Training for carers
Adult Care training for carers
Derbyshire County Council Adult Care's training team provide free training for unpaid carers. Courses include First Aid, falls prevention and awareness of conditions such as dementia and autism. The team also provide moving and handling training where you can learn safe techniques to prevent injury and have the opportunity to 'try out' new pieces of equipment.
Please call tel: 01629 531492 for further information. You can search for an upcoming course on the Derbyshire County Council (DCC) website and use the 'external application form' to apply online.
Derbyshire Carers Association (DCA)
As part of the Derbyshire Carers Support Service, DCA offer training for carers, including free moving and handling courses and First Aid sessions. Please contact DCA on tel: 01773 833833 or visit their website to find details of upcoming courses. DCA are arranging the course venues around carers - so if you're interested get in touch to see if DCA can arrange a course in your area.
First Aid courses
As a carer it may be useful to know the basics of First Aid in case of an emergency.
Derbyshire Carers Association offer free First Aid courses around the county. Tel 01773 833833 to register your interest in future courses.
Derbyshire County Council offer First Aid courses through their adult education centres. You can search for a course online. The 'general adult education' section below has further details of charges and concessions.
The British Red Cross offer both daytime and evening First Aid courses at venues including Nottingham and Sheffield. The courses cost approx. £40.
The Red Cross also has an eLearning program where you can learn about the basics of First Aid.
Live Well With Dementia
The Living Well With Dementia programme is offered to people who are in the in early stages of dementia and their carers/families. The six/seven week programme offers help and support in coming to terms with a dementia diagnosis, gives practical advice on living well with dementia and offers support for carers, including coping skills and help to understand the roles of different organisations and professionals. The programme runs at venues across the county:
- North Derbyshire - programme information leaflet or tel: 01246 515458
- South Derbyshire and Derby - programme information leaflet or tel: 0115 9071440
To access the programme you can speak to your GP, social worker or another NHS worker and ask to be referred.
Living With a Long Term Condition
The Living with A Long Term Condition (LWLTC) course is available for anyone living in Derbyshire who has one or more long-term health conditions such as asthma, arthritis, Multiple Sclerosis (MS), depression, diabetes, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), heart disease, sickle cell, HIV, ME/chronic fatigue, chronic pain or any other condition. The course is also available and has proved to be beneficial for carers of someone with a long term condition.
The course is designed to support and encourage participants on how to live better with their health condition and improve their quality of life. LWLTC is a free 6-week course that can help a person to take more control of their health by learning new skills to self manage their condition on a daily basis. The course focuses on what a person can do, rather than what they can’t. Each session is one day a week and lasts two and a half hours and refreshments are provided.
General Adult Education
Derbyshire County Council run a variety of adult education courses at venues across the county. Courses include computers, English, maths, cookery and even wine tasting! The Adult Education microsite lets you search for courses.
Courses are charged at different rates depending on the curriculum and whether the course has an examination or accreditation element, but you may be able to get a discount if you have a Gold Card or claim certain benefits.
You may also be able to use a carer personal budget to pay for course fees or a sitting service to look after the person you care for while you are doing the course.
Online Training
There are a wide range of eLearning courses that may interest carers.
Caring for Adults
Open Learn's Caring for Adults is a free introductory course for anyone in a caring role, either paid or unpaid. It builds on what you already know to give you a better understanding of your role as a carer. It also supports your own well-being by giving you some ideas and information about looking after yourself and dealing with stress.
Carers UK Online Nutrition Course
Carers UK have worked in collaboration with Nutricia to develop a free online course about nutrition. The course aims to help carers understand the role of nutrition both for yourself and for the person you're looking after.
Online Training for Dementia Carers
Derby University offer a free online course called Bridging the Dementia Divide: Supporting People Living with Dementia. This course looks at partnership between services and carers to provide seamless care for people living with dementia.
Future Learn have a variety of free courses about dementia that can be accessed at any time.
Joined up Care Derbyshire have developed a Delirium awareness training pack. The online training takes around 30-40 minutes and is aimed at everyone, carers and professionals, in an effort to spread information about Delirium and dementia.
Social Care Institute of Excellence's free online dementia eLearning course hasn't been updated since 2009 but still contains lots of useful information.
The Alzheimer's Society's Dementia Friends programme is the biggest ever initiative intended to change people’s perceptions of dementia. It aims to transform the way people think, act and talks about the condition. So far nearly 2 million people have become a Dementia Friend by attending an information session or completing the eLearning course. You can find a session in your area on the Dementia Friends website or complete the online training.
