Working with adults and carers

We develop a range of evidence-informed learning resources designed for professionals working with adults, families and carers; tailored to individual and organisational learning and development needs.

Our annual Delivery Programme is developed in consultation with the national adults Partnership network in order to ensure our work actively reflects the needs and priorities of our Partners and the sector. In addition, as part of our responsive learning from the COVID-19 pandemic, this year we provided a range of additional online material and virtual events across the year. 

Topics to support practice 

In 2020-21 we produced publications, online events and learning resources on several key topics including:

• Lived experience 
• Mental capacity, risk and human rights
• Practice development 
• Strengths-based working
• Additional resources.

Click and drag left and right on each topic area to view the resources.

Lived experience 

Involving the voice of lived experience is essential in social care practice and policy. Understanding the views of people where there may be barriers to participation is key to ensuring services are designed, developed and delivered so that people are supported to lead the lives they want to lead. 

Mental capacity, risk and human rights  

Human rights are at the heart of adult social care practice and working with risk, particularly where there are questions of capacity, can be complex. Resources in this topic are designed to support organisations to take a human rights approach in complex areas of work and keep up-to-date with changes in the legislative context. 

Practice development

Social care practitioners work with a diverse range of people and roles. Practice development is a continual process that everyone working across adult social care is responsible for. It covers, the development of specific practice knowledge and skills, as well support for reflection on values and ethics.

Strengths-based working  

Strengths-based working focuses on people's strengths, including their knowledge, skills and capabilities. Understanding the evidence behind different approaches, reflecting on the values that sit behind them, and developing the skills for making it real in practice are important to embedding it within organisations.

Additional resources 

Across the year these individual and additionally commissioned resources supported priorities across the network.

Legal Literacy: Change Project 

We were delighted to publish a new suite of online resources to support legal literacy across adult social care organisations. The Legal Literacy: Change Project highlights strategic initiatives and provides tools and activities to support this area of practice. The resources are the result of a two year project between Research in Practice, Professor Michael Preston-Shoot and Professor Suzy Braye with local authority partners. The resources were introduced in our recorded webinar.

Learning resources and events

As part of membership to Research in Practice, Partners have access to a range of learning opportunities and receive regular updates on the latest news and information, including case law, research evidence and policy. Our national programme of learning events, conferences and webinars support professional networking and development on pertinent social care topics, to meet individual and organisational needs.  

This year, our Link Officers Annual Meeting (LOAM) was delivered virtually for the first time. We shared learning from the pandemic, detailed people’s recent experience of receiving virtual care and support, and drew out key themes and messages for the future. Our Partnership Conference shared knowledge and experiences of how the pandemic has impacted on mental health and emotional wellbeing, bringing together international, national and local perspectives on what it might mean for adult social care practice.

'Really liked having the pack sent out to me (at home). It helped me to feel connected. Really liked the break out rooms and the woman facilitating was really good and skilled at keeping us in check but also speaking! Well done and thanks, I thoroughly enjoyed the day. It was a space to reflect and think about mental health resilience and lived experiences. I feel re-focused and motivated.' – Partnership Conference participants.

Click and drag left and right to view our regular learning resources.

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