Since April 2015, the care certificate has streamlined the initial training and education for healthcare support workers. Health and social care employers can be assured that their workforce has the necessary competences to deliver high quality fundamental care.
There is still much confusion around the organisational implementation of the care certificate, so to help employers and employees along the way we have pulled together our six most frequently asked questions:
1. Does one need to carry out assessments in the workplace?
Assessment strategies differ depending upon which part of the care certificate is being undertaken. The guidance document sets out what must be assessed and how it should be assessed. Most assessment should be within a setting where care is being provided to service users/patients, and should be completed face to face. More information is contained in the care certificate framework assessor document (pdf). Learners can practise and develop their new skills in a classroom, skills lab or similar setting but the assessment evidence must be collected during real work activity.
2. Who can assess whether a worker has achieved the required competences?
The employer must be satisfied that the assessor is competent to assess whether the worker meets the standards of the care certificate (pdf). The assessment (including observing someone and assessing their competence) must be undertaken by someone who is occupationally competent, which means someone who has the necessary experience to judge whether the learner has demonstrated the required competences. The guidance does not specify that someone delivering the training and carrying out assessment needs a specified qualification.
3. How long does it take to complete the care certificate?
The experience of the pilot sites has shown that for full-time staff, the average length of time taken for an employee new to health or social care to demonstrate the expected competences and knowledge is 12 weeks. This will vary from organisation to organisation, and may depend upon a range of factors: the hours worked by the learner, teaching methods chosen, previous educational achievement, resources and opportunities for assessment, the availability of assessors. We have launched a suite of core clinical e-learning courses to further support the care certificate. This e-learning provision meets the education aspect of the care certificate and is based on the learning outcomes of the 15 standards, all of which individuals need to complete in full before they can be awarded their certificate.
4. If a member of staff who has achieved the knowledge and competences required by the care certificate moves to a new role or new employer do they have to undertake the care certificate again?
No – the certificate is designed to be portable. However, employers are expected to ensure that new staff have retained the competences required by the care certificate.
5. Can existing care workers be credited with the certificate if they have been trained according to the common induction/minimum training standards?
These staff should already have completed the training required for induction which was specified by the previous standards. Individual employers are responsible for judging whether the jobs of individual staff require them to meet the additional standards in the care certificate. An employer is required to assess the skills and training needs of new staff, and based on this assessment may choose to provide training in all, or some, of the standards required by the care certificate. Employers may ask new staff to use the self-assessment tool to help decide what further training, if any, may be necessary before awarding the care certificate.
6. Will agency and bank staff need to undertake the care certificate?
Providers of health and social care have a legal duty to assess the training needs of all staff new to their organisation; this applies to agency, bank or directly recruited health and social care assistants. This assessment may indicate that a new member of staff needs to receive training in all, some or none of the care certificate standards before providing care unsupervised. The self-assessment tool is available to help decide what further training, if any, may be necessary before awarding the care certificate.
To find out more about the care certificate, visit the Skills for Health website, where you can download our FAQ documents and the full suite of learning materials.
Content on this page is produced and paid for by Skills for Health, sponsor of the Guardian Healthcare Professionals Network’s workforce development hub
