Articles

Recruitment, Retention and Workforce Stability in Older People’s Care

Recruiting and retaining skilled staff is one of the greatest challenges in older people’s services. This article explores practical workforce strategies that improve stability, continuity and care quality while meeting...

Training, Supervision and Practice Competence in Older People’s Services

Training and supervision are essential to maintaining safe, confident and competent practice in older people’s services. This article explores how providers structure learning, supervision and oversight to meet commissioner and...

Staffing Continuity and Skill Mix in Older People’s Care Services

Staffing continuity and appropriate skill mix are critical to delivering safe, dignified and person-centred care for older people. This article explores how providers design workforce models that balance consistency, competence...

Supervision, Appraisal and Practice Assurance in Older People’s Services

Effective supervision and appraisal in older people’s services are essential to maintaining safe, consistent and person-centred care. This article explores how providers design supervision frameworks that support staff wellbeing, evidencing...

Training vs Competence in Older People’s Services: What Inspectors and Commissioners Really Look For

Training alone does not guarantee safe care in older people’s services. This article explains the difference between training and competence, how to evidence real-world capability, and what commissioners and CQC...

Using Agency, Bank and Temporary Staff Safely in Older People’s Services

Agency and temporary staff are often unavoidable in older people’s services, but they introduce real risks if poorly governed. This article explains how to use agency and bank staff safely,...

Retaining and Developing Staff in Older People’s Services: Workforce Stability for Ageing Well

Workforce stability is critical to ageing well, yet older people’s services face high turnover and burnout. This article explains how to retain and develop staff through realistic workload design, supervision,...

Recruitment and Onboarding for Older People’s Services: Building a Workforce Fit for Ageing Well

Recruiting for older people’s services requires more than filling shifts; it means selecting people with the values, judgement and resilience needed to support ageing well. This article sets out a...

Supervision and Competency in Older People Services: Making Training “Real” at the Front Line

Workforce competence in older people’s services is proven through observed practice, not training completion alone. This article explains how to build a supervision and competency system that protects people, supports...

Older People Workforce Planning: Skill Mix, Roles and Competence for Ageing Well Services

Older people’s services succeed or fail on workforce design: the right roles, the right competencies, and the right supervision at the right times. This article sets out practical skill mix...