The care exchange from Skills for Care

Skills for Care

The care exchange is a podcast series for managers in social care hosted by Skills for Care Locality Managers Pia Rathje-Burton and Wendy Adams.

We’ll be sharing experiences from other managers in social care, providing a place where managers can listen to other managers, feel less isolated and pick-up some good ideas to support them in their own role.

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20 episodes
Updated March 25

Episodes20

Newest first

March 25 · 43 min
S5 E12: We are a kind, caring sector!
Episode 12 | We are a kind, caring sector! In the final episode of Series 5 of the Care Exchange, Pia Rathje-Burton and Natalie Scarimbolo from Skills for Care reflect on the key themes explored throughout the series, including culture, kindness, staff retention, career development, and quality of care. Resources RM webinar: A caring culture A positive culture toolkit for adult social care The Care Workforce Pathway RM webinar: Providing impactful feedback in your CQC assessment Leadership Qualities Framework Skills for Care support in your area Keep up-to-date with enews
January 28 · 45 min
S5 E11: Evidence is king
We enter the world of HR. Sonia Rai, HR expert, talks to us about the importance of good HR advice, setting precedents, having difficult conversations, and creating evidence trails. Sonia also gives us an update on the Employment Rights Act and what you need to plan for.  Resources Induction toolkit  Values-based recruitment 
Dec 3, 2025 · 50 min
S5 E10: Supervision – it’s not a tick box exercise
Caroline Cosh, registered manager of Outstanding-rated Clifton Homecare, talks to us about the importance of looking after her workforce. This includes person-centred staff supervision through direct observations, one-on-one meetings, and mentoring, with a focus on understanding and compliance. Caroline also talks to us about the benefits of having a diverse staff team, emphasising the benefits of a multicultural workforce, creating a supportive culture,  and even starting her own ‘Do you care?’ podcast.    Resources Care workforce pathway - Career and development Supervision 
Oct 29, 2025 · 41 min
S5 Ep9: Kindness is a superpower
Dawn Stott, a consultant specialising in kindness, resilience, and ethical leadership, discusses the importance of fostering a kind and supportive work culture. She emphasises the importance of integrating kindness into organisational culture, particularly in recruitment, and using culture questionnaires to tailor training. She is a huge advocate for self-care, mentorship, and psychological safety to foster a supportive work environment. Dawn also talks about her five pillars of kindness which are GREAT - generosity, respect, empathy, action, and trust which are crucial for building resilient, empathetic teams. Resources: Culture toolkit RM webinar: Leading Induction for a positive workplace culture Registered manager membership, mentoring offer
Sep 24, 2025 · 46 min
S5 E8: I love audits
Hear from Adam Purnell, a Quality Assurance Manager at Bayswood Care Home who explains the importance of his role in ensuring compliance with regulations and improving care quality. He shares why knowing the regulations are so vital and how making actions SMART drives real change. He stresses the need for managers to focus on controllable factors, the importance of involving people in the auditing process, adapting audits to meet the needs of the service and how to develop effective action plans. Resources Providing evidence to the CQC webinar Managing a service   Developing new managers and deputies guide 
Jun 25, 2025 · 52 min
S5 E7: I’m a CQC expert – by accident
We talk to Louie Werth, Director of Care Research and CQC feedback expert! Louie discusses the importance of feedback in CQC assessments, how gathering and actioning feedback will improve your service and the quality of care you provide and the one question that the CQC will ask everyone. He shares how important it is that staff feel confident and prepared to give feedback to the CQC and suggests ways this can be done with regular training and practice. He also talks about how to set up surveys to gather feedback using the CQC quality statements to help structure survey questions, the benefits of conducting shorter surveys more frequently rather than one long survey, undertaking anonymous surveys to encourage honest feedback and the importance of having a separate process for handling complaints and compliments. Resources: Wellbeing Report 2025 Home - Care Research Managing a service CQC assessment eLearning
Apr 30, 2025 · 42 min
S5 E6: It’s good to connect
Listen to Kam Gill, Registered Manager at Walfinch Oxfordshire who talks about her role and involvement in the Oxford registered manager network. She emphasises the importance of connecting with other managers, your team and your local community. Kam highlights initiatives she organises like community events, exercise classes, and cultural activities to help foster local engagement and she shares the benefits of these community connections for both the service and the local residents. She also stresses the significance of recruiting and retaining the right staff, offering personal development plans, and maintaining open communication. Resources Regional managers network directory Social care managers Facebook group Career and development 
Feb 26, 2025 · 41 min
S5 E5: We want colleagues to take ownership of their careers
Listen to Nicola Airey and Justine Jones who talk to us about how useful they have found utilising the care workforce pathways within their organisation. Nicola, Head of Talent Development at the National Care Group, explains how the pathway helps identify staff's career aspirations and development needs, leading to increased professional qualifications and career progression. Justine, Registered Manager at Oak House, shares her positive experience with staff engagement and development through one-to-one career conversations. Resources Level 2 Adult Social Care Certificate qualification 
Jan 29, 2025 · 44 min
S5 E4: Outstanding does not mean perfect
Cheryll Champion, an ex CQC inspector working as a quality and compliance lead joins the podcast to talk about what she learnt as when her organisation was inspected under the single assessment framework, how she ensured that it was clear how the evidence linked to quality statement and the importance of knowing the regulations. Cheryll also speaks passionately about creating a culture that enable the people they support and colleagues to be themselves. Resources Local networks for managers Creating a positive workplace culture seminar Care workforce pathway for adult social care: overview - GOV.UK Home - The Care Workers Charity
Nov 27, 2024 · 50 min
S5 E3: The standard you walk past, is the standard you accept
Listen to Lindsay talk about her work for QCS and what she commonly sees in both 'good' and 'outstanding' services. She gives some great tips on effectively auditing and making improvements. We also talk about her passion project around falls based on best practice research around falls risk assessment and how a 'falls huddle' can make a difference. Resources Guide to improvement; Learning from accidents and events digital module External resources on the falls project Action Falls Train the Trainer Course | Action Falls Program | University of Nottingham Online Best practice to reduce risk in your care home using the ACTiON FALLS programme | QCS
Oct 30, 2024 · 46 min
S5 E2: Is it a 'hell yes'?
We talk to Leah Smith, Chief People Officer at Berkley Care Group about their focus and strategy on neurodiversity. It’s estimated that 15-20% of the social care workforce identify as neurodivergent in some way. She talks about some of the cost-effective changes they have made to their recruitment processes including providing interview questions in advance and offering video or audio application options and walking interviews. Leah also discusses how this focus has led to a positive impact on the culture of the organisation with improved employee engagement and retention. In the podcast, Leah refers to a couple of resources which were a book called ‘NeuroTribes: The legacy of autism and how to think smarter about people who think differently’ and a website ‘Neurodiversity at work’. Resources Values-based recruitment A positive culture toolkit for adult social care
Sep 25, 2024 · 39 min
S5 E1: You are the manager – You set the quality [Live episode]
Series 5 of the care exchange has launched with a special live episode chatting to James Bullion from the Care Quality Commission (CQC). James covers many different topics including talking about his role as Chief Inspector of Adult Social Care and Integrated Care at the CQC. Listen as he speaks about the CQC’s plans for making improvements, how it is important to learn from things going wrong and how to ensure consistency. Resources The Workforce Strategy for Adult Social Care Local authority assessment reports - CQC Go Online: Inspection Toolkit
Jul 29, 2024 · 42 min
S4 E10: Improving social care – one podcast at a time
Our final episode of the current series of the care exchange, we are joined by Zoe Fry OBE from the Outstanding Society. Hear Pia, Wendy and Zoe reflect on previous episodes and discuss lots of interesting topics including: Different ways to train leaders and staff  Proactively preparing staff for CQC assessments   Having conversations about LGBTQ+
Jun 26, 2024 · 48 min
S4 E9: We have a few lifers and don’t spend any money on recruitment!
Listen to Claire Callaghan talking about why her staff never want to leave and how she has not spent a penny on recruitment in years. She credits this to a great recruitment process, a person-centred induction and a ‘listen to’ culture. Claire also talks about their organisational commitment to diversity in the workplace and the support they provide around LGBTQ+, neurodiversity and menopause Resources Induction toolkit (skillsforcare.org.uk) Data and publications (skillsforcare.org.uk) Using social media for care recruitment (skillsforcare.org.uk)
May 22, 2024 · 42 min
S4 E8: My staff call me a Post-it person
Listen to Colin Scott talking about how he has used the Skills for Care LGBTQ+ learning framework in his care home for older people to create a culture where people can be themselves. Colin is the registered home manager of The Maples Residential Care Home, and he talks about how he has made changes throughout the service with surprising results and how he has worked to engage people, their families and the staff. Colin also encourages placements and volunteer opportunities for younger people and discusses how this benefits his service Resources Confident with difference LGBTQ+ learning framework LGBTQ+ Good and practice webinar LGBTQ+ Inclusion in the workplace course
Apr 24, 2024 · 46 min
S4 E7: The Single Assessment Framework represents an opportunity’
Hear from Isabel De La Haye, a recently qualified solicitor who talks a lot about the new CQC assessment and shares her tips on how you can prepare for any forthcoming assessment by understanding your current position. She talks about the importance of checking the factual accuracy of your CQC report and understanding how your rating is created. Resources: Data Security and Protection eLearning - Digital Care Hub Digital Care Hub - Run by social care providers for social care providers. Digital, data and technology (skillsforcare.org.uk) Integration (skillsforcare.org.uk) Local networks for managers (skillsforcare.org.uk)
Mar 27, 2024 · 49 min
S4 E6: Recognise it, record it, evidence it
Maddie Watts, the owner and Registered manager of the outstanding rated Inchwater home care chats to us about the preparation she is doing for assessment under the new single assessment framework and how to evidence good practice for CQC. Maddie talks about evidencing feedback of partnership working with other professionals and the benefits of reflective conversations to the continuous improvement journey. Resources Go Guide: Single Assessment Framework edition (skillsforcare.org.uk) Inspection toolkit (skillsforcare.org.uk) Being prepared for CQC inspection seminar (skillsforcare.org.uk)
Feb 28, 2024 · 42 min
S4 E5: Nothing about you without you
We chat to Jodie Allen-Cawley, Head of Quality and Health and Safety at Lifeways.   Jodie talks about why co-production is the key to providing quality care and how it works in partnership with the people you provide care to. She explores how the ‘I statements’ and ‘we statements’ align with the new CQC Single Assessment Framework and, as a quality lead, how to evidence personalisation and co-production. Jodie also shares the huge range of co-production initiatives and processes that are taking place at Lifeways from their quality checkers, to involving people in the recruitment process and embedding co-production as day-to-day business within the culture of the organisation. “Ensure the people you support are at the heart of everything you do, then build outwards from that.”
Jan 31, 2024 · 51 min
S4 E4: I get most of my success on Sunday
Stephen Forster joins the Care Exchange to talk about his success in recruiting 1000s of care workers. He shares his top tips on attracting workers, including how to create an amazing recruitment journey for each candidate and how to reduce no shows. We also chat about sending top tips to candidates before interview, creating attractive job adverts and value-based retention. Resources DBS checks (skillsforcare.org.uk) Values-based recruitment (skillsforcare.org.uk) Application and selection process (skillsforcare.org.uk) BHI Website (betterhiringinstitute.co.uk)
Nov 29, 2023 · 51 min
S4 E3: What if I say the wrong thing?
For most of us, the answer to the question ‘what is most important to you?’ would be our personal relationships. Join us for a fascinating discussion with Dr Claire Bates about how we can, and should be, supporting people to continue the relationships that are important to them. Dr Claire Bates, who set up and runs the ‘Supported Loving’ network, talks candidly in this episode about how we should be helping people to have meaningful relationships, including where people want to continue with intimate or sexual relationships, and she asks the question ‘should a double bed be offered as default?’. Claire gives some great advice on how to create open cultures, reassure staff about having honest conversations and debunks some of the myths about what it is ok to say and support people with. Resources Choice Support | Supported Loving www.shada.org.uk www.enhancetheuk.org A positive culture toolkit for adult social care (skillsforcare.org.uk) SfC Supporting Personal Relationships Sept21 (skillsforcare.org.uk) Supporting personal relationships (skillsforcare.org.uk)