL), healthcare specific programmes such as RIO and various
Microsoft Office Programmes.
1.5 National Vocational Qualifications
(NVQ)
We actively encourage our staff to enrol on work based learning
programmes that allow them to gain knowledge and skills that are
very specific to their area of work.
NVQs are work based qualifications based on national standards.
They cover all main aspects of a job, including current best
practice, the ability to adapt to future requirements and the
knowledge and understanding that underpin competent performance.
Therefore; a NVQ candidate needs to be working in a suitable role
in order to be able to undertake an NVQ.
NVQs are achieved through assessment and training so there are
no exams that candidates need to take at the end of the programme.
Instead, candidates, with the help of an assessor, build up a
portfolio of evidence to prove they have met the NVQ standards.
Some of the NVQs that we currently offer:
- Health and Social Care Level2,3 and 4
- Customer Service Level 2 and 3
- Management and Team Leading Level 2,3 and 4
- Information Technology, ITQ Level 2 and 3
- Business Administration Level 2 and 3
- Assessors Award (A1)
2. Staff Development Review and the Knowledge and Skills
Framework – SDR & KSF
It’s our aim to ensure that every member of staff have an
opportunity to have a one to one review meeting with their manager
at least once a year.
The Trust Staff Development Review process has been designed so
that the Trust can fulfil its aim of encouraging staff to reach
their full potential. Each member of staff is expected have in
place an annual Personal Development Plan which lists the learning
and development activities that should take place in the coming
year. This process ensures that the individual development needs of
staff are aligned with the wider organisational objectives of the
Trust and also creates a maximum personal and professional job
satisfaction.
The SDR incorporates the NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework
(KSF), into all that we do around appraisal and development.
The NHS KSF defines and describes the knowledge and skills that
NHS staff need to apply in their work to deliver quality services.
It’s a single, consistent, comprehensive and explicit framework on
which to base performance review and development for all staff. The
way in which this is carried out is known as the Staff Development
Review Process.
The SDR and KSF process apply across the whole of the NHS for
all staff groups who are covered by the Agenda for Change
Agreement. This means it applies to all staff except doctors,
dentists and some board level directors, who have separate
arrangements for their development and review.
The purpose of the KSF is to develop and improve services to
better meet the needs of service users and the public by investing
in the development of all staff. It offers support for learning
throughout the careers of staff. It makes it clear to managers and
staff what’s required in a post through the creation of “post
outlines”.
The KSF promotes equity for all staff because all staff use the
same framework, have the same learning and development
opportunities, and have the same structured approach to learning,
development and review.
To read more about the NHS KSF visit NHS Employers