Support individuals and communities to improve health, wellbeing and access to services
The Community Health and Wellbeing Worker Level 3 Apprenticeship is designed for individuals supporting people and communities to improve their health and wellbeing, prevent ill-health and access the services and support they need.
Community Health and Wellbeing Workers take a holistic, whole-person approach, considering the physical, mental, emotional and social factors that can influence a person’s health and wellbeing.
Working directly with individuals, families, community groups and partner organisations, learners develop the skills to provide guidance, promote healthier lifestyles, identify appropriate support and help reduce health inequalities.
The role is found across the NHS, public health teams, local authorities and voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations.
About the Apprenticeship
Community Health and Wellbeing Workers work in partnership with individuals and communities to identify and address health and wellbeing needs.
The role focuses on prevention, health improvement and reducing inequalities, while helping people understand and access appropriate services and resources.
Learners will develop the skills to:
- Support individuals to improve their health and wellbeing
- Promote healthier lifestyles and preventative approaches
- Take a holistic approach to individual needs
- Provide appropriate guidance and information
- Signpost individuals to relevant local services
- Work with community groups and organisations
- Identify barriers that may affect health and wellbeing
- Support people to make informed choices
- Develop appropriate information and resources
- Work collaboratively with health, care and community services
Understanding the Wider Factors That Affect Health
Good health is influenced by much more than healthcare alone.
Community Health and Wellbeing Workers consider the wider social determinants of health, including social, cultural, economic, environmental and other factors that can affect how people live and experience health and wellbeing.
Learners develop an understanding of how these factors can create barriers to good health and how community-based support can help people access appropriate resources and services.
This whole-person approach enables workers to look beyond an individual’s immediate needs and consider the wider circumstances affecting their wellbeing.
What You’ll Learn
TThroughout the apprenticeship, learners develop practical knowledge and skills in areas including:
- Health and wellbeing promotion
- Public health and prevention
- Health inequalities
- Social determinants of health
- Whole-person approaches to wellbeing
- Community engagement
- Signposting and referral
- Communication and relationship-building
- Supporting behaviour and lifestyle change
- Local health and community services
- Developing appropriate information and resources
- Working with community organisations
- Managing resources and small budgets
- Safeguarding and professional practice
Learners apply their learning directly within their workplace, building confidence through real interactions with individuals and communities.
Who Is This Apprenticeship For?
This apprenticeship is suitable for individuals already working in business, project, administration, operational or data-related roles who want to develop specialist business analysis skills.
It can be particularly suitable for people working as:
- Business Support Officer
- Project Support Officer
- Data Analyst
- Service Improvement Officer
- Operations Coordinator
- Systems Administrator
- Junior Business Analyst
- Digital or Transformation Support roles
The programme is also ideal for organisations seeking to develop internal capability in service improvement, digital transformation and business change.
Fees
This apprenticeship is 95% government-funded with a 5% employer co-investment. Please call or email for more information.
If you are an employer with a pay bill over £3 million each year, you will automatically be paying into the apprenticeship Levy. Please call or email for more information.
Further funding information can be found here.
Duration: 18 Months
Location: Workplace
Entry Requirements
It is expected that the learner will be working towards Functional Skills Level 2 or have prior accepted GCSE certificates. Alternatively, learners with long-standing evidence of work to a Level 3 standard may apply if they are supported by their employer and would then follow Functional Skills training alongside the apprenticeship.
It should also be noted that the learner will need to achieve a Level 2 standard in English and Mathematics prior to their End Point Assessment. These are referred to as Functional Skills and during enrolment, learners will be required to complete both Maths and English Initial Assessments and diagnostic tests to assess their level of understanding. If learners are exempt due to prior achievements, certificates must be presented as evidence before enrolment if this is the case, failure to do so will result in learners having to complete Functional Skills.
To be eligible for the apprenticeship learners will need to work a minimum of 30 hours per week and have the support of their line manager and employer. Learners will complete a self-assessment to assess their knowledge, skills and behaviours to ensure they are eligible for the apprenticeship.
This will include a wide range of teaching and learning techniques and styles including one-to-one coaching, discussions and teaching, observations, practical assessments, mentoring, independent research and e-learning. The assigned PMA Tutor/Assessor will use online face-to-face platforms such as Zoom/MS Teams/FaceTime/Skype, as well as periodic workplace visits.
Learners will have access to Aptem, our e-portfolio system that supports monitoring progression throughout the apprenticeship. It is the central system that keeps track of learner assignments, and evidence and holds resources that will support learners to complete the apprenticeship.
Line managers will be key drivers in learner development, importantly in agreeing the unique learning plan and keeping abreast of progress at every step.
The learner will be able to evidence that they spend 6 hours per week on learning/training and that this is:
- Directly relevant to the apprenticeship standard or framework and is teaching new knowledge, skills and behaviours
- The learning is taking place within the apprentice’s normal working hours (paid hours excluding overtime)
Apprentices will be expected to keep a log of all learning activities while working towards the off-the-job requirements of 6 hours per week
Off-the-job activities could include:
- Attending masterclass teaching and learning sessions
- Coaching
- Independent research
- In-house training
- Shadowing
- Industry visits
- Mentoring
- Supervision with employer
- Writing assignments
- Online learning
- Manufacturer training
- Roleplay
- Simulation exercises
- Team meetings that include training
- Completion of reflective journal
Functional Skills are nationally recognised qualifications in English and maths. They are part of a government initiative and designed to improve literacy and numeracy skills across the workforce. Due to this, Functional Skills are a mandatory part of Apprenticeship Standards. Anyone enrolling in an apprenticeship must complete Functional Skills English and Functional Skills maths unless they have already achieved them previously at Level 2 or have GCSEs (or equivalent) in both subjects at Grade C or above. Certificates must be presented as evidence before enrolment if this is the case, failure to do so will result in learners having to complete Functional Skills.
In order to support you in completing Functional Skills, PMA will undertake an initial assessment and diagnostic assessment which will enable its specialist tutors to identify which areas to focus on with you and this will form the basis of a personalised learning plan.
It is important to bear in mind that Functional Skills do require apprentices to sit formal examinations. The team will support you with exam techniques alongside your learning plan and will arrange for the examinations to take place at your workplace.
If you are undertaking a Level 2 apprenticeship, you are required to complete Functional Skills English and maths at Level 1. If however, you complete Functional Skills early, it is a government requirement for PMA to upskill you to Level 2 Functional Skills. If you are undertaking an apprenticeship at Level 3 or higher, then you will automatically be enrolled in Level 2 Functional Skills.
EPA is the name given to a series of tests that an apprentice must complete at the end of their apprenticeship in order to receive their certificate. The EPA confirms apprentices are capable of undertaking the job that they have been trained to do. These tests are undertaken with an external organisation (known as an end point assessment organisation) to remove any bias from the examination process. The employer will choose the end point assessment organisation and PMA will support them to obtain information pertinent to this if needed.
When apprentices enrol on an apprenticeship, they study various units covering a wide range of relevant topics for their job enhancing their knowledge, skills and behaviours. This is often referred to as being ‘on programme’ and apprentices must complete all of the mandatory components of this including Functional Skills where appropriate.
Once this is completed, it is at this point the employer, after discussion with their apprentice and PMA, ‘signs off’ their apprentice as ready for EPA. This decision process is known as the ‘gateway’ to End Point Assessment.
The apprentice must be assessed by a minimum of 2 different assessment methods and the methods used will be the ones most relevant to the job.
| End-point assessment methods | Duration | Grading options |
| Multiple choice test | 45 minutes | Fail/Pass |
| Demonstration of practice | 100 minutes | Fail/Pass/Distinction |
| Professional discussion underpinned by a portfolio of evidence | 60 minutes | Fail/Pass/distinction |
