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Learning and development
Go through the following questions and think about how well your current learning and development programme addresses the issue of restraint.
When you've worked through these, the final screen will list some ideas for developing your work in these areas.
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Learning and development
Building on standard training
Do you ask trainers to make sure that they address the issue of restraint when they are running general training courses, such as 'Person-centred care planning' or 'Managing behaviour that challenges', for your staff?
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Learning and development
Specialist training
In the past year or two have you purchased specialist training on restraint for your staff, for example, on the legal aspects of restraint or on the skills involved in physical restraint?
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Learning and development
Staff support
Are strong arrangements in place to give staff at your home regular professional support with opportunities to share their feelings about difficult situations?
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Learning and development
Leadership on reflective practice
Can you think of an instance in the past month when you modelled and promoted reflective practice in a difficult situation as a learning and development opportunity?
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Learning and development
Resources to have at hand
Does your home have any helpful resources to hand on restraint?
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Learning and development
Sharing the learning
Are staff actively encouraged to share what they have learned on training courses or through difficult situations with others on the team, for example at a monthly team meeting or at a wider learning forum such as a conference?
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Learning and development
Now you've completed all the questions, read more on those areas where your home would benefit from doing more work on this, or needs to start work on this.
Click on the on each point for more information, starting with what you need to work on, then the items you could benefit from doing more of, then finally with what you are doing already.
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Learning and development
Building on standard training
- Many standard training topics are directly relevant to understanding and minimising restraint. It's important that care staff are given opportunities to talk about restraint, and general training courses may be the best time to offer this.
- Good commissioning of training involves being open with training providers about the issues facing your home, and making sure they are clear about the sorts of outcomes you want from the training. Restraint may be one issue you want a skilled trainer to address within a training course.
- Try to build on all training offered at your home by facilitating follow-up discussions that perhaps pursue particularly difficult issues raised in the training, such as restraint.
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Learning and development
Specialist training
- More complex material, such as legal aspects of restraint, and physical restraint techniques, could not be covered thoroughly in most standard care courses, but there may be a need for it. Consider whether this is needed at your home.
- Ask staff their views on their training needs - are there specific topics which they feel have not been covered in general training courses?
- Research suitable training providers and have this information to hand - you may find you need to set up some training with relatively short notice.
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Learning and development
Staff support
- Staff need time to think about and discuss the complex issues they are facing in their work each day, and it needs to be regular enough to be meaningful. Meeting every three or four months, for example, may not be enough.
- Some meetings with staff about difficult situations may need to be held at short notice, and may be better held in a group situation.
- Team leaders and senior care staff need training and support too to be able to offer this reliably to their staff.
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Learning and development
Leadership on reflective practice
- Modelling reflective practice and keeping in touch with the challenges facing staff is vital for managers and will only happen if you spend time regularly 'walking the floor'.
- Managers need to show that much learning can come out of difficult situations, if the support is there to talk it through openly and honestly.
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Learning and development
Resources to have at hand
- Many homes have very limited resources available for staff. Try to build up a library of good resources, including visual and written materials.
- Some staff may prefer to take away a written resource and read it in their own time. Others may be interested to use online learning materials (such as these modules) in their learning about restraint.
- You can download many helpful resources for free from the internet.
- Click on the 'Resources' tab from the 'Tools' drop down above to find a list of some resources you may find useful.
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Learning and development
Sharing the learning
- It is important that everyone in the care team learns from experience and uses this to inform their future practice.
- Team meetings can be an important place to build in learning opportunities, even if time is short.
- Ideally, good learning is shared beyond the home, and care staff should have opportunities to meet with and learn from others at wider events, such as networking forums and conferences.
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- Learning and development