Level 4 Lead Practitioner in Adult Care

Course Overview

Managing teams of frontline carers to look after vulnerable adults with care needs.

Details of standard

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
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.

Knowledge	What the Lead Practitioner on completion must know and understand:
Tasks and responsibilities	Statutory frameworks, standards, guidance and Codes of Practice which underpin practice in relation to the safe delivery of services Theories underpinning own practice and competence relevant to the job role Principles of assessment and outcome based practice Principles of risk management
Dignity and human rights	How to contribute to, promote and maintain a culture which ensures dignity is at the centre of practice
Communication	Effective communication and solutions to overcoming barriers Legal and ethical frameworks in relation to confidentiality and sharing information Range of technologies to enhance communication
Safeguarding	Legislation, national and local solutions for the safeguarding of adults and children including reporting requirements

Skills	What the Lead Practitioner on completion must be able to do:
Tasks and responsibilities	Apply professional judgement, standards and codes of practice relevant to the role Identify and access specialist help required to carry out role Mentor colleagues to encourage individuals to actively participate in the way their care and support is delivered Contribute to the implementation of processes to implement and review support plans Provide leadership and mentoring to others for whom they are responsible Contribute to the quality assurance of the service provided
Communication	Identify and address barriers to communication using appropriate resources Apply organisational processes to record, maintain, store and share information Provide meaningful information to support people to make informed choices
Safeguarding	Apply and support others to adhere to safeguarding procedures Work in partnership with external agencies to respond to safeguarding concerns
Professional development	Evaluate own practice and access identified development opportunities Evaluate the effectiveness of own leadership, mentoring and supervision skills and take steps to enhance performance Value individuals to develop effective teams in order to achieve best outcomes Contribute to the development of an effective learning culture

Entry Requirements

Learners should be at least 18 years old.
Valid DBS.
Functional skills Maths and English completion.

Delivery

Duration – learners can usually complete between 15 – 18 months.
Online delivery and one-to-one sessions.

Assessment Method

Assessment is the process of measuring a candidate’s skill, knowledge and understanding against the standards set in a qualification. Each learner must create a portfolio of evidence which demonstrates achievement of all the learning outcomes, all course units must be a pass and show competence in a real work environment.

Application Process

Applications for vacancies are completed by getting in touch with us either by phone or email on 0208 470 4219 and info@jsconsultltd.com respectively. All applicants will undergo an eligibility check to ensure they are suitable for the role.