SENAD
The SENAD Group manages a portfolio of homes and schools for children and young people who have special educational or care needs. The organisation also runs adult residential care homes to support young people into adulthood.
SENAD works to design flexible, bespoke care, education and therapy programmes to meet the unique and challenging needs of the children and young people they work with. In addition, they offer a service to parents and professionals supporting these children and young people.
The Challenge
In October 2008, SENAD first began their discussions with the University of Derby Corporate (UDC). The SENAD Group were keen to work with UDC to develop and deliver bespoke training to meet identified training needs amongst their residential care staff. The organisation required a development programme which, in time, could be rolled out across the organisation, potentially to its 650 staff with residential care responsibilities.
A number of key issues and needs were identified through the meetings between University of Derby Corporate and the SENAD Group.
- The course was to be aimed at frontline social care staff who were unlikely to have previous higher education experience. SENAD wanted the course to address skills such as critical thinking, analysing and assessing, students contextualising their thought processes and the application of this to their own contexts and roles.
- The course or qualification that was developed should be in line with, and present progression routes into, wider social work and social care qualifications, as well as linking into relevant children and young people's workforce competencies.
- The level and content of the course should be informed by, for example, Heads of Care and Training Officers, to ensure that it was in line with wider organisational objectives and training.
The Solution
Based on the meetings held, the University of Derby Corporate proposed that a University Certificate of Achievement in Professional Development would begin to meet the training needs identified. This would gain the learner 30 credits at level 4. The teaching was to begin at a pre-undergraduate level, whilst offering progression into degree level learning and qualifications. This would incorporate the two following modules:
- Working and Learning: An Introduction to Higher Education in the Workplace
- Attitudes and Values.
The Result
Delivery of the programme was concluded in May 2010 and in September 2010 an awards ceremony was held to present the students that had successfully completed the programme with their Certificates.
Alongside this, UDC and SENAD have had discussions to develop a further short programme for students to progress on to. This next stage will support students to study modules related to 'an inclusive approach to understanding learning disabilities' and 'human growth and development'. Students will be enrolled on to this new programme in November 2010.
In addition, a new cohort of students from with the SENAD Group is currently being recruited to begin the University Certificate of Achievement in Professional Development from January 2011.
