Detailed Course Content of the 15 Care Certificate Standards 

Care certificate Standard 1 - Understand Your Role 

• Your responsibilities as a care worker,
• Understand own role
• Work in ways that have been agreed with your employer
• Understand working relationships in health and social care
• Work in partnership with others

Care certificate Standard 2 – Your Personal Development

• importance of personal development at work,
• understand different types of qualifications in the UK
• how to create your personal development plan and why this is important.
• how to develop your own knowledge, understanding and skills 
• Understand core skills,
• use of supervision, appraisals and SMART objectives.

Care certificate Standard 3 – Duty of Care 

• the importance of duty of care in your role,
• how duty of care contributes to safe practice,
• support available for addressing dilemmas that may arise about duty of care,
• the ways to deal with comments, complaints, incidents, errors and near misses in your work,
• using policies and incident forms.

Care certificate Standard 4 – Equality and Diversity 

• the meaning of equality, diversity, discrimination,
• the different types of discrimination, at the barriers to equality and diversity in care, The Equality Act 2010 and the nine protected characteristics.
• how to work in an inclusive way

Care certificate Standard 5 – Work in a person-centred way 

• Understand person-centred values
• the importance of working in a person centred way, including the 6Cs of care,
• factors that may cause discomfort or distress
• how to support individuals to minimise pain or discomfort
• how to support the individual to maintain their identity and self-esteem
• how to support individuals using the person-centred approach, the Care Act 2014 and the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

Care certificate Standard 6 – Communication 

• effective communication and why it is important in your role,
• different types of communication, including verbal and non-verbal communication,
• how to meet the communication and language needs, wishes and preferences of individuals,
• how to support the use of communication aids and technologies
• why confidentiality in care is vital, and when confidentiality can be broken.

Care certificate Standard 7 – Privacy and dignity  

• the principles that underpin privacy and dignity in care,
• how to maintain and respect privacy and dignity, and raise concerns
• helping individuals to make informed choices
• how to support active participation

Care certificate Standard 8 – Fluids and nutrition 

• the importance of nutrition and hydration,
• importance of food safety and the relevant food safety legislation
• how to assess nutrition and hydration needs in a person-centred way
• circumstances that may affect an individual’s food and drink choice, such as beliefs, preferences, health conditions, medicines and support needed for individuals to eat and drink.

Care certificate Standard 9 – Awareness of Mental Health, Dementia and Learning Disability 

• awareness of mental health, dementia and learning disabilities,
• relevant key legislation,
• the ways to promote communication with individuals who have learning disabilities,
• common mental health problems,
• meaning of mental capacity in relation to how care is provided

Care certificate Standard 10 – Safeguarding Adults 

• the importance of safeguarding vulnerable adults
• what constitutes harm
• why an individual may be vulnerable to harm or abuse
• types of abuse that can occur, including Domestic Violence and Abuse Awareness
• signs and symptoms that indicate when a person is being abused,
• relevant legislation that applies to safeguarding vulnerable adults,
• how to reduce the likelihood of abuse
• how to record and report any safeguarding concerns.

Care certificate Standard 11 – Safeguarding Children 

• the importance of safeguarding children,
• types of abuse children can experience
• signs and symptoms that indicate a child is being abused.
• Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)
• Risk factors that increase the likelihood of abuse of a child in their own home
• Your Role in Safeguarding Children
• how to record and report safeguarding concerns.

Care certificate Standard 12 – Basic Life Support 

• basic life support training,
• importance of CPR and the role of hand-only CPR,
• signs and causes of cardiac arrest,
• causes of an obstructed airway
• treatment of choking in adults, infants and children
• UK Resuscitation Council Resuscitation Guidelines

Care certificate Standard 13 – Health and Safety 

• health and safety in care settings,
• main health and safety legislation that apply to health and social care workers, employer and employee responsibilities,
• health and safety in relation to administering medication, needles and sharps, moving and handling and using correct PPE
• promoting fire safety
• working securely
• managing stress

Care certificate Standard 14 – Handling information 

• agreed ways of working and legislation regarding the recording, storing and sharing of information,
• importance of secure systems for recording, storing and sharing information,
• the eight Caldiott Principles,
• data protection principles and relevant legislation,
• how you can report concerns regarding the recording, storing or sharing of information internally, whistleblowing and reporting concerns externally
• data breaches and how to avoid them
• principles of good record keeping
• responsibilities of health and social care organisations under the Freedom of Information Act 2000

Care certificate Standard 15 – Infection control 

• different types of infections,
• the chain of infection, the entry and exit routes of transmission and how to break the chain of infection,
• short-term and long-term consequences of infections
• employer and employee responsibilities regarding infection control
• effective hand hygiene
• principles of safe handling of infected or soiled linen and clinical waste