The session is not designed to turn Board members into technical experts on qualification requirements or workforce processes. Instead, it focuses on what Boards need to understand, what they should expect management to have in place, and the questions they should be asking to provide effective oversight and challenge.

We will look at both parts of the Standard: the mandatory qualification requirements for senior housing roles and the wider requirement for people delivering housing services to have the appropriate skills, knowledge, experience and behaviours. We will explore how these requirements connect to workforce capability, learning and development, professional behaviours, organisational culture, resident influence and the management of service providers.

A particular focus will be on assurance. Having policies, training programmes and qualification plans in place is important, but these do not in themselves demonstrate that the Standard is being achieved. The session will consider the information Boards need to understand whether arrangements are embedded and effective – including workforce information, service performance, complaints, resident feedback, quality assurance and organisational learning.

What it will cover:

• What Board members need to understand about the Competence and Conduct Standard and its place within the consumer regulatory framework
• The Board’s role in overseeing implementation of the Standard – and the distinction between Board oversight and management responsibility
• Mandatory qualifications – the key requirements Boards need to understand without getting drawn into detailed role or qualification assessments
• What assurance Boards should seek that roles have been identified appropriately, qualification requirements are being managed and progress through the transition period is on track
• How Boards can gain assurance that the wider workforce has the skills, knowledge, experience and behaviours needed to deliver good-quality services to residents
• What Boards should expect from the organisation’s learning and development arrangements, including how capability is maintained, performance is reviewed and concerns are addressed
• The Board’s role in overseeing professional behaviours and organisational culture – including whether the behaviours set out in the Code of Conduct are reflected in everyday practice and resident experience
• How resident influence, complaints and feedback can provide Boards with important evidence about competence, conduct and culture
• What Boards need to understand about competence and conduct within service-provider arrangements and how to gain proportionate assurance over services delivered on the organisation’s behalf
• The difference between activity and assurance – moving beyond training completion, appraisal rates and policies to understand whether arrangements are actually working
• The information Boards should expect to receive, the questions they can ask and the evidence they can use to challenge and assure themselves that the Standard is being met
• How Boards can maintain effective oversight as qualification implementation continues and competence and conduct arrangements become embedded across the organisation.

Who should attend?

This session is designed for Board members and non-executive directors of housing associations, local authority housing services, ALMOs and other social housing providers.

It will be particularly useful for Board members who want a clearer understanding of their governance responsibilities under the Competence and Conduct Standard, the assurance they should expect from management and the questions they should be asking as implementation becomes embedded.

Why should you attend?

The Competence and Conduct Standard creates important new expectations around workforce competence, professional behaviours and qualifications, and Boards have a key role in ensuring their organisation can demonstrate compliance.

This session will help Board members understand where their oversight responsibilities begin and end, what good assurance should look like and how to move beyond activity measures such as training completion and qualification plans.

Delegates will leave better equipped to challenge constructively, interpret the information presented to them and gain confidence that competence and conduct arrangements are not only in place, but working effectively for residents.