About Promoting Variety
Click image to download Promoting Variety
Supporting positive, sustainable caring relationships, through the provision of breaks from caring, is a priority for social care policy and practice here in Scotland and across UK. The shift to more personalised social care support has also seen major changes in how support is planned and delivered in all care settings.
However, there are considerable challenges to delivering more personalised short breaks to an increasingly diverse population, against a backdrop of rising demand and declining public budgets. The Promoting Variety guide, co-produced with commissioners and other stakeholders, has therefore been prepared to help local authorities and Health and Social Care Partnerships work through these challenges and establish the conditions in local communities to provide carers with good and improving opportunities to access breaks from caring.
Promoting Variety has been updated (August 2021) to cross reference our approach to short breaks market facilitation with the relevant recommendations in the Feeley Report (Independent Review of Adult Social Care) and the recently published Self-directed Support Framework of Standards
In this next section of the website, we will provide details of opportunities to further engage with Promoting Variety to share ideas on how we can embed the market facilitation principles and approaches contained in the guide.
Background and rationale to our ongoing work to support Promoting Variety principles and approaches
Promoting Variety provides systematic ways to improve the choice and provision of short breaks. Its principles were reaffirmed in the Self-directed Support Standards and the Feeley Review. However more work is needed to:
- Understand and remove barriers to promoting short break variety
- Identify and share creative practice examples (micro commissioning, challenge funds, pooled budgets, etc.)
- Ensure a pipeline of ideas to encourage new thinking and stimulate action
NEW
Click image to download Implementing Variety
Implementing Variety: A report from research and focus groups: July – August 2021. The research sought to understand:
- Do HSCP strategic commissioning plans or performance reports reference short breaks and in what ways?
- Is there evidence of intentional market shaping activity going on?
- Are there Short Break Strategies or improvement plans for addressing the amount and variety of short breaks?
- Are provision and Short Break Service Statements being actively planned and reviewed?
- Are there interesting practices – or gaps? What’s behind these?
Promoting Variety Learning Exchange Events
To assist local efforts to develop a sustainable and varied marketplace of short breaks provision, we are planning a short programme of online learning exchange events. Each event is themed around one of the three stages of market shaping, using reflective questions from Promoting Variety to encourage practice sharing. These events are aimed at those involved in commissioning and providing short break services but will be of interest to a wider audience too.
WORKSHOP 1: INTELLIGENCE
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When: Thursday 28th October 2021, 10.00am – 12.30pm
Platform: Microsoft Teams
Themes and topics:
Who are your stakeholders? How well do you understand their needs and wants?
- Who else has insight that would inform the Intelligence stage?
- How can you assess demand for things that are not currently being provided?
- What kinds of evidence, examples and stories are taken seriously in your area?
REGISTER YOUR PLACE FOR WORKSHOP 1
WORKSHOP 2: IDEAS
When: Thursday 27th January 2022, 1.00pm – 4.00pm
Platform: Microsoft Teams
Themes and topics:
What resources do you have and what others could you draw upon?
- How could you make the market more attractive to current providers and new entrants?
- What challenges do providers face and how can you help?
- What else is being used to provide breaks and achieve outcomes, beyond formal service provision?
REGISTER YOUR PLACE FOR WORKSHOP 2
WORKSHOP 3: IMPLEMENTATION
When: Thursday 10th March 2022, 10.00am – 12.30pm
Platform: Microsoft Teams
Themes and topics:
What is the local appetite for doing things differently? What is the risk appetite?
- What opportunities can you take to engage with colleagues in procurement, legal and finance roles?
- What are the long-term risks of carers not accessing breaks because services don’t meet their expectations?
REGISTER YOUR PLACE FOR WORKSHOP 3
Previous Events
On the 30th March 2021 we held a webinar to introduce people to the guide and explore some of the approaches and ideas contained within it. A note of the session can be downloaded here: Promoting-Variety-30th-March-NOTES-FINAL
Acknowledgements
The Short Breaks Market Shaping Think Tank was made up of a core group who produced this guide:
| Denise Gillespie | Planning & Development Officer | South Lanarkshire Council |
| Don Williamson | Chief Executive | Shared Care Scotland |
| Des McCart | Senior Programme Manager | Healthcare Improvement Scotland |
| Innes Turner | Principal Commissioning Officer | East Renfrewshire HSCP |
| JJ Turner | Principal Commissioning Officer | East Renfrewshire HSCP |
| Linda Owen | Strategic Planning and Commissioning Officer | Dumfries & Galloway HSCP |
| Margaret Petherbridge | Project Development Manager Self Directed Support | Falkirk HSCP |
| Ashleigh Spalding | Research Assistant | Clackmannanshire and Stirling Health and Social Care Partnership |
| Sheena McIntosh | Commissioning Services Manager | Aberdeenshire Council |
| Shubhanna Hussain-Ahmed | Development Officer | Coalition of Carers in Scotland |
| Susan Henderson | Planning and Development Officer | Scottish Borders Learning Disability Service |
We are grateful to the following for additional guidance and input:
- Annabel Davidson Knight, Collaboration Consultant
- Claire Pearson, Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership
- Edmund McKay, Gillian Fergusson and Gregory Hill-Connor, Healthcare Improvement Scotland
- Kate Hogarth, Shared Care Scotland
- Peter Burke, COSLA Health and Social Care Board carers representative
- Scott Fissenden, Fife Health and Social Care Partnership
- Laura Bannerman, former Chief Officer, Dundee Health and Social Care Partnership
The Think Tank was hosted by Shared Care Scotland and iHub, funded by Scottish Government. Wren and Greyhound provided facilitation and led the creation of this document.