Care Certificate Assessing
The Care Certificate is only as good as the assessment behind it. A workbook completed in isolation, signed off by a manager who has never been trained to assess, is not a valid Care Certificate. It is a compliance risk waiting to surface at inspection.
Prima Cura Training provides professional, external Care Certificate assessing, delivered by qualified assessors who hold the full TAQA (Training, Assessment and Quality Assurance) qualification suites. Whether your organisation has no in-house assessor capacity or whether you have internal trainers delivering the Care Certificate content and need an independent professional to sign off the assessments, we can support you.
All assessments are carried out against the Skills for Care Care Certificate updated 2025 standards, which introduced new criteria outcomes across most of the 16 standards, including new requirements for observations. If your organisation is still working to the pre-2025 framework, we can advise on what needs to change.
What the 2025 Update Means for Your Organisation
Skills for Care updated the Care Certificate in 2025. The number of standards moved from 15 to 16, and most standards now contain new or revised criteria outcomes, including specific new requirements around observed practice.
This matters because the updated standards are the current benchmark. New starters being assessed now should be assessed against the 2025 framework. Organisations still using the old workbooks or assessment processes are not meeting current Skills for Care expectations, which is the kind of gap that appears in CQC inspection findings under workforce and safe care themes.
If you are unsure whether your current Care Certificate process reflects the updated standards, that is exactly the kind of question we can help you answer before an inspector does.
What Our Assessing Service Includes
We build the service around your organisation’s needs. There is no fixed, rigid process, because care settings and learner journeys vary. Typically, the service includes:
- Workbook assessment: reviewing and assessing written evidence, reflective accounts, and knowledge-based work mapped against all 16 Care Certificate standards
- Observation visits: assessing care workers in their real working environment, observing practice directly against the standards, including the new 2025 observation criteria
- Manager support: guidance and support for managers carrying out internal observations, so that the evidence gathered internally meets the standard required for a valid assessment
- Detailed feedback to the learner after each assessment activity
- Assessment reports and documented evidence are mapped clearly to each standard
- Professional support for employers to track and evidence Care Certificate achievement across their workforce
The number of visits and the balance between workbook assessment and observation is flexible. We work around your rota, your learners’ progress, and your organisational requirements.
Assessor Qualifications
Every assessor we use holds relevant TAQA qualifications. This is not optional, and it is not a box-ticking exercise. A valid Care Certificate assessment must be carried out by someone qualified to assess. Our assessors hold:
- Level 3 Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement (CAVA)
- Level 3 Award in Assessing Competence in the Work Environment
- Level 3 Award in Assessing Vocationally Related Achievement
- Level 4 Award in the Internal Quality Assurance of Assessment Processes and Practice (IQA)
- Level 4 Certificate in Leading the Internal Quality Assurance of Assessment Processes and Practice
All assessors are experienced health and social care professionals with strong frontline backgrounds. They understand what good practice looks like in a real care setting, not just on paper.
Who This Service Is For
This service is right for:
- Care providers without a qualified in-house assessor who need someone to assess their staff from the ground up
- Organisations with internal trainers delivering Care Certificate content who need an independent, qualified assessor to sign off assessments
- Care agencies or settings preparing for CQC inspection or internal audit who need confidence that their Care Certificate evidence is valid and defensible
- Providers who have identified gaps in their current assessment process and want to get things right before they become a problem
No two organisations come to us in exactly the same situation. If you are not sure whether this service fits your needs, get in touc,h and we will tell you honestly.
Why External Assessment Matters
An internal sign-off from a manager who has not been trained to assess does not constitute a valid Care Certificate assessment. Skills for Care is clear that assessors must be occupationally competent and hold, or be working towards, a recognised assessing qualification. Many organisations do not have that capacity internally, and not all know they need it.
Using an external qualified assessor means:
- Assessment is independent and objective, which strengthens both the validity of the evidence and your credibility at inspection
- Your staff are assessed fairly and consistently against the correct 2025 standards
- The burden does not fall on managers who are already stretched
- Your organisation has properly documented, auditable evidence of Care Certificate achievement
- You are not relying on a process that could be challenged by CQC, a local authority, or a commissioning body
CQC inspectors look at workforce records. They look at how the Care Certificate is being delivered and assessed. A well-evidenced, properly assessed Care Certificate is an asset. A poorly evidenced one raises questions.
Training to Complement Assessment
Assessment is only one side of the Care Certificate. Learners need the knowledge, understanding, and practical skills to be assessed against the standards in the first place.
Prima Cura Training delivers a wide range of health and social care training courses that map directly to the Care Certificate standards. Many organisations use our assessing service alongside our training delivery, so that the same provider who trains the team also assesses them, with full knowledge of what has been covered and how.
If your team needs both training and assessment, we can build a package around you.
FAQs
Does the Care Certificate have to be assessed by a qualified assessor?
Not exactly, and it is worth understanding what Skills for Care actually says. There is no requirement for assessors to hold a formal assessor qualification. What is required is that the assessor is competent in the standard they are assessing. Where no relevant qualification is held, Skills for Care recommends working to the National Occupational Standard CLDLD09 Assess Learner Achievement. The real question is not whether your assessor has a certificate, but whether they are genuinely competent to assess each standard and whether you can evidence that. That is where many organisations find themselves exposed at inspection. Our assessors hold full TAQA qualifications and are occupationally competent across all 16 standards, giving you a documented, defensible evidence trail.
What changed in the 2025 Care Certificate update?
The 2025 update moved the Care Certificate from 15 to 16 standards and introduced new or revised criteria outcomes across most standards, including specific new requirements for observed practice. Organisations still working to the pre-2025 framework are not assessing against current Skills for Care expectations. If you are unsure whether your process reflects the updated standards, get in touch, and we will talk you through what needs to change.
Can you assess staff who have already started their Care Certificate with another provider or internally?
Yes. If a learner has partially completed their Care Certificate and has existing evidence, we can assess from that point. We will review what has already been produced, identify any gaps against the 2025 standards, and agree on a plan to complete the remaining assessment. We do not require learners to start again unless the existing evidence genuinely does not meet the standard.
Can you support our managers to carry out internal observations?
Yes. Manager support is part of what we offer. We can guide and support managers who are carrying out internal observations to ensure the evidence they gather meets the requirements for a valid assessment. This is particularly useful for organisations that want to build some internal capacity alongside using our external assessing service.
Do you offer training as well as assessing?
Yes. Many organisations use our assessing service alongside our health and social care training courses, so that the same provider covers both. If your team needs training against the Care Certificate standards as well as assessment, we can put together a package that covers both. Get in touch to discuss what that would look like for your setting.
Is remote assessing available?
Some elements of the assessment process, such as workbook review, oral questioning, and manager support, can be carried out remotely via Zoom or Microsoft Teams. Observed practice must always be carried out in person, in the learner’s real working environment. This is a Skills for Care requirement, not a preference.
Service Areas and Delivery
We provide Care Certificate assessing at your workplace or care setting, scheduled around your organisation and your learners. Staff are assessed in their normal working environment, which is both a Skills for Care requirement for observed practice and the only way to get a genuine picture of real-world competence.
Our assessors work across Manchester, Greater Manchester, and the wider North West. We also carry out on-site assessments across England, including North England, South England, London, and Surrey.
Where appropriate, elements of the assessment process, such as workbook reviews, oral questioning, and manager support, can be delivered remotely via Zoom or Microsoft Teams. Observed practice is always carried out in person.
All assessments are completed by experienced, TAQA-qualified assessors and carried out to the same standard, wherever the setting.
Get in Touch
To discuss your organisation’s needs or arrange Care Certificate assessing, contact us directly for a tailored quote. We are happy to advise on what the service would look like for your specific setting, staff group, and timeline.
Our Commitment to Quality and Compliance
At Prima Cura Training, all services reflect current UK guidance and best practice.
All assessors are experienced professionals with relevant TAQA qualifications and ongoing CPD. Because the organisations we support work with vulnerable individuals, all assessors hold Enhanced DBS checks.
This service is delivered against the Skills for Care Care Certificate 2025 standards and reviewed against updates from Skills for Care, the Care Quality Commission, and current workforce development guidance in health and social care.
You can read more on our Quality Assurance and Compliance page.
Reviewed by Stephanie Austin, Owner and Lead Trainer, Prima Cura Training | 25+ years in health and social care | 15+ years as a trainer Last reviewed: April 2026 | Next review: April 2027
This page is for general guidance only and reflects Skills for Care expectations and CQC good practice guidance current at the date of review. It does not constitute legal or regulatory advice. Organisations remain responsible for ensuring their Care Certificate processes meet their specific CQC registration obligations and workforce compliance requirements. Prima Cura Training accepts no liability for decisions made on the basis of this content alone.
