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Training for staff caring for people with learning disability
- Authors:
- SMITH Beryl, WUN Wai-Ling, CUMELLA Stuart
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 24(1), 1996, pp.20-25.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
This article considers the training of staff who care for people with learning disability in the community. Looks at the findings from a survey of staff in community units in the West Midlands which suggest that although most staff receive some training, this is largely a mixture of short in-service courses and there is a lack of consistency across the various agencies. The article argues that despite the considerable changes taking place within services for people with learning disability, which require new knowledge and skills, we are still far removed from having an explicit, relevant and agreed strategy for training 'front-line carers'. Present approaches are reviewed and recommendations made for future development.
Support workers and people with learning disabilities: participative and life history research
- Authors:
- MONAGHAN Valerie, CUMELLA Stuart
- Journal article citation:
- Housing Care and Support, 12(3), October 2009, pp.28-36.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
This report details undisclosed participant and life history research based on one support worker’s experiences over ten years, whilst in the employ of six differently sized private, family led and public agencies providing community-based residential and day care for people with learning disabilities. It illustrates the challenges and factors at play within this sector of care. The authors describe how, although often unqualified and untrained, support workers tend to have the highest day-to-day contact with people with a learning disability. It was observed that a lack of training was often associated with a limited awareness of the needs, observable impact on the quality of care delivered and added to stress among permanent and agency staff. Person centred approaches had limited impact especially with clients with severely impaired communication. It was noted that smaller, family managed organisations were the most committed to induction, training and individualised care practices. It is suggested that the impact of agency size on quality of care needs further research to establish whether the extended lines of management and standardised procedures more common in large residential care providers are causing disempowerment of clients as well as staff. The underbelly of the dispersed pattern of learning disability services which have replaced the mental handicap hospitals in the United Kingdom is detailed by these authors who call for increases in induction, training for management and their staff, and for continuing management support to help staff manage stress.