As part of our history of the 'Bluebird' trademark, it is interesting to see how the name has been adopted by so many companies internationally to describe their products or services. One such company in the UK is Bluebird Care Franchises Ltd (and other companies in a group), who claim to be one of England's leading providers of professional, high quality care in the home. They are said to have almost 200 franchise offices across the country, and deliver 19,500 visits to over 6,000 customers a day, equating to 30 customers per office and 3.25 visits per day, per customer average - which by any standards should make the client feel well cared for, but by no means reflects the number of people in the UK that require help in the home. Bluebird Care offer tailored care visits from 30 minutes to full live-in support.

FRANCHISE AWARD - A Stafford businesswoman who created nearly 30 local jobs at her care company in just six months has scooped a top national award. Sue Milakovic opened her Bluebird Care franchise earlier this year and now carries out 1,000 visits a week to older and vulnerable people. Now, she has beaten off competition from 95 other offices nationwide to claim Bluebird’s owner of the year award at the company’s annual conference in Warwickshire. Sue is quoted as saying: “The scale of demand for our care at home services in Stafford has been incredibly encouraging. The business continues to grow as Bluebird Care becomes more widely known in the area, creating even more job opportunities for local people.

COMPANY HISTORY

Paul Tarsey started the Bluebird Care business with his wife Lisa in 2004. Based in Hampshire, Bluebird Care have offices across the UK and Ireland and is said to be one of the UK’s fastest growing care at home businesses.

Bluebird Care claims to provide over 4.5 million care visits at home every year. That is roughly 12,500 care visits each day. The brand is said to be providing in excess of £70m of care each year in the UK alone in just 10 years of trading. Government initiatives are now backing the home care sector, meaning that BC should continue its rapid national franchise expansion.

Paul Tarsey - Managing director Bluebird Care

BLUEBIRD CARE THINK TANK SUBMISSIONS by Alexander Cavell, PR & Marketing Manager

What would an ideal home care workforce look like?

As a leading provider of high quality care in the home, Bluebird Care values the honesty, integrity and professionalism of its staff. It envisions that the ideal UK home care workforce would have three key characteristics: high standards of training and support; a reputation for career development; and a professional approach to delivering quality care.

* Ideally, every home care worker would be supported by structured training programmes that feature assessment and supervision in order to help foster expertise and staff development, in what can often be a demanding ‘frontline’ environment.

* The sector should offer care workers a rewarding career with the potential for progression and personal development. Ultimately it is important that care workers should be seen by the public, the media and policy makers as not only people that make a real difference to a vast amount of customers, but also
as a specialist and ethical workforce.

* A reputation of professionalism is paramount to an ideal care workforce. Upholding industry - wide standards with a focus on the delivery of the best level of service should be central to the work ethic of the care profession.

What keeps us from having that ideal workforce now?

* The current regulation of the care workforce fails to foster adequate training programmes at all levels, from visiting workers to leadership teams. There are, for example, no minimum educational training requirements that should be met before care workers start jobs in the sector. This has led to a high turnover of care staff across the industry, often leading to the delivery of inconsistent service and sometimes confusion for customers suffering with dementia.

* Furthermore, in some cases, care workers do not currently enjoy the support structures that they need to develop and progress in their careers. Better support for care workers across the industry is therefore desirable, be it through the provision of uniforms or by reimbursing mileage costs. This would ensure that staff are not left to shoulder the financial pressures of
the sector.

Recruitment and retention is a challenging issue for the sector, partly fostered by negative perceptions around the workforce which have meant that retaining and keeping staff motivated is more difficult as a result, with many care workers feeling undervalued despite the vital role that they play.

How can we get past existing barriers to achieve a workforce that can deliver high quality care in people’s homes?

* Principally, regulation of the care sector should be extended in order to establish a compulsory registration scheme for home care workers. This is currently the case in Wales, and will be implemented in Scotland by next year.

Currently in England, the Government relies on the Care Quality Commission’s provider register scheme as well as the work of the Disclosure & Barring Service but a compulsory register has been dismissed on the grounds that an additional layer of regulation on the sector ‘could not be justified’. 

Bluebird Care therefore suggests that the role of the Health & Care Professional Council could be extended to cover paid domiciliary care workers in order to raise quality standards across the sector.

* Alongside this, the training and monitoring of care workers could also be improved with the publication of a strengthened Code of Conduct that would regulate practices in the workforce.

Ideally this would take the form of a robust national benchmarking system with a wider reach than the best practice guidelines already set out in England, Wales and Scotland.

This formed one of the key proposals of the current Government’s Caring for Our Future: Reforming Care and Support White Paper published in 2012, though the industry continues to await its implementation.

* A Code of Conduct could subsequently be strengthened with regular reviews in order to ensure that current standards are being worked towards, risks are mitigated, and quality levels improved.

NHS Wales makes use of an effective guideline resource that could serve as a template, this being the Manual Handling Training Passport & Information Scheme which enables care workers to transfer the skills that they have learnt and developed from employer to employer. 

21st May 2014

BLUEBIRD CARE SPONSORSHIP

BC take an active interest in promoting good causes across the UK. 

CRICKET

In 2011 BC sponsored the Hampshire Disability Cricket team which is now known as Bluebird Care Hampshire Disability Cricket. The Hampshire Cricket Board has one of the most advanced disability cricket programs in the country. This project won the National Lottery Awards - Sports Category, televised on BBC1 in November 2011.

ROYAL NAVY

Bluebird Care supports the Royal Navy Football Association’s referees into a second season. Simon Dalziel, Bluebird Care Franchise Director is quoted as saying:

“We are delighted to confirm our sponsorship for the new season. With our office being close to the home of the Royal Navy in Portsmouth, we are pleased to show our support for the Navy. Sport has an important role to play for our Armed Forces.”

BC’s sponsorship provides training kit for the Navy’s referees and new kit for newly qualified referees.

Steve Vasey, the Secretary of the RNFA, is quoted as saying:

"Having support like this means we can train more referees, which means more games within the Service have qualified officials. That can only improve the standard of games.”

BOWLS

Bluebird Care (Lewes) began sponsoring their local indoor bowls club, Denton Island Indoor Bowls, in August 2010. The club, based near Newhaven, East Sussex is the most recent Bowls Club to be opened on the South Coast. The Club has a good mix of male and female bowlers and runs a large number of drives to provide good bowling opportunities.

A Director of the Lewes team, Michelle Johnson, is quoted as saying:

"We sponsor the bowls score board as well as the Ladies Five match, where other clubs come down to Denton Island for the one day match in March. We’re pleased to be able to support this local club, which provides a good activity and social location for those in the local community."

For more information visit: http://www.dentonislandbowls.org

FRANCHISE MAGAZINE - 'Franchising at its very best!' 

Award-winning Bluebird Care continues to grow. Bluebird Care is the UK's most experienced care franchisor drawing on over 40 years' care and franchising experience. We work closely with our franchisees to build their own business in a market worth some £20 billion annually.

Operating in the recession-resilient sector of care at home, Bluebird Care's proven business systems and procedures ensure not only top quality care provision but also a viable, profitable business format. 'You cannot replace experience,' states Franchise Director Simon Dalziel. 'Bluebird Care has plenty right across the provision of care and, importantly, franchising. Our franchisees have the benefit of this experience, which in turn is leading to their own success.'

Bluebird Care franchisees come from a wide variety of backgrounds - care experience is not required. 'Our training and support systems will provide our franchisees with the care business knowledge they need,' reflects Training & Support Manager Lorna Liney, 'and our proven business format provides the correct staffing structure.'

The Bluebird Care franchise network is now in England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and is expanding rapidly. 'We are very successful because we are very good at what we do,' concludes Simon. 'Franchising at its very best!'

SET TO CREATE 500 NEW JOBS IN 2009

As the UK's fastest growing provider of care at home, we are set to open 11 new offices during the first few weeks of 2009, creating up to 500 new jobs during the year. Just two years ago Bluebird Care had one office, but now the network has 40 trading across the UK and Ireland and reports an impressive month-on-month growth of 20 per cent in 2008, despite global recession.

Bluebird Care's rapid expansion can be attributed to a variety of factors, but mainly reflects public demand for professional care in people's own homes, based on personal preference and cost-effectiveness. It also mirrors Government policy, aimed at helping older people to stay at home where possible.

Managing Director Paul Tarsey reflects: 'We place our emphasis on value for money, professionalism and good old fashioned service! The principle of receiving professional care at home is far more cost-effective than selling up and moving into a residential home, which can cost up to £1,000 a week. Staying at home is also the favoured option for the vast majority of older or vulnerable people.'

BLUEBIRD CARE - INTERNATIONAL!

Bluebird Care's most recent franchisee training course saw a large contingent from our expanding Republic of Ireland Network training alongside their UK colleagues (pictured top page 62). New Bluebird Care Franchisee Graham Lewis, who operates in Huddersfield, says: 'I really enjoyed the training course and it gives me the confidence to develop my business using the tried and tested Bluebird Care methods. It was great having the Irish guys on the course too - it shows how far Bluebird Care has come in such a short time.'

Other UK attendees on the course were Linda Vaughan, who is joining Graham in Huddersfield, and Ian Barnes, who operates in the Shropshire area, based in Shrewsbury.

GOVERNMENT CARE INITIATIVE

Bluebird Care welcomes the Government's move towards Personalisation Budgets which takes another leap forward in April 2009 as yet more Local Authorities develop their plans in this exciting field. Personalisation Budgets see Local Authorities (via their Social Services departments) give their customers cash to purchase their own care, rather than the Local Authority purchasing it.

'This clearly opens up a whole new world for people who need care, because these people can purchase what they want, from who they want,' says Lorna. 'Because Bluebird Care has a reputation for quality we have found that the whole personalisation agenda has seen a significant influx of work, and we see the strengthening of this initiative as nothing but good news for Bluebird Care.'

ANNUAL FRANCHISEE CONFERENCE

Bluebird Care recently held its annual conference (pictured above) at the prestigious Stratford Manor Hotel near Stratford upon Avon. A busy day's programme included presentations from many areas of business and care and also included three presentations from franchisees who were keen to tell their own success story.

A notable presentation about the current economic climate was given by Richard Holden, Head of Franchising at Lloyds TSB. Richard was most complimentary about the Bluebird Care business and the impressive growth achieved in a short time. He further stated the Bank's commitment to the healthcare sector at a time where other areas of business were finding life difficult.

The mood of the conference was summed up by a quote from John Chambers of Bluebird Care (North Gloucestershire): 'A fantastic day full of interesting, relevant presentations and a great opportunity to network with fellow franchisees.'

Reported by Simon Dalziel

COMPANIES HOUSE (GROUP) DETAILS 2015

There are a number of companies using the same registered office address, apparently operating as part of a group; a typical business strategy where growth is anticipated. These are recorded at the Companies House website as public records and information that is freely available to anyone for review or research purposes and transparency as to ownership.

BLUEBIRD CARE GROUP COMPANY'S REGISTERED TRADEMARK DETAILS AS RECORDED AT THE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE IN THE UK AND EUROPE

There are a number of trademarks registered at the UK Intellectual Property Office. These are recorded at the IPO website as public records and is information that is freely available to anyone, such as is required for transparency as to ownership, and for research and review purposes.

MEET BBC FRANCHISEES - JOHN & JANE PERRY, BLUEBIRD CARE, EDINBURGH SOUTH

John and Jane started their business in Edinburgh in Summer 2008 and were recently awarded the coveted Newcomer of the Year award at the 2008 National Bluebird Care Conference. 'It has always been my ambition to run my own business,' says Jane, 'and once we had met the Team at Bluebird Care, I knew what I wanted to do and who I wanted to join! The training and support I have received has been first class and has given me the confidence to develop my business here in Edinburgh, where there is so much opportunity.'

John and Jane have plans for expansion too. 'We are looking to purchase the Edinburgh (North) territory and maybe even further afield as well,' she is quoted as explaining: 'Bluebird Care gives me the opportunity of working in a huge and growing sector providing a much-needed service and running a very profitable business.'

Paul Haylings (L) &'Chris Kendrick-Jones, Bluebird Care (Tamworth & Lichfield), Franchisees of the Year 2008

Our Franchisees of the Year, Paul and Chris have been trading for 20 months in their operating territory of Tamworth & Lichfield. A move into the care sector was a complete change of direction for them, as previously they had jointly run a successful printing business.

Chris explains: 'Things in the printing industry were becoming increasingly difficult so Paul and I decided to look at a total change. We looked at a number of franchise opportunities before Bluebird Care, but having met the team and recognised the opportunity the sector offers and the proven Bluebird Care business, we were keen to get going.'

And get going they have! Following a very successful year, they have just purchased their second franchise territory: 'North Warwickshire & Nuneaton. Adds Paul: 'Our business will grow very large indeed.'

FRANCHISING YOUR BUSINESS

If you're looking to grow your business, but cannot afford the time or cost to expand yourself, then franchising provides an excellent opportunity to expand with minimal risks and set-up costs. The advantages of franchising are for all to see; while up to 50 per cent of all small to medium enterprises (SMEs) fail within their first 12 months compared to less than five per cent that suffer the same fate that following the franchise model.

UK FRANCHISE INDUSTRY

The UK franchise industry is currently worth £13.7 billion and comprises of nearly 1,000 different franchise opportunities and over 40,000 franchise business units, according to the 2014 NatWest/bfa Survey.

For those wanting to know more about how to franchise a business, the Franchise Magazine site is a mine of guidance articles on how to approach this potentially lucrative system for expansion. Their guide to UK exhibitions, seminars and other events seeks to ensure that you have all the information you need to spot a world-beating business model.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT INFORMATION UNIT (LGIU)

The Local Government Information Unit (LGiU) is an award winning think tank and membership organisation with a mission to strengthen local democracy, to put citizens in control of their own lives, communities and local services - a tall order when it comes to improving standards in home care.

The LGIU team of policy experts and other staff provides practical policy advice, learning and development programmes, events and conferences, consultancy and other resources to their members and other organisations.

BLUBIRD CARE CONTACTS

The Head Office for Bluebird Care is based in Petersfield in Hampshire.

Bluebird Care Franchises Ltd 
Charles House, Charles Street
Petersfield, Hampshire, GU32 3EH

PR and Marketing Manager - Alex Cavell  alexcavell@bluebirdcare.co.uk

Franchising - Annetta Doyle  franchises@bluebirdcare.co.uk

Website:  www.bluebirdcare.co.uk

Telephone: 01730 260026
Email:        care@bluebirdcare.co.uk

FRANCHISE MAGAZINE CONTACTS

Franchise Development Services Ltd is
Registered in England, company number: 1592312
Their registered office is:

Franchise House, 56 Surrey Street, Norwich, NR1 3FD. 

Telephone: +44 (0)1603 620 301

LGiU CONTACTS

The LGiU
Third Floor, 251 Pentonville Road

Islington, London, N1 9NG

Telephone: 020 7554 2800

Email:        info@lgiu.org.uk

IN THE NEWS - According to Ed Miliband, three times more people are on zero hours contracts than in 2010. This was based on an Office for National Statistics survey which may only reflect increased awareness of zero hours contracts because they’re “big news”, not because they’re rising in numbers. Will Moy, director of Full Fact, said Miliband’s use of “epidemic” was unjustified. The latest official figures show just 2.3 per cent of the workforce are on the contracts. The point here is that these types of contracts are frequently exploited by employers, and for that reason even David Cameron was looking at the problem between 2013-2014.

ZERO CONTRACT HOURS

A few words on zero contract hours is justified in the context of the care industry and some firms that abuse workers rights, seeking to reduce overheads. In relation to employment law, Bluebird Care (Group) are one concern where the workers seem to be treated with more respect than with others companies who can be more ruthless in not ensuring continuity of hours available for staff, after holidays, for example. Looking after workers in this way is sure to reap rewards in terms of the quality of care one might expect, for which Bluebird Care are to be commended. We can say this because of independent feedback from nurses that may have worked for other companies - to be able to compare.

According to Wikipedia, a zero-hour contract (or low-hour contract) is the name given to a type of contract, where the employer purports to have the discretion to vary the employee's working hours, usually anywhere from full-time to "zero hours". The employer typically asserts that they have no obligation to provide work for the employee. The employee may sign an agreement to be available for work as and when required, so that no particular number of hours or times of work are specified. The employee is expected to be on call and receives compensation only for hours worked. Depending on jurisdiction and conditions of employment, a zero-hour contract may differ from casual work.

These clauses spread widely in the United Kingdom after the global financial crisis. They are often used in agriculture, hotels and catering, education and healthcare sectors.

Zero-hour contracts are controversial. British business leaders have supported it, stating that they provide a flexible labour market. They may be ideal for some people such as retirees and students who want occasional earnings and are able to be entirely flexible about when they work, On the other hand, under UK labour law they are of doubtful legality because it undermines the employee's reasonable expectation to a stable income. For people in the general working population, the risk of unpredictable hours and earnings can be high. Trade union groups and others have also raised concerns about the possibility of exploitation and the use of such contracts by management as a tool to reward or reprimand employees for any reason, or no reason, raises issues about how workers can adequately assert their employment rights or maintain decent employment relations. Indeed, we know of such cases with other service providers.

"United Kingdom Homecare Association Ltd (UKHCA) is the professional association of home care providers from the independent, voluntary, not-for-profit and statutory sectors. UKHCA helps organisations that provide social care, which may include nursing services, to people in their own homes, promoting high standards of care and providing representation with national and regional policy-makers and regulators. The Association represents over two-thousand members across the United Kingdom, in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

LINKS & REFERENCE

http://www.bluebirdcare.co.uk/

http://www.bluebirdcare.co.uk/

The Franchise Magazine bluebird care franchising at its very best

http://www.thefranchisemagazine.net/page/bluebird-care/franchising-at-its-very-best.php

Plymouth online directory Bluebird Care

http://www.plymouthonlinedirectory.com/kb5/plymouth/pod/service.page?id=580832AGjPI

http://www.lgiu.org.uk/

Franchise Direct Bluebird home care

Staffordshire Newsletter Whirlwind success Sues caring services

Care Quality Commission

East Sussex Information Accreditations Care Quality Commission

East Sussex Services Bluebird Care Lewes

http://gb-companies.com/biz/letchworth-garden-city-home-care-services-bluebird-care,449850

The franchise magazine bluebird care

Keep it mk health nursing homes bluebird care

ACAS zero hours
Wikipedia zero-hour_contract

http://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/574742/Labour-savaged-zero-hours-contract-economic-plans
http://www.acas.org.uk/zerohours
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero-hour_contract

http://www.thefranchisemagazine.net/page/bluebird-care/nszexv.php

http://www.keepitmk.com/h/health/nursing-homes/15302-bluebird-care.html

http://www.cqc.org.uk/

http://www.eastsussex1space.co.uk/Information/Accreditations#CareQualityCommission

http://www.eastsussex1space.co.uk/Services/442/Bluebird-Care-Lewes

http://gb-companies.com/biz/letchworth-garden-city-home-care-services-bluebird-care,449850

http://www.housingcare.org/service/ser-info-10223-247-bluebird-c.aspx

http://www.carechoices.co.uk/care-home/bluebird-care-bedford/

http://www.staffordshirenewsletter.co.uk/Whirlwind-success-Sues-caring-services/story-20163455-detail/story.html

http://www.franchisedirect.co.uk/news/home-care-franchises/bluebirdcare20100302/1642/5039/

http://www.lgiu.org.uk/

This website is Copyright © 2015 Bluebird Marine Systems Limited, save where information in in the public domain independently, or subject to media review.   The names Bluebird™, SeaNet™ SeaVax™ and the blue bird in flight logo are trademarks with the color blue as a protected feature of the mark as per the cited registrations and history chart. All other trademarks the subject of historic review or otherwise are hereby acknowledged. For the avoidance of doubt, Bluebird Care services group and sister companies is/are in no way connected with BMS Ltd or (unless specifically mentioned) any other company or concern using a 'blue bird,' or 'bluebird' trademark., but is simply included here by way of review of media articles or companies trading using the names 'blue bird,' or 'bluebird' and ownership of those marks and trade names. See the provisions of the Trademarks Act 1994 and the Copyright Designs and Patent Act 1988. Please also note that is any of the above information is incorrect for any reason, such as alterations in the register or at companies house, that we will publish corrections on receipt of details, which should be independently verifiable. Information is thought to be correct at time of publication. We do not accept liability for quoted/reviewed third party errors in publication - where those third parties should be contacted directly to seek corrections, etc.