Oxfordshire County Council : Social Care Provider Engagement

Two free adult social care webinars coming up next week on Flourish Community.

Leadership in Care: Creating a Culture Where Care Teams Thrive

Tuesday 3 November | 2–3pm

This session will explore the leadership behaviours and everyday support that help build trust, belonging and a culture people want to be part of.

Hosted by Sam Kiln, Click Academy Manager at Flourish, she’ll be joined by:

• Julie Burton, Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder, Twinglobe Care
• Kam Gill, Registered Manager, Walfinch Oxfordshire
• Mark Topps, Head of OpenDoc Community, Health Connect

Save your free place

Prepare for CQC Inspection: How to Evidence Staff Training and Competency

Thursday 5 November | 2–3pm

Delivered by our partner Delphi Care, this session will look at what providers should be able to demonstrate beyond training records.

They’ll cover:

• Common training and competency gaps
• What good evidence can look like from a CQC perspective
• Key learnings from Delphi’s mock inspections to improve inspection readiness

Save your free place

Both sessions are completely free through Flourish Community, so please feel free to share them with anyone else in your team who might find them useful.

If you haven’t joined Flourish Community yet, you can set up your profile here.

Hope to see you there!

Warm regards,

The Flourish Team

Website: flourish.co.uk

Please click HERE to download the Winter Preparation Checklist for care providers in Oxfordshire, adapted from a checklist originally developed by PH colleagues in Buckinghamshire.

This checklist is aimed at managers and staff across residential and community social care settings, including services providing care in people’s homes. It provides useful resources and a quick reminder of key actions to prepare for winter.

Please share it with relevant colleagues and partners as appropriate.

Best wishes,

Dr Shakiba Habibula

Consultant in Public Health Medicine, Oxfordshire County Council

Hon. Senior Clinical Lecturer, Medical sciences Division, University of Oxford

Tel: 07392318880

Email: Shakiba.habibula@oxfordshire.gov.uk

Web: www.oxfordshire.gov.uk

Oxfordshire County Council, County Hall, New Road, Oxford, OX1 1ND

BetterPoints Oxfordshire is offering boosted rewards for signing up to free, expert support to help you make positive changes to your health and wellbeing.

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💚 Know someone who could benefit?

Please share this email with friends, family or colleagues who live, work or study in Oxfordshire.

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National guidance on how households can prepare for emergencies. Please see the link below.

https://beready.campaign.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/252/2026/10/Be-Ready-Checklist_English.pdf

Our website is now back online after being temporarily taken offline as a precaution following the discovery of a security issue affecting websites around the world. It may take some time for all the changes to take effect and allow you to see the website.

We have taken steps to address the issue and carried out security checks before bringing the website back online.

There is no evidence our website was compromised or any personal information was accessed.

you can find a PDF with PowerPoint Slides HERE

The Herbert Protocol is named after George Herbert, a WW2 war veteran from the Normandy landings who lived with dementia. After he went missing a few times, his local police, Norfolk Constabulary, realised they needed a better way to look after vulnerable people. The idea was to step in early and lower the risks, which led to the Herbert Protocol being created. Mr. Herbert tragically died in 2011 whilst in search of his childhood home. His legacy lives on in bringing safety to others who step into the unknown because of memory loss.

The Herbert Protocol is a national safeguarding initiative in the United Kingdom designed to help locate those living with dementia, if they go missing. It consists of a standardised form completed in advance by the individual, family members, friends, or care providers. The Herbert Protocol is provided by MedicAlert and is not Police led. The form keeps vital information readily available so it can be handed to the police immediately in an emergency, eliminating the stress of trying to recall details during a crisis.

We are brining this to your attention because as of 1 October 2026 only 26 people in Oxfordshire were signed up to the Protocol

You, Family Member or the person themselves (if they have the capacity to do so) can simply fill in a Form HERE

The form typically includes:

• A recent, high-quality photograph of the individual.
• Physical descriptions and medication requirements.
• Mobile phone numbers and contact details for next of kin.
• Significant places from their past, such as childhood homes, former workplaces, or favourite walking spots where they might seek comfort or familiarity.
• Locations where they have been previously found if they wandered off before.

If you wish to obtain leaflets, and other training materials click here

Full details on this link Herbert Protocol: Provided by MedicAlert for Dementia

Encouraging staff vaccination uptake this winter

As we move into the winter period, we are asking providers to support and actively promote the uptake of flu, COVID-19, RSV and pneumococcal vaccinations among their workforce and the people they support where appropriate.

Vaccination remains one of the most effective ways to reduce the impact of seasonal illness, help maintain workforce resilience, and protect vulnerable people who draw on care and support services.

Please share This Letter with your staff teams and use your internal communication channels to encourage colleagues to check their eligibility and take up the vaccines available to them. The Letter includes details on:

• Who is eligible for each vaccine
• How and where vaccinations can be accessed
• Resources and communication materials to support local promotion

Your support in promoting these important public health messages can help protect staff, the people you support, and the wider community throughout the winter months.

*Due to commence in January 2027.

Programme Information and Entry Requirements

Please find full details of the programme, including entry requirements, via the link below:

Nursing Associate Higher Apprenticeship - Oxford Brookes University

Additional Entry Requirements

Applicants should meet the following requirements:

• Hold GCSE Maths and English at grades A*-C / 9-4 (or equivalent qualifications). If applicants do not currently hold one or both of these qualifications, please encourage them to contact us to discuss available options.
• Be employed for a minimum of 30 hours per week to meet apprenticeship requirements.
• Be able to work flexibly to undertake external clinical placements.
• Have lived in the UK for a minimum of three years prior to the start of the programme. These three years must not have been spent on a Student Visa.
• If a visa is required to work in the UK, it must remain valid for the full duration of the programme, including the End Point Assessment (EPA), which is approximately 2 years.

Applications

If you have staff interested in undertaking the programme, the expression of interest deadline for the January 2027 cohort is 9 October 2026.

Staff can contact Jacqui Charrett directly to discuss the programme and eligibility requirements via the details below:

Jacqui Charrett | Learning and Development Manager (Vocational Learning)| Learning & Development Department | Oxford Health NHS Foundation

Tel: 07827882595 | Email: jacqui.charrett@oxfordhealth.nhs.uk

website : www.oxfordhealth.nhs.uk

Apprenticeship Levy Funding

The programme can be funded through the Apprenticeship Levy.

Placement and Practice Support

Oxford Health can support employers by coordinating clinical placements and providing Practice Supervisor and Practice Assessor support throughout the programme.

A new website offering practical advice to help people reduce their risk of falling and stay independent for longer has been launched.

The web pages have been created by Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust through a true partnership effort, with expert input from us, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Age UK Oxfordshire, Oxford City Council, Thames Valley Integrated Care Board, the University of Oxford, the Oxfordshire Association of Care Providers (OACP) and South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust.

Helping residents, families and carers understand what can lead to a fall, and take proactive steps to prevent one, is crucial in supporting people to remain independent, stay in their own homes and avoid unnecessary hospital admissions. Falling at home or while out and about is not an inevitable part of getting older, and there are practical ways to reduce the risk.

The website is a useful resource that colleagues can recommend to residents, their families and carers. A dedicated page for professionals is currently being developed.