Week 4 is all about putting residents at the centre of your 2026 plan

You’ve reflected, looked at your workforce and taken a calmer look at compliance. Now it’s time to bring everything back to the heart of your service: the people you care for and their daily lived experience.

In busy services, it’s easy for days to turn into task lists. This week is about slowing down just enough to ask: What does life actually feel like here? And how can we make 2026 feel more like “home”, not just “service”?

Compliance can feel like a constant pressure: inspections, audits, paperwork, action plans that never quite get finished. It’s easy for it to become something we dread, rather than a structure that supports safe, high-quality care.

This week is about taking some of that heat out of compliance. We want to step into 2026 with a realistic understanding of where you stand, a short list of high-impact actions, and a few simple routines that keep you inspection-ready without burning everyone out.

You are not trying to fix everything in a week. You are creating a calmer, more confident relationship with compliance.

Last week you took a step back and reflected on your 2025 story. You looked at data, listened to staff, brought in resident and family voices, and chose 2–3 focus areas for 2026.

This week we’re moving to the foundation of everything: your team and your rota.

You can have the best plans in the world, but if your staffing is unstable, your rota is fragile and your team is exhausted, those plans will stay on paper. The aim is not a magically “perfect” rota, it’s a people plan that is visible, stable and resilient enough to carry you through the realities of 2026.

That’s where your VSR Rota mindset becomes central to your HR strategy:

There’s something powerful about a new year – but I’m a big believer that the real fresh start happens before the calendar flips. If you wait until half way through January to start thinking about 2026, you’ll probably be doing it when you’re already tired, short-staffed and reacting to day-to-day fires.

This series is about getting ahead of that.

Over the next six weeks, I’m walking you through a simple, structured “Head Start to a Fixed 2026” so that by the time January arrives, you’re not staring at a blank page. You’ll already know what worked in 2025, where the pressure points are, and what you want to focus on in the year ahead.

This first Week is all about Reflect, Reset & Move with Momentum.

You can’t plan forward intelligently if you haven’t looked back clearly. This isn’t about beating yourself up for what didn’t get done. It’s about taking an honest, balanced view of 2025 so you can carry the learning – not the baggage – into 2026.

Today we’re talking about SAF—but with a twist. I know as a Registered Manager, when you hear SAF, you immediately think of the CQC Single Assessment Framework and that’s exactly what we’re focusing on in the SAF Sprint.

But I also like to think of SAF as something else—Simple, Achievable, and Focused—because that’s the key to actually making progress instead of feeling overwhelmed.

So, today, I’m going to walk you through:

✅Why a 30-day SAF September Sprint is a game-changer

✅The 6 benefits of tackling SAF in short, focused bursts

✅How to use 3 key “We Statements” to guide your focus

✅And… I’ve got a special workbook to help you take action!

You can grab it below from the show notes.

September Sprint

On paper, your care home runs like clockwork: everyone up early, meals on time, tasks ticked off but what if that “smooth” shift is actually hiding small but serious compromises to dignity, choice, and genuine person-centred care?

In this episode, I share why I get nervous when I see services that look too efficient and how the push to keep things running on time can quietly squeeze the person out of the process.

🤔 Dreading a difficult conversation at work? You’re not alone. Most Registered Managers I know don’t enjoy conflict.

We’re often natural people-pleasers, wired to keep the peace, but avoiding hard conversations doesn’t make the tension go away… it just pushes it below the surface. 🧱

This week’s newsletter shares what I’ve learned (often the hard way!) about leading tricky conversations with calm, clarity and compassion 💬❤️

If you know someone who’s sitting on a conversation they don’t want to have… pass it on. We’ve all been there and these tips might just help.

Turning Goals into Real Progress with OKRs

In this episode of Managing Care Quality, we’re talking about why so many care home goals quietly fizzle out—and how OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) can help you turn good intentions into real, trackable progress.

I’ll explain:

✅ Why KPIs alone aren’t enough to drive improvement

✅ How OKRs give your team clarity, focus, and shared purpose

✅ The difference between measuring outcomes after the fact vs. creating the actions that make them happen

✅ Practical examples of OKRs you can use in a care home setting—from reducing falls to improving care planning compliance

By the end of this episode, you’ll see how OKRs and KPIs work together:

If you’ve ever set a goal and watched it quietly fade away, this episode will give you a simple, structured way to keep your team aligned and moving forward with clarity.