The “Shared Statement” from Skills for Health, Skills for Care, and Health Education England regarding the Care Certificate? clarifies misleading statements made by training providers. Here are the key points:
1. No training provider has been ‘licenced’ to award the Care Certificate – the Regulated Care Provider is the only organisation able to assess and award the Care Certificate.
2. No training providers have been ‘formally accredited’ to deliver the Care Certificate – although Skills for Care has provided guidance to training providers how we can map the Care Certificate to accredited/regulated qualification and seek external funding.
3. It is not possible to ‘achieve’ the Care Certificate through completion of a workbook alone – organisations should ensure the quality of knowledge and skills assessment decisions
4. Employers should look carefully at the ‘quality’ of the learning materials and assessment being marketed to them – including when any knowledge is being assessed externally by a third party.
5. The Care Certificate is not a ‘mandatory’ requirement – however, CQC will expect that staff new to services will achieve the competences required by the Care Certificate as part of their induction.
6. The Shared Statement also seeks to clarify previous misleading statements issued and now confirms that it is NOT a requirement that the Care Certificate is achieved within ’12 weeks’ – the time taken to complete the Care Certificate will vary from organisation to organisation, and may depend upon a range of factors: the hours worked by the learner, teaching methods chosen, previous educational achievement, resources and opportunities for assessment, the availability of assessors.
Guardian Angels Training has for many months argued all these points with competitors and customers particularly when it is clear they are being misled into a non-compliant situation.
In response to the continuing profiteering from our competitors, the Senior Management Team here at Guardian Angels Training hope to launch a FREE e-learning package for the knowledge elements of the Care Certificate in 2016. Care Providers will then be able to concentrate on ensuring practical competence and safe practice as per the Care Certificate Framework.
You may also like to know that Skills for Care has confirmed the following funding arrangements for the Care Certificate via the Workforce Development Fund:
| Standard: | Funding Value: (up to) |
| 1. Understand Your Role | £30.00 |
| 2. Your Personal Development | £90.00 |
| 3. Duty of Care | £30.00 |
| 4. Equality and Diversity | £60.00 |
| 5. Work in a Person Centred Way | £165.00 |
| 6. Communication | £90.00 |
| 7. Privacy and Dignity | £45.00 |
| 8. Fluids and Nutrition | £30.00 |
| 9. Awareness of mental health, dementia and learning disabilities | £120.00 |
| 10. Safeguarding Adults | £45.00 |
| 11. Safeguarding Children | N/A |
| 12. Basic Life Support | £30.00 |
| 13. Health and Safety | £360.00 |
| 14. Handling Information | £15.00 |
| 15. Infection Prevention and Control | £75.00 |