Common Induction Standards

CQC/skills for care Guidance on common induction standards

Outcome

1.1 The purpose of the standards covering staff induction within the National Minimum Standards is to drive improvement by promoting the development of a competent, qualified and skilled workforce that will better meet the needs of people who use services.

1.2 The Common Induction Standards (CIS), which have been developed by Skills for Care1, set down minimum expectations as to the learning outcomes that need to be met so that new workers know all they need to know to work safely and effectively. They also support continuing professional development, including helping prepare workers for entry onto the appropriate Health and Social Care National Vocational Qualification (NVQ)

1.3 This guidance is produced by CQC and Skills for Care to update inspectors and providers about the new Common Induction Standards. It also indicates how they will be taken into account by inspectors in making judgements about how well new staff have been prepared to fulfil their expected roles.

2 Background

2.1 Skills for Care launched the Common Induction Standards in September 2005. The Common Induction Standards are a revised version of the ‘Induction and Foundation’ standards. They apply to adult services and have been updated to reflect modernised social care practice. The previous induction and foundation standards were withdrawn at the end of September 2006 with the expectation that employers will now use the Common Induction Standards. The introduction of the Common Induction Standards does not alter the pre- existing requirements for statutory training in first aid, moving and handling, food hygiene and health and safety.

2.2 Care providers need to be able to demonstrate that they are complying with the service specific regulations covering staff competence and training

1 Topss England changed its name to Skills for Care on 1st April 2005.

of 4 (e.g. Care Homes Regulations 18.1, Domiciliary Care Regulations 15.2). The Department of Health has confirmed that it is reasonable for the Commission to have regard to the Common Induction Standards when assessing whether or not providers are complying with the regulations. The forthcoming review of the National Minimum Standards will seek to update the relevant standards to reflect the introduction of the Common Induction Standards.

2.3 The Common Induction Standards are for people entering adult social care, and those changing roles or changing employers within adult social care. They provide a structured start for new workers and are intended to build confidence by developing competency, and supporting continuing professional development.

The six Common Induction Standards are as follows:  Understand principles of care  Understand the organisation and the role of the worker  Maintain safety at work  Communicate effectively  Recognise and respond to abuse and neglect  Develop as a worker

2.4 Each standard contains outcomes that have to be met before the worker is ‘safe to leave’ – this term is explained within the glossary to the Common Induction Standards and relates to the point at which a new worker is judged to be able to do all, or some of their job role unsupervised. Details of the outcomes that comprise each standard and how they link to NVQ core units and the GSCC code of practice are obtainable via the Skills for Care website. The learning can be delivered in a variety of different ways, including observation, published materials, training courses, mentoring, supervision, and discussion etc

Guidance on key issues

3 Timeframe

3.1 The Common Induction Standards have been designed to be met within a maximum 12 week period. This is to acknowledge, for example, that some certificated learning such as food hygiene training can be difficult to access within a short timeframe and to acknowledge differences between individual workers (e.g. a full time worker may be able to complete sooner than a part time worker).

3.2 In many instances however, it will be possible for the manager to be confident that the worker can work unsupervised (‘safe to leave’) or to complete the induction standards within a much shorter timeframe. Whilst a worker that is completely new to the care sector will need to meet all of the Common Induction Standards, workers with evidence of successful completion of induction in another care setting may satisfy the manager that the full common

of 4 induction need not be undertaken. The manager will nevertheless need to consider whether the worker should repeat any induction outcomes that are workplace specific.

3.3 The manager’s guidance produced by Skills for Care gives a number of examples of how to take into account the prior learning and experience of new workers who are not new to the care sector (see paragraph 6.1)

4 Registered manager’s responsibilities

4.1 Registered managers have a duty to ensure that new workers are competent across all of the six outcome areas. In order to do so the registered manager needs to ensure that the worker’s knowledge is accurately assessed as reaching the required standard. When the manager is satisfied that a worker has met all of the outcomes it is his/her responsibility to formally sign off the induction as complete.

4.2 It is important to note that, whilst the registered manager may delegate elements of the induction process to other staff, he/she retains an overall responsibility for assuring the competence of new staff and the signed ‘Certificate of Successful Completion’ is important evidence of this. Further details about assessing workers’ learning are contained within the Skills for Care managers’ guidance (see paragraph 6.1).

4.3 The manager is also responsible for determining when a new worker is ‘safe to leave’. The Skills for Care guidance refers to the value of risk assessment in relation to the worker’s capabilities and the specific tasks required by their job role.

4.4 There are specific requirements within the service specific regulations regarding the induction and supervisory arrangements for new workers who in exceptional circumstances start work prior to receipt of a full CRB disclosure. These must be adhered to regardless of the ‘safe to leave’ decision in relation to the Common Induction Standards. Details are included in the CQC CRB guidance Annex 2, which can be found on the following website by searching for ‘criminal records bureau check’: http://www.CQC.org.uk/

5 Inspectors’ judgements about effective staff induction

5.1 Inspectors will take the following into account when making judgements about effective staff induction:  Evidence that the manager and newly appointed staff since October 1st 2006 are aware of the Common Induction Standards.

 That any newly appointed staff, who are interviewed or observed as part of the inspection process, demonstrate knowledge consistent with the Common Induction Standards, as applied to their workplace

of 4  That feedback from people who use services demonstrates that they feel assured that new staff are competent – “they know what they are doing”

 That managers can demonstrate their rationale for determining when new workers are ‘safe to leave’.

 That there is a record of the manager’s “sign off” of a completed induction for new workers appointed since October 1st 2006. This will typically be supported by a progress log, which contains a record of when each outcome was achieved. Whilst providers may choose to use the workbook produced by Skills for Care, it is equally acceptable for them to develop bespoke materials and recording methods provided that these demonstrate coverage and sign off of the Common Induction Standards and the associated outcomes.

5.2 Because of the overlap between the common induction outcomes and certain key inspection standards, there will be opportunities for inspectors to gather evidence about the effectiveness of staff induction when inspecting against other standards. For example, where a newly recruited worker is interviewed about their knowledge of safeguarding adult procedures and “whistleblowing” in relation to care homes for older people National Minimum Standard 18 this will also indicate whether CIS 5 ‘Recognise and respond to abuse and neglect’ has been effectively covered and understood.

6 Further information

6.1 Skills for Care has developed examples of documentation regarding the CIS including the standards, a manager’s guide, a guide for workers and a progress log of standards with a certificate of successful completion. These are available to download free of charge from the Skills for Care website.

http://www.skillsforcare.org.uk

6.2 Social care employers who wish to assess and develop the basic skills of their employees (including language, communication and number skills) alongside the induction process may wish to look at the Supporting Induction in Social Care project (SISCo).

http://www.sisco.org.uk