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🌟 Nominate an Inspiring Individual! 🌟
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This week, we’re turning the spotlight on the individual awards as part of the 2025 East Sussex Care Awards. It’s time to celebrate the amazing people who go above and beyond every day to make a difference in care.
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Do you work with someone who stands out, shows exceptional dedication, or brings something truly special to their role? Nominate them today for one of the following individual categories:
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🏅 Aspiring Talent Through Learning & Development
🏅 Care Leadership Award
🏅 Care Newcomer of the Year
🏅 Care Worker of the Year
🏅 Excellence in Adult Social Care Nursing
🏅 Hidden Gem Award
🏅 International Excellence in Social Care
🏅 Outstanding Contribution to Social Care
🏅 Outstanding Unpaid Contribution to Social Care
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Let’s give our everyday heroes the recognition they deserve.
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📺 Hear more from Mike Bailey, Sussex Locality Manager at Skills for Care, in this short video – a passionate message on why nurturing aspiring talent is vital for the future of our sector.
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You Can Be the Nominator!
Did you know? Anyone can nominate someone for a Care Award—not just colleagues or employers. Whether you're family, friends, or someone they've supported, we welcome your nominations!
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Who Can Make Nominations?
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- People receiving care: Tell us about your carer(s) and the difference they make to your life.
- Family members: If your loved one receives care, tell us about the team or staff, not forgetting unpaid carers and volunteers providing it!!!
- Care workers: Nominate a colleague, manager, or your service for exceptional support and leadership.
- Care managers or owners: Highlight proud achievements of your staff and projects that made a difference.
- Visiting professionals (e.g. GPs, physio’s OT’s, nurses, social workers): Share how you’ve seen exceptional care delivered.
- Public and volunteers: If you know someone who goes above and beyond in social care, let us know.
- Self-nominations are also welcome!
- Basically…Anyone can make a nomination!
Full details including T&C’s can be viewed here
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This is your chance to shine a light on the individuals who make a real difference—whether it’s through their care, compassion, or unwavering dedication.
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Keep your eyes peeled for our Sussex Care Showcase Bulletin, Coming Soon!
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💡 Not a Gold Member Yet? Now’s the Perfect Time to Join!
For just £150, you can become an ESPiC Gold Member and receive free IHSCM membership — not only for you, but for your entire team — until the end of December 2025!
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Your Gold Membership includes:
✅ Free IHSCM Hub membership
✅ Access to expert-led learning
✅ Invitations to exclusive events and workshops
✅ Tools, resources, and support tailored for social care leaders
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Invest in your growth and empower your team today!
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Manor Group Consulting has expanded its consultancy
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We have already got specialist consultants in place to support providers with their CQC compliance, governance and oversight. We’re excited to announce that we are now offering specialist financial Consultancy Services tailored exclusively for providers within the network.
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Running a care business is demanding and keeping the finances under control is critical to your success. That’s where we come in.
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- Payroll support
- Invoicing & Billing
- Cash flow Management training
- Management Accountancy
- Staff Training Compliance & Record Keeping
- Workforce Planning & Rota Support
Choose a Package That Works for You:
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- Weekly Support Packages
- Monthly Support Packages
- Flexible Hourly Consultations
Whether you need full financial oversight or occasional advice, Manor Group is here to support your care business every step of the way.
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To find out more or book a consultation, e-mail our management accountant consultant on:
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With the new immigration rules coming into force on 22nd July, many care providers are concerned about how these changes will affect overseas recruitment, sponsor licence compliance, and future staffing plans.
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To help care providers navigate these changes, Borderless is offering free 30-minute immigration consultations with their expert immigration team.
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These sessions are designed to help you:
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Understand what’s changing — and what’s not
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Check if your current and future roles remain eligible for sponsorship
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Prepare your HR and sponsorship workflows for compliance
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Avoid costly mistakes or last-minute refusals
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Take advantage of this free offer from Borderless — book your consultation today!
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HMRC National Minimum Wage Webinar for Care Providers in the SE region
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HMRC National Minimum Wage Webinar for Care Providers in the SE region:
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30th September at 11am for 1 hour (including Q&A)
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National Minimum wage is more than just a pay rate, it is a calculation. Many employers aren’t aware of the factors that impact working time, pay and status for NMW purposes, some of it may surprise you. This session is designed to raise awareness of National Minimum Wage issues that are commonly found in HMRC’s NMW compliance checks.
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The session includes some practical examples as well as advice on how to rectify any identified issues before HMRC open a compliance check and signposting to additional support.
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New Immigration Rules – What They Mean for Care Providers
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Big changes to immigration rules came into force on 22 July 2025, with significant impacts for adult social care employers.
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The South East Social Care Alliance (SESCA) has published a clear update on what the changes mean for care providers, including:
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Which roles are now ineligible for sponsorship (including care)
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New salary thresholds and skill level requirements
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Impact on recruiting overseas care workers
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Key actions providers need to take now
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Risks to your sponsor licence and how to stay compliant
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Stay informed and make sure your recruitment practices and workforce planning are up to date.
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CQC – What does good look like and how do I get to outstanding?
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Tuesday 9 September 2:00pm – 3:00pm
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Join us on 9th September CQC – What does good look like and how do I get to outstanding? to review what good and outstanding ratings looks like.
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Head of Social Care Philippa Doyle will review compliance with the regulations to spell out how to ensure you demonstrate to CQC your service is worthy of a good rating. Jolena Bullivant-Clark, solicitor, will then take those good ratings to outstanding and give you an analysis of some recent outstanding ratings and what those services did to secure that green star.
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CQC are looking for evidence of a culture of excellence and innovation that meets and exceeds expectations. Whether you are looking to strengthen compliance and governance or aim for higher standards, this session will give you practical guidance on the way forward.
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Hempsons’ annual free trustee training – 3 online sessions in September and October 2025
Hempsons, who will be joined by HaysMac, charity accountants, will be sharing experiences of some of the governance lessons that charities have learnt over the last couple of years and as they have had to re-focus their strategy and priorities. These include an acceleration in decision-making and implementation. Organisational speed of response has been enabled by streamlined, focused delegation and greater board entrustment of staff and volunteers. Other efficiencies can include proportionate reporting to the board on the core areas they need to measure.
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The programme has been split into three separate sessions, which can be attended as a full programme, or individually, the sessions are interlinked and build on each other. It has been designed for charity trustees and chief executives, and is suitable for those new in post as well as the more experienced who are wanting a refresher. Our aim is to give practical tips to help improve your governance.
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Help Shape the Future of Adult Social Care – Share Your Views
East Sussex County Council (ESCC) is currently conducting important research into Adult Social Care (ASC) client payments, in partnership with the independent research agency Social Marketing Gateway (SMG).
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They’re looking to understand why some ASC clients pay their client contribution on time, while others do not – and what support can be put in place to help overcome any barriers to payment.
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If you work in the ASC sector, your insights are extremely valuable. Please consider taking a few minutes to complete this short, anonymous survey:
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The survey is completely confidential, and there’s an optional opportunity to take part in a follow-up interview if you’d like to share more detailed thoughts.
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If you have any questions, you can get in touch and we’ll pass them on to SMG, or contact SMG directly at research@smgateway.co.uk.
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Thank you for taking the time to contribute!
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Birdie Business Summer Camp – Free Webinar Series for Homecare Providers
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We’re excited to share a brand-new initiative from our sponsor Birdie: the Birdie Business Summer Camp – a series of free, live 30-minute webinars designed for homecare business owners tackling today’s biggest operational and financial challenges.
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Every Tuesday at 10:30am | 29 July – 26 August 2025
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Each session offers three clear, actionable strategies that you can implement straight away.
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💡 Why join?
✔️ 100% free – No costs or sales pitches
✔️ Expert-led – Live Q&A in every session
✔️ Practical – Walk away with 3 actions you can take immediately
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Support your care business with practical strategies that work – all in just half an hour a week!
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#Homecare #BirdieBusinessCamp #CareLeadership #CQCOutstanding #WorkforceSolutions #ESPICSponsors
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The most successful homecare providers have one thing in common - they use proven strategies to consistently attract private-paying clients.
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📅 Join us our partner Birdie for an exclusive lunch event for domiciliary providers:
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Wednesday 17th September | 11:30-14:30
Hilton London Croydon
What you'll learn:
✅ Master your customers' digital buying journey
✅ Craft a compelling elevator pitch that converts
✅ Discover Birdie's all-in-one solution for winning private clients
Plus you'll get:
📸 Complimentary professional headshots
🍽️ Lunch & networking
🎁 Take-home goodies
🅿️ Free parking
Limited places available!
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In October 2024 the Worker Protection Act 2023 introduced a legal duty for employers to take all reasonable steps to prevent harassment in the workplace. Now, the Employment Rights Bill is set to extend that duty further to include harassment from third parties like customers, clients and contractors.
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If your employees interact with the public in any way, this change directly affects you.
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To help, our Partner Citation has created a free toolkit that explains what the new rules mean for employers and the legislation around it.
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- Risk assessment guidance – everything you need to know to create both your sexual harassment and third-party harassment risk assessments
- Third-party harassment cheat sheet – a quick rundown of your new duty under the Employment Rights Bill
- A guide to the Worker Protection Act – preventing sexual harassment in your workplace
Citation is here to help with hands-on support for HR & Employment Law and Health & Safety making it easy to stay on top of regulations. For more information call them today at 0345 844 1111 or click here to get started. Don’t forget to mention ‘RCA East Sussex, Brighton & Hove’ to access preferential rates!
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Under the Worker Protection Act 2023, employers must already take all reasonable steps to prevent workplace harassment.
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Now, proposed changes in the Employment Rights Bill aim to extend that duty to include third-party harassment - from customers, clients, contractors, and more. It’s a major shift – and ignoring it isn’t an option.
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That’s why our Partner @Citation has put together a free toolkit to help you understand your legal responsibilities and take confident action.
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🗳️ Have Your Say: DHSC Consultation on Visiting in Health and Care Settings
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The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is seeking views on the proposed Regulation 9A, which would make visiting and accompaniment rights a legal requirement in CQC-regulated health and care settings in England.
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This consultation aims to strengthen the rights of people to be visited by, or accompanied by, someone important to them — including during future public health emergencies.
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📅 Consultation closes: 20 August 2025
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This is an important opportunity for providers, care staff, residents, and families to help shape future legislation.
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Sussex Digital: August 2025 Upcoming Events
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We’re excited to bring you a series of practical and essential workshops from the Sussex Digital in-Reach Team this August designed to support care providers with data security, digital compliance, and business continuity.
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Practical IT Skills Workshop – IT Systems and Devices
Date: Tue, 5 Aug 2025, 11:00
This unique session focuses on completing the IT Systems and Devices section of the Data Security and Protection Toolkit (DSPT). Get clear guidance on multi-factor authentication, device encryption, password management, securing mobile devices, private browsing, data backup, and system performance — with hands-on demonstrations.
👉 Book your spot
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Record of Processing Activities (ROPA) and Information Asset Register (IAR)
Date: Wed, 6 Aug 2025, 14:00
Learn how to meet your legal obligations under the Data Protection Act (2018) and GDPR by documenting and justifying personal and sensitive data with ROPA and IAR. Understand data flows, legal bases, and safeguarding practices for information held and shared within your organisation and with external partners.
👉 Reserve your place
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Securing the Supply Chain to Safeguard Care
Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2025, 11:00
Explore the crucial role of supply chain cyber security in health and social care. This session provides practical advice on assessing supplier risks, understanding cyber incidents’ impact, and maintaining DSPT compliance through best practices including contracts, risk assessments, and national frameworks like Cyber Essentials.
👉 Sign up here
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Business Continuity Plan – Cyber Attack Survival Guide
Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2025, 11:00
Prepare your organisation for digital disruptions with this hands-on workshop focused on testing Business Continuity Plans (BCPs). Learn to design realistic tests, document evidence, log remedial actions, and update your BCP to survive cyberattacks, power outages, internet failures, and more.
👉 Register now
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Don’t miss these valuable sessions to enhance your digital security and compliance this summer!
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Should parts of East Sussex be moved into Brighton & Hove? Have your say.
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We'd like your views on a proposal from Brighton & Hove City Council to expand into East Sussex.
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It is suggesting that Newhaven, Telscombe, Peacehaven, East Saltdean and Kingston could all be moved from the Lewes district of East Sussex into Brighton & Hove as part of the reorganisation of local government.
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This would conflict with the plan being developed by all six councils in East Sussex to form a single new council across our area.
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What do you think? We're working with Lewes District Council on a survey to get the views of people in East Sussex. We'd like to hear from everyone, especially those in the areas where Brighton & Hove City Council is considering expansion.
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Take the short survey now to have your say. It runs until 25 August.
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News from Skills for Care!
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Learning and Development Support Scheme (LDSS)- the Department of Health and Social Care has provided £12 million in 2025/26 to support adult social care employers to invest in learning and development for their staff, by providing a financial contribution towards the costs of training. More details can be found on the Government website with details on how to access the fund and eligible training courses. Skills for Care put on a webinar to show you how to access the fund, a recording of which can be found here: Learning and development funding for adult social care
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Organisations will continue to need to complete the Adult Social Care - Workforce Data Set (ASC-WDS) to access the LDSS. If you want to discuss the ASC-WDS or want help to set this up, please contact mike.bailey@skillsforcare.org.uk
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Care Certificate Updated and an additional standard included - An Awareness of Learning Disabilities and Autism standard has been added to the Care Certificate further information can be found here
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Your staff can also complete the Level 2 Adult Social Care Certificate, which attracts £1540 of funding through the LDSS. More information can be found here
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New Level 5 digital leadership qualification launched - the aim is to ensure adult social care leaders and managers have the skills they need to adopt digital innovations and new technology to help transform the sector. Further information can be found here
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Quality Assured Care Learning Service - DHSC has contracted Skills for Care to develop and launch a quality assurance (QA) service, to help you find high-quality learning. The service is intended to be a route to funding through the DHSC’s Learning and Development Support Scheme (LDSS). On our website, you can access a spreadsheet of all the training providers, courses and accredited qualifications that been quality assured through the new Quality Assured Care Learning Service. If you would like to find out more about the QA service for training providers, you can visit our webpage.
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This week’s MILE newsletter focuses on succession planning, a practical way to prepare for the future by identifying and developing team members who have the potential to step into leadership roles. Whether you lead a large service or a small team, planning ahead supports continuity of care and helps sustain a strong, consistent culture.
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Read the 4th August newsletter here:
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Other News in brief...
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Care England Responds: New Nursing Placement Strategy a Milestone for Adult Social Care
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The move will give student nurses structured, routine access to placements in residential care, supported living and home care settings — providing vital experience in community-based care and helping to shape the workforce needed for the future of health and care.
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AI in Care Homes: Supporting Summer Wellbeing and Heat Safety
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As temperatures rise, managing the risks associated with heat becomes a key priority in care homes. This week, we're looking at how AI can play a valuable role in protecting residents during periods of hot weather, supporting hydration, comfort, and safety.
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How AI Can Help During Hot Weather:
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Monitoring Indoor Temperatures
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AI-connected smart sensors can track room temperatures in real-time, identifying hotspots and alerting staff when conditions exceed safe limits.
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Helps ensure fans, air conditioning, or ventilation are used effectively to maintain a safe environment.
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Hydration Reminders and Tracking
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AI tools can remind staff to offer drinks regularly and monitor how much residents are drinking.
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Identifies patterns of dehydration early—especially helpful for residents with dementia or reduced thirst awareness.
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AI systems can analyse health data to identify residents most at risk of heat-related illness (e.g., those on certain medications or with specific conditions).
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Allows staff to prioritise support and cooling measures for the most vulnerable.
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Personalised Cooling Strategies
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Based on resident preferences and medical needs, AI can suggest tailored comfort measures—such as timing of outdoor activities, clothing choices, or cool snacks.
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Improves quality of life while reducing health risks.
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AI can assist with contingency planning, offering prompts for checking cooling equipment, ensuring supplies are in place, and coordinating care during heatwaves.
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Reduces the stress of last-minute planning and supports a proactive approach.
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Summer should be a time of comfort and enjoyment, not risk. With AI supporting care teams, it's easier to manage the heat while keeping residents safe, hydrated, and well.
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Events and Training
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More events have been added this week! Click here to view all upcoming events.
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Our Sponsors & Partners
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Click here to view our new and updated website with all our Sponsors!
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