The Care Certificate was introduced on April 1st 2015, replacing both the Common Induction Standards and the National Minimum Training Standards.

The CQC and the Care Certificate

The CQC Inspector Briefing highlights how they look for evidence in their inspections. You can download it on the left of this page. 

The Materials

Materials have been produced to support employers in preparing for the Certificate, including the standards and associated guidance. These materials are intended to help employers become familiar with the fifteen Standards, and how to assess members of staff completing the Certificate.

The Care Certificate Workbook

The Care Certificate Workbook is a free downloadable resource aimed at supporting the training process and helping employers and their new health and social care workers to cover parts of the Care Certificate.

The workbook can be used as a tool to assist delivering the Care Certificate and enable new health and social care workers to demonstrate their understanding on the knowledge content of the Care Certificate. Health and social care employers will still need to provide appropriate practical training, supervision and workplace assessment - as these cannot be covered by a workbook.

The Care Certificate Workbook is presented in fifteen downloadable resources, as well as an introduction and glossary. Each Standard includes knowledge content and concludes with a section where learners can record their understanding. To ensure you are using the latest version of the workbook it is best to access it from the Skills for Care website.

https://www.skillsforcare.org.uk/Learning-development/inducting-staff/care-certificate/Care-Certificate-workbook.aspx

Please note that the Care Certificate Workbook is not available in a hard copy format. This is to ensure the resource can be produced and maintained free of charge to employers. It is also updated periodically so printed versions would become out of date.

N&SCS Care Certificate Knowledge and Observation Tool

The purpose of the N&SCS Care Certificate Knowledge and Observation toolkit is to support employers with assessing the Care Certificate. The 15 standards of the Care Certificate are included and are separated into 3 sections. The ‘assessment method’ column is included to allow assessors to provide evidence of the type of assessment method that has been used to assess the Care Certificate criteria. This is likely to be noted as the Care Certificate Workbook; however further evidence could include professional discussion, observation, question and answer, e-learning, witness testimony, etc. This column can also be completed to evidence competence. The ‘evidence location’ column is included to provide a signpost to where the learner’s evidence can be found. This may be within a portfolio of evidence, a continued professional development (CPD) file or electronically via e-learning or e-portfolio.

Download the guide as a WORD DOCUMENT or a PDF.

Assessing the Care Certificate - Online Tool

Skills for Care have produced an online tool which will support you through every step of putting a new worker through the Care Certificate.

https://www.skillsforcare.org.uk/microsites/Assessing-the-care-certificate/index.html

The Framework and Guidance Document

The Care Certificate Framework is a document for those who will be assessing employees against the Standards. It is to ensure that the approach used to deliver the learning required meets the outcomes of the Care Certificate Framework. The Guidance is also a document for Assessors. It is to ensure that Assessors have guidance to use the Care Certificate Framework document.

The Standards document

Full details of each standard are covered in this document.

Self-Assessment Tool

Employers may want to use the new self-assessment tool prior to health and social care workers commencing their induction. Induction can then be tailored, based on the workers self-assessment.

The Mapping Document

The Mapping document sets out how the Care Certificate maps across to other resources that are used within the health and social care sectors.

Questions and Answers for health and social care professionals

Will learning resources be available? Who can assess whether a worker has achieved the required competences? Will agency and bank staff need to undertake the Care Certificate?

The answers to these and other questions can be found in the Q&A documents.

Template Care Certificate

A template Care Certificate has been produced in Word and PDF form. This is to award employees who have completed the Care Certificate. Employers also have the choice to add their own logo onto the Care Certificate. Please be aware that the certificate is only valid if the Care Certificate logo remains on the top right and their employer's logo appears on the bottom right. please use the Word version.

Assessment and Observation Templates

Skills for Care have developed three templates to assist the person assessing the employee in the workplace. There is one to help plan an observation, another to record it, and a final one to asist with feedback to the employee. They are availale to download on the left of this page.

Care Certificate Presentations

Skills for Care, Skills for Health and Health Education England have developed accompanying slides to support the delivery of the underpinning knowledge for the Care Certificate. The slides compliment the Care Certificate workbook as well as the other Care Certificate materials and can be downloaded individually for the relevant standard. The presentations, along with all Care Certificates documentation can be found on the Skills for Care website: http://www.skillsforcare.org.uk/Standards/Care-Certificate/Care-Certificate-Materials.aspx

The presentation slides used in a workshop N&SCS ran for Care Certificate assessors can be found here.

Beware of claims being made by some Learning Providers

A number of training companies, including e-learning providers, have been making claims about their products in relation to the Care Certificate. As a result of this, the following statement has released by Skills for Care and Skills for Health, to share the truths around the claims being made.

Skills Platform Care Certificate Implementaion Toolkit

The Skills Platform from Skills for Health have produced N&SCS Care Certificate/Care Act Workshops