Skills for Care Funding (England Only)
We regret that there is no comparable funding by Skills for Care's equivalent
bodies in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Workforce Development Fund 2011-2012 (England Only)
Skills for Care launched a new funding stream from the Department of Health. This
fund is aimed at supporting the on-going professional development of staff across
the Adult Social Care Sector through vocational qualifications.
A contract has now been received from Skills for Care. Further details on the claiming
process and claim forms will be available by middle of August.
Skills for Care are using 2011-12 as a transition year and will use this as an opportunity
to learn from the experience of lead partners and partnership members. Funding has
therefore been retained for developmental work during the year and lead partners
that excel in the delivery of their contract will be eligible for further monies.
UKHCA has been offered a funding contract if you wish to take advantage of this
funding please read the “Joining UKHCA Partnership”, complete and return
the partnership form which can be downloaded from the member section of our web
site and continue to update your NMDS-SC information.
Changes to the Workforce Development Fund Project (December 2011 & January 2012)
We have just been advised by Skills for Care that the evidence requirements for claiming for NVQ/QCF qualification units through the workforce development fund has been revised following feedback from employers.,
When claiming for qualification units via WDA in 2011/12 the evidence requirement is:-
- The internal verifier must have signed off the unit between 1st January 2011 and 16th March 2012. (signed and dated)
- The assessor must sign and date all units claimed however the date does not have to fall between 1st January 2011 and 16th March 2012. (This means that units assessed in 2010 and verified in 2011/12 can now be claimed.)
Skills for Care still require the candidate name, candidate registration number, unit code and unit name to be provided on the paperwork.
UKHCA still requires a QCF/NVQ Cost summary sheet to be provided for each candidate with the NVQ/QCF unit summary sheets.
Please be aware that the deadline for claiming is 16th March 2012 and paperwork must be with UKHCA by that date. To claim your organisation must have completed and returned the UKHCA Agreement form and have complied with Skills for Care NMDS-SC requirements.
If you have any questions please contact Ailsa Blair 020 8288 1553 or email ailsa.blair@ukhca.co.uk or contact UKHCA help line 020 8288 5290. Further details of the fund are available on www.skillsforcare.org.uk/funding.
Skills for care is committed to supporting the sector during this transition and
will be taking the following action in order to support WDF members in both the
short and long term.
NVQ Unit Claims are Now Eligible Until March 2012
The deadline for NVQ unit claims has been extended. NVQ unit claims now need to
have been completed by 16 March 2012 and submitted by 30 March 2012. (UKHCA deadline
for ensuring claims are submitted before the closure of the project is 2 March 2012
List of Eligible QCF Units Has Been Expanded
The range of QCF units that are eligible for claiming workforce development funding
has been extended. Eligible units now include all units that are covered by the
level 2 and 3 diplomas and adults pathway in the level 5 diploma.
Work to Improve the Supply of Units & Qualification Into the Sector
Undertake work with awarding organisations and training providers to improve the
supply of QCF units and qualifications into the section.
NMDS-SC new requirements report (enables organisations to check their eligibility
for WDF funding)
A new report has been developed by Skills for Care in consultation with employers.
The report is for individual establishments who are logged into NMDS-SC to download
which will detail whether the establishment meets the NMDS-SC requirements for claiming
workforce development funding. If they do it will tell them when they met the requirements
and if they do not it will tell them whether the issue is with their establishment
data or their worker data.
Hyper Links: If it is the establishment data it will link the employer
to the "my establishment report" which shows where the gaps in the data are. If
it is the worker data it will link the employer to the "my worker list" which shows
where the gaps are in the worker data. The "my worker list" report has changed slightly
as all the fields for funding are grouped together under a banner.
The new report is a live report so the employer can run it, make the updates, run
it again and get an updated position.
Eligible Units for Funding
This fund is intended to support on-going professional development. Each year priority
areas and potentially service areas will be prioritised and focused upon. Following
discussion with the Department of Health and Skills for Care they agreed that the
following will be the priority areas for 2011-12.
- Dementia
- End of Life
- Learning Disabilities
- Safeguarding
- Management.
A full list of acceptable Qualification Credit Framework units is available
from www.skillsforcare.org.uk.
(For example all QCF Level 2 Mandatory units are eligible for funding together with
optional credits relating to the priority areas listed above). Skills for Care funding
is £10 per credit. (UKHCA will be levying an administration management fee
of 10% = £1 per credit)
What is it worth?
Each unit has it’s own credit value. Details of the credit value for each unit can
be found on the list of QCF eligible units (available on our web site)
Units with their credit values can be claimed for individually rather than waiting
for the whole Diploma to be awarded. Alternatively if you have decided not to pursue
the whole Diploma, individuals units can be claimed for.
Diploma’s are made up of Units and every unit has a credit value.
Learners must achieve the following minimum credit values to gain their award. Each
credit has a financial worth of £9; therefore you could potentially claim up to:
- Level 2 46 @£9 per credit = £414
- Level 3 58 @£9 per credit = £522
- Level 5 80 @£9 per credit = £720
Skills for Care web site www.skillsforcare.org.uk
has full details of the fund and bidding process. It also contains Frequently Asked
Questions.
Joining UKHCA Partnership
- Organisations that wish to join our UKHCA partnership must be full members
of UKHCA at time of joining and throughout the project term.
- Skills for Care require organisations to comply with NMDS-SC requirements. www.skillsforcare.org.uk - NMDS-SC Help
line 0845 873 0129 www.nmds-sc-online.org.uk.
If your organisation is interested in joining our partnership and claiming funding
under the Workforce Development Fund there is a requirement to complete and return
a partnership form to UKHCA.
A WDF partnership membership must be completed for every establishment in an organisation
that would like to apply for funding under the partnership. Skills for Care are
no longer able to accept one membership form to cover a head office and all the
establishment that come under that organisation. There must be one partnership
membership form completed per establishment.
Please complete and return the partnership form
to Ailsa Blair, Group House, 2nd Floor, 52 Sutton Court Road, Sutton Surrey SM1
4SL or email to ailsa.blair@ukhca.co.uk.
Paperwork for Claiming
The paperwork for claiming has been sent electronically to 2011/12 partners. Members
can download copies once they haved
logged in.
Where to obtain additional information:-
2010/11 Contract
This project is now closed.