Care Certificate FAQs November 2014
- Why is the Care Certificate being developed?
- When is the Care Certificate being introduced?
- Who is the Care Certificate for?
- What does the Care Certificate cover?
- Who can award the Care Certificate?
- Is the award of the Care Certificate based only on knowledge?
- Can my organisation still be involved in the field testing of the Care Certificate?
- Have health or social care providers tested all the standards of the draft Care Certificate?
- Does assessment of some of the competences required by the draft proposals have to be carried out in the workplace?
- Will personal assistants who do not provide personal care be required to hold the Care Certificate?
- Who can assess whether a worker has achieved the required competences?
- Will staff receive a paper certificate?
- Is the Certificate Accredited?
- Does the Care Certificate have an awarding body?
- How is the quality of the Care Certificate assured?
- Will the Care Certificate a replace staff induction?
- How long does it take to complete the Care Certificate?
- Have patients, carers or their families been involved in the development of the Care Certificate?
- What will the award of the Care Certificate allow new staff to do?
- Can existing care workers be credited with the certificate if they have already been trained according to the Common Induction/Minimum Training Standards?
- If a member of staff moves to a new role or new employer do they have to study for the Care Certificate again?
- Will there be a central register of staff who have been awarded the Care Certificate?
- How should employers provide induction training while the Care Certificate is being developed?
- Do personal assistants employed by individuals have to complete the Care Certificate?
- From what date will employers be expected to train new staff according to the standards in the Care Certificate?
1. Why is the Care Certificate being developed?
Following the report of the Francis Inquiry which identified serious challenges in some
health and social care settings in 2013, Camilla Cavendish was asked by the Secretary of State
to review and make recommendations on: the recruitment, learning and development, management
and support of healthcare assistants and social care support workers, to ensure that this workforce
provides compassionate care.
The resulting report, The Cavendish Review: An Independent Review into Healthcare Assistants and
Support Workers in the NHS and Social Care Settings (July 2013) found that preparation of
healthcare assistants and social care support workers for their roles within care settings was
inconsistent. The report recommended development of a Certificate of Fundamental Care – the “Care Certificate”.
2. When is the Care Certificate being introduced?
It is planned that the Care Certificate will be introduced in March 2015. Initially, draft Care
Certificate documentsare being field tested with employers and staff across health and social care environments between April and September 2014.
3. Who is the Care Certificate for?
Staff with no previous experience who are employed as Health Care Assistants, Assistant Practitioners, Care Support Workers and those giving support toclinical roles in the NHS where there is any direct contact with patients. “Care Support Workers”includesthe following: Adult Social Care workers giving direct care in residential, nursing homes and hospices, home care workers, domiciliary care staff. These staff are referred to collectively as Healthcare Support Workers (HCSW) or Adult Social Care Workers (ASCW). Other roles in health and social care such as caring volunteers, porters, cooks or drivers that have direct contact with patients and/or service users could also undertake all or some of the Care Certificate, but in order for the Care Certificate to be awarded the person must demonstrate that they have achieved all of the requiredcompetences.
4. What does the Care Certificate cover?
The Care Certificate is the start of the career journey for these staff groups and is only one element
of the training and education that will make them ready to practice within their specific sector. The
Care Certificate builds on the Common Induction Standards (CIS) and National Minimum Training
Standards (NMTS) and sets out explicitly the learning outcomes, competences and standards of
behaviour that must be expected of a HCSW/ASCW in both sectors, ensuring that the HCSW/ASCW is caring, compassionate and provides quality care. The Certificate also reflects how these behaviours are underpinned by the Chief Nursing Officer's 6Cs (care, compassion,competence, communication, courage and commitment). The Care Certificate standards are listed below.
The Care Certificate standards
1. Understand Your Role
2. Your Personal Development
3. Duty of Care
4. Equality and Diversity
5. Work in a Person Centred Way
6. Communication
7. Privacy and Dignity
8. Fluids and Nutrition
9. Dementia and Cognitive Issues
10. Safeguarding Adults
11. Safeguarding Children
12. Basic Life Support
13. Health and Safety
14. Handling Information
15. Infection Prevention and Control
5. Who can award the Care Certificate?
The care Certificate can only be awarded by providers who are registered with the Care Quality Commission.
6. Is the award of the Care Certificate based only on knowledge?
No, to be awarded the Care Certificate the person mustacquireknowledge and demonstrate competences.
Assessment of knowledge and understanding is prefixed with verbs such as ‘describe,’ ‘explain,’
‘define,’ ‘list,’ or ‘identify’ and can be undertaken using written or verbal evidence such as a
workbook, written questions, case studies or sound files.
Evidence of performance prefixed with words such as ‘demonstrate,’ ‘take steps to,’ ‘use’ or ‘show’
must be undertaken in the workplace during learners’ real work activity and observed by the
assessor (unless the use of simulation is expressly allowed). Learners can practice and develop their
skills in a classroom or similar setting but the assessment evidence must be collected during real
work activity.
7. Can my organisation still be involved in the field testing of the Care Certificate?
No. The field tests are now coming to an end in a number of environments across health and social care, ranging from nursing homes to primary care and hospices. We have encouraged individual organisations outside of this programme to become involved by testing the documentation which is available here. We are grateful for the large amount of detailed feedback already received on the content andpractical application of the draft proposals.We have received all feedback and will publish the final version early in 2015.
8. Have health or social care providers tested all the standards of the draft Care Certificate?
Not always. We have welcomed any feedback that providers could give us on any aspect of the draft proposals. For example, some trialledonly the “Healthcare Support Worker and Adult Social Care Worker Document” to find out whether it meets the needs of their staff.
What was the outcome of the testing of the Care Certificate?
Across Health and Social Care there have been 29 pilots testing the Care Certificate with an accumulative of 530 participants in the pilots. In Adult Social Care we recruited 16 pilots with 230 individual participants. Ekosgen the Individual Evaluators have now submitted the final report including recommendations for consideration to the Governance Assurance Board. In general it was felt that the Care Certificate in terms of content and process was about right.The Care Certificate will be a robust response to ensure that organisations establish that their staff are competent and safe to deliver care. The report will be made publically available soon.
Will Skills for Care be developing any learning resources?
Following the submission Evaluation of the Care Certificate report there has been an overwhelming request for learning resources to address the implications for the learning and development needs of the health and social care workers. The SFC, SFH and HEE are seeking contractors to produce an integrated suite of learning and development materials to meet the learning and development needs of staff who are expected to hold the Care Certificate. Materials should include an open learning workbook and we are particularly keen to explore the possibility of digital and eLearning resources. All learning and development materials will be made freely available to both health and social care sectors
9. Does assessment of some of the competences required by the draft proposals have to be carried out in the workplace?
Assessment will differ depending upon which part of the Care Certificate is being assessed. The draft 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 draft“Care Certificate Framework Assessor Document”. Learners can practice and develop their new skills in a classroom/skills lab or similar setting but the assessment evidence must be collected during real work activity.This answer is based on our draft proposals and may change as we evaluate the extensive feedback, comments and queries that have been sent to our mailbox:.
10. Will personal assistants who do not provide personal care be required to hold the Care Certificate?
No. Only those workers who are providing some aspect of personal care will be expected to hold the Care Certificate.
11. Who can assess whether a worker has achieved the required competences?
Currently the proposals do not specify that someone delivering the training needs a certain qualification. The employer, as now, will have to be satisfied that trainer is competent to deliver the training. However, 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. We would expect assessors normally to have two years’ experience in a health or care setting. The employer must be satisfied assessors are knowledgeable about the standards being assessed.
12. Will staff receive a paper certificate?
What form the certificate will takewill be informed by consultation with staff and employers as part of the field testing.We will considerhow it should be issued so the 'holder' of the Certificate can prove they have gained the level of competence required. These issueswill be finalised before the first Care Certificates are awarded in March 2015.
13. Is the Certificate Accredited?
No, but some health and social are providers have reached agreement that their programme of learning is accredited by a local higher education institution.
14. Does the Care Certificate have an awarding body?
No. The Care Certificate is awarded by the provider of healthcare who must be registered with the Care Quality Commission.
15. How is the quality of the Care Certificate assured?
All staff awarded the certificate will work in an environment which is regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). The way in which the learning programme is delivered and its effectiveness in ensuring staff have developed the appropriate competences will be considered as part of the normal inspection procedure which forms one aspect of independent regulation of health and social care.
Employers must still satisfy themselves that a new employee providing care has the necessary knowledge and competence to provide care safely and effectively. Possession of the Care Certificate will be one part of the evidence that they may need to make that decision.
16. Will the Care Certificate a replace staff induction?
The Care Certificate does not replace all areas of staff induction.Some knowledge and competences that new staff will be expected to have will be specific to the environment where care will be provided. For example, new staff may receive induction on how to report accidents, and what to do in case of fire. The Care Certificate programme will not focus on the skills and knowledge needed to work safely and effectively in a particular location which remains the employer’s responsibility.
17. How long does it take to complete the Care Certificate?
The field-tests have shown that for full-time staff the average amount 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, previous educational achievement, assessment opportunities, the availability of assessors.
18. Have patients, carers or their families been involved in the development of the Care Certificate?
The competences and standards in the draft Care certificate were based on the Skills for Care Common Induction Standards and Skills for Health National Minimum Training Standards and Code of Conduct. Both of these standards benefited from extensive public and patient engagement. Members of the public, patients and carers have been given the opportunity to comment upon the draft proposals for the Care Certificate through the Health Education England website.
19. What will the award of the Care Certificate allow new staff to do?
New staff will only be able to provide care unsupervised when they have been awarded the Care Certificate. However, they can provide care unsupervised if they have achieved the knowledge and competences required by that part of the standard. For example, the employee may not provide care associated with drinks or food unless they have demonstrated they have the competences and knowledge required by Standard 8. Staff who have not demonstrated the required knowledge and competences appropriate to a particular task must be supervised when providing care.
20. Can existing care workers be credited with the certificate if they have been trained according to the Common Induction/Minimum Training Standards?
These staff will already have completed the mandatory training required for induction. Individual employers are responsible for judging whether the jobs of individual staff require a need to meet the additional standards in the Care Certificate. The results of field-testing will indicate what steps an employer will need to take to award the certificate to those staff who have been trained according to previous standards (Common Induction Standards and National Minimum Training Standards).
21. If a member of staff moves to a new role or new employer do they have to study for the Care Certificate again?
No – the certificate is designed to be portable. An employer will wish to be sure that new staff have retained the competences required by the Care Certificate, and carry out induction with regard to all the areas of safe and effective working which are outside the requirements of the Care Certificate, such as fire safety and the reporting of accidents specific to the workplace.
22. Will there be a central register of staff who have been awarded the Care Certificate?
No – individual employers are responsible for maintaining such records, which may be required for inspection purposes by the CQC.
23. How should employers provide induction training while the Care Certificate is being developed?
Employers should ensure that staff receive induction training as normal based upon existing standards for health and social care, as well as other topics relevant to induction which are specific to their particular working environment.
24. Do personal assistants employed by individuals have to complete the Care Certificate?
No – the care received by individuals employing personal assistants are not regulated by the CQC, so their staff are not required to complete the Care Certificate. However, individuals employing staff may wish to consider whether possession of the Care Certificate should influence their decision to employ a particular person.
25. When will employers be expected to train new staff according to the standards in the Care Certificate?
There will be a soft launch in January, and then theofficial launch in March 2015 for employers to start using the Care Certificate as of April 2015. A further period of 6-months will be permitted to enable existing regulated providers to adapt their induction programmes to include the Care Certificate focus.