Health And Social Care

NVQs in the Health & Social Care Sector


Due to regularity requirements and government recommendations staff qualification is high upon the agenda of most employers within the Social care Sector.

Lots of social care staff are highly skilled and have years of experience, but do not have the qualifications to prove it.

A National Vocational Qualification is a qualification which helps you to develop your skills and gain the knowledge required to help you to do a job effectively.

The qualifications are based on national standards and there are several for various occupations. NVQs are appropriate if you wish to increase your skills with your current job or to gain new skills to move into a different area. The national standards set the skills that you need to be able to achieve to work at each level so it is easy to see how to progress from your current position. NVQs are at levels 1 to 5 on the National Qualification Framework. (http://www.qca.org.uk/qca_5967.aspx) The framework shows how different types of qualifications compare, in terms of the demands they place on learners.

What follows is a description of the various levels of national vocational qualifications
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Vocational_Qualification)

Level 2 - A skilled experienced person who can organise their own work, as well as being able to work as part of a team. The candidate should be able to apply their knowledge to a range of work activities.

Level 3 - A skilled knowledgeable person who is required to demonstrate considerable responsibility and autonomy in their working role.

Level 4 - Competence involves the application of knowledge in a broad range of complex, technical or professional work activities performed in a variety of contexts.

St Mary’s Health Studies Academy provides work based NVQ assessment services that facilitate staff qualification. Assessments are carried out during normal working hours - "no college classes".

The beauty of the system is that the skills and knowledge you already have count towards your qualification.

Candidates will receive advice, support and guidance from experienced occupationally competent assessors to achieve their chosen NVQ qualification.

St Mary’s Health Studies Academy are accredited with the awarding body City and Guilds to deliver the following NVQ qualifications:

• Health and Social Care Level 2

3172 - Level 2 -Standards and Assessment requirements
http://www.cityandguilds.co.uk/documents/ind_healthsocial_care/3172-l2-sar-hsc.pdf

3172 - Level 2-Optional and additional units http://www.cityandguilds.co.uk/documents/ind_healthsocial_care/3172-l2-optionals-hsc.pdf

• Health and Social Care Level 3 (adult route)

3172 - Level 3 adult route - Standards and Assessment requirements
(http://www.cityandguilds.co.uk/documents/ind_healthsocial_care/3172-l3-sar-hsc-adults.pdf)

3172 - Level 3-Optional and additional units (http://www.cityandguilds.co.uk/documents/ind_healthsocial_care/3172-l3-optionals-hsc.pdf)

• Health and Social Care Level 4

` 3172 - Level 4 adult route- Standards and Assessment requirements
(http://www.cityandguilds.co.uk/documents/ind_healthsocial_care/3172-l4-sar-hsc-adults.pdf)
3172 - Level 4-Optional and additional units (http://www.cityandguilds.co.uk/documents/ind_healthsocial_care/3172-l4-optionals-hsc.pdf)

• Leadership and Management of Care Services

3078 - Level 4 - Standards and Assessment requirements
(http://www.cityandguilds.co.uk/documents/ind_healthsocial_caremanagement/3078-l4-sar-v01.pdf.pdf)
3172 - Level 4-Optional and additional units
(http://www.cityandguilds.co.uk/documents/ind_healthsocial_caremanagement/3078-l4-opt-v01.pdf)