Black History Month is celebrated every year in October in the UK. It provides an opportunity to recognise and celebrate the invaluable contributions of Black people to British society.
We know that the social care workforce continues to be very diverse, where workers with a Black / African / Caribbean / Black British ethnicity made up 18% of the workforce compared to 4% of the population. But we also know that people with a a Black / African / Caribbean / Black British ethnicity are under-represented in managerial roles.
It's our aim to ensure the social care workforce is treated equally, feels included and valued, and is supported to stay well and pursue their careers in social care. Every Friday throughout the month we’ll be publishing a series of blogs focusing on equality, diversity and inclusivity and what is being done to drive change.
We’ll also be hearing from adult social care workers, who share their motivations and what it means to work in adult social care and why diversity is integral to inclusivity. Take a look at their videos below.
Every Friday throughout the month
We’re also shining a spotlight on our resources to support equality, diversity and inclusivity in the workplace.
What it really means to work in adult social care
We hear from some inspirational individuals who share what they love about working in adult social care, why diversity in the workplace is so important, who or what has inspired them along the way, and why it takes a certain type of person to work in social care.
Dudley Sawyerr is a care consultant and business strategist at People Care Services, in addition to being the Co-chair of Skills for Care’s Race Equity Reference Group. In this article, Dudley is talking to us about the importance of Black History Month to and in adult social care.
This #BlackHistoryMonth Nyoka Fothergill, Head of Service – Community Social Work at Leeds City Council, shares Leeds City Council's experience participating in the Social Care Workforce Equality Standard (SC-WRES) programme and how it’s helping us push for a more equitable and representative social care workforce.
Dr Amanda Arbouin, Research Consultant for Stephen Lawrence Research Centre, tells us about one of the latest projects she’s involved in to help fight racism and advance equity in adult social care.
Every year Black History Month provides us with an opportunity to remember, reflect on and celebrate the contributions of Black people in society, past and present. Throughout the month we’ve been shining a spotlight on and celebrating the incredible contributions of Black and Asian individuals in social care through a series of videos.
We’ve got a range of resources to support you and your teams to achieve equality, diversity and inclusivity in the workplace. From guides to eLearning to learning programmes to forums, our resources support both personal development and organisational development, helping you to identify opportunities to create positive organisational change. You can also find out more on our supporting a diverse workforce webpage.
Supporting a diverse workforce: Understanding racism overview
PDF - 755 KB
This introductory overview aims to raise awareness about the history of racism, shows some of the forms that racism takes and provides a model that examines systemic racism. It encourages reflection and discussion around understanding racism and the legal context, providing an opportunity to identify any actions to take forward.
Confident with difference
'Confident with difference' supports you to consider how well diversity is embraced within your organisation and how you could improve. Consisting of four films with supporting questions, leaders and managers can use this resource with their teams to reflect on their own practices and generate discussion points to help facilitate change within their organisation.
Find out more about 'Confident with difference'
Moving Up programme - registrations open
Our Moving Up programme supports Black and Asian minoritised groups who are managers or aspiring managers and have the desire and drive to progress in their career but are facing blockages and resistance preventing them from doing so.
Taking part in the programme gives participants an increased understanding of who they are, their strengths and weaknesses and a variety of techniques to help overcome any personal challenges. It will focus on increasing confidence and self-belief, to allow growth and progression to where they want to be in their career.
Find out more and register
If there are a large number of people within your organisation who would like to participate in the Moving Up Programme then you may be interested in having the programme delivered directly into your organisation. If this is of interest to you please email MovingUp.Programme@skillsforcare.org.uk
Social Care Workforce Race Equality Standard Improvement Programme
The Social Care Workforce Race Equality Standard (SC-WRES) Improvement Programme was developed by Skills for Care to support organisations to achieve an anti-racist workplace. Through the programme, organisations are supported to identify issues, create action plans for change and measure improvements in the workforce with respect to the experiences of people from a Black, Asian and minoritised ethnic background.
Find out more about the SC-WRES
Culturally appropriate care guide
Skills for Care has resources to help anyone involved in the care and support of individuals to have a clearer understanding of culturally appropriate care. The ‘Culturally appropriate care guide’ covers a broad range of topics that will help with learning about people’s cultural identity or heritage.
To support the learning within the guide, there are accompanying resources for use in training and development. These cover supporting individuals from ethnic minority groups and backgrounds, stereotyping, and supporting relationships and people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and others (LGBTQ+).
Find the guide and training resources
A positive culture toolkit for adult social care
We’re delighted to announce that our new positive culture toolkit is now available to download. Workplace culture is the character and personality of your workplace and what makes your workplace unique, special and individual. Using this toolkit will support you at different stages of your workplace culture journey to establish, maintain and improve your workplace culture so that it’s inclusive, compassionate and collaborative.
It’s for anyone responsible for the culture, management and leadership in adult social care workplaces of all sizes.
Find out more and download
Race Equity Reference Group
The Skills for Care Race Equity Reference Group (RERG) has been established to support Skills for Care’s commitment on championing equity, equality, and diversity. The group is made up of representatives from across the sector and includes people who work in and across social care and people with lived experience. The RERG will support Skills for Care to develop a positive and practical narrative on race equality.
If you’d like to find out more about the RERG please email Equalityandrights@skillsforcare.org.uk