Care Providers
Tailored English language and communication skills programmes for health and social care workers.
Tailored English language and communication skills programmes for health and social care workers.
Communicating appropriately and effectively with patients, service users and colleagues in a care environment is challenging, particularly if English is not the carer’s first language. There are currently 390,000 overseas social carers working in direct care across the UK.
Misunderstandings can occur, for example when working with complex care needs or with those with dementia or hearing impairments. Dealing with upset or confusion is difficult, as is managing the concerns not only of the patient or service user, but also their families.
Cultural differences may also impact as overseas carers’ communication styles may differ from what patients and service users expect or are used to. This may be further exacerbated by regional dialects and idioms.
SLC courses – self-paced and tutored – support overseas carers in developing the communication skills and confidence to work effectively with service users and colleagues across a variety of settings, from care and nursing homes to supported living to domiciliary care.
A short course targeting key everyday interactions such as mobility, personal care, pressure area care, pain management and mental health can make a significant difference – not only for the overseas carers but also those they care for, so greatly improving everyday care interactions and longer term care outcomes.
In the UK, overseas carers need a B1 level of English for their visa. This level is an intermediate level of proficiency and indicates that the user can understand the main points of what they read or listen to, write simple texts, converse on familiar topics such as family, hobbies, work and relationships, and travel independently.
While this is fine for basic everyday conversations, it is not sufficient to manage the more complex interactions described above and may therefore impact on standards of care provided. This is one reason why so many overseas carers need language and communication skills support.
SLC’s digital study materials and tutored courses improve the language and communication skills and confidence of healthcare support workers and social carers.
Online self-paced courses are taken on-demand and on any device, so making them easy and convenient to do. All study is recorded in detail so employers can evaluate engagement and progress.
Online tutored courses are adapted to the specific needs of the learners and reflect their working environment. Programmes are designed following level assessment and needs analysis, both from the individual learners and their employer. Lessons are scheduled when learners are available.
Tuition can be delivered to small groups of up to 12 learners or individuals. They can incorporate self-paced learning courses, so learners work on the course and then activate the language in lessons through role play, discussion, explanation and feedback.
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