We offer safe and confidential spaces for staff of all levels to come together to decompress and reflect on leadership challenges.

 

The Nightingale Frontline Leadership Support Service provides a psychological safe space for staff to explore professional and personal challenges experienced during the ongoing pandemic.

Our specially trained facilitators utilise a group coaching model known as co-consulting. Small groups of up to six work with one of our trained specialists during a three-hour session, where they learn to develop vital leadership skills to support themselves and their colleagues. Please watch our video below for further details.

Since the service launched in April 2020, we have supported over 2000 staff members working in all areas of health, social and voluntary care across the UK. The sessions have remained in high demand over the past year with our evaluations showing that staff value accessing a unique and confidential support service independent from their organisation. Attendees have also found significance in working through leadership challenges with peers and learning new approaches to difficult situations during a time of constant change in a calm and cathartic environment.

Sessions are available remotely for the following groups and run from 8am – 8 pm, Monday – Saturday:

  • FNF Leadership Support Session for Executive Directors
  • FNF Leadership Support Session for Early Career Registered Healthcare Professionals (registered for 2 years or less)
  • FNF Leadership Support Session for Senior Leaders
  • FNF Leadership Support Session for Staff Nurses/Midwives/Healthcare professionals
  • FNF Leadership Support Session for Ward Managers/Team Leaders or Healthcare Professionals with Line Management responsibilities
  • FNF Support Session for Leaders in Social Care from Ethnic Minorities
  • FNF Support Session for Registered Healthcare Professionals from Ethnic Minority Backgrounds

We have made a commitment to continue to provide this service beyond the pandemic in recognition of the ongoing support and development needs of our workforce. It is more essential than ever that we invest and take care of our staff, to ensure retention of our workforce and to maintain a standard of excellent quality to patient safety.

How to access

A full selection of our sessions can be found and booked here. We update our bookings often so please check regularly for new sessions.

Nightingale Frontline Leadership Support Service is available to staff in organisations or Trusts who have made a financial donation towards the running costs of the service.

If your organisation or Trust is interested in accessing the Nightingale Frontline Leadership Support Service, the cost is £5,000 for 30 places. Please email [email protected] for more information. The service is also one of the benefits most valued by our Members of the FNF Academy.

To promote sessions within your organisation please share our above video and download our promotional flyer.

The requirement of the Chief Nurses name and PIN information is to assist us ensure appropriate personnel are using the service. The only information sent to Trusts or organisations where individuals work, are numbers of attendees over a period of a calendar month. No identifiable data is sent. The only person who knows an individual has signed up are FNF and the individual.

Terms and Conditions can be found here.

“The impact the session had was primarily on my motivation and energy; it came at just the right time to give me a boost and was like an injection of realistic inspiration.

The session was incredibly useful to listen to the challenges that colleagues across the country are facing. The small size of the group was especially appealing to me and I felt that I was able to contribute effectively. The group was very balanced and supportive and the facilitator was reassuringly experienced and sensitive to the people in the group, skilfully drawing out the primary issues and supporting solutions.”

Claire Pendlebury, Teenage Cancer Trust Lead Nurse and Nightingale Frontline Participant 

 

 

“Leading others with confidence and courage can also feel lonely and overwhelming. Let’s use the extraordinary place we find ourselves in as a profession to learn, develop and support each other.”

Dr Gemma Stacey

Director of Academy, FNF

“I am delighted to support this Florence Nightingale Foundation initiative funded by NHS Charities Together. Nurses and Midwives are facing the biggest leadership challenge of their lives and this support service will provide them with a precious and safe space for reflection and peer support. We are committed to look after our NHS leaders and we thank this partnership to support our extraordinary professions”

Hilary Garratt CBE

Deputy CNO for England

"Never in a lifetime has visible and authentic nurse leadership been more vital than now, where nurses everyday are facing ethical, moral and practice dilemmas. In order to lead and continue to care for our patients, staff and their families leaders must too have time and a safe space to reflect and share experiences' Effective leadership equals not only happy staff but safe care for our patients."

Emma Wadey

Head of Mental Health Nursing at NHS England & NHS Improvement

"The Florence Nightingale Foundation continues to support nursing and midwifery leaders during this coronavirus pandemic."

Professor Greta Westwood

CEO, FNF

“I participated in one of the leadership support sessions in the middle of the pandemic and before I joined the session I was feeling quite lost, searching for the kind of structure that I am used to when commencing a new clinical placement. The support session enabled me to voice my worries and concerns about my current situation, and figure out a way forward. During the session I was also able to provide support and feedback for my colleagues which was a learning experience in itself and I was pleased to be able to provide support to others. The model used is adaptable to many settings and groups - in fact I strongly believe that this should be rolled out for all student nurses in the current emergency situation.”

Jessica Sainsbury

RCN Student Committee Chair & South East Region Board Member

"The FNF frontline leadership session provided me with much-needed support at a time uncertainty while being newly qualified. It has been increasingly difficult to access supervision at work, due to social distancing and caseload commitments needing to take priority. The impartial support offered by the Florence Nightingale Foundation has been so beneficial, I feel so much better for having a safe space to reflect on my leadership abilities and consider my strengths and ability to care at such unprecedented time. It was also a brilliant opportunity to connect with people all over the UK in similar roles, seek peer support, gain new ideas and coping strategies. I am incredibly grateful and want to stress it was way beyond the scope of supervision or leadership support I would normally have access to within my role, it was well considered and I feel it will benefit me greatly."

Pippa Chillman

Newly Qualified Registered Mental Health Nurse