Occupational Profile
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.
- Care – is caring consistently and enough about individuals to make a positive difference to their lives
- Compassion – is delivering care and support with kindness, consideration, dignity, empathy and respect
- Courage – is doing the right thing for people and speaking up if the individual they support is at risk
- Communication – good communication is central to successful caring relationships and effective team working
- Competence – is applying knowledge and skills to provide high quality care and support
- Commitment – to improving the experience of people who need care and support ensuring it is person centred
Examples of job roles include Dementia Lead, Re-ablement Worker, Physiotherapy Assistant, Occupational Therapy Assistant, Public Health Associate Worker, Keeping in Contact Worker, Community Care/Support Officer, Social Care Assessor, Care Assessment Officer, Social Services Officer, Brokerage Worker, Rehabilitation and Reablement Assistant, Independence Support Assistant, Reablement Support Workers/Officer, Telecare Assistant and Assistive Technology Co-ordinator/Officer.
Career options
Dementia Lead, Re-ablement Worker, Physiotherapy Assistant, Occupational Therapy Assistant, Public Health Associate Worker, Keeping in Contact Worker, Community Care/Support Officer, Social Care Assessor, Care Assessment Officer, Social Services Officer, Brokerage Worker, Rehabilitation and Reablement Assistant, Independence Support Assistant, Reablement Support Workers/Officer, Telecare Assistant and Assistive Technology Co-ordinator/Officer.
Duration
18 months (this does not include EPA period)
Delivery
The delivery will be done mainly at the workplace, with the off-the-job training accounting for at least 6 hours a week. The assessor will regularly visit you at work to observe you performing relevant tasks and to carry out professional discussions.
You will complete Level 4 Lead Practitioner in Adult Care prior to taking the end-point assessment.
Apprentices without level 2 English and maths will need to achieve this level prior to taking the end-point assessment.
You will receive a login to an on-line portfolio account which can be accessed from any Wifi point or through 3/4G either at work, at home or in our centre. You will be provided with a detailed course programme. At the centre you will have the opportunity to network with other learners, share practice and access different resources to support your learning including laptops, desktops, tablets and textbooks.
Upon completion you can progress onto an advanced or higher apprenticeship at level 3, 4 or 5.
End Point Assessment
The end-point assessment (EPA) for the Lead Practitioner in Adult Care Apprenticeship contains 2 methods of assessment which will be graded as Fail, Pass or Distinction:
- Observation of practice
- Professional discussion underpinned by a portfolio of evidence
Candidates for this course should be working in a related sector.
All applications will be reviewed on an individual basis. You will need previous experience and be qualified at Level 3 or above. If you have experience or previous knowledge that will support your application please remember to include it. Apprentices without level 2 English and maths will need to achieve this level prior to taking the End-Point Assessment.
Industry-specific requirement: Undertake the Disclosure and Barring Service process and provide the result.
Maximum funding: £7000
As an employer that doesn’t pay the apprenticeship levy, you pay just 5% towards the cost of training and assessing an apprentice.
The government will pay the rest up to the funding band maximum.
You’ll pay the training provider directly and agree on a payment schedule.
If you employ fewer than 50 employees, the government will pay 100% of the apprenticeship training costs up to the funding band maximum for apprentices aged:
- 16 to 21
- 19 to 24 with an education, health and care plan provided by their local authority or has been in the care of their local authority
Paying employer National Insurance contributions
Employers may not need to pay Class 1 National Insurance contributions for an apprentice, if the apprentice is:
- under 25 years old
- on an approved UK government apprenticeship standard or framework (these can differ depending on country)
- earns less than £967 a week (£50,270 a year)
The apprentice, as an employee, will continue to pay Class 1 insurance contributions through their salary, this will only benefit the employer.
Read HMRC’s guidance on paying National Insurance contributions.
