Aimed at staff members who want to take on more responsibility, our Champions programme is designed to make them feel more confident and fulfilled in their role.
Completion of the training means they qualify to become Champion of a specific policy area within the Shaftesbury service they work at, setting the bar high for best practice delivery.
Safeguarding, care planning and co-production, wellness, culture and inclusion, activities, infection control, and health and safety are all policy areas Champions can specialise in.
With retention rates in the care sector notoriously low, the ultimate goal is to motivate staff to uphold the best possible standards of care and enable people we support to flourish. Incidences of neglect or abuse within the sector are often attributable to lack of training, hence why Shaftesbury has long prioritised learning and development.
“We never want to be in a position where our high standard of care is compromised by insufficient training or high turnover of staff,” reflects Jane Percy, Executive Director for Care Operations.
“By investing in our people and helping them progress in their career, we improve retention rates which means better continuity of care,” she says.
The Champions training is just one of the career development opportunities available via our Learning Academy, launched in 2025 thanks to a corporate partnership. In-house provision was always the end goal to embed Shaftesbury culture and values more effectively and to help close the gap between top line policy and frontline delivery.
There are currently 140 Champions across Shaftesbury services, with more being recruited for the next cohort. The internal qualification requires 7hrs of virtual training and 11hrs of self-guided online learning.
“Becoming a Champion empowers staff to share what they know, amplify the voices of people we support, and lead by example,” says our Learning Academy Lead, Rachael Caunter.
It’s a win-win because Champions not only enhance Shaftesbury’s level of care, but give us another perspective of what’s happening on the ground – different to that of a manager who is overseeing the whole service.
“If staff lack knowledge and are looking for guidance on a specific issue, they are more likely to approach the relevant Champion with responsibility for that area. Managers are busy people who are not always present at delivery level,” says Jane.
Support worker, Zee has worked at Shaftesbury for almost three years and is currently a Team Leader in Gateshead, supporting people with disabilities who are living in their own homes. Having recently completed the training, she has become Care Planning and Co-production Champion at her service.
Zee describes the elevated role as “transformative” – she now feels better equipped to support her team and has introduced co-produced support plans and collaborative goal-setting at Shaftesbury Gateshead.
What Zee values most about the training was learning how to amplify every voice and avoid doing things for people we support, instead focusing on enabling their independence. She found the Champion learning “eye-opening and empowering”.
Gelly joined us as an Enabling Support Worker in 2024. Her passion for protecting vulnerable people and keeping them safe led her to qualify as safeguarding Champion for Shaftesbury Telford and Shrewsbury.
She’s now a key point of contact for colleagues, supporting them with safeguarding processes and sharing her knowledge. Gelly has a particular interest in supporting those who are non-verbal, ensuring their needs are recognised and respected.
Beyond their own services, Champions also play a vital role in strengthening practice across the organisation. They come together at quarterly meetings to network, share examples of positive change and to showcase the impact being made for people supported by Shaftesbury. It’s invaluable for Champions to learn from each other, reflect on challenges and turn the learning into sustained improvements in our care.
For more on our Learning Academy and how it has been extended to provide learning for people we support, click here.
(Featured image: Zee, Care Planning and Co-production Champion)