Care Sector Information - Wales

Regulatory bodies in Wales

• Social Care Wales was established in April 2017, replacing the Care Council for Wales. It regulates the social care workforce and sets the standards workers must meet to ensure high-quality care across Wales.
• The Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW) is responsible for inspecting and regulating care, social services and childcare in Wales.
• The Healthcare Inspectorate Wales (HIW) inspects NHS and independent healthcare services in Wales, focusing on quality, safety, and compliance.

The Social Care Induction Framework for Wales (SCIF) was replaced by the All Wales Induction Framework for Health and Social Care (AWIFHSC) for workers starting on or after 1 April 2018. The AWIF provides a common approach to induction in health and social care across Wales. It must be completed by any social care worker who is:

• New to the care sector
• New to an organisation
• Undertaking a new role

The AWIF is designed for both social care workers and healthcare support workers. It applies to those supporting adults, children, and young people. The framework sets out the knowledge and skills workers should achieve within their first six months of employment. To reflect the needs of the whole sector, a dedicated section on health and well-being has been included.

CareTutor provides a range of training courses for the Home Care and Care Home sectors, which are mapped to the themes of the AWIF. This mapping is designed to show where our CPD-accredited courses support the framework.
⚠️ The official AWIF guidance, requirements, and resources are owned and published solely by Social Care Wales. CareTutor’s courses are designed to complement these, not replace them.

For more information, visit the Social Care Wales AWIF guidance page.

The Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014

The Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014  is the main legal framework for improving the well-being of people who need care and support, as well as carers who need support. It underpins the All Wales Induction Framework for Health and Social Care (AWIF), ensuring that new care workers develop the knowledge, skills, and values needed to deliver person-centred care.

The Act promotes a rights-based approach, emphasising voice, choice, and control, as well as partnership working. These principles are embedded throughout the AWIF to support high-quality and consistent practice across the sector.

The key principles of the Act are:

• Voice and control – putting individuals at the centre of their care and support, giving them a voice in decisions and greater control over achieving well-being outcomes.
• Prevention and early intervention – building preventative services in communities to reduce the escalation of needs and avoid crisis situations.
• Well-being – helping people to achieve their personal well-being outcomes, and measuring care and support by the success in doing so.
• Co-production – encouraging people to play an active role in designing and delivering the services they use.

For further information, including regulations, codes of practice, and statutory guidance, visit the Social Care Wales Website.