Care Sector Information - England

Skills for Care

Skills for Care is an independent charity, which acts as the strategic body for workforce development in adult social care in England by:

• Helping adult social care organisations in England recruit, develop and lead their workforce.
• Working with employers to set the standards, qualifications, skills and knowledge social care workers need to deliver high-quality care.
• Providing practical tools and support.
• Helping create a better-led, skilled and valued adult social care workforce.

The Care Certificate is designed by Skills for Care and is an agreed set of standards that define the knowledge, skills and behaviours expected of specific job roles in the health and social care sectors. It is used by providers of social care to induct and assess members of staff. Care Workers achieving the Care Certificate will be equipped with the skills, knowledge and behaviours to be able to provide quality care. 

CareTutor is the only accredited video-based training provider to be endorsed by Skills for Care!

The CQC

The CQC is the independent regulator of health and social care in England. It provides extensive guidance to help providers to comply with regulations, the full contents of which can be found at the link below.

 Regulations for service providers and managers – Care Quality Commission (cqc.org.uk)

In terms of staffing, the CQC requires health and social care providers to:

– Have sufficient numbers of workers who are suitably qualified and competent, with the necessary skills and experience to meet the needs of the individuals receiving support.

– Provide care staff with support, training, professional development, supervision and appraisals that are necessary for them to carry out their role and responsibilities.

– Support care staff to obtain further qualifications and provide evidence, where required, to the appropriate regulator to show that they meet the professional standards needed to continue to practice.

The CQC have the power to take regulatory action such as refusing registration should these elements not be in place or if social care providers fail to provide satisfactory evidence that they will continue to comply.

CareTutor helps care providers to meet CQC inspection requirements for staff training with management reports, including a Traffic Light Training Matrix, which can be exported and shown to CQC inspectors.