The Leader in Adult Care will guide and inspire teams to make positive differences to someone’s life when they are faced with physical, practical, social, emotional, psychological or intellectual challenges.
They will be a leader of the care team and will develop and implement a values-based culture at a service or unit level. They may be responsible for business development, financial control, organisational resilience and continuity as well as for managing risk and leading on organisational change.
A Leader in Adult Care has responsibility for managing community or residential-based services. This role has a large element of leadership, whether with other care workers and networks or in leading the service itself. A successful apprentice will have met all the requirements. They have a responsibility to ensure the service is safe, effective, caring, responsive to people’s needs and well-led. They may be a registered manager of a service, unit, deputy or assistant manager. They will be responsible for ensuring regulatory compliance with the care given and the values and training of staff with established standards and regulations.
These are the personal attributes and behaviours expected of all Leaders in Adult Care carrying out their roles:
- Care is caring consistently and enough about individuals to make a positive difference to their lives
- Compassion – is delivering care and support with kindness, consideration, dignity, empathy and respect
- Courage – is doing the right thing for people and speaking up if the individual they support is at risk
- Communication – good communication is central to successful caring relationships and effective team working
- Competence – is applying knowledge and skills to provide high-quality care and support
- Commitment – to improving the experience of people who need care and support ensuring it is person-centered.
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: 15-18 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.
Induction
Leader in Adult Care requirements:
Understanding of candidate’s duties and responsibilities
Understanding the candidate’s personal development.
Understanding of duty of care and safeguarding.
The role of a multi-disciplinary team and different working relationships within the health and social care sector.
Core values underpinning the role.
Duty of care and the need to treat individuals with dignity and respect.
Regulations, legislation, standards and importance of acting within agreed ways of working.
This will be delivered in class and include blended learning, follow-up, group discussion, webinar/online learning, group discussion and workplace discussion.
Units
1. Tasks and responsibilities
Knowledge
Statutory frameworks, standards, guidance and Codes of Practice which underpin practice in relation to the safe delivery of services
Systems and processes needed to ensure compliance with regulations and organisational policies and procedures including health and safety and risk management
Principles of risk management, assessment and outcome based practice
Principles and underpinning theories of change management including approaches, tools and techniques that support the change process
Legislative and regulatory frameworks which inform quality standards
Theories and models that underpin performance and appraisal including disciplinary procedures.
Skills
Develop and apply systems and processes needed to ensure compliance with regulations and organisational policies and procedures
Implement strategies to support others to manage the risks presented when balancing individual rights and professional duty of care
Develop and apply systems and processes that monitor and sustain quality of the service, including assessments, care plans and service delivery
Lead and support others to work in a person-centered way and to ensure active participation which enhances the well-being and quality of life of individuals
Encourage and enable both staff and people who access care and support to be involved in the co-production of how the service operates
Manage all resources in delivering complex care and support efficiently and effectively.
2. Dignity and human rights
Knowledge
Legislation and policy initiatives on the promotion of diversity, equality and inclusion in services they lead
Skills
Develop and lead implementation of organisational practices to create and sustain a culture that actively champions dignity and respects diversity, inclusion and fairness in the workplace
Develop and lead a culture that values courage in working in ways that may challenge workers’ own cultural and belief systems.
3. Communication
Knowledge
Legal and ethical frameworks in relation to confidentiality and sharing information
Range of tools and strategies to enhance communication including technology.
Skills
Develop and implement organisational processes to ensure that records and reports are written clearly and concisely and to keep information safe and preserve confidentiality
Translate policy and guidance into understandable information for a range of audiences including people who access care and support, carers and families and other colleagues.
4. Safeguarding
Knowledge
Legislation, national and local solutions for the safeguarding of adults and children including reporting requirements
The elements needed to create a culture that supports whistleblowing in the organisation.
Skills
Implement systems to train and support work colleagues to enable them to recognise and respond to potential signs of abuse and or unsafe practices, following organisational policies and procedures
Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of organisational policies, systems and processes for safeguarding.
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5. Health and wellbeing
Knowledge
Models of monitoring, reporting and responding to changes in health and wellbeing.
Skills
Lead the implementation of policies, procedures and practices to manage health, safety and risk to individuals and others in health and social care to ensure compliance with legislation, standards and guidance
Implement health and safety and risk management policies, procedures and practices to create a culture that values health and well-being in the organisation
Monitor, evaluate and improve health, safety and risk management policies and practices in the service.
6. Professional development
Knowledge
Principles of professional development
Goals and aspirations that support own professional development and how to access available opportunities
Elements needed to create a culture that values learning, professional development, reflective practice and evidence-based practice
Systems and processes necessary to ensure professional development opportunities are identified, planned, sourced, evaluated and recorded for workers.
Skills
Apply evaluated research and evidence-based practice in own setting
Take initiative to research and disseminate current drivers in the adult care landscape
Embed systems to improve performance of self and/or work colleagues through supervision, reflective practice and learning and development opportunities.
7. Leadership
Knowledge
Theories of management and leadership and their application to adult care
Features of effective team performance.
Skills
Show a well-developed sense of their own behaviour and impact on others modelling a values-based culture
Create a supportive culture that values initiative and innovation and recognises the variety of skills of all within the service, both workers and individuals supported
Adopt a team approach, recognising contributions of team members and able to lead a team where required.
Learners will also complete the Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management for Adult Care to support the apprenticeship.
Course Delivery
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 in 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.
A PMA Tutor will be assigned to work with the candidate throughout the duration of the course and will support them through their journey. The programme will be delivered through face-to-face learning with their Tutor, online via the ILM Illuminate portal and through Tutor observations. The Total Qualification Time is a minimum of 130 hours.
What is off-the-job training (OTJ)?
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 a reflective journal
Functional Skills
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.
End Point Assessment (EPA)
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 |
| Observation of Leadership and Q&A | 90 minutes | Fail/Pass/Distinction |
| Professional discussion | 90 minutes | Fail/Pass/Distinction |
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