In Warwickshire, International Recruitment Lead Lynn Bassett has built a practical, face-to-face support offer that helps providers manage risk, stay compliant, and keep international care workers safe, informed, and work-ready.
Lynn works incredibly closely with Coventry City Council to organise face-to-face events as many people working in Warwickshire live in Coventry and vice versa.
Their approach blends legal access, hands-on advice, targeted training, and cross-agency problem-solving.
Lynn says,
“We are conscious our care providers are operating in a shifting landscape: policy changes, inconsistent practice, inspection pressure, and workforce uncertainty. International colleagues are feeling the strain too, navigating visas, employment rights, driving and insurance rules, and day-to-day expectations in care settings. Our goal is to do what we can to reduce uncertainty where we can and convert lessons learned into clear, usable support.”
Here are some of the things Warwickshire County Council are doing to support care providers and international care workers…
Weekly drop-ins for international care workers with guaranteed legal access
- Co-delivered with Tulia and Coventry City Council, at Central Hall, on Thursdays.
- International care workers are guaranteed time with a legal adviser and the team signpost to employment support.
Rapid, practical help when people are in crisis
- On occasion, immediate welfare support has been provided, for example food provisions, while formal routes are put in place.
Targeted training that fits real care work
- English Language and Culture Training for Social Care: Sector-specific communication, including everyday language used in care.
- Values-Based Training: A four-part webinar series delivered with Tulia. These focused on:
- The Values and Principles of the UK: This explored the core British values, Democracy, Rule of Law, Individual Liberty, Respect, and Tolerance – and their role in professional caregiving.
- What is the UK?: This online training session explored the UK’s geography, nations, and diversity – and their impact on fostering inclusive and respectful professional environments.
- Understanding Cultural Intelligence (CQ): This online training session explores Cultural Intelligence (CQ) and how it enhances the care provided to elderly individuals in the UK, including those from ethnically diverse backgrounds.
- The UK Government, Law, and Your Role as a Carer: This online training session explored the UK Government, legal framework, and the responsibilities of carers working within the care sector.
- Cooking for care contexts: Lynn and her team are in the process of organising some practical, face-to-face, sessions focusing on safe, culturally aware, client-pleasing meals and presentation. These are being designed and delivered in response to provider and care worker feedback.
The goal is to support international care workers in developing the practical skills needed to meet client expectations around food and presentation, while also creating opportunities for them to connect with one another, build confidence, and reduce the isolation that can come with working in more rural areas.
- Ready-to-use resources to can share with teams
- Social care slang guide: This is designed to bridge real-world language gaps in homes and the community. We include an article about this below.
- Dictionary of social care terms: The team are in the process of developing this to support accurate recording and confidence with clinical and common social care terms.
- Seasonal safety briefingsfor staff: Lynn and her team share seasonal safety briefing that can be shared with international care workers. These include, the importance of hydration in summer; winter driving kits; year-round vehicle checks and “what to keep in the car.
How providers can engage today
- Refer international care workers living in Warwickshire or Coventry to the Thursday drop-insat Central Hall (Coventry) for guaranteed legal advice plus local employment support.
- Share the resourceswith your teams (the slang guide is available now and the dictionary will follow).
- Book onto the next police webinarand cascade the driving/insurance guidance into your supervision and onboarding (information to follow).
A note on partnership
Lynn highlights the importance of building great partnerships. She says,
“None of this works without collaboration. Tulia’s community leadership, local police expertise, provider openness, and the lived experience of international colleagues are all central in making sure we deliver practical support that works.”
