People are asking about the Care Certificate and how it fits with the new Apprenticeship standards so we’ve developed the statement below. Please feel free to use and share it as required:
The expectation is that healthcare apprentices will meet the 15 standards of the Care Certificate and that this will be checked at the end point assessment gateway. This means the apprentice has to be able to demonstrate to the End Point Assessment Organisation Assessor that they have met the Care Certificate standards and are therefore able to undertake the end point assessment. (They will have to demonstrate they meet the English and maths requirements in the same way).
The gateway requirement doesn’t mean the apprentice must ‘hold’ a Care Certificate but that the apprentice must be able to demonstrate to the End Point Assessment Organisation assessor that they have met the 15 standards. How this is done is up to the employer (and any training provider) as they will provide the training and assessment for the apprentice to meet the Care Certificate standards (in the same way as it is up to them to demonstrate this to the CQC). The most obvious way is for the apprentice to have a Care Certificate ‘certificate’ but if the employer or provider can demonstrate that the standards have been met through achievement of a regulated qualification or through some other evidence this would also be acceptable.
The Trailblazer Groups will monitor any reports of inconsistency in the way that End Point Assessment Organisations are asking the apprentices to demonstrate they meet the gateway requirements.
Further information on the Care Certificate itself can be found here.