Health and Social Care: Practice (Adults)

Qualification overview

The qualification is practice-based and assesses learners’ knowledge and competence to practice. It develops the learner’s ability to practically support health and care needs of adults in a range of settings and will enable them to develop and demonstrate their knowledge, understanding, behaviours, skills and practice within a health and social care setting. In particular, learners will be able to demonstrate that they:

• understand, and apply in practice, the principles and values which underpin health and social care
• understand, and apply in practice, person-centred approaches
• make a positive contribution to the health and social care sector though their own practice
• reflect on practice to continuously improve
• understand job roles and ways of working within the health and social care sector
• use literacy, numeracy and digital competency skills as appropriate within their role.

It is suitable for:

• learners from 16 years of age who working in a support role with adults in the Healthcare and Social Care Sectors
• learners who have completed the Level 2 Health and Social Care: Core qualification
• learners already employed in the Healthcare and Social Care Sectors
• learners returning to the work place after a career break looking to refresh their knowledge and skills
• Learners who have completed the Level 2 Health and Social Care: Principles and Contexts (Adults) qualification.

It is strongly encouraged that learners have completed the core qualification prior to, or alongside the Level 2 Health and Social Care: Practice (Adults) as this will be a requirement for practice set by Social Care Wales. It is also a feature of the Foundation Apprenticeship in Health and Social Care.

The mandatory content of the qualification is aligned to the key themes of the All Wales Induction Framework for Health and Social Care and includes:

• professional practice
• health and safety
• safeguarding
• legislation, national policy and codes of practice
• health and well-being (adults)
• a range of practice areas such as dementia or learning disability.

This qualification contains a single mandatory and a range of optional units that are linked to
specific types of support or health and social care settings.
To achieve the Level 2 Health and Social Care: Practice (Adults) qualification learners must achieve a minimum of 35 credits in total:

• 14 credits must be achieved from the mandatory unit
• a minimum of 21 credits will be selected from the suite of optional units which include units
  that are about direct support and healthcare.

The learner must successfully complete:

• a portfolio of evidence that includes direct observation of practice
• externally set, internally assessed tasks.

Successful completion of the qualification enables learners to work as a qualified health and social care worker in Level 2 roles across the Healthcare and Social Care.

It will also enable learners to apply for registration with Social Care Wales as a domiciliary care worker providing that they meet any additional registration requirements. For further
information please visit: https://socialcare.wales/registration

The qualification supports learners to progress to:

• Level 3 Health and Social Care: Practice (Adults)
• Level 3 Health and Social Care: Practice (Children and Young People)
• Advanced GCE and Advanced Subsidiary GCE in Heath and Social Care, and Childcare
• Level 4 Preparing for Leadership and Management in Health and Social Care
• Level 4 Professional Practice in Health and Social Care.