Association of Social Care Communicators’ Conference - 22 and 23 September 2010
The Association of Social Care Communicators’ Annual Training Conference and Communications Awards is the main event for social care communicators across the UK. It’s a time to network, pick up new skills and be inspired!
With the implications of ‘Our Health, Our care, Our say’, the division of work between adults and children’s services and the closer working with the NHS still in the spotlight, being well informed is a key skill to keep up with the changes. Financial pressures mean that organisations are having to make sweeping changes too.
Communication is always at the heart of any reforms and being able to deliver this effectively is what the public, service users and their families and our own staff, come to expect.
Programme
This year’s ASCC Annual Training Conference has a lively programme that:
- Covers Adult Social Care Policy Issues;
- Looks at Strategic Social Marketing;
- Gives an understanding of the size of change taking place in both adult services and children’s services;
- Updates on the LGA Reputation Campaign Review;
- Will give feedback on progress with structural changes to ASCC itself, to better serve it’s member organisations. This follows the successful question and answer session at previous events;
- Provides a good mixture of nutshell sessions on ‘how to’ do the job; and
- Allows plenty of networking, sharing ideas in the popular ‘information swapshop’ and celebrating best practice through the annual awards ceremony.
Topics include:
- Readability - How to write so that everyone can read
- Feedback on the questionnaire to Directors of Children's Services in England on communications and marketing activities
- The new Ofsted: joining up with Adult Learning Directorate
- Cutbacks and communications
- Informed Residents - Joint Needs, Joint Solutions
- Adult Social Care Policy in England Priorities for 2010/11 and beyond
Click here to download a full timetable (PDF file).
To find out about previous conferences, including speakers presentations to download, visit our members area. If you are not already a member, you can join online from our homepage.
Speakers
Plenary Sessions
- Peter Hay, Strategic Director, Adults & Communities Birmingham City Council - Adult Social Care Policy Issues
- Ian Farrow, Director LG Public Affairs - LGA Reputation Campaign Review
- Clive Blair-Stevens, Director of Strategy & Operations at National Social Marketing Centre - Strategic Social Marketing
Workshops
- Jan Novitzky and Anne O’Grady, Programme Directors, National Institute for Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) - How to produce readable materials: using clear English in the workplace
- Paul Ainsworth, Communications and Customer Relations Manager Cambridgeshire County Council - ASCC recently sent a questionnaire to all Directors of Children's Services in England seeking information on how communications and marketing activities are currently organised in their departments. The workshop will report the results and consider the messages for ASCC in particular and children's services communications in general.
- Lisa Pascoe, Principal Officer, Ofsted - The new Ofsted: joining up with Adult Learning Directorate.
- Lynne Clifford , Chair ASCC - Cutbacks and communications. Providing good communications during a recession matters for three main reasons. The internal and external environment in which council communication teams operate has changed dramatically over the last year. The recession is impacting more on some councils’ communications than on others. There is not a common pattern to the problems that councils are facing. But most are experiencing a demand for information about services and several are finding that their relationship with the local media has changed.
- David McConnell, Stakeholder Relations, NHS Choices - Informed Residents:Joint Needs, Joint Solutions
- Allen Manning, Stakeholder Engagement Coordinator DH - Adult Social Care Policy in England Priorities for 2010/11 and beyond
Fees
Residential rate
ASCC Members £350 Non-Members £450.
This includes
- Accommodation for Wednesday night.
- Lunch on Wednesday and breakfast and lunch on Thursday, plus the conference dinner on Wednesday evening.
- All other refreshments and the use of the hotel’s facilities.
Partners can stay free of charge on Wednesday night but will have to pay for any meals or facilities that they use. Please tell us in advance if you plan to bring your partner.
Non-residential rate
ASCC Members £200 Non-Members £300
This includes
- Lunch on Wednesday and Thursday
- Conference dinner on Wednesday evening.
Dates and venue
The event starts with registration at 10.30am on Wednesday 22 September 2010 and finishes at 3.10pm on Thursday 23 September at The Hallmark Hotel, Derby.
The Midland Hotel, next to Derby Train Station, has been completely transformed to emerge as Hallmark Hotel Derby, a 4 star boutique-style hotel. You are assured of a warm welcome by a team of staff passionate about making your stay special. For more information and to plan your journey, visit The Hallmark Hotel website.
Booking
To book your place, just fill in and submit the online form. If you are a member of ASCC you just need to select your name from the members directory and this will add your details to the form for you. You will just need to complete the rest.
Bookings close on Friday 20 August 2010.
Awards
The ASCC Awards recognise best practice in social care communication throughout the UK. The awards are a chance for all social care communicators to promote their best work.
The categories for the 2010 awards are the same as last year and include a new category of ‘Project on a budget’. Any communication channel is acceptable.
Go to Awards section for more information and how to submit your entry. The closing date is Friday 30 July 2010.