over 100 registered users of online training
"It’s a great way for the whole housing management team to access all the information they need to know, from new starters right through to more experienced people. Experienced staff found it valuable…. Individual learners being able to decide for themselves when and where to access it was a real plus for them too." Area Housing Manager, Plymouth Community Homes.
Lemos&Crane online training courses develop essential knowledge of law and good practice for professionals working in social and supported housing.
The courses are appropriate for inductions as well as on-going staff development, for officers as well as managers, and for use individually as well as in group work. About 75% of all learners are officers and 25% are managers. 40% have general housing management responsibility (eg neighbourhood officers); 50% are specialists (with responsibility for rent, anti-social behaviour, or tenancies); and 10% are customer service staff.
CPD Certificates of Course Work are awarded to learners who having undertaken course work, complete the personal training needs analysis and the self-assessment questionnaire, which includes a review of the learning value of the course and a record of the CPD attributable number of hours spent.
CPD Certificates of Successful Completion are also awarded to learners who:
Throughout the course, progress is easily tracked and any sections that have not been completed are highlighted so the learner can quickly see what they still might need to do.
“I found the online training enjoyable and a change from traditional training courses which can be intense and things don’t always sink in.” Rent Officer, Coast & Country Housing
Click on a course title on the left for a description of the course and subjects covered.
Over 100 staff working in more than 50 social and supported housing organisations - housing associations, ALMOs and local authorities in England, Wales and Scotland - have used Lemos&Crane online training, including:
“I’m so happy – it does exactly what it says on the tin!” Business Improvement Manager, Brighton & Hove City Council
“We would recommend the system to others – we have found it to be a cost effective learning tool” Housing Income Manager, Newport City Homes
Online training provides a cost-effective means of improving housing management knowledge for all members of a housing services team. Online training is used to:
“The problem with external training courses is the time spent getting there, being there, getting back but with the online courses I’m still on site, ready to attend an emergency if necessary. So time-wise, it’s excellent.” Sheltered Scheme Manager, Brighton & Hove City Council
The cost of an annual subscription per course is:
“I’m a technophobe to be honest, but it was fine! I found it easy to follow.” Financial Inclusion Officer, Newport City Homes
Online training courses are for a wide range of staff and are used for improving skills and knowledge of existing staff; preparing staff for new responsibilities; refresher training and legal updates; filling in the gaps for more experienced staff; and induction training. Managers also arrange group activities to discuss the course case studies.
Before starting a course, in addition to reading introductory material about online study skills, members of staff complete a personal training needs analysis. The personal training needs analysis online questionnaire produces a self-assessment of the individual’s current level of knowledge and experience and identifies the approach and time they should take for the course.
“It’s excellent! It’s a good way to learn for someone who hasn’t got a background in housing management.” IT Officer, Brighton & Hove City Council
“Even if you’ve covered it before, it’s good to refresh things, getting good pointers and you don’t forget the basics.” Debt Recovery Officer, Newport City Homes
The workbook is a unique feature of Lemos&Crane online training. It’s always on the page as the course progresses, like someone might have a notebook by their side – except this workbook saves everything electronically and is easily retrievable and searchable. The notes in the workbook make a highly useful reference long after the course has been completed.
“I found it very valuable and interesting. I use a lot of the information I learnt in my day- to-day tasks, and sometimes refer back to the notes I made whilst doing the course.” Tenant Assistant, Coast & Country Housing
For individuals, the workbook is a record of their notes, queries and clarifications. Staff can compile their own notes and by cutting and pasting important points from the course pages and their organisation’s policies and procedures. They can note comments and queries as they arise to think about or discuss laterwith their colleagues or a manager.
“I found the Online Training enjoyable and a change from traditional training courses which can be intense and things don’t always sink in.” Rent Officer, Coast & Country Housing
The manager can also view learner’s saved workbooks and so can respond directly if appropriate.
“It’s user-friendly and not difficult to get into. It was positive that I didn’t have to waste time working out how to use it.” Income Recovery Officer, Newport City Homes
The course begins with the course tutor’s welcome page, which outlines the contents and learning outcomes. The welcome page also has a Documents You Need box, which sets out the organisation’s policies and procedures etc that will be needed for practical own-orgatnisation-related activities connected with the subject. These documents can be pre-uploaded in pdf format.
“It was good. I just logged in. It’s straightforward, you just follow the instructions.” Rent Accounting Officer, Brighton & Hove City Council
Each course is divided into topic pages. These pages have excellent readability standards and complex material is digested in bite-size portions. The most important points for learning and reflection are highlighted in a Key Points Box. All the pages can be viewed in high contrast or large-text size. The pages can also be listened to in an audio version with ReadSpeaker (at no extra cost).
“I liked that the eLearning can be worked through bit-by-bit” Tenant Assistant, Coast & Country Housing
Each topic page is followed by an activity page, which asks the reader to reflect on the content of the topic page and how it relates to the way things are done in their organisation.
At the end of each subject there is a review quiz. Each subject has five multiple-choice questions that test learners’ understanding of the previous pages. The learner is given a score out of 5 and also told which questions, if any, they got wrong. The quiz results (including how many times it takes to get all correct answers) can be viewed in the Management Information component.
“I like that you can complete the training at your own pace, and the review quizzes at the end of each subject are a good way for you to remember what you have read.” Enforcement Assistant, Coast & Country Housing
The whole of each course is reviewed through case studies where learners apply the learning from the course to real world practical scenarios (some of which are based on court judgments or Ombudsman rulings). They can be completed individually or also a group activity.
“I really enjoyed this method of training – the activities helped me engage with the course and apply the learning to real-life scenarios in the workplace. The review test at the end of each subject helped me assess how much I had learnt from the modules." Rent and Benefit Assistant, Coast & Country Housing
CPD Certificates of Course Work are awarded to learners who having undertaken course work, complete the personal training needs questionnaire and the self-assessment questionnaire, which includes a review of the learning value of the course and a record of the CPD attributable number of hours spent.
CPD Certificates of Successful Completion are also awarded to learners who:
Throughout the course, progress is easily tracked and any sections that have not been completed are highlighted so the learner can quickly see what they still might need to do.
“Our front-line - Tenancy and ASB Officers, Community Wardens and our Income Recovery Team found it challenged their thinking, increased knowledge and provided lots of good practice. It will really help to embed consistency.” Project Manager (Learning and Development), Havering Council Homes and Housing.
“We wanted everyone in the housing management team to complete the Online Training as it helps people find out what others in the organisation do. We’ve integrated it into training for all new team members, requiring that they complete the courses during their first 6 months.” Head of Tenancy Compliance, Coast & Country Housing
The Management Information is for line managers, learning and development managers and human resources managers. Here, managers will find information on staff activity, levels of effort and knowledge gained by staff using a course. In particular this information helps to identify:
This tab shows the names of staff that have been using online training, the subjects they’ve completed and when they did so.
For each staff member, this shows the number of subjects and case studies they have completed; the results for each subject review quiz; when the member of staff has worked on the course - we know from subscriber feedback that some staff complete their courses in their own time at home.
From this tab, managers can see at a glance the staff who have taken part, their average review quiz scores and how these compare with others.
The analysis download puts all the data from the staff and subject analysis into an Excel spreadsheet. This way data for large numbers of staff can be used and manipulated more easily. The Team Analysis spreadsheet allows a manager to see the data by team. The User Activities and Notes spreadsheet puts all the online workbook notes side-by-side so a manager can compare activity answers by staff.
There is of course no automatic access to the Management Information section. So this tab allows access to be granted to colleagues with line management or team leading responsibilities.
This tab shows managers the results and data for their own particular team members. Each staff name links through to their individual progress profile where the participant’s answers to activities and case studies can be viewed. Also managers can reply directly to any questions and comments.
Lemos&Crane has been providing information and guidance on law and good practice for social housing professionals since 1994. Our Online Training courses are written by an expert team of authors and presented in a highly engaging and accessible way, including:
Professor Caroline Hunter is a Professor of Law at the University of York Law School. She is also the Deputy General Editor of Journal of Housing Law and the Lawyer Chair of the Residential Property Tribunal Service.
Gerard Lemos is a partner and head of research at Lemos&Crane. He is the author of several books, reports and good practice guides on various aspects of social and supported housing. He is a former Audit Commissioner and a former Chair of Notting Hill Housing Trust.
Jane Petrie is the Course Leader for undergraduate housing students at Sheffield Hallam University. As a solicitor she has worked for housing users and a large local authority.
Peter MacMahon is a former Deputy Local Government Ombudsman. He has worked as a lawyer in local government and the voluntary sector.
Dr Helen Carr is Deputy Director of Teaching and Learning at the University of Kent Law School and the author of Law for Social Workers.
Professor Martin Partington has been a part-time chairman of social security appeal tribunals and was the social security editor for the Industrial Law Journal. He continues to write the UK entry on social security for theInternational Encyclopaedia of Law.
Professor Isobel Anderson is Chair in Housing Studies in the School of Applied Social Science at the University of Stirling, where she teaches on the MSc/Diploma in Housing Studies. She is on the International Advisory Committee of the European Journal of Homelessness, and is a board member of Scottish Homeless Action.
Joe Crawford teaches housing law on the University of Stirling’s MSc/Diploma in Housing Studies, and is currently completing a PhD on evictions in the social rented sector, also at Stirling University.
Regina Serpa is a Research and Teaching Assistant with the Housing Studies team at the University of Stirling and is a Research and Information Officer with the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations.
Paul Crane is co-founding partner and the publisher at Lemos&Crane. Paul has worked in general and legal book publishing both as a commissioning editor and publisher. Prior to initiating web development ten years ago, he published over 50 books and reports at Lemos&Crane.
The cost of an annual subscription per course is:
Tenancies
Professor Caroline Hunter is the main contributor for the online course on Tenancies. She is a Professor of Law at the University of York and Head of York Law School. She is also the Deputy General Editor of Journal of Housing Law and the Lawyer Chair of the Residential Property Tribunal Service.
ONLINE TRAINING COURSE MAIN CONTENTS
CPD Certificates of Course Work are awarded to learners who having undertaken course work, complete the personal training needs questionnaire and the self-assessment questionnaire, which includes a review of the learning value of the course and a record of the CPD attributable number of hours spent.
CPD Certificates of Successful Completion are also awarded to learners who:
Throughout the course, progress is easily tracked and any sections that have not been completed are highlighted so the learner can quickly see what they still might need to do.
“Our front-line - Tenancy and ASB Officers, Community Wardens and our Income Recovery Team - found it challenged their thinking, increased knowledge and provided lots of good practice. It will really help to embed consistency.” Loraine Ophelia, Project Manager (Learning and Development), Havering Council Homes and Housing.
Repairs
Repairs and social housing online training course Contributor-in-Chief is Jane Petrie. Jane Petrie is the course leader for undergraduate housing students at Sheffield Hallam University. As a solicitor she has worked for housing users and a large local authority.
ONLINE TRAINING COURSE MAIN CONTENTS
CPD Certificates of Course Work are awarded to learners who having undertaken course work, complete the personal training needs questionnaire and the self-assessment questionnaire, which includes a review of the learning value of the course and a record of the CPD attributable number of hours spent.
CPD Certificates of Successful Completion are also awarded to learners who:
Throughout the course, progress is easily tracked and any sections that have not been completed are highlighted so the learner can quickly see what they still might need to do.
“Our front-line - Tenancy and ASB Officers, Community Wardens and our Income Recovery Team - found it challenged their thinking, increased knowledge and provided lots of good practice. It will really help to embed consistency.” Loraine Ophelia, Project Manager (Learning and Development), Havering Council Homes and Housing.
Housing benefit & rent arrears
Professor Martin Partington has been a part-time chairman of social security appeal tribunals and was the social security editor for the Industrial Law Journal. He continues to write the UK entry on social security for theInternational Encyclopaedia of Law.
ONLINE TRAINING COURSE MAIN CONTENTS
CPD Certificates of Course Work are awarded to learners who having undertaken course work, complete the personal training needs questionnaire and the self-assessment questionnaire, which includes a review of the learning value of the course and a record of the CPD attributable number of hours spent.
CPD Certificates of Successful Completion are also awarded to learners who:
Throughout the course, progress is easily tracked and any sections that have not been completed are highlighted so the learner can quickly see what they still might need to do.
“Our front-line - Tenancy and ASB Officers, Community Wardens and our Income Recovery Team - found it challenged their thinking, increased knowledge and provided lots of good practice. It will really help to embed consistency.” Loraine Ophelia, Project Manager (Learning and Development), Havering Council Homes and Housing.
Anti-social behaviour
Professor Caroline Hunter is the main contributor for the online course on Anti-social behaviour. She is a Professor of Law at the University of York and Head of York Law School. She is also the Deputy General Editor of Journal of Housing Law and the Lawyer Chair of the Residential Property Tribunal Service.
ONLINE TRAINING COURSE MAIN CONTENTS
CPD Certificates of Course Work are awarded to learners who having undertaken course work, complete the personal training needs questionnaire and the self-assessment questionnaire, which includes a review of the learning value of the course and a record of the CPD attributable number of hours spent.
CPD Certificates of Successful Completion are also awarded to learners who:
Throughout the course, progress is easily tracked and any sections that have not been completed are highlighted so the learner can quickly see what they still might need to do.
“Our front-line - Tenancy and ASB Officers, Community Wardens and our Income Recovery Team - found it challenged their thinking, increased knowledge and provided lots of good practice. It will really help to embed consistency.” Loraine Ophelia, Project Manager (Learning and Development), Havering Council Homes and Housing.
Equality & fairness
Gerard Lemos is a partner and head of research at Lemos&Crane. He is the author of several books, reports and good practice guides on various aspects of social and supported housing. He is a trustee of London University, a former Audit Commissioner and a former Chair of Notting Hill Housing Trust.
ONLINE TRAINING COURSE MAIN CONTENTS
CPD Certificates of Course Work are awarded to learners who having undertaken course work, complete the personal training needs questionnaire and the self-assessment questionnaire, which includes a review of the learning value of the course and a record of the CPD attributable number of hours spent.
CPD Certificates of Successful Completion are also awarded to learners who:
Throughout the course, progress is easily tracked and any sections that have not been completed are highlighted so the learner can quickly see what they still might need to do.
“Our front-line - Tenancy and ASB Officers, Community Wardens and our Income Recovery Team - found it challenged their thinking, increased knowledge and provided lots of good practice. It will really help to embed consistency.” Loraine Ophelia, Project Manager (Learning and Development), Havering Council Homes and Housing.
Homelessness
Professor Caroline Hunter is the main contributor for the online course on Homelessness. She is a Professor of Law at the University of York and Head of York Law School. She is also the Deputy General Editor of Journal of Housing Law and the Lawyer Chair of the Residential Property Tribunal Service.
ONLINE TRAINING COURSE MAIN CONTENTS
CPD Certificates of Course Work are awarded to learners who having undertaken course work, complete the personal training needs questionnaire and the self-assessment questionnaire, which includes a review of the learning value of the course and a record of the CPD attributable number of hours spent.
CPD Certificates of Successful Completion are also awarded to learners who:
Throughout the course, progress is easily tracked and any sections that have not been completed are highlighted so the learner can quickly see what they still might need to do.
“Our front-line - Tenancy and ASB Officers, Community Wardens and our Income Recovery Team - found it challenged their thinking, increased knowledge and provided lots of good practice. It will really help to embed consistency.” Loraine Ophelia, Project Manager (Learning and Development), Havering Council Homes and Housing.
Allocations
Professor Caroline Hunter is the main contributor for the online course on Allocations. She is a Professor of Law at the University of York and Head of York Law School. She is also the Deputy General Editor of Journal of Housing Law and the Lawyer Chair of the Residential Property Tribunal Service.
ONLINE TRAINING COURSE MAIN CONTENTS
CPD Certificates of Course Work are awarded to learners who having undertaken course work, complete the personal training needs questionnaire and the self-assessment questionnaire, which includes a review of the learning value of the course and a record of the CPD attributable number of hours spent.
CPD Certificates of Successful Completion are also awarded to learners who:
Throughout the course, progress is easily tracked and any sections that have not been completed are highlighted so the learner can quickly see what they still might need to do.
“Our front-line - Tenancy and ASB Officers, Community Wardens and our Income Recovery Team - found it challenged their thinking, increased knowledge and provided lots of good practice. It will really help to embed consistency.” Loraine Ophelia, Project Manager (Learning and Development), Havering Council Homes and Housing.
Older peopleʼs housing
Peter MacMahon is a former Deputy Local Government Ombudsman. He has worked as a lawyer in local government and the voluntary sector.
ONLINE TRAINING COURSE MAIN CONTENTS
CPD Certificates of Course Work are awarded to learners who having undertaken course work, complete the personal training needs questionnaire and the self-assessment questionnaire, which includes a review of the learning value of the course and a record of the CPD attributable number of hours spent.
CPD Certificates of Successful Completion are also awarded to learners who:
Throughout the course, progress is easily tracked and any sections that have not been completed are highlighted so the learner can quickly see what they still might need to do.
“Our front-line - Tenancy and ASB Officers, Community Wardens and our Income Recovery Team - found it challenged their thinking, increased knowledge and provided lots of good practice. It will really help to embed consistency.” Loraine Ophelia, Project Manager (Learning and Development), Havering Council Homes and Housing.
Supported housing
Professor Caroline Hunter is the main contributor for the online course on Supported Housing. She is a Professor of Law at the University of York and Head of York Law School. She is also the Deputy General Editor of Journal of Housing Law and the Lawyer Chair of the Residential Property Tribunal Service.
ONLINE TRAINING COURSE MAIN CONTENTS
CPD Certificates of Course Work are awarded to learners who having undertaken course work, complete the personal training needs questionnaire and the self-assessment questionnaire, which includes a review of the learning value of the course and a record of the CPD attributable number of hours spent.
CPD Certificates of Successful Completion are also awarded to learners who:
Throughout the course, progress is easily tracked and any sections that have not been completed are highlighted so the learner can quickly see what they still might need to do.
“Our front-line - Tenancy and ASB Officers, Community Wardens and our Income Recovery Team - found it challenged their thinking, increased knowledge and provided lots of good practice. It will really help to embed consistency.” Loraine Ophelia, Project Manager (Learning and Development), Havering Council Homes and Housing.
Mental Health
Peter MacMahon is a former Deputy Local Government Ombudsman. He has worked as a lawyer in local government and the voluntary sector.
ONLINE TRAINING COURSE MAIN CONTENTS
CPD Certificates of Course Work are awarded to learners who having undertaken course work, complete the personal training needs questionnaire and the self-assessment questionnaire, which includes a review of the learning value of the course and a record of the CPD attributable number of hours spent.
CPD Certificates of Successful Completion are also awarded to learners who:
Throughout the course, progress is easily tracked and any sections that have not been completed are highlighted so the learner can quickly see what they still might need to do.
“Our front-line - Tenancy and ASB Officers, Community Wardens and our Income Recovery Team - found it challenged their thinking, increased knowledge and provided lots of good practice. It will really help to embed consistency.” Loraine Ophelia, Project Manager (Learning and Development), Havering Council Homes and Housing.
Adult safeguarding in social housing
Peter MacMahon is a former Deputy Local Government Ombudsman. He has worked as a lawyer in local government and the voluntary sector.
ONLINE TRAINING COURSE MAIN CONTENTS
CPD Certificates of Course Work are awarded to learners who having undertaken course work, complete the personal training needs questionnaire and the self-assessment questionnaire, which includes a review of the learning value of the course and a record of the CPD attributable number of hours spent.
CPD Certificates of Successful Completion are also awarded to learners who:
Throughout the course, progress is easily tracked and any sections that have not been completed are highlighted so the learner can quickly see what they still might need to do.
Customer Service foundation
The Customer Service foundation course Contributor-in-Chief is Jane Petrie. Jane Petrie is the course leader for undergraduate housing students at Sheffield Hallam University. As a solicitor she has worked for housing users and a large local authority.
ONLINE TRAINING COURSE MAIN CONTENTS
CPD Certificates of Course Work are awarded to learners who having undertaken course work, complete the personal training needs questionnaire and the self-assessment questionnaire, which includes a review of the learning value of the course and a record of the CPD attributable number of hours spent.
CPD Certificates of Successful Completion are also awarded to learners who:
Throughout the course, progress is easily tracked and any sections that have not been completed are highlighted so the learner can quickly see what they still might need to do.
“Our front-line - Tenancy and ASB Officers, Community Wardens and our Income Recovery Team - found it challenged their thinking, increased knowledge and provided lots of good practice. It will really help to embed consistency.” Loraine Ophelia, Project Manager (Learning and Development), Havering Council Homes and Housing.
