Dunley Hall Residential Home is an 18th century hall situated in Dunley, Stourport on Severn. Its focus is on retaining and homely environment and its philosophy is one of serving its residents’ needs.

In April 05 Dunley Hall Residential Home Manageress, Lizzie Flood, recognised the importance of offering her carers the opportunity to train – to develop them to their full capacity and the benefits which could be realized from doing so.

Kidderminster College was Lizzie Flood’s initial choice. In order to ensure the staff were put on the right level of qualification to suit their needs, all potential learners were given an initial assessment, following which a schedule was drawn up for further diagnostic testing to identify skills gaps - learning support was then further provided.

Some 25 employees embarked on the initial training programme – which equated to 2/3 of Dunley Hall’s workforce: 20 pursued NVQ Level 2 qualifications under the Employer Training Programme, 3 followed NVQ Level 3 as Adult Apprentices and a further 2 went on Apprenticeship programmes.

Lizzie wanted to give her employees the best possible teaching and learning experience so Kidderminster College were able to deliver the tuition in the workplace. This not only enhanced employee performance and knowledge, but it also considerably improved their confidence and self esteem.

College Assessors evaluated the candidates’ in ‘real work’, evidenced ‘rich activities’ and assessments began to measure staff against the required national standard…all seamlessly!

Tuition was delivered in-house and included: confidentiality, abuse, empowering the service user, infection control. It also included the added value training in such areas as First Aid, Moving and Handling, Food Safety and Anti-Discrimination Training. Training was completed in December 2005 – an amazing achievement in just 9 months.

Lizzie, herself an NVQ Assessor, had been fully involved in the implementation of the whole programme. Her motivation and enthusiasm have been both admirable and infectious, and extremely rewarding for all involved. The feedback from her staff has been excellent and they are justifiably proud and grateful for the opportunity to better themselves – indeed many of them now have further plans to continue the learning experience!

Dunley Hall and Kidderminster College epitomise a truly professional and rewarding partnership – a fine example of employer engagement in pursuit of a highly skilled and motivated workforce.