Welcome to our page dedicated to people who receive direct payments. If you receive direct payments and arrange and purchase your own care and support through a personal assistant you are in fact an employer in your own right (often called micro – employers).
Information to help you when taking on new carers or personal assistants CLICK HERE
Qualifications in the Health and Social Care Sector are changing in January from NVQ's to the new QCF framework. This framework is as relevant to Personal Assistants as it is to other types of Social Care workers. In fact the new framework is much more flexible and allows learners to study in bite sized chunks and study the parts of the qualification that are relevant to their setting. Information on the funding of the new qualifications will be announced in the new year. In the meantime Skills for Care have looked at an example of the units a Personal Assistant may choose when undertaking the new QCF qualification. This does not mean that a P.A would have to choose these units as there are many to choose from. If you would like to look at all the units available in the new QCF please see Skills for Care's own website www.skillsforcare.org.uk
Please click here for more information
As an employer in the Health and Social Care sector you are entitled to all the help, advice and funding offered by the Suffolk Brokerage. Lots of information is contained on this website however you may find it more beneficial to talk to one of our team, either on the telephone or in person, to explain what assistance we can give you.
Some of the things we can help you with include:
The Suffolk Brokerage have worked in Partnership with Suffolk Independent Living Services to develop and customise two new internet based tools to help you with training your personal assistants or support workers.
This tool helps you identify training that is relevant to your circumstances and the experience of your P.A(s). It is simple and quick to use. You will complete a series of yes and no questions about the assistance you need and your P.A’s experience and previous training. The tool will produce a list training to consider, information on possible funding and signposting to organisations to help with this.
To use the Training Assessment Tool please click here
http://www.suffolkbrokerage.org/training-tool/
This is an internet based basic training session for P.A’s who are either new to the Care sector as a whole or new to working with you. There is a lot of information contained in the session and quizzes throughout to ensure the P.A has understood the information they have seen and heard. It covers basic principles of care, the role of the P.A, practical skills, working safely.
To use the Induction E-Tool please click below.
www.kwango.com
The password and login you will need to gain access to the site are:
Username: sfkbroker
Password: brokerage2
If you would prefer to have someone assist you to use the tools and get the most out of what they can deliver a member of the Brokerage team is more than happy to visit you at home and go through either or both with you and your Personal Assistant(s). Please telephone 01449 720400 to make an appointment.
Suffolk Independent Living is an independent service which can provide advice and support to people considering or using direct payments in Suffolk.
To download their information leaflet please click here
To access their website please click on the link: www.ncodp.org.uk
Suffolk County Council can also give you more information regarding direct payments. Please click here