Understanding the Care Certificate Standards

Contents

What is the Care Certificate?

The Care Certificate is a nationally agreed set of standards outlining the knowledge, skills and behaviours expected from healthcare workers and social care support workers.

It provides a foundation for people who are new to care, helping them understand their responsibilities and develop the knowledge and skills needed to provide safe, compassionate and person-centred care.

Its 16 standards cover essential areas such as safeguarding, communication, privacy, dignity and infection control. But who needs to complete the Care Certificate and how is it assessed? tend is here to take a deep dive at this topic.

The 16 Standards of the Care Certificate

The Care Certificate originally included 15 standards for care workers. Following an update in March 2025, there are now 16 Care Certificate standards, each focusing on an important part of delivering safe and compassionate care.

1. Understand your role

Know your responsibilities, professional boundaries and agreed ways of working. Understand when to ask for advice and who to speak to if you need to escalate a concern.

2. Your personal development

Continue building your knowledge and confidence through a development plan, supervision, appraisals and continuing professional development (CPD).

3. Duty of care

Understand your responsibility to keep people safe. Work within your competence, refuse unsafe tasks and report incidents or concerns.

4. Equality, diversity, inclusion and human rights

Treat everyone fairly and with respect. This includes recognising individual beliefs, adapting communication and challenging discrimination.

5. Work in a person-centred way

Put each person’s needs, choices and preferences at the heart of their care. Involve them in decisions and shape support around what matters to them.

6. Communication

Communicate clearly using verbal, non-verbal and written methods. Adapt your approach to each person, check their understanding and keep accurate records.

7. Privacy and Dignity

Respect personal space, protect privacy during personal care and explain what you are doing before providing support.

8. Fluids and Nutrition

Help people eat and drink safely and comfortably. Follow nutrition plans, recognise signs of dehydration or malnutrition and respond to choking risks.

9. Awareness of mental health and dementia

Recognise signs of mental health conditions, dementia and delirium, and understand how to respond with appropriate support. Learning disability is now covered separately under Standard 16.

10. Adult Safeguarding

Recognise different forms of abuse, including physical, emotional and financial abuse. Know how to respond when abuse is disclosed and report concerns through the correct safeguarding procedures.

11. Safeguarding children

Understand basic child protection principles and know how to report concerns, even when your main role involves supporting adults.

12. Basic life support

Know how to perform CPR, use the recovery position and respond calmly during an emergency. Practical demonstration is required to show these skills can be applied. Practical basic life support training is required, in line with current UK Resuscitation Council guidelines.

13. Health and safety

Understand risk assessments, manual handling, fire safety, hazardous substances and the importance of looking after your own wellbeing at work.

14. Handling information

Follow UK GDPR requirements, keep accurate records, share information appropriately and know what to do if a data breach occurs.

15. Infection prevention and control

Use effective hand hygiene, PPE, decontamination and waste disposal to protect yourself and the people receiving care from infection.

16. Awareness of learning disability and autism (added March 2025)

Recognise individual strengths, make reasonable adjustments and communicate effectively with autistic people and people with a learning disability.

Who Should Complete the Care Certificate?

The Care Certificate is primarily designed for people who are new to health and adult social care without any previous training or experience. It is commonly completed during induction by care workers, healthcare support workers and other staff who provide direct care.

Starting a new role can feel overwhelming, particularly when someone is entering the care sector for the first time. The standards provide a clear introduction to what good care looks like and help new workers develop confidence in their responsibilities.

Experienced care workers may also complete some or all of the standards if an employer identifies areas in which they would benefit from additional learning or practical support.

The Care Certificate standards are not the same as the Level 2 Adult Social Care Certificate qualification. The regulated qualification builds on the same 16 areas in greater depth, while the Care Certificate is an employer-led induction framework.

How Long Does the Care Certificate Take to Complete?

Most learners at tend® Training complete the Care Certificate in around six months. However, there is no fixed completion time. The length of the programme will depend on the worker’s experience, role, working hours and the opportunities available to demonstrate their competence.

The structure allows learners to build skills gradually while continuing in their role, making it a manageable commitment. This flexible approach ensures both new and existing staff can achieve success at their own pace.

How is the Care Certificate Assessed?

The Care Certificate is about more than remembering information. Care workers must show that they understand the standards and can apply them confidently in their day-to-day role.

Assessment focuses on both knowledge and practical competence. Learners need to demonstrate that they understand the required knowledge, skills and behaviours and can put them into practice in their workplace. The exact assessment methods can vary depending on the standard and the employer’s approach.

For example, evidence may include discussions, written or typed answers, knowledge checks, practical demonstrations, workplace observation and other forms of evidence. Some standards have specific practical requirements, such as Standard 12: Basic Life Support, which requires practical training that meets UK Resuscitation Council guidelines.

The Care Certificate standards are employer-led and non-accredited. This is different from the Level 2 Adult Social Care Certificate qualification, which is an Ofqual-regulated qualification with formal assessment requirements.

The Care Certificate is not a legal requirement in itself, but it is an agreed set of standards commonly used as part of induction for people new to health and adult social care. Employers have responsibilities around appropriate training, supervision and workplace assessment, supporting them to meet relevant regulatory requirements and expectations, including those set by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

How tend Training Supports Care Certificate Delivery

tend Training offers the Care Certificate as a standalone programme or as part of the Level 2 Adult Care Worker apprenticeship.

The standalone option helps care workers develop the essential knowledge, skills and confidence needed to provide safe, compassionate and person-centred support.

For apprentices, the Care Certificate is embedded throughout the Level 2 Adult Care Worker programme and completed by month nine. This allows learners to put their knowledge into practice, develop in their role and build strong foundations for the rest of their apprenticeship.

Both routes help employers develop capable and compassionate care workers who understand the standards expected across the sector and feel confident putting them into practice.

Final thoughts

The Care Certificate gives care workers the essential knowledge, skills and confidence to provide safe, compassionate and person-centred support. By covering everything from safeguarding and communication to infection control and duty of care, its 16 standards help create a consistent foundation for high-quality care across the sector.

Whether completed as a standalone programme or through an apprenticeship, it provides a strong starting point for continued learning and career development.

Want to find out how to enrol onto an apprenticeship or achieve the Care Certificate? Reach out to our team today, Call 01753 596 004 or hit the button below.