Training Requirements for Care Homes: A Complete Guide

Running a care home means navigating a complex landscape of training requirements. From CQC regulations to Skills for Care standards, ensuring your staff are properly trained is essential for providing quality care and maintaining compliance. This guide breaks down what you need to know.

The Regulatory Framework

Care homes in England are regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), which inspects services against five key questions: Are they safe, effective, caring, responsive, and well-led? Staff training plays a crucial role in meeting all five standards.

The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 requires providers to ensure staff receive appropriate training, professional development, supervision, and appraisal to enable them to carry out their duties.

Mandatory Training for Care Home Staff

While there's no single definitive list of "mandatory" training, the following are widely considered essential for care home staff:

Health and Safety

• Fire Safety – Understanding fire risks, prevention, and evacuation procedures
• Health and Safety Awareness – General workplace safety principles
• Manual Handling – Safe moving and handling of people and objects
• COSHH – Control of substances hazardous to health
• First Aid – At least some staff should hold first aid qualifications

Safeguarding

• Safeguarding Adults – Recognising and responding to abuse and neglect
• Mental Capacity Act and DoLS – Understanding consent and deprivation of liberty
• Duty of Candour – Being open when things go wrong

Infection Control

• Infection Prevention and Control – Preventing the spread of infections
• Food Hygiene – For staff involved in food preparation

Person-Centred Care

• Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion – Treating everyone with dignity and respect
• Communication – Effective communication with residents and families
• Privacy and Dignity – Maintaining residents' rights

The Care Certificate

The Care Certificate is an identified set of 15 standards that new health and social care workers should complete during their induction period. While not legally mandatory, it's considered best practice and is often expected by CQC inspectors.

The 15 standards cover:

1. Understand your role
2. Your personal development
3. Duty of care
4. Equality and diversity
5. Work in a person-centred way
6. Communication
7. Privacy and dignity
8. Fluids and nutrition
9. Awareness of mental health, dementia, and learning disability
10. Safeguarding adults
11. Safeguarding children
12. Basic life support
13. Health and safety
14. Handling information
15. Infection prevention and control

Specialist Training

Depending on your residents' needs, additional specialist training may be required:

• Dementia Care – Understanding and supporting people with dementia
• End of Life Care – Providing compassionate care at the end of life
• Medication Administration – Safe handling and administration of medicines
• Diabetes Awareness – Managing diabetes in care settings
• Epilepsy Awareness – Recognising and responding to seizures
• Challenging Behaviour – De-escalation and positive behaviour support

Training Frequency

Most training needs to be refreshed regularly:

• Annual refresher – Fire safety, moving and handling, safeguarding, infection control
• Every 3 years – First aid, food hygiene
• As needed – When regulations change, new equipment is introduced, or following incidents

Managing Training in a Care Home

With high staff turnover common in the care sector, managing training can be challenging. Effective strategies include:

• Training matrix – Track who needs what training and when
• On-site training – Minimise disruption by bringing trainers to your home
• Blended learning – Combine online theory with practical sessions
• Group bookings – Train multiple staff together for efficiency
• Induction planning – Ensure new starters receive essential training promptly

The Cost of Not Training

Inadequate training can lead to:

• Poor CQC ratings (potentially "Requires Improvement" or "Inadequate")
• Enforcement action from regulators
• Increased accidents and incidents
• Higher staff turnover (staff feel unsupported)
• Complaints from residents and families
• Reputational damage