Develop your skills and take on greater responsibility in patient-centred care
The Senior Healthcare Support Worker Level 3 Apprenticeship is designed for experienced healthcare support staff who want to develop their knowledge, skills and confidence while taking on more advanced responsibilities within the health and care environment.
Senior Healthcare Support Workers play an important role in supporting registered healthcare professionals and wider clinical teams to deliver safe, effective and person-centred care.
Working within their level of competence and under appropriate delegation, they may support patients with more complex care needs, carry out delegated clinical tasks, monitor wellbeing and contribute to the delivery of clinical, diagnostic or therapeutic interventions.
The role can be found across a wide range of settings, including hospitals, community services, care homes, primary care and other NHS and healthcare organisations.
About the Apprenticeship
Senior Healthcare Support Workers work as part of the wider health and care team, supporting registered professionals to provide high-quality, person-centred care.
They work with patients, service users and carers, as well as doctors, nurses, midwives, allied health professionals, social care staff and administrative and management teams.
Throughout the apprenticeship, learners develop the skills and knowledge to:
- Provide person-centred care and support
- Monitor and report changes in patient wellbeing
- Support people with more complex care needs
- Carry out delegated clinical activities within their competence
- Contribute to clinical, diagnostic or therapeutic interventions
- Communicate effectively with patients, carers and colleagues
- Work collaboratively as part of a multidisciplinary team
- Maintain accurate and appropriate records
- Follow agreed policies, procedures and ways of working
- Handle sensitive and confidential information appropriately
- Maintain a safe environment for patients, service users and colleagues
- Support and guide other members of the team where appropriate
Person-Centred Care
Senior Healthcare Support Workers are central to the delivery of compassionate, person-centred care.
Learners develop an understanding of the individual needs, preferences and circumstances of the people they support, while recognising the importance of dignity, respect, choice and communication.
They learn to work collaboratively with patients, carers and the wider healthcare team to ensure care is delivered safely and effectively.
Working Within Your Competence
A key part of the role is understanding professional responsibilities and working within the limits of competence.
Learners develop the knowledge and confidence to:
- Recognise when support or guidance is required
- Follow agreed clinical and organisational procedures
- Work safely under appropriate delegation
- Maintain professional boundaries
- Escalate concerns appropriately
- Keep knowledge and skills up to date
- Take responsibility for their own work and professional development
This provides a strong foundation for developing greater responsibility while maintaining safe and effective practice.
What You’ll Learn
Throughout the apprenticeship, learners develop knowledge and practical skills in areas including:
- Person-centred care
- Health and wellbeing
- Communication and interpersonal skills
- Clinical and care support
- Supporting people with complex needs
- Health and safety
- Infection prevention and control
- Safeguarding
- Confidentiality and information governance
- Equality, diversity and inclusion
- Professional standards and responsibilities
- Teamwork and multidisciplinary working
- Continuing professional development
Learning is linked directly to the learner’s role, allowing them to develop their skills through real workplace experience..
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 |
