Working in Health and Social Care

Know about service provision in health and social care.

Some examples of different types of service providers and services offered in health and social care may include:

statutory services e.g. 

• nurseries and schools - education
• hospitals - medical care
• care homes for elderly, dementia, respite care - support clients with daily living
• social services - support vulnerable families.

voluntary and private sector e.g. 

• private nurseries and schools - education
• care homes - assisted living and full time care
• out of school provision - care for children and  young people before and after school
• private home care services - assist with daily routines in clients own home.

Assessment Criteria

• 1.1
  Describe the different types of service providers for health and social care, including those offering statutory and independent provision.
  
• 1.2
  Outline the services offered by the different providers and the client groups they serve.

Know about occupations in health and social care.

It is suggested that this learning outcome is studied in a holistic way. For example learners can:

• describe job roles in the each sector 
• outline possible jobs in the sector to work with adults
• outline possible jobs in the sector to work with children
• outline staffing structures and the inter-relationship between roles. 

Assessment Criteria

• 2.1
  Describe different job roles in the
  a) health sector
  b) social care sector.
  
• 2.2
  Outline health and social care jobs which involve working with adults, including the different types of service user (e.g. the elderly or people with learning disability).
  
• 2.3
  Outline health and social care jobs which involve working with children.
• 2.4
  Outline the staff structure within a specific health and social care setting, the roles and responsibilities of different staff within the structure and the inter-relationship between different roles.

Know about the skills and qualifications required to work in health and social care.

Learners should research the skills and qualifications required for working in health and social care and different job roles. This may include the level of qualification required for different job roles and different methods of gaining qualifications such as on-the-job or attending a training provider and gaining work experience as part of the qualification. Learners should become familiar with reputable sources of information about current qualifications.

Assessment Criteria

• 3.1
  Describe the skills needed to work in health and social care and why these are important.
  
• 3.2
  Outline the qualifications typically required for different job roles.

Know about career progression in health and social care.

• Learners need to describe different career pathways within health and social care. For example, they may choose to begin with a health care assistant and follow the pathway through to managerial positions. 

The importance of continuous professional development may include: 

• keeping up to date with new procedures, research and legislation
• enhancing own professional expertise
• maintaining and enhancing professional standards
• providing a quality service
• challenging thinking or current practice
• opportunity to progress to higher level positions

Assessment Criteria

• 4.1
  Describe different career pathways within health and social care.
  
• 4.2
  Explain the importance of continuous professional development to staff working in health and social care.