What do registered managers think about a professional body and workforce registration?

We caught up with our registered manager reference group to discuss their thoughts on suggestions in the Workforce Strategy around workforce registration and the prospect of setting up a professional body for registered managers.

The ‘Workforce Strategy for Adult Social Care’ launched this July contains a huge variety of recommendations intended to help address the various challenges of the adult social care sector.

Registered managers are some of the most important people in our sector, supporting almost every facet of their organisations. The Strategy has several recommendations related to registered managers, intended to develop the role by investigating the prospect of setting up a professional body and workforce registration:

• Registered manager role (2025, subject to funding): Skills for Care will deliver a project to set out what would need to happen, the implications and costs for setting up a professional body for registered managers with a code of conduct, competency, and development framework to include degree and master’s level qualifications.
• Investigate workforce registration (2025 scoping): The Adult Social Care Workforce Strategy Delivery Board will gather evidence on the impacts and potential models of a social care workforce registration scheme.

We asked our registered manager reference group to discuss their thoughts on both of these points, asking them what they believe to be the major benefits and drawbacks.

Increased respect and recognition

Perhaps the most popular reason in favour of both registration and creation of a professional body was the increased respect and recognition that participants believed it would bring to the registered manager role and social care as a whole.

It was noted that adult social care suffers from a lack of respect from the general public and other sectors. Many members of the group believed that other organisations, such as the NHS, benefitted from the existence of professional bodies and registration of nurses and other professionals, which has led to an elevated perception of their sector and a higher degree of respect for their occupations.

It was argued by many that registration of registered managers and creation of a body that mandates a level of competency would significantly benefit the perception of adult social care and increase the attractiveness of the job role itself.

Workforce regulation

One benefit of registration that was highlighted was the ability to regulate who is working in adult social care more easily. A participant pointed out the very low number of people who are barred from working in adult social care by virtue of their DBS status. She went on to highlight how registration would make tracking and barring those who have been identified as a risk to those being supported far easier, making registration a considerable benefit to the safety and security of the sector.

Qualifications as barriers to entry

Some members did suggest that the additional level of competency required by a professional body may act as a barrier to entry for some registered managers. Specifically, a professional body that requires registered managers to obtain a certain level of qualification, such as a master’s degree, was highlighted as something that may be off putting to some less academically focused adult social care staff.

One participant said that she believed the registered manager role to be a highly practical one that is driven by interpersonal relationships and sensitivity, areas where formal qualifications would not capture a true reflection of a person’s capability. They noted that for a sector that already struggles with recruitment and retention, creating further roadblocks to employment may be a considerable downside.

Cost

One point of agreement across all of the participants was that adult social care currently suffers from a lack of adequate funding, and that without appropriate financial resources to support the creation of a professional body or registration system, neither outcome is likely to be effectively implemented.

In addition to this, if registered managers were required to pay for registration, like registered nurses are required to do on an annual basis to The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), this could create an additional level of financial pressure for already underpaid staff.

There needs to be clarity around how we support such initiatives and considerable consideration given to the impact on social care staff.

Final thoughts

It’s fair to say that opinions are still split on these issues and that there are several potential factors to consider. However, it’s exciting to see how the Workforce Strategy has prompted action on this issue and we’re hopeful that its recommendations will lead to a thorough analysis of both registration and the creation of a professional body.

Visit our website to find more support for registered managers, information on the ‘Workforce Strategy for Adult Social Care’ or information on our latest campaign ‘Driving change in social care’.

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