July 29, 2025
Hi $[FNAME|Customer]$ Book your place at our Autumn Conference
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29 July 2025

Click here for details of how to join our members WhatsApp group.

     

WMCA Excellence in Care Awards - Nomination window closes this Friday  1st August

The nomination window will close on Friday, so if you haven't done so already, time is running out to get those nominations in!


WMCA Autumn Providers Conference:

Taking your social care business forward in an uncertain world

Thursday 2nd October 2025

9.30am - 3.00pm

Portway Lifestyle Centre
Newbury Lane

Oldbury
B69 1HE


Discover strategies to elevate your social care business in an ever-changing landscape.

Join us at "Taking Your Social Care Business Forward in an Uncertain World" to gain insights, best practices, and networking opportunities that will empower you to navigate challenges and seize new opportunities.


Don't miss this chance to future-proof your organization and make a positive impact.


Register now!

     

NEW:

Verbal Intervention Training 

(train the trainer)

Thursday 25th September
9:30am - 4:30pm
Dudley Canal and Tunnel Trust,
501 Birmingham New Road
Dudley, West Midlands DY1 4SB

WMCA has teamed up with the Crisis Prevention Institute to offer this unique training course.


Give your staff the skills to identify, respond to, and verbally de-escalate challenging behaviour in a safe, hands-off way with Verbal Intervention   Training.

     

The Care Sector Power-Up: 

Plan Smart, Go Green, Get Funded!

Thursday 7th August 2025

10.30am - 2.00pm

Online


Care Sector Resilience: A Free Day of Expert Webinars Join us for a focused day of free, expert-led webinars designed to help care providers strengthen their services and plan for long-term success.


The event will cover four key topics tailored to the needs of the care sector:  Business Planning · Artificial Intelligence · Finance · Sustainability

     

Click for a full list of our upcoming events

International Recruitment Webinar:

Get ready for the Employment Rights  Bill (part 2 of 3)

Student nurses set for skills boost through new adult social care placements

Student nurses will have more routine access to adult social care training placements in their nursing degrees, as part of a  new national strategy launched today  (Wednesday 23 July).


The move aims to encourage more students to pursue a career in adult social care and give them valuable skills in care closer to patients’ homes, as the government shifts care from hospital to community under its Plan for Change.


The new strategy will embed adult social care placements into nursing degrees, giving students first-hand experience of working with services that help prevent unnecessary hospital admissions. Social care placements are currently not routinely offered to students.

     
Fair Pay Agreement for Adult Social Care Webinar Recording

On Tuesday 15 July 2025, Skills for Care was joined by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to share an overview of the Fair Pay Agreement (FPA) for adult social care.


During the webinar, colleagues at DHSC explained what a FPA is, why it is being introduced and what this means for the sector. Details about the Employment Rights Bill and how this provides the legislative framework for FPAs were also shared. The webinar explored how the Government has been engaging with the sector so far, and ways in which those working in adult social care can get involved, including plans for a public consultation later this year.


A recording of the webinar is now available for you to view. 

     

For all the latest news and updates relevant to the social care sector, check out the "News and Info" section of our website.

Windows 10 approaching end of life

act now to stay secure!

Microsoft will officially stop supporting Windows 10 on 14 October 2025. After this date, there will be no more security updates, bug fixes, or technical support.


For adult social care providers, this raises serious data security risks – and it’s crucial to start planning now.  Digital Care Hub have published a short guide to the changes.

They are also putting on a webinar on the 2nd September on how to transition step by step to Windows 11

     

New advice from The Digitising Social 
Care programme on guidance for 
providers using AI

Digital Care Hub   have developed guidance for adult social care providers on the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Social Care.   


It includes top tips for us on AI and how artificial intelligence is being integrated into care delivery to enhance both administrative efficiency and the quality of support provided to individuals.

 

 

     

Need Help completing the DSPT?

West Midlands Care Association is your local Better Security Better Care support organisation, and offers a raft of online resources, workshops and one to one support to help you complete the DSPT, all of which is FREE  to CQC registered providers. Click the button for more info

 

 

     

Our Partners

     

West Midlands Care Association  enquiries@wmca.care  01384 943000

 
West Midlands Care Association | Globe House Park Lane Halesowen B63 2RA
West Midlands Care Assication 
Authorized representativeCEO  |  Email addressenquiries@wmca.care  |  Phone

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July 29, 2025
Published July 2025 (data correct as at 2024/25) Skills for Care have launched their annual report on the size and structure of ythe care workforce This provides the most up-to-date and comprehensive overview of the size and structure of the adult social care sector and workforce in England. A short, written report is available: download a copy of the report here. The methodology for this year’s report has changed from previous years. Adult social care related roles employed by the NHS are no longer included in the headline statistics for the size of the adult social care workforce. This change has been applied retrospectively to previous years, so the trends in this report are consistent. Comparing figures from this report to previous reports will not produce a valid trend. Also, our estimates for the number of filled posts in the independent sector now come from our automated data pipeline. This has resulted in substantial improvements to our estimates over time and some figures have changed as a result from previous versions of this report. For further information, see our statement.  To download the data behind the visualisation below, including trended information, please see the Workforce estimates page.
July 24, 2025
Student nurses set for skills boost through new adult social care placements
July 23, 2025
What is happening with the Fair Pay Agreement for adult social care webinar On Tuesday 15 July 2025, Skills for Care was joined by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to share an overview of the Fair Pay Agreement (FPA) for adult social care. During the webinar, colleagues at DHSC explained what a FPA is, why it is being introduced and what this means for the sector. Details about the Employment Rights Bill and how this provides the legislative framework for FPAs were also shared. The webinar explored how the Government has been engaging with the sector so far, and ways in which those working in adult social care can get involved, including plans for a public consultation later this year. The event concluded with a Q and A A recording of the webinar is now available for you to view.
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