Health & Social Care

Course Overview

To work in care is to make a positive difference to someone’s life when they are faced with physical, practical, social, emotional or intellectual challenges. Adult Care Workers need to have the right values and behaviours developing competencies and skills to provide high-quality compassionate care and support. They are the frontline staff who help adults with care and support needs to achieve their personal goals and live as independently and safely as possible, enabling them to have control and choice in their lives which is at the heart of person-centred care. Job roles are varied and determined by and relevant to the type of service being provided and the person supported. Adult Care Workers may work in residential or nursing homes, domiciliary care, day centres, a person’s own home or some clinical healthcare settings.

Entry Requirements

Undertake the Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service process and provide the result prior to starting. The Care Certificate must be achieved as part of the Apprenticeship Standard. Individual employers set the selection criteria, but this is likely to include 4 GCSEs, including Maths and English, although some employers will accept other relevant qualifications and experience, including a relevant Level 2 qualification. Apprentices without English or Maths at Level 2 must achieve this prior to taking the end-point assessment.

Topics Covered

The course covers the following knowledge and skills:

• The importance of having the right values and behaviours
• The importance of communication
• How to support individuals to remain safe from harm (Safeguarding)
• How to promote health and wellbeing for the individuals they support and work colleagues

How to work professionally, including their own professional development. These are the personal attributes and behaviours expected of all Adult Care Workers carrying out their roles:

Care – is caring consistently and enough about individuals to make a positive difference in their lives.

Compassion – is delivering care and support with kindness, consideration, dignity and respect.

Courage – is doing the right thing for people and speaking up if the individual they support is at risk.

Communication – good communication is central to successful caring relationships and effective team working.

Competence – is applying knowledge and skills to provide high-quality care and support.

Commitment – to improving the experience of people who need care and support ensuring it is person-centred.

Delivery

You will attend college approx. once every 2 weeks and receive visits from the trainer throughout your employment. Additional time for Functional Skills studies if required.

Assessment

This qualification is assessed through a Portfolio of Evidence. This portfolio is made up of evidence gathered during the course to include direct observation of the learner’s performance by their assessor, questioning, products of work, personal statements, etc. Apprentices will complete the mandatory qualification Level 2 Diploma in Adult Care whilst studying for the Knowledge, Skills and Behaviour as detailed in the Apprenticeship Standard. Apprentices will have achieved a minimum level 2 English and maths if not already achieved.

End Point Assessment (EPA) includes:

• Situational judgement test

Professional discussion As part of the apprenticeship framework, reviews are completed every 12 weeks by the assessor where progress is discussed by the apprentice, assessor and employer.

Start Date

Various

Duration

14 to 18 months

Course Overview

As a Lead Adult Care Worker, you will make a positive difference to someone’s life when they are faced with physical, practical, social, emotional or intellectual challenges. You will be expected to exercise judgement and take appropriate action to support individuals to maintain their independence, dignity and control. By providing leadership, guidance and direction at the frontline of care delivery you will be instrumental in improving the health and wellbeing of those receiving care and support.

Lead Adult Care Workers will in some circumstances have delegated responsibility for the standard of care provided and may supervise the work of other care workers. This exercising of autonomy and accountability means leading and supporting others to comply with expected standards and behaviours.

Lead Adult Care Workers may work in residential or nursing homes, domiciliary care, day centres or some clinical healthcare settings. As well as covering Lead Adult Care Workers this standard also covers Lead Personal Assistants who can work at this senior level but may only work directly for one individual who needs support and/or care services, usually within their own home.

Entry Requirements

Undertake the Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service process and provide the result prior to starting. The Care Certificate must be achieved as part of the Apprenticeship Standard. individual employers set the selection criteria, but this is likely to include 5 GCSEs, including Maths and English, although some employers will accept other relevant qualifications and experience, including a relevant Level 2 qualification. Apprentices without English or Maths at Level 2 must achieve this prior to taking the end-point assessment.

Topics Covered

The course covers the following knowledge:

• The importance of having the right values and behaviours
• The importance of communication
• How to support individuals to remain safe from harm (Safeguarding)
• How to champion health and wellbeing for the individuals they support and work colleagues
• How to work professionally, including their own professional development of those they support and work colleagues.

These are the personal attributes and behaviours expected of all Adult Care Workers carrying out their roles:

Care – is caring consistently and enough about individuals to make a positive difference in their lives.

Compassion – is delivering care and support with kindness, consideration, dignity, empathy and respect.

Courage – is doing the right thing for people and speaking up if the individual they support is at risk.

Communication – good communication is central to successful caring relationships and effective team working.

Competence – is applying knowledge and skills to provide high-quality care and support.

Commitment – to improving the experience of people who need care and support ensuring it is person-centred.

Delivery

You will attend college approx. one day every 2 weeks and receive visits from the trainer throughout your employment. Additional time for Functional Skills studies if required.

Assessment

This qualification is assessed through a Portfolio of Evidence. This portfolio is made up of evidence gathered during the course to include direct observation of the learner’s performance by their assessor, questioning, products of work, personal statements, etc. Apprentices will complete the mandatory qualification Level 3 Diploma in Lead Adult Care Work whilst studying for the Knowledge, Skills and Behaviour as detailed in the Apprenticeship Standard. Apprentices will have achieved a minimum level 2 English and maths if not already achieved.

End Point Assessment (EPA) includes:

• Situational judgement test
• Professional discussion

As part of the apprenticeship framework, reviews are completed every 12 weeks by the assessor where progress is discussed by the apprentice, assessor and employer. Learners must also achieve the 12 standards as set out by the CQC in the Care Certificate.

Start Date

Throughout the year

Duration

18 to 24 months

Course Overview

The Leader in Adult Care will guide and inspire teams to make positive differences in someone’s life when faced with physical, practical, social, emotional, psychological or intellectual challenges. They will lead the care team and develop and implement a values-based culture at a service or unit level. They may be responsible for business development, financial control, organisational resilience and continuity, managing risk, and leading on organisational change.

A Leader in Adult Care is responsible for managing community or residential-based services. This role has a large element of leadership, whether with other care workers and networks or in leading the service itself. They are responsible for ensuring the service is safe, effective, caring, responsive to people’s needs and well-led. They will be responsible for ensuring regulatory compliance with the care given and the values and training of staff with established standards and regulations.

Apprentices will achieve the Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management for Adult Care as part of the apprenticeship.

Entry Requirements

Apprentices without level 2 English and maths will need to achieve this level prior to their apprenticeship completion. You must be employed thirty hours a week or more in a care environment.

Topics covered:

Knowledge

• Statutory frameworks, standards, guidance and Codes of Practice which underpin practice concerning the safe delivery of services.
• Systems and processes needed to ensure compliance with regulations and organisational policies and procedures, including health and safety and risk management.
• Principles of risk management, assessment and outcome-based practice.
• Principles and underpinning theories of change management, including approaches, tools and techniques that support the change process.
• Legislative and regulatory frameworks which inform quality standards.
• Theories and models underpin performance and appraisal, including disciplinary procedures.
• Legislation and policy initiatives on the promotion of diversity, equality and inclusion in services they lead.
• Legal and ethical frameworks concerning confidentiality and sharing information.
• Range of tools and strategies to enhance communication, including technology.
• Legislation, national and local solutions for safeguarding adults and children, including reporting requirements.
• The elements needed to create a culture that supports whistleblowing in the organisation.
• Models of monitoring, reporting and responding to changes in health and wellbeing.
• Principles of professional development.
• Goals and aspirations that support own professional development and how to access available opportunities.
• Elements needed to create a culture that values learning, professional development, reflective practice and evidence-based practice.
• Systems and processes are necessary to ensure workers' professional development opportunities are identified, planned, sourced, evaluated and recorded.
• Theories of management and leadership and their application to adult care.
• Features of effective team performance.

Skills developed

• Develop and apply systems and processes to ensure compliance with regulations and organisational policies and procedures.
• Implement strategies to support others to manage the risks when balancing individual rights and professional duty of care.
• Develop and apply systems and processes that monitor and sustain the quality of the service, including assessments, care plans and service delivery.
• Lead and support others to work in a person-centred way and ensure active participation, which enhances individuals' well-being and quality of life.
• Encourage and enable staff and people who access care and support to be involved in the co-production of how the service operates.
• Manage all resources in delivering complex care and support efficiently and effectively.
• Develop and lead the implementation of organisational practices to create and sustain a culture that actively champions dignity and respects diversity, inclusion and fairness in the workplace.
• Develop and lead a culture that values courage in working in ways that may challenge workers’ own cultural and belief systems.
• Develop and implement organisational processes to ensure that records and reports are written clearly and concisely, keep information safe, and preserve confidentiality.
• Translate policy and guidance into understandable information for various audiences, including people who access care and support, carers and families and other colleagues.
• Implement systems to train and support work colleagues to recognise and respond to potential signs of abuse and/or unsafe practices, following organisational policies and procedures.
• Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of organisational policies, systems and processes for safeguarding.
• Lead the implementation of policies, procedures and practices to manage health, safety and risk to individuals and others in health and social care to ensure compliance with legislation, standards and guidance.
• Implement health and safety and risk management policies, procedures and practices to create a culture that values health and well-being in the organisation.
• Monitor, evaluate and improve health, safety and risk management policies and practices in the service.
• Apply evaluated research and evidence-based practice in your setting.
• Take the initiative to research and disseminate current drivers in the adult care landscape.
• Embed systems to improve the performance of self and/or work colleagues through supervision, reflective practice and learning and development opportunities.
• Show a well-developed sense of their behaviour and impact on others modelling a values-based culture.
• Create a supportive culture that values initiative and innovation and recognises the variety of skills of all within the service, both workers and individuals supported.
• Adopt a team approach, recognising the contributions of team members and being able to lead a team where required.

Delivery

Day release, 1 day every fortnight in college.

Assessment

Learners will be assessed throughout the programme, then an End Point Assessment (EPA) by an independent organisation consisting of observation in the workplace and professional discussion.

Start Date

April 2023/September 2023.

Duration

18 months (this does not include the EPA period).

Employer Fees

Levy: £7000

Non-levy: £350

Employer Incentive

Employers will receive £1000 when they employ an apprentice aged 16-18.