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Health, Support & Social Care

What is the Care Certificate?

A robust induction program is important to every business. It’s an effective way of outlining workplace policies and procedures to new starters and for providing specific information and training care workers will need to know to do their job.

The Care Certificate should form an important part of an induction and training plan at a care provider, but can also act as a great refresher for existing employees. It's made up an agreed set of standards that define the knowledge, skills and behaviours expected of specific job roles in health and social care.

Homecare Residential Care Social Care Training Content and eLearning Learning Courses
4 minutes
HSC Roxana Florea writer on Health and Social Care

by Roxana Florea

Writer on Health and Social Care

Posted 09/07/2021 | Updated 04/05/2026

Close-up of two ladies, one older than the other, walking through a park. The younger lady has her hand against the elderly lady's back.

What is the Care Certificate?

The Care Certificate was developed and introduced by Skills for Care, Health Education England and Skills for Health to address inconsistences in training and competencies in the care workforce. It makes sure that people in care, and their families are sure that all staff have the same introductory skills, knowledge, and behaviours to provide safe, high quality care. The certificate aims to cover the minimum 15 standards that should be covered for people new to care, these standards are:

  1. Understand your role
  2. Your personal development
  3. Duty of care
  4. Equality and diversity
  5. Work in a person-centred way
  6. Communication
  7. Privacy and dignity
  8. Fluids and nutrition
  9. Awareness of mental health, dementia and learning disabilities
  10. Safeguarding adults
  11. Safeguarding children
  12. Basic life support
  13. Health and safety
  14. Handling information
  15. Infection prevention and control

The framework sets out specific learning outcomes and competencies for each standard. It further illustrates, competency by competency and how the skill should be assessed. Assessment of this requires either the demonstration of knowledge and understanding or an observation of the care support worker in the workplace environment or more commonly now through eLearning.

Find out more detail around the standards here.

Is the Care Certificate mandatory?

The Care Certificate is not mandatory, but the CQC talks about it specifically in their regulations, meaning your provision in England will be inspected against it. CQC inspectors do have powers to enforce regulations covering staff training. As such, they will expect to see induction programmes that meet the Care Certificate standards.

How long does the Care Certificate last?

The certificate does not have an expiry date, and is designed to move with a care worker, throughout their career. If a care worker changes jobs and they have completed the Care Certificate elsewhere, they do not need to achieve the Certificate again. Employers are expected to help staff retain their knowledge and competencies and its often best practice to refresh their knowledge every couple of years, in case regulations or guidelines have changed. The suggested amount of time for an employee to complete the Care Certificate is around 12 weeks. However, this can vary depending on the hours you work as well as your previous education and experience.

Is the Care Certificate Mandatory?

The Care Certificate is not a statutory (legal) requirement for working in adult social care in England. Skills for Care confirms that it is an employer-led induction framework, designed to set a consistent baseline of knowledge, skills and behaviours for staff who are new to care, rather than a regulated qualification or legal obligation.

However, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) explicitly expects providers to use the Care Certificate standards to evidence effective induction and staff competence. Under Regulation 18: Staffing of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, providers must ensure staff receive appropriate training, support and supervision to carry out their roles safely and effectively. While the regulation does not mandate the Care Certificate by name, the CQC recognises it as a nationally accepted framework for meeting these expectations during inspection and assessment.

This means that CQC inspectors will look for induction programmes that align with the Care Certificate standards, particularly for staff who are new to the sector. Providers are expected to demonstrate how new workers have been assessed as competent against these standards in the workplace. Failure to evidence robust induction and competence may result in regulatory action, even though the Care Certificate itself is not compulsory. This makes the Care Certificate important for CQC compliance, even if it is not legally mandatory.
A care worker serving an elderly resident her tea.

How Can eLearning Help

In this article we looked at what the Care Certificate is, and if it is a legal requirement.

Though it is a nationally recognised induction framework that the CQC expects providers to use to demonstrate staff competence and compliance with Regulation 18.

Services are inspected against the Care Certificate standards, making it a vital part of induction for staff who are new to care. Providers must be able to evidence that workers have received appropriate training, assessment and workplace observation aligned to these standards in order to meet CQC expectations.

With the move towards flexible learning, eLearning for You offers a comprehensive Care Certificate eLearning course covering the required standards, alongside a downloadable workbook to support learning and assessment. The course provides the underpinning knowledge care workers need for their role, while the workbook allows learners to evidence understanding through guided questions. When combined with role-specific practical training such as Basic Life Support and Moving & Handling, and an observed assessment in the workplace, learners can confidently be signed off and issued with a Care Certificate.

“This was a very helpful course with valuable information that I am sure will help to achieve a higher level of professionalism in my role as a carer.”
Alice Waller, Accomplish, Thompson House

Support your staff, strengthen your induction, and prepare confidently for CQC inspection and explore the Care Certificate eLearning course with Access Learning for Care today.

HSC Roxana Florea writer on Health and Social Care

By Roxana Florea

Writer on Health and Social Care

Roxana Florea is a Care writer within the Access Health, Support and Care team.
 
Holding a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing, she is passionate about creating informative and up-to-date content that best supports the needs and interests of the Care sector.
 
She draws on her solid background in editing and writing, breaking down complex topics into clear approachable content rooted in meticulous research.