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Herne Bay Manor joins forces with University of Kent and Leeds Beckett University to shape the future of care training
Herne Bay Manor has become part of a major new piece of research into how care home staff learn to deliver outstanding care — a three-year study led by the University of Kent's Centre for Health Services Studies, in partnership with Leeds Beckett University's Centre for Dementia Research, and funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).
The study — known to residents and families at Herne Bay Manor as “Learning to Care in Care Homes,” and published in full by the University of Kent and Leeds Beckett University as “Developing effective workplace learning environments in care homes” — is looking closely at how colleagues in care settings develop their skills day to day, with a particular focus on supporting residents with complex needs, including dementia. The wider project also involves the universities of Bournemouth, Leeds and Bradford, alongside the National Care Forum, and spans care homes across Kent, Yorkshire, East London, Bournemouth and the South-West.
The findings will be used to build and test a free, practical toolkit that care homes across the sector can use to support staff to learn and deliver good care more effectively — with the wider aim of improving staff confidence, job satisfaction, and ultimately recruitment and retention across a sector that badly needs it.
It's a rare opportunity for a care home to contribute directly to research that could shape training and practice nationally, and the team at Herne Bay Manor is proud to be one of the homes helping make that happen.
What the research involves
The fieldwork at Herne Bay Manor is led by researcher Vanessa Abrahamson from the University of Kent, who will spend time in the home over the coming months observing everyday life — in communal spaces such as the lounge and dining room, and, with individual consent, during moments of personal care.
The approach has been carefully designed with residents' dignity and choice at its centre:
Every resident has the right to opt out, at any time, with no effect on their care.
No names or identifying details are recorded.
Residents can withdraw their data from the study for up to two weeks after it's collected.
The research has full ethical approval (IRAS 343113) and has been reviewed and approved to take place in the home.
This isn't a one-off visit — it's the first stage of a three-year project building an evidence base that could ultimately benefit care homes and residents well beyond Kent.
Why it matters
Good care depends on good training — but how staff actually learn on the job, in the day-to-day reality of a busy care home, is surprisingly under-researched. As Professor Claire Surr of Leeds Beckett University's Centre for Dementia Research has put it, “learning in care homes tends to be shaped by many other factors including the workplace culture, leadership, resources and policies” — which is exactly what this study sets out to understand properly. By taking part, Herne Bay Manor is helping build a clearer picture of what genuinely helps staff grow into confident, skilled carers, so that future training across the sector can be shaped by real evidence rather than guesswork.
“We're really proud that Herne Bay Manor has been chosen for this study. Great care comes from great training, and we're always looking at how we can support our team to keep learning and growing. Being part of research that could shape how care homes train staff across the whole sector is something we're genuinely excited to contribute to.” — Mike Wilson, COO, Dunham Care |
What happens next
The research team will be a familiar, visible presence in the home over the coming months, and residents and families will continue to be kept fully informed throughout. Dunham Care will share updates on the study's progress as it develops — including, in time, insights from the toolkit it helps to create.
The “Learning to Care in Care Homes” study is run by the University of Kent's Centre for Health Services Studies in partnership with Leeds Beckett University, and funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research. Anyone with questions about the research can contact Vanessa Abrahamson at V.J.Abrahamson@kent.ac.uk or 01227 826506. To find out more about life at Herne Bay Manor, or to arrange a visit, get in touch with the team.
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