Mandatory Care Worker Courses and The CQC
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 here.
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 powers 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.
Mandatory training for care home staff
Health and social care workers require adequate induction training and annual refresher training to ensure that they remain up to date with recommended practice and regulatory requirements. Training is defined as mandatory if it meets one or more of the following criteria:
- It is a statutory requirement (such as the Health and Safety at Work Act).
- All staff across the organisation require the training.
- It is a CQC or local authority requirement.
The most common mandatory training subjects for care homes include:
- Health and Safety
- Fire Safety
- Equality, Diversity and Human Rights
- Infection, Prevention and Control
- Manual Handling
- Food Hygiene/Food Safety Awareness
- Safeguarding Adults
- Safeguarding Children
The full list of mandatory training requirements for an organisation depends on the services it provides, as well as the organisation’s type and size. All care organisations have a legal responsibility to provide staff with Health & Safety awareness training, including Fire Safety. Moving and Handling training is also mandatory and if staff are involved with preparing food or assisting at meal times then Food Safety and Hygiene training will also be mandatory. Additional mandatory training requirements might include Data Protection/Information Governance, Complaints Handling etc...
BVS offers a Mandatory Training bundle for both the Home Care and Care Home sectors which includes training for all these subjects at a discounted price.
Importantly, there is a difference between those courses considered mandatory for an organisation and the courses it must provide to be able to issue a Care Certificate to an individual. To receive a Care Certificate, staff members need to train in and achieve minimum pass marks in ALL 15 Care Certificate standards. However, only those topics in the 15 Standards relating to the service provision provided by the organisation are MANDATORY for the organisation itself.