Training at Bluebird Care Bedford
Our people are at the heart of everything we do at Bluebird Care Bedford. We are passionate about providing the very best care and support to our customers to ensure they live well in the comfort of their own homes. To do this we believe that our team have to be trained to the highest standards and we encourage all of our team members to gain professional qualifications alongside their training.
Induction Training 
When a new member joins our team they
complete our induction training programme. We are very responsive to our new team members and we cover the subjects at a pace and style that suits them and any previous experience they may have. We have a blended approach to learning. This means that our training includes practical sessions, knowledge sessions, videos and online e-learning.
The Care Certificate
For those who haven’t had any experience in care before, they would compete The Care Certificate as part of their induction training. The Care certificate is a set of standards that all health & social care assistants work to in their daily working life. The Care Certificate gives everyone the confidence that anyone new to the health & social care industry has the same introductory skills, knowledge and behaviours to ensure the provision of compassionate, safe and high quality care and support.
The Care Certificate is made up of 15 standards:
- Understand your role
- Your personal development
- Duty of care
- Equality and diversity
- Work in a person centred way
- Communication
- Privacy and dignity
- Fluids and nutrition
- Awareness of mental health, dementia and learning disability
- Safeguarding Adults
- Safeguarding Children
- Basic Life Support
- Health and Safety
- Handling information
- Infection prevention and control
Example Training Programme (Full Time)
*Every member of our team is required to undergo full DBS screening and referencing before delivering care and support, if these checks haven’t been completed by week 5 then you will continue to shadow your colleagues until the checks are returned.
Throughout the 13 week induction & probation period you will receive regular supervisions with a member of our management team, where we will check in with you, find out how you are getting on with your new role and if you want any more training or support. As well as one to one supervisions, you will also be assessed in your new skills & knowledge during your care visits with customers.*Every member of our team is required to undergo full DBS screening and referencing before delivering care and support, if these checks haven’t been completed by week 5 then you will continue to shadow your colleagues until the checks are returned.
Continued Support & Development 
As part of our care assistant team we have care
mentors who will help you with learning your new skills and give you some practical tips when supporting our customers.
Once a member of our team has successfully passed their training & probation period we encourage them to further their knowledge and training by completing a QCF Level 2 or 3 in Health & Social Care, which is facilitated by our external training partner.
There are other courses available to study including but not limited to, Dementia Care, End of Life Care, Infection Prevention & Control and Stroke Awareness. If you are passionate about a specific area of care, we will support and encourage you to pursue that passion.
Continued Training
All of our team are required to refresh their mandatory training every 12 months, this includes subjects such as; Administering Medication, Moving & Handling People, Safeguarding, Health & Safety, Infection Control and Basic Life Support. This ensures our team are kept up to date with latest policies, procedures and legislation. It also gives our management team a chance to check that our team are working in a safe and appropriate manner and for our team members to provide feedback and ask any questions they may have around the individual subjects.
As well as QCF qualifications we also undertake a number of other training courses and workshops, designed to give our care assistant team a better understanding and insight into certain conditions and how to provide the best care and support. Some of these courses and workshops include The Virtual Dementia Tour, an immersive experience designed to give the attendees an idea of what it is like to live with Dementia.
We also have good links with local professionals such as the local NHS Stroke team who have delivered Stroke Awareness workshops. The local NHS Speech and Language team (SALT) deliver training sessions to our team members on swallowing problems and alternative feeding methods such as PEG Feeding. As well as the Parkinson’s nurse who delivers sessions on how to support those with Parkinson’s. We have also had a local Occupational Therapist/Physio Therapist deliver a number of falls prevention workshops with our team.
Management Training:
Every member of our management team receive training in Safeguarding, MCA, Health & Safety and GDPR.
Our Registered Manager, Deputy Manager and Care Supervisors are also fully trained in all subjects we expect our care assistant team to complete, this ensures that they are up to date with all relevant skills and knowledge to ensure that our customers continue to receive the high quality care and support they expect.
Our Registered Manager has completed her QCF level 5 in Health & Social Care Management and one of our Care Supervisors is currently studying towards her Level 5.
Other members of our Office & Management team receive role specific training. Our Deputy Manager, for example, is also fully trained on our electronic roster system and receives regular training updates. Our Recruitment & Marketing Coordinator has completed a number of online workshops with our Franchise Support Centre to stay up to date with the latest in recruitment processes, HR legislation and marketing activities as well completing training certificates with Google and Facebook.
