VIP Service

All the flexibility of e-learning but with a real trainer!

Social care challenges have changed since Brexit and Covid

When Coleman Training was first established, twenty years ago, the landscape of our sector was very different. Face-to-face training was the norm, with e-learning just beginning to emerge as the only cheaper alternative.

Face-to-face training meant taking a group of staff off the floor, or having them come in for training on their day off, in order to make it cost-effective. This was possible – at a push – when we had a large workforce including people from the EU and other countries around the world to help cover for staff on training.

Our exit from the EU meant that we lost many of our European colleagues and then, just as we were coming to terms with that, Covid hit. The challenges to our sector have been immense and we now have a workforce crisis in social care, which means that it is more important than ever that the people who we do employ are well trained, competent workers – but how do we release people for training when we are so short-staffed?

Which is better – e-learning or virtual training room?

During Covid, we stopped all face-to-face training and offered e-learning as an alternative. This allowed staff to access some training, although for much of the pandemic, they were too exhausted from working additional shifts to then begin training.

Both e-learning and virtual training (we use Zoom), have played an important part in staying compliant during the pandemic.

E-learning can be accessed anywhere at any time (as long as you have a device) . Although costs vary, it is relatively inexpensive to access. However, there are a few issues with e-learning that have become apparent. Managers ask staff to complete e-learning courses in order to upskill and maintain compliance. Our experience showed that often learners begin a course, but a month later, had still not completed it. This means that the organisation has paid for the training, but not received the benefit of compliance for that member of staff.

Virtual training can be accessed from anywhere (as long as you have a device). Staff choose which course to join (although they are not 24/7 as e-learning is, there are plenty of times and days to choose from), they then enrol on that course, which is facilitated by an industry expert trainer. You can enrol a single person from your organisation if you wish – so no mass exit from the floor!

Learners can ask questions, discuss, debate and challenge – none of which can happen on an e-learning course. The best part for compliance purposes, is that the person is guaranteed to complete the course that day and their certificate is issued immediately.

All your training records in one place

The VIP portal takes care of all your training records and scheduling – a major headache for most care services! The system will remind you when staff need refreshing, and you can book individuals onto courses with a single click. If you attend training elsewhere, you can record that on your training portal too, so you (and your CQC inspector) can see at a glance, what training staff have received.

Juanita, our Customer Relationships Manager, will keep in touch with you and help you to get the most out of your portal. We are always here to help.

What training can I access?

We offer all mandatory training at least once a month – often more than one choice will be available. We schedule each course to take place on different days and at different times of day. This will include twilight training and weekend courses if there is a demand.

In addition to this, you can also book new staff onto our two-day Rapid Induction course through your portal. If you are a Gold or Platinum member, this is included in your monthly payment. As our VIP membership grows, so will the number and choice of courses increase. These will include specialist (non-mandatory) courses to help you to upskill your team.

What courses are included as Mandatory?

Our mandatory course list is taken from the recommendations from Skills for Care.

• Moving and Assisting People
• Basic Life Support and First Aid
• Communication
• Dignity
• Equality and Diversity
• Fire Safety
• Food Hygiene
• Health and Safety Awareness
• Infection Prevention and Control
• Medication Management
• Mental Capacity & Liberty Safeguards
• Moving and Handling Objects
• Nutrition and Hydration
• Oral Health
• Person-centred care
• Positive Behaviour Support and Non-restrictive practice
• Recording and Reporting
• Safeguarding Adults
• Safeguarding Children

In addition to these subjects, you will be able to access specialist subjects at different times. Specialist subjects at present include:

• Dementia – Distress behaviours
• Loss, grief and bereavement
• Responding to service-user deterioration
• Supporting people with long-term conditions
• Pressure Ulcer Prevention
• Psychological wellbeing and resilience
• End of Life Care
• Autism Awareness
• Falls and Fragility

Specialist Training for Individual Employers and their Personal Assistants

We have also developed a suite of training tailored towards the needs of individual employers and their personal assistants. For individual employers and their personal assistants the Gold Service subscription can be reclaimed via individual employer funding up to end of March 2023. Learn About Individual Employer Funding Here.

Our suite of valuable and important courses includes:

• PA Rapid Induction
• Safer recruitment for IE
• Health & Safety awareness
• Safeguarding for PAs
• Diabetes Awareness
• Safe Medication administration including PEG
• Medication awareness for PAs
• Dementia awareness for PAs
• Supporting an autistic adult
• Positive Behaviour Support
• Strengths-based approaches
• Supporting with personal care
• Confidentiality, Dignity & Respect
• Infection prevention & Control
• Lone working
• Managing Stress
• Recording and Reporting
• Time Management Skills
• Effective partnership working
• Care Planning and risk assessment
• Liberty Safeguards

What do the different memberships include?

Silver Member

“Pay as you go” for complete financial freedom. You will receive your own personalised portal, which you can populate with your staff names and job roles, so that you can monitor competency and print certificates from your portal.

To access training, you will need to buy tokens, which equal one hour of training for one person. You can buy as many, or as few tokens as you wish. The more you buy, the cheaper they become.

Once you have bought your tokens, you simply click on the course that you wish to book and enter than name of the person attending, and that’s it.

Example: If you want a member of your team to refresh their Infection Prevention and Control training to include Covid and Monkeypox, you would need 2 tokens, because it is a 2 hour course.

They will be sent joining instructions and a workbook via email. They will also receive a reminder 48 hours before and another reminder on the day of training.

As soon as the training is completed, the certificate will be available to download.

Gold Member

This is our mid-range, and most popular membership. The Gold membership is based on a monthly subscription which is £10 per staff member per month.

As a Gold member, you can enrol staff onto as many of the listed courses as you wish, at no extra charge. So for the cost of a single e-learning course, you can access unlimited virtual training.

You will receive your own personalised portal, which our admin team will populate for you, saving many hours of work. Once it is set up, you will have all your training records at your fingertips and will see at a glance when staff are non-compliant.

During supervisions, you can click on an individual staff member and see their training history. If they require training in a subject, you can click on a course from a dropdown menu and book it instantly. This can then be documented in your supervision record.

Platinum Member

The Platinum member enjoys all of the benefits of the Gold service, but with the addition of face-to-face training.

We understand that some clients prefer to include some face-to-face training, for subjects such as moving and assisting people, first aid and medicine administration competency assessments. Our Platinum membership allows you to include face-to-face training in your monthly scheme.

We work with you to tailor your plan to meet your specific needs and provide a personalised quote.

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How do I purchase my VIP Training?

To learn more about which package is right for you, please get in touch with our Business Development Manager Juanita Wilson on email juanita@colemantraining.co.uk