There is a great need for funding from the Government into training and developing the adult social care workforce. In December 2021, the need for funding was recognised when the People at the Heart of Care white paper was published, which set out a 10 year timeline for adult social care. As part of this plan, the Government is launching a new Adult Social Care Training and Development Fund which is due to go live in summer 2024.
The fund is intended to be used to upskill the adult social care workforce in England and all eligible employers in adult social care can claim reimbursement allowing employers to improve quality of work and services provided, without being out of pocket. They can be reimbursed on varying levels for:
- Care skills funding
- Revalidation funding
The fund will be administered by the NHS Business Services Authority on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care and claims will be reimbursed through a digital online claims service through the GOV.UK.
Care Skills Funding
This funding provides reimbursement for a large range of training and development that have met government quality assurance standards, which includes the newly developed Level 2 Adult Social Care Certificate. It has been recognised that over 50% of the workforce do not hold an accredited qualification, despite the industry being made of experienced and committed individuals who should be recognised for the quality of care that they provide. This should then help to push recruitment in the sector and recruit talent, proving that care work is a valued career.
The government is providing more than £50million to support up to 37,000 individuals in care roles to enroll on to the new Level 2 Adult Social Care Certificate qualification by March 2025. The plan is to include more courses in the future as the scheme rolls out.
A full list of the quality assured training courses and qualifications that will be included in the new Funding can be found here – https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/adult-social-care-training-and-developmentfund/adult-social-care-training-and-development-fund-a-guide-for-employers#appendix-a-listof-eligible-training courses-and-qualifications
Revalidation Funding
The Government also has plans to make contributions to the cost of continuing professional development for revalidation for eligible, registered staff. In summer 2024 we will have more information about this and we will keep you updated.
Eligibility
The new funding is available for non-regulated members of the adult social care workforce in England. To qualify, the following conditions must be met:
- They must provide adult social care services
- They must directly employ care staff in England
- They must have completed the Adult Social Care Workforce Data Set
Funding is not available for regulated members of the adult social care workforce (such as registered nurses). Funding is available for personal assistants in the adult social care workforce, provided that their employer has completed the ASC-WDS for their organisation.
This is a really positive step in the sector and we look forward to seeing the impact in the months and years to come.
