Open Badges

Learning and Development with support from SSSC (Scottish Social Services Council) will be offering the opportunity for staff to apply for open badges relating to the learning they have experienced.

Open Badges are online virtual badges and are used as an alternative to paper certificates. Open Badges can capture virtually any learning experience including formal or informal learning, unaccredited or extra-curricular learning, which all works towards your continuous professional development (CPD) or Post Registration Training and Learning (PRTL).

Open Badges make it possible to link the evidence and assessment required to achieve the badge, it tells the reader what the badge is for, what you had to do to earn the badge (either attend a learning event and/or provide evidence of your learning) and who awarded the badge ... and much more!

Open Badges

The Learning and Development team has decided to accredit their learning with Open Badges for a variety of reasons:

To support and acknowledge learning across a wide range of different settings which could include learning sessions/training, events, conferences and development sessions with teams and managers;
To support and encourage learners to reflect on the implementation of their learning following the experience they engaged with – we will do this with the different levels of badges, Bronze, Silver and Gold.
Support learners CPD, PRTL and ERD requirements for registration and professional development and provide evidence of learning in discussion with their managers;
To support a learners visible progression of their learning via the use of different levels of badges;
Engage learners to be more enthusiastic about their learning and support a culture of personal and professional responsibility for their own learning;
To support our team vision to provide “ ... the best learning experience” by using this creative method of learning.
In receiving feedback on the experience, work with learners to review effectiveness of learning sessions.

The Badge Levels

We have initially developed 3 levels of badges which we’ll start using for most of our learning (training) sessions. Further Open Badges will be developed for other learning events in the future.

When you attend a learning (training) session you will be asked to evidence your learning either through a written piece of work or any other way which feels comfortable to you. This may include a podcast, video or through a visual representation which reflects your learning.

The 3 levels of Open Badges are as follows:

Bronze - Participant

Participant - (Bronze)

There is no evidence required for you to achieve this Open Badge. All you need to do is register or log on to SSSC badges and apply for the badge provide us the day of the learning session that you attended.

But ... we do hope you will look at the Silver and Gold levels below which will demonstrate and evidence your learning in that particular area of practice.

Silver - Reflector

Reflector (Silver)

To obtain Silver - Reflector badge, you will be asked to submit a short written piece of work around 100 - 300 words (or submit any other evidence of learning which could include a video, podcast or visual representation of your learning), demonstrating what you have learned from the learning session, highlighting what were the most useful parts to you and your service.

Gold - Implementer

Implementer(Gold)

To obtain Gold - Implementer badge, you will be asked to submit a longer written piece of work (e.g. 250 - 500 words or a video, podcast or visual representation) of how you have implemented the learning into your practice, linking this with the Health and Social Care Standards

and the Health and Social Care Partnership's strategic priorities.

The badges will be softly introduced, starting with Handling and Moving refresher, Communication Awareness, Difficult Discussions Matter! and Promoting Excellence - Dementia Skilled. Other badges will be released slowly with aim that all learning will be recognised and badged.

Continuous Professional Development (CPD) / Post Registration Training and Learning (PRTL)

In addition to recognising and accrediting in-hoiuse learning, a possible benefit to the learner in achieving an Open Badge is that the reflective evidence used to meet the criteria of the badge, particularly the gold badge, may also be used to evidence their CPD or PRTL.

There is guidance from SSSC on preparing and publishing your evidence at this link and a our page on reflective practice and reflective writing with link to Angus college resource with examples.

If you can collect the evidence for different badges as you go this would also demonstrate commitment to your continuous learning. You can also share your badges through social media.

Register and Apply

All you need to register for open badges is an email address. It can a good idea to use a different email address to the one you use for your work, just in case you move or change jobs, though you will be able to change email address in your profile. By registering with for example, a personal email address, you’re still able to access and manage your badges at all time, irrespective of where you work, without having to update open badges profile.

There is a wonderful link from SSSC that guides you though 'how to get started' collecting open badges https://www.badges.sssc.uk.com/badges/starter/

To register, go to the SSSC Open Badges website here and fill in the ‘Register’ section.

Different organisations and badges will have different criteria to earn a badge. You may be asked to do an e-learning module, attend a conference or event, listen to a webinar and provide evidence of your learning.

Click here to see the wide variety of Open Badges on offer and what is required to earn your badge.

Badges from the Perth and Kinross Health and Social Care Partnership Learning and Development team will be added to on this list from 1st October 2018.

To learn more about Open Badges, click here to take you to the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) Open Badges web page.

You may want to begin by accessing SSSC guidance and working to collect their badge on 'Getting Started'