Communication in Care

Course Overview

One of the most persistent and damaging assumptions in care is that if someone cannot speak, they cannot communicate. It is wrong, and when it goes unchallenged, it leads to care that ignores what the individual is telling the people around them through every means available: facial expression, body language, behaviour, eye contact, and the absence of these things.

Communication in Care Training addresses this directly. It challenges the habits and assumptions that get in the way of genuinely hearing the people being supported, and it gives care staff the practical skills to communicate more effectively across a wide range of needs, abilities, and situations.

The other gap this course consistently closes is around barriers to communication. Many care workers are aware, in theory, that barriers exist. Fewer have been supported to identify them in real time and adjust their approach accordingly. A care worker who speaks too quickly to someone with a processing difficulty, uses jargon with someone whose first language is not English, or has a conversation at the wrong time of day for someone living with dementia, is not communicating effectively, regardless of how well-intentioned they are.

This course reflects the expectations of the Care Quality Commission under Regulation 9 (Person-Centred Care) and Regulation 10 (Dignity and Respect), aligns with Skills for Care workforce guidance, and maps to Care Certificate Standard 6 (Communication).

Course Details

  • Duration: Half day or full day, depending on requirements
  • Delivery: In-person at your venue, or live online via Zoom or Microsoft Teams
  • Certificate: CPD-accredited certificate of achievement in Communication in Care
  • Refresher: Every 1 to 3 years, or sooner following changes to guidance, legislation, or workplace practice
  • Group size: Flexible for team training

Who This Course Is For

This course is right for anyone working in a care setting who communicates with individuals, families, colleagues, or professionals, which is everyone, including:

  • Care assistants and support workers in care homes, supported living, and domiciliary care
  • Senior carers and team leaders
  • Health and social care staff across residential, nursing, and community settings
  • Staff supporting individuals with additional communication needs, including those living with dementia, learning disabilities, stroke, autism, or sensory loss
  • New starters completing the Care Certificate
  • Experienced staff who want a structured refresher

No prior knowledge is needed.

Why This Training Matters

Communication failures are a recurring factor in complaints, safeguarding concerns, and serious incidents across health and social care. The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 require providers to ensure care is person-centred and that individuals are treated with dignity and respect. Both of those things depend entirely on communication.

CQC inspectors routinely ask individuals and families about their experience of being listened to and understood. They look at whether staff adapt their approach to individual needs, whether consent is genuinely sought and understood, and whether information is shared accurately and safely within teams. A service where communication is strong is a service that tends to do well across multiple key questions. A service where it is weak tends to show that weakness everywhere.

The assumptions that cause the most harm are rarely deliberate. A care worker who assumes that a non-verbal individual has nothing to communicate, or who does not recognise that their own rushed pace or background noise is a barrier, is not acting maliciously. They have not been taught to think differently. That is what this course addresses.

Effective communication also underpins safe care handovers, accurate record keeping, appropriate information sharing, and the ability to recognise and raise concerns. It is not a soft skill alongside clinical competence. In care, it is clinical competence.

What You Will Learn

By the end of the session, learners will be able to:

  • Explain why communication is fundamental to safe, person-centred, and dignified care
  • Identify different types of communication, including verbal, non-verbal, written, and augmentative methods
  • Recognise that non-verbal individuals communicate in many ways and respond accordingly
  • Identify barriers to communication, including environmental, physical, cognitive, and cultural factors
  • Adjust their communication approach in real time to meet individual needs and preferences
  • Use active listening skills effectively, including what active listening actually looks like in practice
  • Support individuals with communication needs related to dementia, learning disability, stroke, sensory loss, or autism
  • Understand the role of consent and how communication failures undermine it
  • Maintain confidentiality and professional boundaries in all communication
  • Share information accurately and safely within care teams and during handovers
  • Communicate appropriately with families and other professionals

Course Content

Content is adapted to your setting and client group, but typically covers:

  • What communication is and why it is inseparable from safe and person-centred care
  • Verbal, non-verbal, written, and augmentative and alternative communication (AAC)
  • Non-verbal communication: understanding that the absence of speech is not the absence of communication
  • Recognising barriers to communication: environmental, physical, sensory, cognitive, cultural, and linguistic
  • Adjusting communication in real time: pace, tone, language, timing, and environment
  • Active listening: what it looks like, what it does not look like, and why it matters
  • Communication and consent: how poor communication compromises genuine consent
  • Supporting individuals with additional communication needs: dementia, learning disability, stroke, autism, and sensory loss
  • Professional boundaries and confidentiality in communication
  • Information sharing within care teams: handovers, records, and escalation
  • Managing difficult conversations: delivering unwelcome information and supporting emotional responses
  • The role of communication in recognising and raising safeguarding concerns

How the Course Is Delivered

Sessions are practical, reflective, and built around real care situations. The aim is not just awareness of communication theory but a genuine shift in how staff listen, respond, and adapt in their working day.

Delivery includes:

  • Scenario-based discussion drawn from real care situations, including non-verbal communication, missed barriers, and difficult conversations
  • Reflective exercises that encourage learners to examine their own communication habits honestly
  • Practical strategies that can be applied immediately in role
  • Time for questions and discussion, because communication as a topic generates a lot of both

Certification and Validity

On completion, learners receive a CPD-accredited certificate of achievement in Communication in Care.

A refresher is recommended every 1 to 3 years, or sooner following changes to guidance, legislation, or workplace practice. Many organisations align this with their Care Certificate induction programme or annual mandatory training cycle.

In-House and Bespoke Training

We adapt delivery to your setting, your team, and the individuals you support.

We can build content around:

  • The specific communication needs of individuals in your service, including those using augmentative communication tools or living with conditions that affect communication
  • Your internal documentation, handover processes, and information sharing procedures
  • Settings where communication challenges are particularly complex, such as dementia care, learning disability services, or end-of-life care
  • New starter induction programmes aligned to Care Certificate Standard 6

Course Location and Service Areas

We deliver in-house training at your workplace or chosen venue across Manchester, Greater Manchester, and the wider North West. We also deliver nationally, including North England, South England, London, and Surrey.

For teams in multiple locations or with remote workers, this course is available live online via Zoom or Microsoft Teams, with no drop in quality or interaction.

All sessions are led by experienced Prima Cura Training instructors. Every trainer holds an Enhanced DBS certificate.

FAQs

Does this course cover communication with non-verbal individuals?

Yes, and it is one of the most important parts of the course. Non-verbal does not mean non-communicative. Individuals who cannot speak communicate through facial expression, body language, behaviour, eye contact, gesture, and many other means. This course challenges the assumption that speech is required for communication and gives learners practical tools to recognise and respond to what non-verbal individuals are telling them.

Does the course cover communication with people living with dementia?

Yes, and it is one of the most important parts of the course. Non-verbal does not mean non-communicative. Individuals who cannot speak communicate through facial expression, body language, behaviour, eye contact, gesture, and many other means. This course challenges the assumption that speech is required for communication and gives learners practical tools to recognise and respond to what non-verbal individuals are telling them.

Does this course address barriers to communication?

Yes, in detail. Recognising barriers, including environmental noise, inappropriate pace, language and literacy differences, cognitive impairment, sensory loss, and cultural factors, and adjusting accordingly is a core thread throughout the entire course. Knowing that barriers exist is not enough. This course focuses on identifying them in real situations and changing the approach in response.

Is this course relevant to information sharing and handovers?

Yes. Poor communication during handovers and information sharing is a significant risk factor in care. The course covers how to share information accurately, what needs to be recorded and why, and how communication failures in this area can lead to missed care needs and safety incidents.

Can this be adapted for specific settings or client groups?

Yes. We regularly adapt content for dementia care environments, learning disability services, end-of-life care settings, and services supporting individuals with autism or sensory loss. Tell us about your team, and we will build the session around them.

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Book or Enquire

To book Communication in Care Training or request a quote for your team, use the enquiry form on this page or contact us directly.

Our Commitment to Quality and Compliance

At Prima Cura Training, all courses reflect current UK guidance and best practice.

All trainers are experienced professionals with relevant qualifications and ongoing CPD. Because many of the organisations we support work with vulnerable individuals, all trainers hold Enhanced DBS checks.

This course is reviewed against updates from the Care Quality Commission, Skills for Care, and current UK health and social care legislation, including the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 and the Care Act 2014.

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 UK legislation and best practice current at the date of review. It does not constitute legal or clinical advice. Providers should ensure their communication policies, practices, and training programmes reflect their specific regulatory obligations and the assessed needs of the individuals they support. Prima Cura Training accepts no liability for decisions made on the basis of this content alone.

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