Monthly Archives: December 2017

Update to health and social care SASE frameworks

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As you are probably already aware, the apprenticeship sector is currently undergoing a number of significant reforms.

As well as the introduction of the apprenticeship levy – which changes the way in which apprenticeships are funded – new apprenticeship standards have been developed that are gradually replacing the old frameworks known as SASE (Specification of apprenticeship standards for England).

This includes the SASE frameworks for the health and social care sector.

Intermediate and Advanced Apprenticeship in Health and Social Care
From 29 December 2017, the Intermediate and Advanced Apprenticeship in Health and Social Care will close. These will instead by replaced by the Adult Care Worker and Lead Adult Care Work Apprenticeship standards and assessments plans from January 2018, and which will become the only apprenticeship route for apprentices working at level 2 and level 3 in health and social care.

The Level 2 Diploma in Health and Social Care (Adults) for England (QCF) and the Level 3 Diploma in Health and Social Care (Adults) for England (QCF) will be withdrawn on 31 December 2017 and will be replaced by the Level 2 Diploma in Care and the Level 3 Diploma in Adult Care, which will launch on 1 January 2018.

You won’t need to do anything to maintain your approval with us. Your account manager will transfer any registrations you have for the withdrawn QCF qualifications over to the new RQF qualifications at no further charge. Please note, if you are transferring to the new RQF qualifications, it is essential that you fully review the qualification specifications before delivery takes place.

Higher Apprenticeship in Care Leadership and Management
Skills for Care has recently issued the following statement ( available here ):

The trailblazer group has advised that the revised version of the Leader in Adult Care Apprenticeship Standard has been submitted to the Institute for Apprenticeships (IfA) for review and approval. The revisions reflect feedback from stakeholders and requirements from IfA. It’s unlikely to be completed before January that impacts on the planned availability of the standard for delivery from January 2018. Due to this the IfA will not consider the relevant assessment plan.

In order to facilitate a smooth transition to the new standard and ensure the continuity of apprenticeship provision at level 5, the current SASE Framework level 5 apprenticeship will remain open for new registrations until 31 August 2018.

This has been agreed between Skills for Care, awarding organisations and the adult care trailblazer group.

The registration period for the existing qualification Level 5 Leadership and Management will be extended by all awarding organisations until 31 August 2018 (agreed by the Joint Awarding Body Quality Group – JABQG).

The new Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management in Adult Care will be launched on 1 September 2018, by which time the apprenticeship standard assessment plan will be expected to have been published.

This means that the Highfield Level 5 Diploma in Leadership for Health and Social Care and Children and Young People’s Services (England) will be transitioned to the RQF from 1 January 2018 with no changes made to the content or assessment . Centre approval and direct claim status will transfer automatically, and your account manager will be happy to transfer any unused registrations for you.

The launch of the new level 5 diploma will be delayed until 1 September 2018.

For more information on the withdrawal and launch of health and social care qualifications, please visit here .

If you have any questions about the contents of this email, please contact your account manager.

New Apprenti-kit for Level 5 Operations/Departmental Manager

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A new Apprent-kit to help learners undertaking the new level 5 apprenticeship standard for operations/departmental manager has been launched by Highfield Products .

Developed to support learners through a number of different delivery models – whether that’s direct delivery, distance learning or blended learning – the Apprenticeship Standard (Level 5) Operations/Departmental Manager Apprenti-kit comes complete with everything needed to help learners, employers and tutors throughout the apprenticeship journey.

The comprehensive kit includes a welcome booklet that provides guidance on the new apprenticeship standards, thorough coverage of the required knowledge, skills and behaviours (KSBs), plus a wide range of sector-based activities to enhance learners’ understanding and achievement.

Also included is an authoritative guide that aims to demystify end-point assessment, plus a textbook and workbook for each of the mandatory knowledge and skills modules, as well as for the required behaviours.

And to provide added flexibility and adaptability, the kit is available in an A4 ring binder or electronically as an e-kit delivered direct to your inbox.

The Apprenticeship Standard (Level 5) Operations/Departmental Manager Apprenti-kit costs £45.95 for the hard copy version, and £45.95 plus VAT for the e-kit version.

For more information and to view a sample, click here .

To order your kit now, either call us on 0845 226 0350/01302 363277 or sales@highfieldabc.net .

Food technology conference with SoFHT February 2018

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Food hygiene and technology professionals from across the country will get the chance to hear the latest news and updates from some of the top experts at special conference next February.

Hosted by the Society of Food Hygiene and Technology ( SoFHT ) and supported by Highfield Qualifications , the Back to Basics: The Next Generation conference will take place on 13 February 2018 at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry, and will give delegates the change to hear first hand about the latest research and technology.

Speakers and topics covered on the day will include:
  • Hand Hygiene – Tracey Black – DEB
  • Labelling and Coding Verification Systems  – Jude Mason – Succour
  • Allergen Risks and Controls – Barbara Hirst – RSSL
  • Pest Control Threats and Solutions – John Simmons – Acheta
  • Cleaning Technology and Verification – Peter Littleton – Klenzan
  • Training Shortfalls and Solutions – Jude Hutchinson – Highfield Qualifications
As well as Q&A panels throughout the day, the presentations will be supported by an extensive exhibition of 20 businesses showcasing their products and services, where delegates can learn from the experts and informally network with their peers.

Tickets cost £99 plus VAT for Highfield Approved Centres, and £145 for non-Highfield centres.

To find out more, go to the Highfield events section here .

If you would like to find out more about exhibition opportunities, please contact Phil Shaw on 07818 571261 or SoFHT on 01827 872500.

Highfield Christmas closing dates 2017

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‘He’s making a list and checking it twice; Gonna find out who’s naughty and nice ‘…yes, it’s nearly Christmas, which means the tree is up, the festive jumpers are on and the mince pies are doing the rounds in the Highfield office (so many mince pies…!).
But that also means we’re nearly upon our annual shutdown for the Christmas period. We’ll be closing at 5.30 pm on Thursday 21 December 2017 , and reopening on Tuesday 2 January 2018 . Unfortunately that also means any enquiries we receive between these dates won’t be responded to until the office reopens.
If you have orders that are urgent and you require before Christmas, please make them before 1 pm on Wednesday 20 December 2017 . These orders will be dispatched on a next-delivery.
If your order isn’t that urgent but you still need it delivered over the Christmas period, be sure to place it before 2 pm on Thursday 21 December 2017 . Any orders placed after this won’t be dispatched until the New Year.

As always, we’d like to thank you for your continued support over the last 12 months, in which we’ve been recognised as an end-point assessment organisation (EPAO) for apprenticeships, and took one of the top prizes at the Learning Technologies Awards in November for our e-learning. The awards are one the biggest in Europe, and open to some of the most famous digital names in the world, but the Highfield team beat them all to take the gold in the ‘Best use of learning technologies to ensure compliance’ category.

We also raised many more thousands of pounds for our chosen charity, Visually Impaired Children Taking Action (VICTA), and the important work they do. If you’d like to find out more or maybe make a donation yourself, go to www.victa.org.uk

So finally, on behalf of the entire Highfield team, have a very Merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous New Year!

Top award for Highfield e-learning

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An innovative e-learning package that helped Marks & Spencer reduce the cost associated with incident reporting has been recognised at the digital industry’s prestigious Learning Technology Awards.

The e-learning, developed by Highfield e-Learning , took gold prize in the ‘Best use of learning technologies to ensure compliance application’ category after impressing judges with its impact on Marks & Spencer’s business.

The Highfield e-Learning team on stage.

Since its introduction in 2016, Marks & Spencer has seen a significant increase in reporting compliance, reduced costs by minimising interruptions to normal trading, encouraging duty managers to act promptly when incidents occurred, and ensuring consistency in behaviour at stores across the UK.

In total, nearly 3000 duty managers have taken the Marks & Spencer Duty Manager e-Learning Course, with the business seeing a 1,000 percent return on their initial investment.

John Frost, Head of Business Continuity at Marks & Spencer and Chairman of the Retailers Business Continuity Association, said, ‘M&S has a number of award winning programmes but this is definitely one of the very best, and possibly the most effective e-learning solution we have seen to date. The e-learning was fresh and challenging for our team, and helped us achieve our strategic objectives in reducing losses from incidents’.

Chris Sprenger, Highfield MD, said, ‘I’m very proud of this achievement, which is a huge testament to our incredible team and their dedication to our core values of quality, value, service and integrity. We believe that we have one of the best – if not the best – offers in terms of e-learning, and it’s satisfying to have that belief justified. It’s even more satisfying to see just how our e-learning has positively impacted on a great organisation like Marks & Spencer and helped them to improve the way they do business’.

Highfield e-Learning is part of the Highfield Group, which is one of UK’s biggest educational organisations and publishers and winner of the Queen’s Award in 2016.

The Learning and Technology Awards ceremony took place at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel on 29 November 2017.

For more information on Highfield e-Learning, go to www.highfieldelearning.com .

For regular updates, go to https://twitter.com/askhighfield and www.facebook.com/askhighfield

For more on the Learning Technology Awards, go to http://www.learningtechnologies.co.uk/learning-tech-awards
ENDS
Notes to editors:
1. The Learning Technologies Awards is held every year and showcases some of the most recognisable, memorable, and life-changing e-learning worldwide. They are internationally recognised and open to organisations of all sizes.

2. The Highfield Group is one of the largest educational organisations in the UK for compliance, apprenticeship and work-based learning qualifications, training materials, e-learning and end-point assessment of apprenticeships, based on registrations, certifications and turnover.

The Group offers hundreds of publications and titles with over two million sales per annum. Additionally, it has developed 250-plus qualifications through its awarding organisation (AO), Highfield Qualifications.