What inspired the creation of Mindset in Social Care? Our flagship programme, Mindset in Education, has proven impact in supporting school staff to help children change how they feel about their ability and how they deal with problems and setbacks.
Building on this experience and track record, and through conversations with partners during and since the Independent Care Review and publication of The Promise, Winning Scotland have supported residential and care staff through Mindset in Social Care, a pilot programme designed specifically to increase care staff's knowledge of growth mindset and in turn support young people to achieve all they can in life. Who are we working with? Developed in partnership with the Promise Partnership Fund and with support from the Corra Foundation and the Northwood Charitable Trust, the programme supported care staff to understand the concept of fixed and growth mindset and apply this to the care of young people.
This approach focused on supporting young people to create a love of learning, recognise wider achievement, build self-belief and share best practice whilst strengthening relationships between young people and care staff.
Who is the course for? Mindset in Care upskills the most significant adults in a child’s life to offer support and guidance at critical moments. Growth mindset is most pertinent when a person is struggling - knowing how to overcome setbacks and emerge stronger and more resilient will fortify young people already suffering with disruption and trauma, experiences that can significantly undermine confidence and learning ability.
COURSE OUTLINE
We worked closely with experienced leaders and practitioners from the sector to develop a high quality and relevant programme. They included:
Fiona Low (Dundee City Council, education officer responsible for care-experienced and vulnerable persons/edge of care)
Bobby Jones (independent coach/consultant and network coordinator for Champions Boards across Scotland on behalf of The Life Changes Trust)
Jimmy Paul (Director or WEALL Scotland, formerly CELCIS)
Heather Coady (independent consultant focused on system-change)
We would love to hear from you if you would like to learn more or get involved! Get in Touch with us.
pilot programme - evaluation report
The Growth Mindset in Social Care pilot programme (2022-23) was built on previous positive experience of training teachers in growth mindset principles.
The programme was highly rated by participants indicating that it was relevant and valued, with 91.5% of participants stating that growth mindset principles had relevance to their area of work, meeting the needs of this diverse professional group.
'Within my 15 years of working in social care, this is one of the most interactive and informative pieces of training I have undertaken.’ Residential Care Worker
Participants considered how well the learning transferred into their working practice, stating that 74%of learners on the course transferred their learning into the workplace. Participants attributed 71% of the improvement in their practice directly to this programme, a high rating, given the group were experienced to begin with. Other responses included:
7% improvement in Knowledge and practice of ‘The Promise’,
9.6% improvement in mental wellbeing of care staff,
12,7% improvement in parental/ carer self-efficacy,
5.7% improvement in participants’ perceived ability to manage role-related stress.
