Care Certificate training was introduced in 2015 as a means of assuring fundamental skills in front line care.The national evaluation of the Care Certificate indicates that it has been widely adopted and welcomed by care organisations throughout England.The flexible approach adopted by organisations in the process of its implementation has been both an asset and a drawback

Argyle, Elaine

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The national evaluation of the Care CertificateDr Elaine Argyle reports on research into the implementation of the Care Certificate.Summary Care Certificate training was introduced in 2015 as a means of assuring fundamental skills infront line care. The national evaluation of the Care Certificate indicates that it has been widely adopted andwelcomed by care organisations throughout England. The flexible approach adopted by organisations in the process of its implementation has beenboth an asset and a drawback.IntroductionThe Care Certificate was formally introduced in England in April 2015 in order to promote acomprehensive and consistent approach to the training and induction of unregistered care workersas well as to improve the quality of care provided by them. This article reports on an evaluationwhich has aimed to gain a national picture of the Care Certificate and its implementation. Findingshave shown that, although some smaller organisations have struggled with this process, thetraining has been widely adopted throughout care organisations in England and generallyperceived as being a positive development. This adoption has often taken a flexible approach,helping to meet the specific needs of different care organisations. However, it could alsoundermine its consistency, credibility and portability between organisations.The Care CertificateIn 2013 the Cavendish Review called for the introduction of a Certificate of Fundamental Care –now called the ‘Care Certificate’ with the intention of improving the safety and quality of careprovided by newly recruited unregistered care workers. It is also intended to be a transferablequalification which supports the movement of staff between organisations and includes 15standards which aim to provide a portable set of skills for these staff.The evaluationIn order to gain a national picture of the Care Certificate and its implementation, work has recentlyfinished on an 18-month study called Evaluating the Care Certificate: A Cross-Sector Solution toAssuring Fundamental Skills in Caring (ECCert) funded by the Department of Health PolicyResearch Programme. This national evaluation has involved a partnership between the Universityof Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust.The aims of the study have been to: Assess how successfully the Care Certificate meets its stated objectives to improveinduction training and enable support workers feel better-prepared to provide high qualitycare. Consider variations in implementation across the full range of CQC-registered health andadult social care services and organisations. Explore areas for improvement in order to meet its objectives better.Methods have included a telephone survey of 401 health and social care organisations around thecountry which were randomly drawn from the Care Quality Commission database(https://cqc.org.uk/). Survey data was supplemented by site visits to ten of these organisationswhere focus groups, interviews and observations were carried out.Key findingsWhile not currently mandatory, the vast majority of participating organisations had implementedCare Certificate training and it was widely welcomed as providing a standardised approach toimproving carer’s skills and helping new staff to feel better-prepared to provide this care. However,there were a minority of smaller organisations such as independent care homes where it had notbeen fully implemented, largely due to lack of resources and capacity.Organisational size, leadership, capacity and resources were major factors in determining theeffectiveness of Care Certificate implementation. Thus, the potential benefits of the CareCertificate were most likely to be reported in larger organisations such as NHS Trusts and nationalcare providers with plenty of resources and expertise to draw upon.While, in accordance with the recommendations of Skills for Care, training was typically twelveweeks in duration, there was considerable variation in how the Care Certificate was delivered inparticipating organisations. This ranged from group-based programmes combining teaching andactivities, to short online courses completed individually and external as well as internal trainingproviders were also used. This flexibility could be beneficial as it facilitated a bespoke and site-specific approach to training.However, this flexibility in the implementation process also lead to an inconsistent approachbetween organisations which has potentially undermined the credibility and portability of the CareCertificate. Thus, most organisations required new recruits who had completed their trainingelsewhere to repeat some or all of this training, and this was often related to scepticism about thequality of any prior training and the lack of external validation of this training.Effective implementation of the Care Certificate has appeared to include the following features: Assimilation of the Care Certificate into existing training and induction programmes. Blended, holistic, practical and participatory approaches to training delivery as outlined inthe Care Certificate mapping document. A broad scope of delivery, extending beyond newly recruited care workers to establishedpersonnel. Peer support and mentoring for Care Certificate candidates. Adaptation of materials and assessments to support care workers facing literacy orlanguage barriers. The provision of regular updates and assessor training.The following features were associated with less effective implementation: A ‘one dimensional’ approach to the Care Certificate implementation and delivery that wasinflexible and unsupported. Didactic rather than participatory approaches to training delivery. Lack of supervision and assessment of standards. Lack of peer support and mentoring for care workers. Inadequate resourcing, in terms of materials, assessors, care worker time and backfill fortraining.Summary of significant implications for policy and practiceFor practitionersThe Care Certificate training is most effectively delivered using participatory and experientialapproaches and incorporating practical and classroom components to facilitate the transfer oflearning into everyday practice.For servicesOrganisations should recognise the Care Certificate completion through such things as certificatepresentation ceremonies. Care staff should be encouraged to ‘own’, value and be aware of theircontinued professional development through regular mentoring and peer support.For workforce development strategistsGuidelines on the implementation of the Care Certificate should be updated to incorporate greaterclarity on a number of aspects and support should be targeted at small care organisations on howthey can implement the Care Certificate standards.AcknowledgementsThis summary is based on independent research commissioned and funded by the NIHR PolicyResearch Programme (Evaluating the Care Certificate). The views expressed in the publicationare those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR, the Department ofHealth, ‘arms’ length bodies or other government departments.Acknowledgement is made to the contribution of the research team in the performance of thisevaluation including Louise Thomson, Elaine Argyle, Zaynah Khan, Justine Schneider, AntonyArthur, Jill Maben, Heather Wharrad, Boliang Guo and Julian Eve.Further informationThe Care Certificate:https://www.skillsforcare.org.uk/Learning-development/Care-Certificate/Care-Certificate.aspxEvaluating the Care Certificate findings: https://www.institutemh.org.uk/research/projects-and-studies/completed-studies/evaluating-the-care-certificate/270-evaluating-the-care-certificate-findingsAbout the authorDr Elaine Argyle is a dually registered health and social care professional (RMN; DipSW) withmany years experience in these capacities. In addition, she has a PhD in Social Policy and overten years postdoctoral research and teaching experience, primarily in the areas of health andsocial care, health humanites and workforce development in front line care.

The national evaluation of the Care Certificate

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The national evaluation of the Care Certificate

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