The care exchange from Skills for Care

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Mar 2026

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About the show

The care exchange is a podcast series for managers in social care hosted by Skills for Care Locality Managers Pia Rathje-Burton and Wendy Adams. We’ll be sharing experiences from other managers in social care, providing a place where managers can listen to other managers, feel less isolated and pick-up some good ideas to support them in their own role.

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51 recent

March 25, 2026Episode 2043 min

S5 E12: We are a kind, caring sector!

Episode 12 | We are a kind, caring sector! In the final episode of Series 5 of the Care Exchange, Pia Rathje-Burton and Natalie Scarimbolo from Skills for Care reflect on the key themes explored throughout the series, including culture, kindness, staff retention, career development, and quality of care. Resources RM webinar: A caring culture A positive culture toolkit for adult social care The Care Workforce Pathway RM webinar: Providing impactful feedback in your CQC assessment Leadership Qualities Framework Skills for Care support in your area Keep up-to-date with enews

January 28, 2026Episode 1945 min

S5 E11: Evidence is king

In this episode, we enter the world of HR. Sonia Rai, HR expert, talks to us about the importance of good HR advice, setting precedents, having difficult conversations, and creating evidence trails. Sonia also gives us an update on the Employment Rights Act and what you need to plan for.  Resources Induction toolkit  Values-based recruitment

December 3, 2025Episode 1850 min

S5 E10: Supervision – it’s not a tick box exercise

Caroline Cosh, registered manager of Outstanding-rated Clifton Homecare, talks to us about the importance of looking after her workforce. This includes person-centred staff supervision through direct observations, one-on-one meetings, and mentoring, with a focus on understanding and compliance. Caroline also talks to us about the benefits of having a diverse staff team, emphasising the benefits of a multicultural workforce, creating a supportive culture,  and even starting her own ‘Do you care?’ podcast.    Resources Care workforce pathway - Career and development Supervision

October 29, 2025Episode 1741 min

S5 Ep9: Kindness is a superpower

Dawn Stott, a consultant specialising in kindness, resilience, and ethical leadership, discusses the importance of fostering a kind and supportive work culture. She emphasises the importance of integrating kindness into organisational culture, particularly in recruitment, and using culture questionnaires to tailor training. She is a huge advocate for self-care, mentorship, and psychological safety to foster a supportive work environment. Dawn also talks about her five pillars of kindness which are GREAT - generosity, respect, empathy, action, and trust which are crucial for building resilient, empathetic teams. Resources: Culture toolkit RM webinar: Leading Induction for a positive workplace culture Registered manager membership, mentoring offer

September 24, 2025Episode 1646 min

S5 E8: I love audits

Hear from Adam Purnell, a Quality Assurance Manager at Bayswood Care Home who explains the importance of his role in ensuring compliance with regulations and improving care quality. He shares why knowing the regulations are so vital and how making actions SMART drives real change. He stresses the need for managers to focus on controllable factors, the importance of involving people in the auditing process, adapting audits to meet the needs of the service and how to develop effective action plans. Resources Providing evidence to the CQC webinar Managing a service   Developing new managers and deputies guide

June 25, 2025Episode 1552 min

S5 E7: I’m a CQC expert – by accident

ee talk to Louie Werth, Director of Care Research and CQC feedback expert! Louie discusses the importance of feedback in CQC assessments, how gathering and actioning feedback will improve your service and the quality of care you provide and the one question that the CQC will ask everyone. He shares how important it is that staff feel confident and prepared to give feedback to the CQC and suggests ways this can be done with regular training and practice. He also talks about how to set up surveys to gather feedback using the CQC quality statements to help structure survey questions, the benefits of conducting shorter surveys more frequently rather than one long survey, undertaking anonymous surveys to encourage honest feedback and the importance of having a separate process for handling complaints and compliments. Resources: Wellbeing Report 2025 Home - Care Research Managing a service CQC assessment eLearning

April 30, 2025Episode 1442 min

S5 E6: It’s good to connect

Listen to Kam Gill, Registered Manager at Walfinch Oxfordshire who talks about her role and involvement in the Oxford registered manager network. She emphasises the importance of connecting with other managers, your team and your local community. Kam highlights initiatives she organises like community events, exercise classes, and cultural activities to help foster local engagement and she shares the benefits of these community connections for both the service and the local residents. She also stresses the significance of recruiting and retaining the right staff, offering personal development plans, and maintaining open communication. Resources Regional managers network directory Social care managers Facebook group Career and development

February 26, 2025Episode 541 min

S5 E5: We want colleagues to take ownership of their careers

Listen to Nicola Airey and Justine Jones who talk to us about how useful they have found utilising the care workforce pathways within their organisation. Nicola, Head of Talent Development at the National Care Group, explains how the pathway helps identify staff's career aspirations and development needs, leading to increased professional qualifications and career progression. Justine, Registered Manager at Oak House, shares her positive experience with staff engagement and development through one-to-one career conversations. Resources Level 2 Adult Social Care Certificate qualification

January 29, 2025Episode 444 min

S5 E4: Outstanding does not mean perfect

Cheryll Champion, an ex CQC inspector working as a quality and compliance lead joins the podcast to talk about what she learnt as when her organisation was inspected under the single assessment framework, how she ensured that it was clear how the evidence linked to quality statement and the importance of knowing the regulations. Cheryll also speaks passionately about creating a culture that enable the people they support and colleagues to be themselves. Resources Local networks for managers Creating a positive workplace culture seminar Care workforce pathway for adult social care: overview - GOV.UK Home - The Care Workers Charity

November 27, 2024Episode 1350 min

S5 E3: The standard you walk past, is the standard you accept

Listen to Lindsay talk about her work for QCS and what she commonly sees in both 'good' and 'outstanding' services. She gives some great tips on effectively auditing and making improvements. We also talk about her passion project around falls based on best practice research around falls risk assessment and how a 'falls huddle' can make a difference. Resources Guide to improvement; Learning from accidents and events digital module External resources on the falls project Action Falls Train the Trainer Course | Action Falls Program | University of Nottingham Online Best practice to reduce risk in your care home using the ACTiON FALLS programme | QCS