New to care? The Care Certificate is your first step. What the 16 standards cover, what changed in 2025, and where it leads next.
By the numbers
| Measure | Figure | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Care Certificate standards | 16 | Up from 15 in March 2025 |
| Turnover among staff in their first year in role | 33.7% | One in three new starters leave within a year |
| Turnover among under-25s | 35.5% | The highest of any age group |
| Care and support workers with Level 2 or above | 37% | 48% in 2018/19 |
| Adult social care apprenticeship starts, 2023/24 | 23,420 | Down 5% on the year before; starts rose again in 2024/25 |
| Link to quality | Positive | Skills for Care finds greater uptake of the Care Certificate is associated with higher CQC ratings |
If you are starting your first job in care, you will hear about the Care Certificate in your first week. Some new starters see it as paperwork to get through. I would encourage you to see it differently. The Care Certificate sets out 16 standards for people new to health and social care, and it is the foundation of every career route in care.
What is the Care Certificate?
It is an agreed set of standards for people new to care in roles that are not regulated by a professional body. It is not a qualification in itself, and it is not a legal requirement, but CQC expects to see it in induction. You show your employer you have the knowledge and skills for each standard through learning, observation in practice and assessment.
It was significantly updated in March 2025. It grew from 15 to 16 standards, with a new standard on learning disability and autism, and more emphasis on infection prevention, restrictive practices, dementia care and human rights.
The 16 standards
| No. | Standard | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Understand your role | Your responsibilities, agreed ways of working and where your career can go |
| 2 | Your personal development | Planning your learning, including digital skills |
| 3 | Duty of care | Acting in people's best interests and being open when things go wrong |
| 4 | Equality, diversity, inclusion and human rights | Treating everyone fairly and challenging discrimination |
| 5 | Work in a person-centred way | Putting the person at the centre, including mental capacity |
| 6 | Communication | Understanding people, including behaviour as communication |
| 7 | Privacy and dignity | Respecting privacy and supporting independence |
| 8 | Fluids and nutrition | Supporting eating and drinking, and reporting changes |
| 9 | Awareness of mental health and dementia | Recognising needs and making reasonable adjustments |
| 10 | Adult safeguarding | Recognising and reporting abuse and neglect |
| 11 | Safeguarding children | What to do if a child may be at risk |
| 12 | Basic life support | Responding in an emergency |
| 13 | Health and safety | Keeping yourself and others safe, including managing stress |
| 14 | Handling information | Keeping records accurate and secure |
| 15 | Infection prevention and control | Hand hygiene, PPE and stopping the spread of infection |
| 16 | Awareness of learning disability and autism | Understanding and adapting your support |
Three things new starters often don't realise
- It is assessed in practice, not just online. You can learn the theory on a course, but your assessor needs to see you apply it, for example how you protect someone's dignity during personal care.
- Standard 16 links to a legal duty. Learning disability and autism training is now a legal requirement for CQC-registered providers, and the Care Certificate gives you the foundation.
- It is portable. If you move to another employer, your Care Certificate can go with you, though your new employer may check your competence.
- In their first year
- 33.7%
- 20 years or more
- 12.6%
Source: Skills for Care, 2026
Tips for getting through it well
- Ask questions. Your colleagues were new once, and shadowing is the best time to learn.
- Keep a reflective log. Note what you saw, what you did and what you learned. It makes assessment easier.
- Link it to real people. When you learn about communication, think about the person you supported this morning.
- Don't rush. The standards are designed to be completed in about 12 weeks for full-time staff. Understanding matters more than speed.
What comes next?
The Care Certificate is step one. Next, many care workers move on to the Level 2 Adult Social Care Certificate, a regulated qualification developed by the Department of Health and Social Care. Employers can claim funding for eligible qualifications through the Learning and Development Support Scheme. From there, the Care Workforce Pathway maps your route to senior, specialist and management roles.
Sources
- Skills for Health: the Care Certificate standards(opens in a new tab)
- Flourish: 2025 Care Certificate changes at a glance(opens in a new tab)
- Staffordshire County Council: Level 2 Adult Social Care Certificate(opens in a new tab)
- Skills for Care: new report identifies factors linked to better retention of care workers(opens in a new tab)
- Skills for Care: apprenticeships in adult social care, 2024/25(opens in a new tab)
