Be Inspired! Shirley Ayres Consulting

If I ran a charity now our own search engine would be an essential  part of our fundraising toolkit.  Google and Yahoo have made their fortunes through charging for sponsored searches on the internet.  It is simple really, we can all turn our internet searches into charitable donations. If all your supporters use your dedicated search engine you can generate funds. This may only be small amounts but 100 people raising £50 each per year at no cost to themselves soon adds up.    

ClickNow the organisation that helps charities and schools raise money from internet searches was delighted to announce its latest collaboration with Blastbeat Education UK at their ‘Social Enterprise’ and ‘Battle of the Bands’ competition final which featured six new bands playing alongside famous acts like The Saturdays, rapper Tinchy Stryder and X Factor’s Stacey Solomon, on13th July at the O2 Arena, London. 

Recently Nick Hurd, government minister for civil society called for the public to increase their financial support to charities, to help them manage the tough times ahead as a result of cuts in public spending.  Hurd suggests that the public should donate one per cent of their income to charities. Fundraisers that use ClickNow’s innovative search tool could see an increase in donations without increasing the financial burden for their supporters.

ClickNow’s founder, Professor Kevin Morley, is a successful entrepreneur who in 2009 featured in The Secret Millionaire on Channel 4 when he visited Haringey one of the most deprived areas of London and gave away £250,000.

Opening the Blastbeat social enterprise fair and judging the student’s business skills. Kevin said “I’m delighted that Blastbeat has joined with ClickNow. In this current climate where there are many economic pressures, Blastbeat supporters now have a free and easy way of raising much needed funds through Blastbeat’s own search engine. In linking-up with ClickNow, Blastbeat joins over 500 other charities and schools who are now raising money for free through their own search engine.”  www.clicknow.org.uk/Blastbeat

Robert Stephenson, Blastbeat founder and chief executive commented “ Like many small charities we are always looking for innovative and sustainable ways of funding the Blastbeat charity. ClickNow is a free and easy useful tool which will help our efforts to empower young people as social entrepreneurs and music artists.”

Blastbeat Education UK has developed a fun and exciting Music and Multimedia Business / social enterprise progamme offered to young people and schools around the world. This innovative and dynamic schools-based programme teaches teenagers how to set up and run music and performance-based social enterprises. Blastbeat has engaged otherwise disaffected teenagers in the learning process and supported their transition from school to work.  www.uk.blastbeat.org 

In addition to Blastbeat, ClickNow has helped charities raise over £200,000 of income  simply by switching to ClickNow at no cost to the charity or their supporters. ClickNow has developed an internet search facility that provides search results from several of the major search engines in a clear and simple format. Whenever someone searches the internet using the ClickNow search facility, ClickNow receives money from the search engines and donates 50 per cent of this gross revenue to the participating charity. www.clicknow.org.uk

Does your charity have a search engine which allows you to turn your internet searches into charitable donations - if not, why not?

Tags: be inspired, charity fundraising, power of the internet

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 The very act of leadership is making something happen. Are you ready to be the difference you want to see in the world?  

An innovative and groundbreaking development in leadership learning has just been launched by the Leaders Café 2020 which allows you to share the best ‘leadership thoughts’ across the world.

Leaders Cafe is a social enterprise that helps to reduce inequalities in leadership learning in the economy and society. This doesn’t mean reducing the quality of the learning. Their mission is to enable 20 million people at all levels of society to use their leadership potential to lead themselves and others by 2020. This will be achieved by providing access to compelling, world class and low cost learning through the innovative online Leaders Café. Experiential learning is conveyed via webcast technology. These webinars (web seminars) typically last no longer than 60 minutes and provide compelling learning through insightful storytelling rather than through models and methodology.

The Leaders Cafe Promise:

1. You get remarkable interactive leadership webinar learning at a price sustainable to you and us.
2. Invest as little as one hour a week in our interactive webinars, and you will think and lead like a pioneer.
3. As a social enterprise with no owners, profits are reinvested in YOU; to continue to give you more for less.
4. Your membership contributes directly towards learning chances for all.
5. Your membership helps positively to reduce learning inequalities for 20 million people by 2020.

The central ethos of the Leaders Café learning portfolio is that of Pioneering Leadership. The outcomes from participating in Leaders Café’s learning are people who understand what it means to collaborate with others, have an ethos of knowledge sharing and are co-builders of a better world. The cost of membership is kept low to widen participation and is sustainable to both the learners and to Leaders Café. Strategic partnerships – including coffee bar chains and international organisations. – will support the delivery of leadership development for millions of leaders and change agents globally.

You can join for free as an Associate Learner. Premium membership is just £100 per year. Apply the code BEINSPIRED when you check out from joining and you will pay just £80.

Welcome to the Leaders Café 2020

Where is the professional leadership in social work?

The Really Big Question – what makes an effective manager?

Tags: be inspired, Leadership and Management, Learning and Development, Social Work

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The 4th National Continuing Professional Development Conference for Social Workers on the theme of ‘Integrated   Practice’ will be held at the Institute of Psychiatry on 14th September 2010.

 The conference features prominent keynote speakers, engaging workshops and a unique opportunity to network with professional colleagues from across the country.

Camila Batmanghelidjh from Kids Company http://www.kidsco.org.uk will be talking about the need for new paradigms of care.

Keynote papers will be given by:

Professor Peter Huxley ( Swansea University ) – Integration of health and social care in mental health services

Professor Nick Frost ( Leeds Metropolitan University ) – Integrated working in frontline children’s services: research, policy and practice

Professor Marian Barnes ( University of Brighton ) – Ethics of care in promoting effective dialogue between workers, service users and carers.

The conference will also feature an interactive plenary session on the theme: “Are families becoming more dangerous?”

Professor Colin Pritchard ( Bournemouth University ) will address the issue of ‘Who kills children?’, based on data presented in his recent British Journal of Social Work paper that hit the headlines.

Attendance at the conference will count towards your GSCC post registration training and learning requirements.

Further information and the online booking form can be found at www.iop.kcl.ac.uk/annualsocialworkconference. Early bird bookings are available until 31^st July. All Making Research Count bookings should be made by Learning and Development Managers to janet.noble@kcl.ac.uk.

Abstracts for parallel workshops throughout the day are still being received . If you or a colleague are interested in leading a workshop of relevance to the conference theme, please submit your abstract by 25^th June. Full information and an online abstract submission form are available from: www.iop.kcl.ac.uk/annualsocialworkconference.

Any questions? Contact Julie Smith, the conference organiser julie.smith@iop.kcl.ac.uk

Tags: advanced social work practice, be inspired, institute of psychiatry, integrated working, professional practice, Social Work

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I first met Simon when he accepted an invitation to speak at the Social Workers Educational Trust conference. “Being Inspired by Social Work”. A big thank you to Simon for sharing his thoughts following the Personalisation Conference held in London on the 21^st May 2010.

“If we can each work together, accepting our weaknesses, we can make things happen.”

Thus spoke the social worker, reflecting on the tensions that can flare up between those who want to help other people and those they are trying to help. These words beautifully captured the spirit of Friday’s conference, at the Tavistock, on personalisation and social work. The conference organised by Skills for Care, in partnership with the Department of Health and the Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust Foundation, focused on exploring changes in the role and responsibilities of the social work practitioner within transformed adult services. 

The event had “hope and purpose”, but it also revealed an array of challenges that face social workers who try to make sense of ‘personalisation’ – a word which is full of meaning and unmeaning. It is hard to remember the purpose of all these personalisation ‘technologies’ (direct payments, individual budgets, self-directed support, peer support etc.). It is very hard to recall, amidst the consultants, government milestones, and official guidance, that these ideas didn’t start in government. These new ways of working were developed by disabled people and by social workers. And they were developed in order to take forward the ambition of social work – to achieve social justice.

Keeping a focus on social justice is hard, but it is essential when it comes to making sense of all the new processes associated with personalisation. Many social workers described the insanity they face working in a system which asks them to keep running the old bureaucratic system, while also setting up and running the new system. Processes are becoming more confused and over elaborate, and they are damaging our ability to respond quickly and sensitively to people’s needs. Sometimes ‘personalisation’ is leading to less personalisation.

Senior managers need to protect their staff from this chaos; but they are struggling to make sense of the overall policy direction. How deep and serious is the government’s commitment to personalisation when these new systems are developed in ways which lack any legal, financial and policy coherence. It is easy to suspect that a system which is being developed without any clear and rational plan will, in time, fade away.

But progress is being made, despite the madness, and we must be optimistic – not because we can expect things to get better – but because we can each take responsibility for making the most of this opportunity to build a fairer world.

Simon Duffy Director of The Centre for Welfare Reform

There are a number of interesting publications which can be downloaded at www.centreforwelfarereform.org

About the author

Dr Simon Duffy is Director of the Centre for Welfare Reform. Simon created Individual Budgets, Self-Directed Support and the Citizenship Model and put these ideas into practice at Inclusion Glasgow and In Control. He was awarded the RSA’s 2008 Prince Albert Medal for his work on personalisation.

Tags: be inspired, empowerment, Learning and Development, personalisation, post qualifying awards, professional practice, simon duffy, Social Work

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Index on Censorship and English PEN have raised serious concerns that English libel law and the use of ‘super-injunctions’ are having a profoundly negative impact on freedom of expression, both in the UK and abroad. Writers such as Simon Singh, and respected current affairs programme Newsnight, have found themselves facing defamation suits, whilst human rights campaigners are often forced to edit and retract articles in the face of potential libel action. We need to persuade politicians from all of the political parties to commit to reform of these unjust libel laws.

Britain’s archaic libel laws are a serious threat to freedom of expression. But this isn’t just a UK matter. They are increasingly used by a global constituency who come to the UK as ‘libel tourists’ in the attempt to gag dissenting voices – often the vital ‘whistleblowing’ of responsible journalism.

One way to achieve this reform is for 100,000 people to sign the petition for libel reform before the political parties write their manifestos for the election. The Libel Reform campaign now has 26,000 signatures ~ will you support the campaign and make it 100,000 signatures?

Libel reform is essential. We know to our cost what happens to the most vulnerable people in our society when people are fearful about speaking out and exposing bad, incompetent and dangerous practices. English libel laws have been condemned by the UN Human Rights Committee. These laws gag scientists, bloggers and journalists who want to discuss matters of genuine public interest (and public health). Sense About Science has shown that the threat of libel action leads to self-censorship in scientific and medical writing.

Our laws give rise to libel tourism, whereby the rich and the powerful (Saudi billionaires, Russian oligarchs and overseas corporations) come to London to sue writers because English libel laws are so hostile to responsible journalism. (In fact, it is exactly because English libel laws have this global impact that signatories to the petition from around the world are welcome.)

Vested interests can use their resources to bully and intimidate those who seek to question them. The cost of a libel trial in England is 100 times more expensive than the European average and typically runs to over £1 million.

There are three separate ongoing libel cases involving Simon Singh and two medical researchers who raised concerns about medical treatments. They face costs of £1 million each. In future, why would anyone else raise similar concerns? If these health matters are not reported, then the public is put at risk. Read more about the case here http://libelreform.org/who-is-silenced

Freedom to criticise and question, in strong terms and without malice, is the cornerstone of argument and debate, whether in academic journals, on websites, in newspapers or elsewhere. Libel Reform campaign

Tags: academc freedom, be inspired, campaigning journalism, empowerment, freedom of expression, Libel Reform, Simon Singh

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What a powerful and independent voice this would give social work in the UK. With 82,875 social workers and 16,174 students on the GSCC Social Care Register this could happen in 2010.

“Do not wait for leaders. do it alone, person to person.”  ~ Mother Teresa

Help to make it happen
It is free to join LinkedIn. Promote the group by encouraging your friends and colleagues to join the Advanced Social Work Practice Network on LinkedIn. Start discussions and contribute your thoughts and ideas, share your research and examples of good practice, post interesting events locally, nationally and internationally. Suggest sub groups for special interests.

LinkedIn is a professional networking tool whose purpose is to provide its members with a a way to search and connect with other people. Unlike the social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Bebo, LinkedIn is primarily focused on professional communities of interest.

“The insurmountable difficulties of today are the solved problems of tomorrow.”  Cardinal Heenan

The Social Work Task Force called for a a new programme of action on public understanding of social work. The phenomenal growth of social media and LinkedIn over the last few months offers us unprecedented opportunities to engage with the public debate today. Over 15 million people worldwide log on to LinkedIn every day! If you are new to LinkedIn this brief guide provides a useful overview . LinkedIn for beginners I look forward to connecting with you on LinkedIn!  http://uk.linkedin.com/in/shirleyayres

If you work with children and young people in care you may wish to join this group on LinkedIn

Interesting Resources
Managing on the front-line
Social Work Focus 
Supporting and Promoting Advanced Social Work
Social Work Task Force

Tags: a new voice for social work, advanced social work practice, be inspired, leadership, linkedin, Social Work

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 LinkedIn has a fast growing reputation as the ‘professional’ online networking forum. An increasing number of social work and care professionals from central and local government, the independent and third sectors are now part of the LinkedIn network, sharing news and joining in conversations about the issues that really matter for the future of the profession. Groups you can join include: Positive Social Work Professionals, Social Services UK, Network for Professionals working with Children and Young People in Care, and the Advanced Social Work Practice Network.

So why not join and start having a look round – you’re welcome to connect with me http://uk.linkedin.com/in/shirleyayres. I look forward to connecting with you.

Technology knows no bounds! You can also follow me on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/shirleyayres.  Twitter helps people communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent, 140 character messages.

Tags: advanced social work practice, be inspired, professional networks, Social Work

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“We have enough people who tell us the way it is – now we need a few more people who can tell us how it can be!”

A brief roundup of some of  the topics we will be featuring in 2010 

The Advanced Practitioner – managing your career

“Find It Here” – the launch of the first comprehensive Directory of online resources for people supporting children and young people in care

The Big Ideas survey – share your thoughts about how we can improve social work and social care 

Integrated Working – what stops care and health working together?

The e-Learning revolution and social media – a new approach to improve the skills and knowledge of staff in the care sector?

What makes a good employer? A simple audit tool which reveals whether your employer demonstrates that staff really are the most important resource in the organisation.

New Partnerships – Shirley Ayres Consulting will be joining up with a number of organisations who are committed to driving up standards in social work and social care.

Leadership and Management in Social Care – has the investment paid off?

An undervalued and unrecognised resource? - the launch of an exciting new website for grandparents.

Introducing Blastbeat Education UK a not for profit company that has developed a fun & exciting Music & Multimedia Business progamme offered to young people and schools around the world. Blastbeat promotes and encourages young original songwriters & musicians, supporting youth communities on a local & global level, empowering young people to create social enterprises creating community and social capital to help bring about change for the good of society.

Quality Assuring Training  – do the increasing number of quality marks and standards really make a difference to the unregulated training in the care sector?

Stress busters – See life from a different angle.

BASW and the new National College for Social Work

“The insurmountable difficulties of today are the solved problems of tomorrow.” ~ Cardinal Heenan

Tags: advanced social work practice, be inspired, care sector, elearning, encouraging innovation, integrated working, Leadership and Management, Learning and Development, quality assurance, Social Work, Stress busters, training

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Watching the second part of “Can Gerry Robinson fix Dementia Care Homes?” it was painful to acknowledge the vulnerability of people with dementia.  This was balanced by the visionary leadership shown by Anne Fretwell and the commitment of the staff at Merevale House. The home has an inspiring focus on person-centred dementia care and a passion for empowering residents by providing opportunities to live their lives with meaning, dignity and respect.  (photo credit Merevale House)

The issue of inspired and passionate leadership is a challenge for the whole of the care sector. There is an urgent need to develop strategic performance management systems which will drive quality and improve care services. A very clear message from the programme is the importance of education and training for staff. Fortunately there are an increasing number of  accessible and free specialist training resources and my previous post identified a number of online resources. I would also recommend the innovative Social care TV dementia videos

Dr Carol Komaromy, a senior lecturer in health studies and one of the Open University academic advisors to the programme, writes: “People who live in care homes for older people are often hidden from the public view. Coping with the complex care demands of people with dementia requires a high level of skill and compassion and yet carers are often underpaid and the value of what they do remains unrecognised. The programme highlights the need for specialist training and the difference this can make to the experience of living with dementia. It is a sad indictment of society that providing care resources for people with dementia seems to have a low level of priority. More than this, as the series shows, there is so much more that could be done even within limited resources.
“I would argue that a culture of care would need to support paid carers in a direct engagement with the needs of people with dementia and recognise that they are also people with diverse emotional needs who need to feel supported and valued. While it is clearly the case that protocols and resources need to be in place for this to happen, homes need to shift to a culture of care that places people with dementia at the centre. A key element in making this happen is education and training.”
The Open University has produced a free leaflet, Dementia Care: Sustaining The Person Within, to accompany the programmes. It lists the help and support available when making decisions affecting the care of people with dementia and can be ordered through the following link 

The Commission for Social Care Inspection provided the first public benchmark for quality in care homes in what had been a largely unregulated sector. I hope that the Care Quality Commission (CQC) recognises the important role of the care homes inspectorate and provides the resources to strengthen their role and extend their remit. Since staff are the biggest cost and the most vulnerable to cutbacks is it time for a review of the CQC regulatory requirements for staffing and qualifications? An equally urgent question is whether local authorities should refuse to place residents in dementia homes rated as “poor or adequate by the CQC.

In this digital age I believe that all care homes should have internet access for resident and staff. The SCIE get connected investment project for adult social care is distributing £12 million to registered providers of adult social care in England to assist them with their information, communications and technology. They will focus on providers who do not have good access to the internet. The initiative is to allow those who use, visit or work in adult social care services to benefit from the learning, knowledge and access that the internet can bring.

In the next 20 years over a million of us will have dementia, we need a serious debate about our expectations and aspirations for the care which will be provided to one of the most vulnerable groups in society. 

Part Two of “Can Gerry Robinson fix Dementia Care Homes?”  can be seen on BBC iplayer 

Telling Tales About Dementia – Experiences of Caring which is edited by Lucy Whitman explores how it feels when someone clsoe develops dementia? How do you cope with the shock, the stress and the grief? Can you be sure that you and your family will receive the support you need? In Telling Tales About Dementia, thirty carers from different backgrounds and in different circumstances share their experiences of caring for a parent, partner or friend with dementia. They speak from the heart about love and loss: ‘I still find it hard to believe that Alzheimer’s has happened to us,’ writes one contributor, ‘as if we were sent the wrong script.’ The stories told here vividly reflect the tragedy of dementia, the gravity of loss, and instances of unsatisfactory diagnosis, treatment and care. But they contain hope and optimism too: clear indications that the quality of people’s lives can be enhanced by sensitive support services, by improved understanding of the impact of dementia, by recognising the importance of valuing us all as human beings, and by embracing and sustaining the connections between us.

Tags: alzheimer's disease, be inspired, dementia, education and training, families, Leadership and Management, older people, social care, vulnerable adults

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What will be the impact of the internet on social work practice and the delivery of social services in the next few years? Access to quality information is becoming increasingly important and this is reflected in the success of Directgov which provides access to government services through one website. There is now a government expectation that by 2011, all Local Authorities must provide… “Universal, joined-up information and advice available for all individuals and carers, including those who self-assess and fund, which enables people to access information from all strategic partners.”  Local Authority Circular (DH)(2009)1: Transforming Adult Social Care
If you are just starting to use a computer and want advice in plain English, you have some experience and want to learn more or you are helping people to learn about the Internet it is worth looking at the Digital Unite Learning Zone. Here you can download a range of free Learning Guides covering everything from social networking and blogs through to web tools and security.  Digital Unite has a remit for “helping older people unleash their digital talents” but the Learning Guides provide a useful introduction for anyone of any age who wants to understand more about how to use the internet more effectively. 
The link to the website Get Safe Online is particularly useful with lots of clear and useful advice about things that you can do to avoid becoming a victim of fraud, identity theft and other Internet crimes. It has a quiz, Just how safe are you? that asks you ten questions about online security and directs you to pages with more information if required.

Another useful website with free online learning is Alison ALISON* is the world’s leading free online learning resource for basic and essential workplace skills which includes basic study skills and touch typing skills. All courses on ALISON are accessible free to individual learners.

Shirley Ayres Consulting are committed to empowering people through access to knowledge and information. We are very aware that in the 21st century organisations need to find different ways to engage, excite and energise their stakeholders. This doesn’t just mean communicating well – it means having a good story to tell. Our approach combines extensive knowledge of the care sector with new technology to promote effective communications.   We support individuals and organisations to make connections and partnerships across sectors and disciplines.

Tags: alison, be inspired, digital unite, free on line learning, new technology, online information and advice, shirley ayres consulting, Social Work

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