What is the Care Certificate?

The Care Certificate is a set of standards that healthcare support workers and adult social care workers in England are expected to meet in order to demonstrate that they have the skills, knowledge, and behaviors necessary to provide high-quality care.

The Care Certificate was developed by Skills for Health, Health Education England, and Skills for Care. It is designed to provide a consistent approach to the induction and training of new healthcare support workers and adult social care workers.

The Care Certificate consists of 15 standards that cover a range of topics, including communication, equality and diversity, privacy and dignity, infection prevention and control, and handling information.

In order to achieve the Care Certificate, workers must complete a series of training modules and assessments that cover these standards, and demonstrate that they are able to apply what they have learned in their day-to-day practice.

The Care Certificate is not a formal qualification, but it is seen as an important benchmark for the skills and knowledge that healthcare support workers and adult social care workers should have in order to provide high-quality care.

Many employers in the healthcare and social care sectors expect their employees to have achieved the Care Certificate as part of their induction and training.

The standards covered by the Care Certificate are:

• Understand your role
• Your personal development
• Duty of care
• Equality and diversity
• Work in a person-centered way
• Communication
• Privacy and dignity
• Fluids and nutrition
• Awareness of mental health, dementia, and learning disability
• Safeguarding adults
• Safeguarding children
• Basic life support
• Health and Safety
• Handling information
• Infection prevention and control

Each of these standards covers a specific topic, and healthcare support workers and adult social care workers who are working towards the Care Certificate are expected to demonstrate that they have the skills and knowledge to meet these standards in their day-to-day practice.

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