In the United Kingdom, while the Care Certificate itself is not mandatory, the courses within the Care Certificate which are taken from the previously known version “The Common Induction Standards” are mandatory. Given that the candidates for the care home certification have to meet and uphold 15 separate standards, passing it can seem like a challenging feat.
In this blog post, we’ll explain why it’s actually easier than you think.
A little context: what are the 15 standards?
The care certificate is an agreed set of standards that explain the specific duties and precautions a health and social care worker must follow. Introduced in April 2015 by Skills for Care, Health Education England and Skills for Health, these standards represent the requirements all health and social care workers are expected to meet while working.
The 15 standards include:
- Understand your role
- Your personal development
- Duty of care
- Equality and diversity
- Work in a person-centred way
- Communication
- Privacy and dignity
- Fluids and nutrition
- Awareness of mental health, dementia and learning disabilities
- Safeguarding adults
- Safeguarding children
- Basic life support
- Health and safety
- Handling information
- Infection prevention and control
With these skills under their belt, health and social care workers can operate in a safe, regulated and professional manner, dealing with sensitive information and vulnerable adults appropriately and confidently.
It doesn’t take as long as you think
Although the care home certification might seem complex on the surface, it’s rather quick and painless to complete. Skills for Health estimate that ‘the average length of time taken for an employee new to health or social care to demonstrate the expected competences and knowledge is 12 weeks.’
Of course, this varies from care home to care home, but on average staff members can become fully qualified on the job, without having to take time out to study full time.
You can get qualified from anywhere
The care home certification is often learned and taught at the care home your staff are working in. Staff members don’t need to ship off for boot camp and basic training – they can learn and get assessed in their local area by local assessors.
With an abundance of e-learning options available it’s a quick and painless process, and learning can be done during your own time and at your own pace.
It’s a portable certificate
A big bonus of the care home certification is that it’s transferable. If a member of staff changes job roles or moves to a different care home, there’s no need to retake the certification.
With this said, however, employers are expected to ensure that new employees are competent in all 15 care standards.
Harnessing the powers of technology
Care home providers are beginning to harness the power of technology, and it’s making things like undertaking qualifications a whole lot easier.
Not only is technology improving the quality of care for many care home residents, but things like e-learning mean that staff members can constantly develop and learn new skills, keep up-to-date with new information and become fully certified – all without having to take time away from work.
To find out how your staff members can gain their care home certification with Me Learning, read our blog or speak with an expert here.