Using this APPP Resource

This section provides a summary of how to use this Central Bedfordshire Council Adults Policies, Procedures and Practice (APPP) resource and its main features.

Contents

• Structure of the Resource
• Navigation
• Accessibility Options
• Using the APPP Resource on Mobile Phones and Tablets
• Adding Shortcuts to the APPP
• Resources
• Reading Confirmation
• Chapter Feedback
• ePractice
• Quick Reads and Audio Summaries
• CQC Quality Statements
• Amendments
• Date of Next Revision
• Search
• Print
• Copyright

Structure of the Resource

This site is divided into different sections. On the home page there are a number of tiles:

• Local Adult Social Care Policy & Practice Guidance – this section contains local policies and practice guidance information;
• Housing Services Policy & Guidance – this section has Central Bedfordshire Council Housing Services Policy & Practice Guidance;
• Commissioning & Contracts – this section has information for Commissioning and Contracts within Social Care, Health and Housing;
• ASC Guidance Resources – which contains policies, procedures and practice guidance for Central Bedfordshire Adult Social Care;
• Safeguarding, MCA, DoLS (LPS) – this section has safeguarding, mental capacity, Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards and Liberty Protections Safeguards information for Central Bedfordshire;
• AMHP & EDT Protocol – this section has a joint practitioner protocol for AMHP (Approved Mental Health Professional) and EDT (Emergency Duty Team) practitioners to support you in your day to day roles (for professionals);
• Performance & Evidence Based Practice – this section has Central Bedfordshire information to support local practice;
• Useful Links – which has links to the most commonly used local and national web pages for Central Bedfordshire Council staff;
• Professionals Working Area – a professionals working area for Central Bedfordshire..

When you are in the ASC Guidance Resources section, there are a number of tabs on the left side of the screen when viewed on larger screens or by clicking on the lined box in the top right corner on smaller screens (such as phones or tablets):

• Home contains the introduction page of the ASC Procedures section. It also includes Using this APPP (this page) which gives information about using this site, and Register with Us to receive notification when this APPP is updated.
• COVID-19 contains links to key coronavirus resources for Adult Social Care.
• Contents contains the policies, procedures and practice guidance chapters. These are divided into sections which can be viewed by clicking on the arrow on the right of ‘Contents’;
• Resources provides a range of relevant supporting information (see below). The different sections can also be viewed by clicking on the arrow on the right of ‘Resources’.

Navigation

It is easy to find your way around this APPP resource. There are four tabs along the top. Hover your cursor over one, and a drop down list will appear with each named section / page. Click on the one you want and it will take you to the specific information you require.

When you are on a section / page, the remaining contents list for that tab is accessible via the buttons below. You can either click on one of these, to go to the next section you want, or you can use the back / forward arrows in the top left next to your address bar or the page up / page down buttons on your key board.

Accessibility Options

This portal has a number of different options to aid online reading. Using the ‘Accessibility’ drop-down menu on the left-side of the screen, you can change to green, blue or pink backgrounds, yellow text on a black background or you can return to the default setting.

You can also resize the website by pressing CTRL and + together to make the site larger, you can keep pressing this to increase the zoom level. Pressing CTRL and – together makes the site smaller. This is a feature built into your web browser, known as in-browser zooming, and so depending on the browser you’re using the controls may be different.

In addition, the site is designed to be accessible for users of text only and screen reader software programs which allow blind or visually impaired users to read the text that is displayed on the computer screen with a speech synthesizer or braille display. Our content is consistently structured, including headings, which makes using the software on our site easier. Also, when viewed though screen reader software, every page has a ‘Skip to main content’ link which allows software users to go straight to the main content of that page instead of receiving the full navigation options every time. Please share this information with blind or visually impaired colleagues.

Using the APPP Resource on Mobile Phones and Tablets

This resource works well on internet enabled mobile phones and tablets by typing in the weblink in the internet address bar. When used on a mobile phone, the website will immediately convert into a mobile phone friendly version, where the tabs sit behind the Menu button. If it does not work straightaway, tap on the refresh circle in the address bar.

If your phone or tablet has a reader option (it may be an ‘R’ or say ‘Reader’ in the address bar, you may have to install it), tap on it and it will convert the text into a more easy to read version for phones or tablets.

Adding Shortcuts to the APPP

You can easily access the APPP by installing a shortcut on your device, which will directly open up your internet browser to the APPP site. You can do so using the following methods:

• on desktop / laptops: go to the homepage of the APPP portal website in your internet browser, then bookmark it using your browser’s bookmark feature. Open your browser’s list of bookmarked websites and drag the APPP bookmark onto the desktop of your device;
• on smartphones / tablets: open the APPP portal website in your internet browser. If you are using an Android device, please click the three dots and select ‘add to home screen’;
• on iOS / Apple: select the share icon, select the share icon  scroll down the page and select ‘add to home screen’.

Resources

The Resources section contains a number of links and documents to supplement the information in chapters. It includes

• Briefings – written by the Policy Partners Project and our associates to reflect current issues or recently released research reports;
• Case Law and LGSCO Reports – contains information about recent case law and reports from the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman;
• Case Studies – populated by case studies from the Care and Support Statutory Guidance;
• CQC Assessment Framework – information about the assessment framework which the CQC will use to inspect providers, local authorities and integrated care systems;
• Easy Reads – links to easy read information for people with care and support needs;
• ePractice – quizzes which you can complete to test your understanding;
• Glossary – definitions and key terms used;
• Jargon Buster – definitions of Care and Support terms, written in plain English, from Think Local Act Personal (TLAP);
• Legislation – links to relevant legislation;
• Statutory and National Guidance – links to national guidance, particularly from ADASS, LGA and SCIE and inquiry reports;
• Organisations – links to websites for relevant national organisations;
• Provider Resources – links to guidance and other information and national organisations who provide services and support to provider services;
• Quick Reads and Audios – summary versions of chapters, in audio and text formats.
• Safeguarding Adults Reviews and Inquiry Reports – links to significant SARs and inquiries.

For ease of use, if you can open the resource in two tabs next to each other you can click on the Resources section to consult related resources without leaving the chapter you are reading.

Reading Confirmation

This form enables Adult Social Care staff to confirm they have read specific chapters in this APPP. This is useful for newly employed staff as part of their induction, supervision, CPD and for team discussions for example.

When you complete and submit the form, you will receive an email confirming this which you should save and add to your personal development file. The information will also be accessible by your manager.

Chapter Feedback

You can provide feedback on whether you found this site useful by using the ‘Was this helpful?’ tool at the bottom of each page. If you found the content useful, select the ‘yes / thumbs up’ image, or if it was not helpful, you can select ‘no / thumbs down’. You will be given the option to provide additional feedback / comment. Any feedback you provide is anonymous.

ePractice

Some key chapters in this Portal have epractice questions at the end, which help you test your understanding of the subject and can be used to provide evidence for your continuing professional development. This is the full list of ePractice chapters.

At the top of the questions are some fields about who you are (name and email address) as well as where to send your results. It also asks for your manager’s email address, but the email that goes to them will not tell them anything about your results, or a pass / fail status, only that you have recently completed the questions.

The questions are straightforward to answer. Some will only allow for a single choice of answer, for example true or false, and others have checkboxes which allow you to tick as many as you feel apply.

Once you reach the end just click on the blue’ Submit’ button to send in your answers. All questions must be answered before you can do this. You will automatically be taken to a detailed results page, showing you how you did and explaining the answers further. You’ll also receive a copy of those results via email, as well as a certificate of completion should you pass.

Quick Reads and Audio Summaries

Some chapters have summaries (Quick Reads) and Audios which provide key information for staff who do not need to know the full detail of the chapter. They can be found at the top of the relevant chapter. A full list can be found in Quick Reads and Audios, in Resources.

CQC Quality Statements

At the top of relevant chapters, we have added Quality Statements from the CQC Assessment Framework for local authorities.

The local authority commitments are included to help staff understand the service the CQC expects a ‘good’ local authority to provide. Written as ‘we statements’ they set out the commitments that local authorities should live up to in order to deliver truly person-centred care and support.

Statements about what people expect are taken from Making it Real which was developed with adults who have lived experience of adult social care, to capture what good, person-centred care looks like to them. These statements are included to help staff understand what a good experience of care looks and feels like from the perspective of an adult who is in contact with the local authority.

Amendments

If you want to make any changes to chapters please first contact Caroline Tate, Policy and Performance Officer, Business Development Team who is the contact In Central Bedfordshire Council for this resource. The chapter you wish to amend must be copied into Word and amended using track changes. Making Changes to Chapters tells you how to make changes in the way we require.

With each revised edition of your APPP resource, we indicate which chapters are new or have been updated. This information is available in the table below and at the top of each chapter.

April 2025

November 2024

Date of Next Revision

This site is regularly updated. If you sign up to receive email notifications from us (see Register with Us), you will automatically be informed of new chapters that have been published and changes to existing chapters.

Search

On the home screen, type in the word or phrase you are looking for in the ‘Search’ facility and press ‘Enter’. It will bring up a list of all the chapters where it appears. Click on the one you want. The word / phrase will remain highlighted in the chapter.

To make sure the search results more accurately reflect what you are looking for, you can add inverted commas (also known as speech marks) to the word or term you are looking for, for example “safeguarding” or “adult safeguarding”.

If you want to search for specific text within a chapter or a pdf document, you can also press ‘Ctrl’ and ‘f’ together. A box will appear in the top right of your screen. Type in the word / phrase you want to find and press ‘Enter’. The number of times it appears in the chapter will be displayed next to your word. Use the up and down arrows next to it to find all the references.

Print

This resource has been designed to be used online. If you print a chapter, for example to take to a meeting, please note it is valid for 72 hours only from the date it was printed. Whilst APPP resources are usually updated every six months, there may be occasions when they are updated urgently as a result of a Safeguarding Adults Review or inspection recommendation, so it is important to be sure that you are using the most recent copy. This is why we recommend that if you have to print a chapter, you no longer refer to it after that time.

Please remember that the resource can be also accessed on mobile phones and tablets (see Using the APPP Resource on Mobile Phones and Tablets).

Copyright

The chapter content in this resource can be accessed, downloaded and printed unchanged, on a temporary basis. Any content printed or downloaded may not be sold, licensed, transferred, copied or reproduced in part or in whole in any manner or format without the prior written permission of Policy Partners Project Ltd.