Overview of Apprenticeship
A level 3 qualification with a length of 18 months.
Lead Adult Care Workers are the frontline staff who help adults with care and support needs to achieve their personal goals and live as independently and safely as possible, enabling them to have control and choice in their lives. As a care worker you will make a real difference in the lives of those you care for.
Lead Adult Care Workers have the responsibility for providing supervision, frontline leadership, guidance and direction to others. There will be moments where you will be working autonomously, exercising judgement and accountability.
Typical job titles include Care Officer, Care Supervisor, Senior Care Worker, Supervising Care Worker, Senior Support Worker, Relief Team Leader, Social Work Assistant, Social Services Officer, Outreach Development Worker, Community Support Worker, Community Outreach Worker, Community Development Worker, Family Support Worker or Personal Assistant.
These could all specialise in a variety of areas such as learning disability, mental health, drug and alcohol misuse, homecare, dementia and end-of-life care.
Lead Adult Care Workers may work in residential or nursing homes, domiciliary care, day centres or some clinical healthcare settings. As well as covering Lead Adult Care Workers this standard also covers Lead Personal Assistants who can work at this senior level but they may only work directly for one individual who needs support and/or care services, usually within their own home.
Personal Attributes of a Lead Care Worker
The qualities that you will have can be summed up in the 6 C’s
Care – you will make it your purpose to be a positive influence in people’s lives
Compassion – you will treat people with dignity, respect and understanding
Courage – the willingness to speak up for others and for yourself
Communication – good communication is central to successful caring relationships and effective team working
Competence – be able to apply what you’ve learnt to supply the highest possible care
Commitment – to improving the experience of people who need care and support ensuring it is person centred
What you will learn about being a Lead Adult Care Worker
– The job they have to do, their main tasks and responsibilities
– The importance of having the right values and behaviours
– The importance of communication
– How to support individuals to remain safe from harm (Safeguarding)
– How to champion health and well-being for the individuals they support and work colleagues
– How to work professionally, including their own professional development of those they support and work colleagues
A Lead Adult Care Worker must be able to:
– The main tasks and responsibilities according to their job role
– Treat people with respect and dignity and honour their human rights
– Communicate clearly and responsibly
– Support individuals to remain safe from harm (Safeguarding)
– Champion health and wellbeing for the individuals they support
– Work professionally and seek to develop their own professional development
Qualifications
Level 3 Diploma in Adult Care.
Individuals without level 2 English and maths will need to achieve this level prior to taking the end-point assessment.
For those with an education, health and care plan or a legacy statement the apprenticeships English and maths minimum requirement is Entry Level 3 and British Sign Language qualification are an alternative to English qualifications for whom this is their primary language.
Undertake the Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service process and provide the result prior to starting.
The individual must meet the 15 standards as set out in the Care Certificate. The Care Quality Commission expect that providers that employ healthcare assistants and social care support workers follow these standards to make sure new staff are supported, skilled and assessed as competent to carry out their roles.
