Your personal development in working in the care sector

Your employer or supervisor will discuss and explain the duties and responsibilities that are part of your job role. There are over a million care workers in England and they all need the same wide range of basic knowledge and skills. Many individuals chose to work in care because they find it a rewarding career, where they feel that they can make a difference.

It is important to be flexible in your attitudes and beliefs, in a new job you may find that some things are approached or carried out differently, this does not mean that they are wrong in your new employment or that they were carried out incorrectly in your last job. Learn from others and ensure you learn as much as you can about the working environment, remember every workplace is different.

Whether you have worked in care for a long time or only recently started it is important to take time to reflect on how you practice in your role. This can be done under supervision and also by taking time to step back from your daily tasks and to consider how they have been carried out, how they could be carried out more effectively and in doing so recognising how you are developing. This is known as reflective practice. It is important to document your development so that you can look back on how you have developed and what worked or needs improvement.

Reflective practice is used in many industries and is standard in many training courses. With the support of your colleagues, manager or supervisor, you can make use of formal supervision to make a plan for your personal development. Thinking about your role, especially as new situations arise, discussing situations with your supervisor or more experienced colleagues, will help you to develop and provide better support to the people you care for.

Reflective practice is defined as ‘the capacity to reflect on action so as to engage in a process of continuous learning’.

There are certain basic skills that care and support workers need. These are: literacy, numeracy, ICT and communication skills. Many adults have problems with literacy and numeracy. If you are one of them, remember that you are not alone and there are many sources of help. We have put some links on the download area of this course if you need help.

You will need support for your personal development. Supervision is one way of getting this, as is discussion with other experienced colleagues. Your personal development plan should show what you need to learn and how this is to be done. It needs to be reviewed frequently, both by yourself and with your supervisor.

It is important that you think about the learning activities you are involved in. Your organisation is likely to have a system for recording your learning. This enables inspectors to see that employees are meeting the right standards. It is also important for you to keep a record of what you have done so that you know what other areas you need to cover and when you need training to refresh your knowledge and skills.

Learning can be achieved in many different ways, reading, going on courses, e-learning, reflecting and talking to colleagues. Learning and reflection is all documented as proof of your training. There are many training logs available from different organisations or your employer may have their own.