Course overview
The Lead Practitioner in Adult Care will guide and inspire team members to make positive differences to someone’s life when they are faced with physical, practical, social, emotional, psychological or intellectual challenges. They will have achieved a level of self-development to be recognised as a lead practitioner within the care team, contributing to, promoting and sustaining a values-based culture at an operational level. A Lead Practitioner has a greater depth of knowledge and expertise of particular conditions being experienced by the user of services. They will have specialist skills and knowledge in their area of responsibilities which will allow them to lead in areas such as care needs assessment, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, rehabilitation and enablement, telecare and assistive technology. They will be a coach and mentor to others and will have a role in assessing performance and quality of care delivery. Lead Practitioners in Adult Care may work in residential or nursing homes, domiciliary care, day centres, a person’s own home or some clinical healthcare settings. As well as covering Lead Practitioners in Adult Care this standard also covers Lead Personal Assistants who can work at this senior level but they may only work directly for one individual who needs support and/or care services, usually within their own home.
The learner journey
1. 18 months on-programme – This is when the individual will learn the skills, knowledge and behaviours which will support them for their End-Point Assessment. The learner could partake in a combination of activities, such as classroom based sessions, mentoring, shadowing, bespoke resources and off-site visits in order to support their learning and development.
You will be required to spend at least six hours a week on off-the-job training in order to meet the course requirements.
2. Gateway – After the 18 months teaching and learning, you, your training provider and the learner will review the learners journey and decide whether it is the right time for the on-programme assessment.
3. End-Point Assessment – This is when your learner will need to demonstrate they have learnt the required knowledge, skills and behaviours, through an on demand knowledge test, a professional discussion, practical observation and business project.
Eligibility
Those with an annual wage bill of less than £3m do not pay the Apprenticeship Levy. Instead, 95% of each apprenticeship is funded by the government whilst a 5% investment is required by the employer to enhance the skills of their employee.
- Employers are also be eligible for a £1000 incentive payment if the apprentice is aged 16–18.
- Employers with less than 50 employees and where the apprentice is aged 16–18, the government will fund 100% of the apprentice and are eligible for a £1000 incentive payment.
- Employers with those aged 19+ the government will continue to fund 95% of the apprenticeship programme whilst a 5% investment is required by the employer.
Businesses can manage this through the Apprenticeship Service online account.
Find out more
To learn additional information about this apprenticeship, you can explore our Course Sheet or Learner Journey.