Carevia Knowledge Centre · Workforce and competence

What training should care staff complete?

Care staff should complete training that reflects their role, the needs of the people they support and the risks within the service. This includes core training, training for particular responsibilities and learning about people’s individual needs. Managers should also check that staff can use what they have learned in practice.

In adult social care, training can feel like a minefield. There is an abundance of legislation that influences the training that staff must complete. Perhaps the biggest concern is missing an area where staff need specific training or support.

A training matrix can tell you who has completed a course and when their refresher is due. It cannot, on its own, tell you whether someone can provide safe, person-centred support. A green box is useful information, but you still need to understand what sits behind it.

It is easy to think that there is a one-size-fits-all approach to training. However, this isn’t the reality. CQC does not prescribe one training list that suits all services. This is partly because of the diverse nature of care services. Regulation 18: Staffing makes it clear staff must be suitably qualified, competent, skilled and experienced to meet the needs of the people being supported.

Many providers use e-learning. This is great at giving staff knowledge; however, it doesn’t necessarily make them competent. This means services should look beyond e-learning training as a solution for competent staff. It is important to remember that training does not always equal competence.

It is important to remember that training and competence can also affect compliance with other regulations. This is because some training, like medicines training and competency assessment, can also impact on safety at a service. Therefore, Regulation 12: Safe care and treatment is also relevant.

Why does this matter now?

CQC’s State of Care 2025/26 workforce report highlights the difference between completing training and applying it.

In services rated outstanding for the safe key question, CQC identified examples of training tailored to people’s needs, supported by observations, supervision and checks of competence. In services rated inadequate for safe, it found examples of incomplete training, gaps in specialist knowledge and learning that had not translated into safe practice.

The Noticing Model™ can help staff put their training into practice. Training gives staff knowledge about what to look for, but they still need to notice it during a busy shift, recognise why it matters, respond and report appropriately, then reflect on what happened. These conversations can also help managers identify where staff need further coaching or support.

The report also recognises the pressures providers face in releasing staff for training. Planning learning time, staffing cover and opportunities to practise should therefore form part of your workforce arrangements.

What core training should staff receive?

Start with the knowledge and skills staff need to work safely in your service. Depending on their role and responsibilities, this will commonly include:

• Safeguarding adults and raising concerns.
• Person-centred care, dignity, equality and human rights.
• Communication.
• Consent, mental capacity and relevant restrictions.
• Infection prevention and control.
• Moving and handling.
• Health and safety, including fire safety.
• Basic life support and responding to emergencies.
• Food safety, nutrition and hydration.
• Accurate recording, confidentiality and handling information.
• Learning disability and autism (Regulation 18: Staffing has been updated to include this requirement).

This is a starting point for planning, rather than a universal course list. Check the requirements relevant to your service and use Skills for Care’s statutory and mandatory training guidance to support your decisions.

For staff new to care, the Care Certificate standards provide a foundation for induction. The standards were updated in March 2025 and now include 16 standards. Assessment covers what workers know and what they can do in their role; completing online learning alone does not establish practical competence.

Induction should also introduce your service’s procedures, equipment, reporting arrangements and the people the member of staff will support.

The induction period is also the perfect time to introduce expectations, culture and values. Noticing Culture™ can help you introduce and maintain your service’s values.

What training depends on the person’s role?

Someone administering medicines needs different training from someone whose responsibilities involve preparing meals. A deputy completing medicines audits needs to understand how to assess practice and recognise concerns, as well as how medicines should be managed.

Consider responsibilities such as medicines support, preparing texture-modified food, supervising colleagues, investigating incidents and completing audits. Where staff undertake delegated healthcare activities, agree the necessary training, supervision and competence assessment with the relevant healthcare professionals.

In addition, it is essential to consider how you train and support people in different roles. For example, what do you offer to a Team Leader or Deputy Manager that is different from what you offer to a Support Worker? How do you have assurance that those who supervise staff can supervise them effectively?

CQC’s Regulation 18 guidance expects role-appropriate support and development, including supervision until staff demonstrate the competence needed to work unsupervised. It also requires learning disability and autism training appropriate to staff members’ roles.

How should training reflect the people supported?

Look at the people your team supports now and any planned admissions or changes in need. Your training plan may need to include dementia, epilepsy, diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, dysphagia, pressure care or other specific support needs. A sensible starting point is listing the diagnoses and needs of the people you support and cross-referencing these with the training staff have completed. This should include how people communicate. We have seen services breach Regulation 18: Staffing because people being supported communicate using Makaton and too few staff were trained to understand and use Makaton.

The course title is only part of the decision. Staff need to understand how their learning applies to the individual.

For example, epilepsy training should be followed by learning about the person’s seizure presentation, support plan and escalation arrangements. Where rescue medicine is prescribed, staff responsible for administering it need the relevant training and assessed competence.

Similarly, autism training should help staff understand someone’s communication, sensory needs and preferences. What adjustments does this person need during personal care? How do they communicate discomfort? What helps when the environment becomes overwhelming?

These questions bring the learning back to the person receiving support.

How often should training be refreshed?

Set refresher arrangements using relevant requirements, guidance, training recommendations, provider procedures and assessed risks. Different subjects and responsibilities may need different arrangements.

Also review learning needs when:

• Someone’s needs, equipment or support arrangements change.
• A staff member takes on a new responsibility.
• An incident, complaint or observation identifies a gap.
• Guidance or procedures change.
• Staff have not used a particular skill for some time.
• A member of staff says they need more support.

A course may still be in date when someone needs additional coaching or reassessment. Equally, repeating the same course will have limited value if the difficulty is unclear instructions, unsuitable equipment or insufficient opportunity to practise.

How can RAOF™ check whether training is used in practice?

RAOF™: Read, Ask, Observe and Feedforward helps managers explore the connection between completed training and everyday support.

Take moving and handling as an example. A member of staff has completed training, and their training record is up to date. You still need assurance that they can support a particular person using the equipment and arrangements in that person’s plan.

Read: Review the person’s moving and handling plan, relevant assessments, training record and competence assessment. Are the instructions clear and current? Does the assessment cover the equipment and support the staff member is expected to provide?

Ask: Invite the member of staff to explain how they support the person, why the agreed equipment is used and what they would do if something changed. Ask the person receiving support about their experience, using their preferred communication.

Observe: With the person’s consent and appropriate attention to privacy, observe whether support follows the plan. Consider communication, comfort, involvement and the use of equipment. The observer must be competent to assess the activity.

Feedforward: Use what you find to decide what happens next. This might include recognising good practice, clarifying instructions, arranging coaching or obtaining specialist advice. Agree how you will check that any improvement has worked.

If you identify unsafe practice, address the immediate risk and follow the relevant escalation procedures.

RAOF™ supports your oversight. Formal competence assessments still need to be completed by someone with the appropriate knowledge and skills.

What should I record?

Keep a clear record of the training required, why it is needed, who should complete it and when. Alongside course completion, record relevant competence assessments, supervision, practice observations and any further support agreed.

Your Needs-Led Training Matrix can help organise the requirements. Conversations and checks of practice help you establish whether those requirements have been met in a way that makes a difference.

Appropriate training also helps staff know what to notice, recognise why it matters and respond appropriately. The Noticing Hub™ supports teams to explore these connections through scenarios, conversations and reflection on everyday practice.

When reviewing training, ask: “What can this member of staff now do, and how does that improve the support this person receives?” The answer gives you more useful assurance than a completion percentage alone.