The Care Certificate
The Care Certificate is an agreed set of standards that define the knowledge, skills and behaviours expected of specific job roles in the health and social care sectors.
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The Care Certificate is made up of the 15 minimum standards that should be covered if you are 'new to care' and should form part of a robust induction programme.
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It was developed jointly by Skills for Care, Health Education England and Skills for Health.
FAQs for The Care Certificate
Functionality You Will Love
The Care Certificate was developed for use in England and is the minimum training, supervision and assessment that staff new to care (health and adult social care) should receive as part of induction and before they start to deliver care out of the line of sight of more experienced workers. It provides a foundation for healthcare support and social care worker roles, ensuring that the new worker can provide a compassionate and caring service.
There are fifteen standards that must be completed, involving knowledge learning, practical skills and workplace assessments. Completion of all standards is required to attain the Care Certificate.
Who should do the Care Certificate?
New Workers, New to Care
The Care Certificate is aimed at the following types of workers joining a health or adult social care organisation without any past training or sector experience. However, employers are free to decide whether any other staff groups would benefit from undertaking some or all of the Care Certificate.
• Healthcare
o Healthcare Support Workers / Health Care Assistants / Assistant Practitioners / any individual giving support to clinical roles in the NHS where there is any direct contact with patients.
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• Adult social care
o Workers will be providing direct care to people accessing a variety of social care settings which may include, residential, nursing homes, hospices, domiciliary care, supported living services, shared lives services and extra care housing. Roles may include: Care Assistant / Care Worker / Homecare Worker / Care Support Workers.
How long does it take to complete the Care Certificate?
For a full-time member of staff, the amount of time taken to achieve the outcomes of the Care Certificate should be around 12 weeks. The time needed will vary depending upon a range of factors, including; the hours worked by the learner, teaching methods chosen, previous educational achievement, resources and opportunities for assessment, and the availability of assessors.