Why are care workers getting a Level 2 Adult Social Care Certificate?  

A new Care Certificate qualification called Level 2 Adult Social Care Certificate qualification has been developed with the help of Skills for Care. 

Based on England’s existing Care Certificate standards, the new qualification will be accredited and recognised by employers when care workers move jobs.

According to Skills for Care, the majority (54%) of care workers do not have a Level 2 or above qualification.

Staff turnover is 9% lower where there is access to learning opportunities to gain skills and qualifications.

What is the Level 2 Adult Social Care Certificate?

The Level 2 Adult Social Care Certificate qualification has been developed for staff working in the adult social care sector.

It will provide a baseline standard for the adult social care sector.

It is made up of 15 units based on the existing Care Certificate standards with some small changes to meet the standards of a Level 2 qualification and updates to reflect the current developments and needs of the Adult Social Care sector.

For some elements of the new qualification, direct observation is required and will involve an assessor visiting the learner at their workplace.   

When is the Level 2 Adult Social Care certificate launched?

The qualification is scheduled to be launched in June 2024.

How long will Level 2 Adult Social Care Certificate take to complete?

The Level 2 Adult Social Care Certificate qualification is likely to take an average duration of 6-8 months to complete. 

Who quality checks the new qualification? 

Care providers have to be registered and approved by an awarding organisation (who have been approved by Ofqual) to deliver the new qualification.

Skills for Care will be quality assuring the qualifications submitted by awarding bodies.

How much does it cost to do a social care certificate?

The UK government announced in January 2024 that it will invest £53.9 million to help 37,000 staff in adult social care jobs to enrol into the new qualification between June 2024 and March 2025.

Who is eligible for funding?

Eligible direct care roles include care workers, senior care workers and community support and outreach roles. The funding will be applicable to England only and is for new and existing staff.

Adult Social Care employers in both CQC regulated and non-regulated care settings will be eligible to apply for funding towards the cost for the new Level 2 Adult Social Care Certificate for workers in direct adult social care roles.

A learner must be 19+ in order to enrol and receive funding for the Level 2 Adult Social Care Certificate due to Department for Education policy which requires learners to study English and Maths until aged 19. 

How does the new qualification fit in with mandatory training requirements?

The new qualification is not mandatory. The introduction of the Level 2 Adult Social Care Certificate does not replace employer’s responsibility to provide appropriate support, induction, mandatory training, professional development, supervision and appraisal.

It is the employer’s responsibility to ensure staff undergo any mandatory training as part of an induction.

The final Oliver McGowan code of practice will provide guidance for CQC-regulated employers on how to meet the statutory requirement for learning disability and autism training in the Health and Care Act 2022.

All learners taking the Care Certificate who work for regulated care providers are expected to have training that meets the standards in the code of practice, prior to or alongside completing the new qualification.

How does Level 2 Adult Social Care Certificate differ from the Care Certificate?

The Care Certificate 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 made up of the 15 minimum standards that should be covered if you are ‘new to care’ and should form part of an induction programme for employees in the adult social care sector.

The Level 2 Adult Social Care Certificate differs to the existing Care Certificate Standards in that it requires formal assessment as it is an accredited qualification. The new qualification also includes up to date content.

By introducing a new qualification based on the existing Care Certificate standards, the government aims to address the issue of lack of portability and standardisation in how the Care Certificate standards are delivered. It aims to reduce the cost and need for repeat training of adult social care workers.  

Historically, delivery of the existing Care Certificate standards has not been uniform.

Care providers delivered the Care Certificate themselves in-house which led to different ways of delivering and assessing the content. Employers required new staff to repeat learning, training and assessment, even if staff have already completed the Care Certificate at a different care provider.

A 2019 report by the Economic Affairs Committee described how it met with care workers from a care home provider in 2018 and found care homes ‘could not be sure that care workers who had achieved the certificate elsewhere had been adequately trained.

‘They would therefore make them repeat the induction programme, and some employees would note differences between the difficulty of achieving the certificate at their current care home compared to other homes outside of the organisation’.

One employer concluded: “Do we think the transferable Care Certificate is valuable overall? Not really, because of the lack of external validation, however the standards have enabled us to create a robust induction for all of our employees, sadly this is not the same for all providers.”

What will happen to the existing Care Certificate Standards?

The existing Care Certificate standards should continue to be used by the adult social care sector while the new qualification is launched. 

Staff who already have a relevant qualification will be able to do the new Level 2 Adult Social Care Certificate qualification if they want to, but care providers are urged to prioritise staff without a relevant qualification to enable them to benefit from gaining one.

What if I already have Level 2 Diploma in Care?

The Level 2 Diploma in Care is a longer qualification which takes a year to complete. Those who have this qualification are not expected to complete another qualification at Level 2. 

How can I apply for a Level 2 Adult Social Care Certificate?

It is at the discretion of an adult social care employer whether to enrol staff onto the Level 2 Adult Social Care Certificate. 

What will happen to the Level 2 Adult Social Care Certificate after March 2025?

Funding for the Level 2 Adult Social Care Certificate is available for enrolments up to March 2025.

Skills for Care intends to seek more funding for the qualification beyond March 2025 to establish the qualification into the sector.