Care Certificate Standard 9

Awareness of Mental Health, Dementia, and Learning Disability

Overview and Objectives of this course 

This course introduces the learner to people’s experiences with, and the causes of, mental health conditions, dementia and learning disabilities. 

It includes the importance of positive attitudes, the adjustments needed to the care and support provided, the main legislative requirements, and the concepts of "capacity" and "consent".  

Learning Objectives

This course is designed to support you in improving your awareness of mental health, dementia and learning disability. It forms part of the learning for the Care Certificate.

By the end of this course you should be able to:

  • List how someone may feel if they have a mental health condition, dementia or learning disability, how their support needs differ and how these conditions may affect their needs in relation to the care they receive
  • Explain how positive attitudes towards individuals with mental health conditions, dementia or learning disabilities improves the care and support they receive and how the social model of disability underpins these attitudes
  • Describe the types of adjustments that might need to be made to the care provided to individuals with a mental health condition, dementia or learning disability, and how to report concerns associated with unmet needs
  • Explain why early detection of mental health needs, dementia or learning disability is important and give examples of how adjustments might need to be made to care and support once identified
  • List the main legislative requirements and explain how this legislation may affect day-to-day living
  • Explain the term "capacity", why you should assume an individual has it and circumstances where an assessment of capacity might need to be undertaken
  • Explain the term "consent" and how it may change according to decisions that need to be taken


About the full Care Certificate 

The Care Certificate is an induction programme for new starters within health and social care. 

The Care Certificate is a key component of the overall induction that employers must provide to their staff, legally and in order to meet the essential standards set out by the Care Quality Commission. 

The Care Certificate was developed jointly by Skills for Care, Health Education England and Skills for Health. 

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's made up of the 15 minimum standards that should be covered if you are 'new to care' or changing jobs, and should form part of a robust induction programme. 

The Care Certificate is line with the latest UK legislation and meet the requirements set out by Skills for Care, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), Health and Safety Executive and other professional and regulatory bodies 

Care Certificate course contents 

The 15 Standards of the Care Certificate covered in this course are the following standards:


Who is the Care Certificate for? 

Everyone, including:

  • Healthcare Assistants
  • Social Care Support Workers
  • Nurses
  • Allied Healthcare Workers
  • Doctors 
  • Managers 
  • Supervisors 
  • Team Leaders 
  • Voluntary Staff working in all areas of care 
  • Anyone changing jobs within the care sector 
  • Anyone who has not studied for a while and needs an update


Requirements for the Care Certificate:

  • The Care Certificate is openly available to everyone
  • No prior learning knowledge or experience is required
  • Your time  
  • Your motivation 
  • Access to an internet-enabled device to login to the course. 


How this Care Certificate course is delivered 

This Care Certificate Standards 1 to 15 course is delivered in plain text reading materials made for easy access for low internet-bandwidth devices, and small screens such as mobile phones and tablets. 

This delivery style makes our Care Certificate course inclusive for busy people who may not necessarily have access to a broadband-connected desktop during their working day or night, and also for international students whose internet-connectivity may be of low bandwidth. 

No downloads required during the course. On completion a Digital Certificate is available to the student which they can take a screenshot of, instead of download.

This Care Certificate Standards 1 to 15 is available to everyone, in the UK or outside the UK. There are no geographical restrictions, and no eligibility criteria. 

The Care Certificate Standards 1 to Standard 15 is delivered online by Courses For Jobs Ltd in our secure password-protected LMS (Learning Management System). 

All the learner needs to undertake this course is a functioning email address so that their login details can be emailed to the learner. 


How the Care Certificate is assessed 

The online materials include quizzes and activities. 

Completion of the assessments provides evidence towards meeting the knowledge and competence requirements of each of the unit standards.


Career path after completion of the Care Certificate

After completion of the Care Certificate, successful learners will: 

  • Show proof of their updated knowledge and understanding 
  • Apply for jobs in care that require periodic continuing professional development (CPD)
  • Show evidence as part of their Continuing Professional Development (CPD) requirements, e.g. doctors, nurses and allied health professionals