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National occupational standards (NOS)

• Background
• About NOS
• NOS targets
• IiP targets

Background:

• The Government White Paper Modernising Social Services 1999 introduced the Care Standards Act 2000 which was the first legislation to set national standards for care providers: the National Minimum Standards.
• The White Paper also estimated that 80% of the social care workforce had no recognised qualifications or training.
• In response to this, Skills for Care (formerly the Training Organisation for Personal Social Services or TOPPS) launched a national strategy to address the shortfall in qualified staff, through 'Modernising the Social Care Workforce - the first national training strategy for England' in 2000.
• The strategy introduced National Occupational Standards matched to the National Minimum Standards and workforce planning initiatives.
• Skills for Care are responsible for assisting care organisations to qualify their staff to the requirements of the National Occupational Standards.
• This is via Training Strategy Implementation funding (TSI) and through care training partnerships such as this one.

About NOS:

• Other than NVQ's, there is no nationally recognised qualifications that provide evidence of work-based competence against NOS
• Developed with the care sector and focus on all levels of work
• Organised into units of competence
• Each unit describes an area of work with activities associated with it
• These acitivities are separated out into elements
• Each element has associated performance criteria and knowledge listed against it
• Standards also include units that highlight the values required to work in care

NOS targets*:

(Originally for 31 December 2005, now extended until 2007)

• Registered managers of residential care organisations to have achieved a level 4 NVQ in management and care
• Managers of residential nursing care homes to have a relevant management qualification and be a first level registered nurse
• Managers of residential care organisations to have NVQ level 4 in Care (or Diploma in Social Work)
• Day centre managers and deputies to have NVQ level 4 in Care/Registered Nurse/ASW
• Domiciliary/home care managers to have a management qualification equivalent to NVQ level 4
• 50% of mental health front line staff to have NVQ level 3 in Care
• 50% of domiciliary care staff to have achieved a minimum of NVQ level 2 in Care
• 50% of residential and day care care staff to have achieved NVQ level 2 in Care
• 80% of residential child care staff to have achieved NVQ level 3 in Care
• 50% of learning disability staff (support workers) to have achieved NVQ level 2
• From 2002 all new learning disability staff to complete the Learning Disability Award Framework
• All new social care staff (except learning disability) to have completed the Common Induction framework within the first 12 weeks of their employment

IiP targets*:

• 25% of large residential care homes for adults
• 50% of residential care homes for children
• 10% of day centres

*Information from 'Modernising the Social Care Workforce - the first national training strategy for England' and CSCI/Skills for Care - Interim policy and guidance on qualifications, published 28/06/05 and 23/01/06.

This page was last updated on 10 July 2007

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