Tag: Resources

Reminder: Join Carers Week 2023 5– 11 June

Find out how you can get involved in Carers Week and join the call for action.

The annual awareness week, which highlights the essential contributions of unpaid carers, takes place next week from 5 – 11 June. We previously provided a pack with resources for you to join us in promoting the week and join the campaign’s call for greater cross-Government action in support of unpaid carers.

This is also an opportunity to highlight the work you do to support unpaid carers too, by promoting your carers services. You can register any events or services you will deliver for carers during the week on the Carers Week website and use the hashtag #CarersWeek whenever you promote something online.

What’s happening during Carers Week?

  • Monday 5 June – The Carers Week report will be published. You can share this from the Age UK Campaigns Twitter account.
  • Wednesday 7 June – Age UK will attend a Parliamentary drop-in, where we will facilitate conversations between unpaid carers and MPs.
  • Friday 9 June – Older carers day. Age UK will publish a press release to coincide with this day which focuses on the experiences of older carers.

Throughout the week, Age UK will also publish a Discover article, featuring an interview with a carer, as well as a new video on our social media channels, featuring another storyteller and promoting the Age UK Advice Line. Keep an eye out for these on our website and our social media channels.

Join the Carers Week Call on the Government

This year, we are joining the Carers Week call for greater cross-Government action in support of unpaid carers. The Carers Week campaign is asking supporters to write to their MPs to support this work and ensure carers get the recognition and support they need. You can join the campaign by sharing the link and using the social media template posts below:

Twitter:

We need a whole system approach to support unpaid carers.

This #CarersWeek, write to your MP and ask for greater cross-Government action in support of carers: https://carersuk.e-activist.com/page/129142/action/1?ea.tracking.id=sc-t

Facebook:

Unpaid carers provide an essential service to their loved ones, often providing 24 -hour care. They can’t do this without help.

This #CarersWeek, to ensure carers are recognised and supported, we are calling on the Government to commit to greater cross-Government action to better identify and support unpaid carers. Join the campaign and write to your MP: https://carersuk.e-activist.com/page/129142/action/1?ea.tracking.id=sc-fb

Updated Creative Challenge Packs

You can now claim a hard copy of Age UK Oxfordshire’s Creative Challenge Pack on a first-come, first-served basis.

The Creative Team at Age UK Oxfordshire are developing non-digital creative opportunities for older people to participate in during the Age of Creativity Festival (1 – 31 May).  As part of this work they are updating our Creative Challenge Pack (which used to look like this).  They have worked with our Dementia Oxfordshire team, so the revamped version is even more age friendly, dementia friendly, and accessible.

As they are doing a print run very soon, they would like to offer up to 30 printed copies to share with your teams, older people locally, and to support groups.  They are also updating the PDF to put on their website so you will be able to download and print the pack as a whole document or as individual challenges.

If you would like printed copies sent to you in the next month to share locally, as part of Dementia Action Week, Carers Week or any other moment, please reply contact Kate and Kayleigh on hello@ageofcreativity.co.uk with the answers to the following questions by Friday 28 April at 12pm:

•             How many hard copies would you like (up to 30)?

•             What address would you like them sent to?

This is a limited offer because there is rarely funding for printed materials, so please do get in touch if it’s something you would find useful. There have been lots of enquiries about the packs over the years, so don’t miss out on accessible creativity that can be handed to those who need it most.  Please be aware that the packs will be allocated on a first-come first-served basis.

If you haven’t seen the latest Age of Creativity Festival e-Newsletter news then you can see it here.

Reminder: Dementia Awareness eLearning Available

A quick reminder to access the Dementia Awareness e-learning before December 2023.

This is a quick reminder that our Dementia Awareness e-learning course is still available for completion on the Age UK e-learning platform until December 2023. Of those that have already completed this training, 93% would recommend this course to a colleague. Find out full details below, including how to access it.

How do I access this e-learning?

If you already have an eLearning account, you will be able to log in here and search “dementia e-learning”.

If you need to sign up, please complete this form.

Please note that registration to the e-learning site may take a few days. You will receive an email with your log in information once you have been registered.

If you have any questions on access to the e-learning site, please contact: adviceunit@ageuk.org.uk

What other e-learning is available from Age UK?

For a number of years, Age UK has provided a range of e-learning options to support Partners’ delivery of training online to your staff and volunteers. This includes the Age UK e-learning Platform and Grey Matter Learning – find out all about both training platforms here.

Resources to help you manage demand in your I&A service this winter

Access a collection of resources from Age UK’s I&A Team to help address the additional demand on I&A services this winter.

Feedback from regional I&A Network meetings has indicated that demand is far outstripping available advisor resources in many local I&A services. We are therefore trying to help CEOs and I&A staff to address this additional demand by providing training and resources to support demand management. The update below pulls together resources that we’ve previously shared through Inform & Advise so you can easily access the support and guidance available to you.

You can view or download the guidance below:

Managing I&A Demand – December 2022Download

Resources, Recordings, and Round up of this year’s Influencing Conference

The resources from this year’s Influencing Conference are now available to all local and national Age UK staff.

We would like to thank all those who attended the Age UK Influencing Conference 2022! We hope you found the day informative and feel more confident when supporting older people through the difficult winter ahead of us. If you couldn’t attend or missed a session, we have curated a booklet with all the key details from the Conference, including recordings of each session and speaker slides. You will also find information on the work of the Influencing Committee and upcoming events.

Please contact Luke Pilot (luke.pilot@ageuk.org.uk) if you would like to discuss anything about specific national campaigns or your local influencing further.

Influencing Conference 2022 BookletDownload

New training content on the Age UK e-learning site

There are some new training courses available for Partners on the Age UK e-learning site. Find out all about the new courses, including how to register and access the e-learning site.

We are pleased to announce that new training courses are now available for Partners on the Age UK e-learning site. There’s a Safeguarding Course designed to be completed as part of an induction process, as well as some Triage and Assessment Courses for those involved in call handling and Information and Advice activities. Find out full details below, including how to access the e-learning site.

Safeguarding Course

This course has been designed for all staff and volunteers to complete as part of an induction process. Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility and it is essential that everyone, in whatever role they undertake, knows how to recognise, respond to, and report abuse and neglect. 

This course does not cover elements of the legislation regarding people in a position of trust such as care workers.

Triage and Assessment Courses

New content is available to support those who are having to make triage and assessment decisions for clients. These courses will be predominantly useful for those involved in call handling and Information and Advice activities. This course has been assigned to receptionists, I&A staff and volunteers and service managers, but anyone can request access to his course form the advice unit if they do not already have it.

How to access Age UK’s e-learning site

Access to the Age UK e-learning site is free and anyone can register for an account using the link below:

If you’ve already got an e-learning account, you can access the e-learning site using the link below:

Any questions please contact chloe.longmore@ageuk.org.uk.

The State of I&A Report – July 2022

The July I&A Network Meeting captured attendees’ views on three key challenges facing I&A providers currently: demand, staffing, and funding. Read the full report and a report of Age UK’s response, below.

In July 2022, we trialled a new format for the regional I&A network meetings where we ran some polls to capture participants’ views on the three key areas we felt were most pressing in terms of I&A services at present: demand, staffing, and funding.

The discussion proved very successful, and we have written a report summarising our findings as well as a further report to summarise the Age UK response. Both of these reports are available on the loop here. You can find them in the attachments section on the right-hand side titled “State of I&A July 2022” and “September 2022 Response”.

We hope that you will find these reports to be useful. We have found this feedback to be incredibly helpful and we will continue running polls in future I&A meetings – although we may vary the topics that we choose.

If you have any questions or would like to suggest a topic, then please get in touch with Chloe.longmore@ageuk.org.uk. If you are having any trouble logging into the loop, please email: theloop@ageuk.org.uk.

New CQS passporting opportunity for Quality in Befriending Accreditation

Age UK and Befriending Networks have worked on a new “passporting” arrangement to help local Age UKs to gain a Quality in Befriending (QIB) accreditation.

Age UK and Befriending Networks are pleased to announce a new “passporting” arrangement that will enable any local Age UK or local Age Cymru partner with a current (2022 version) CQS certification to “passport” aspects of your CQS certification into a Quality in Befriending (QIB) accreditation.

This means that if your organisation wants to achieve QIB accreditation, the passporting arrangement will see your organisation assessed against fewer of the QIB indicators; receive a £200 discount on accreditation fees; and get one year’s free membership of Befriending Networks (if you’re already a member, you’ll get your next year’s membership for free!).

To find out more about the passporting arrangement and pricing structure, please click here.

To find out more about Quality in Befriending (QIB) and how to apply, please click here or e-mail Angus Maclean, angus@befriending.co.uk.

If you’re having any trouble accessing the loop, please get in touch: theloop@ageuk.org.uk.

Older people’s views on the ongoing impact of Covid on the delivery of Age UK Services 

Highlights of the conversations Age UK has had with older people on their Services Sounding Board about their feelings on face-to-face services.

In recent months, the data and feedback we have collected from local Age UKs has indicated that there remains some reluctance on the part of older people to engage in face-to-face interaction, either in their home or at another venue. In light of this, we spoke to the Age UK Services Sounding Board about this issue to gather their views and help inform our next steps. You can view the highlights of this conversation below.

The Services Sounding Board is a group of older people, from different locations across England, who represent seldom-heard voices (for example carers, people from a range of ethnic minority groups, people with disabilities, people whose first language is not English).

The conversation at the Sounding Board provided useful insight, a few highlights summarised below: 

  • Many older people have lost confidence and remain concerned about the risks around Covid. One person said “fear can easily become a habit”.
  • People think more carefully before leaving the house. Following Covid, they realise what is possible without needing to go out so, if it isn’t essential, they may choose not to.
  • For some people, there is a reluctance to use public transport and risk being exposed to Covid, but for those who don’t have a car, it is more difficult to get out and about.
  • There was no consensus from the group as to what steps in relation to Covid should or shouldn’t be taken in order to keep people safe. For example, some people stated that use of hand sanitiser is essential, others felt it was useful in general hygiene but has minimal impact on the spread of Covid.
  • Where services are taking steps to keep people safe from Covid, they should ensure this is clear so people know in advance of coming along to any activity.  
  • Messaging could come from the facilitator of the relevant service/activity to demonstrate a personal awareness of the issues.
  • The group felt that there is a lack of clear messaging about how to stay safe. Many people have remained mindful of the “stay at home” message, which has remained one clear way to protect yourself. The mixed messages about other aspects of Covid safety have led to confusion and caution as a result. 

The feedback from the group has been shared with the Age UK Content team and Age UK’s Covid information and messaging will be reviewed as a result. We hope that the feedback above is useful for in considering any steps that can be taken to encourage older people to access services in-person (where this is beneficial for them).  

If you have any additional feedback or comments, or would like to discuss this further, please contact Alison Ingram – alison.ingram@ageuk.org.uk.  

New resources to help your organisation prepare for your Charity Quality Standard assessment

View template documents and introductory videos to the Charity Quality Standard (CQS) that you can share with your employees, volunteers, and Boards.

Following requests from local Age UKs at our ‘Introduction to the CQS webinars’, we have developed template documents that you can personalise and give to your employees, volunteers and trustees to describe the Charity Quality Standard (CQS) and the type of questions that the assessor may want to explore with them. We have also created a video introduction to the CQS which may be useful. Please read on for full details of both resources.

The template documents can be found on the right hand side of the page here.

To see the video that provides a full introduction to the CQS and how it will be assessed, please click here.

The video talks you through each element of the Standard and assessment process in detail and provides links to the guidance. Also featured are FAQs from the webinar sessions so you can hear the answers to the questions raised.

If you’re having any trouble accessing the loop to view the links above, please email theloop@ageuk.org.uk.