Taking ownership of your own personal development is an important part of working in the health and social care sector. You need to ensure that your knowledge, skills and understanding are complete and up to date to ensure that you can perform your job role effectively.
Standard 2 of the Care Certificate is designed to make you think about and assess your current abilities and some of the techniques you can use to continuously improve your practice. Your goals and progress should be recorded in a Personal Development Plan (PDP).
The information on this page has been updated and quality assured for 2023.
Learning Outcomes & Assessment Criteria
- 2.1 Agree a Personal Development Plan
- 2.1a Identify sources of support for their own learning and development
- 2.1b Describe the process for agreeing a personal development plan and who should be involved
- 2.1c Explain why feedback from others is important in helping to develop and improve the way they work
- 2.1d Contribute to drawing up own personal development plan
- 2.1e Agree a personal development plan
- 2.2 Develop their knowledge, skills and understanding
- 2.2a Describe the functional level of literacy, numeracy and communication skills necessary to carry out their role
- 2.2b Explain how to check their current level of literacy, numeracy and communication skills
- 2.2c Describe how a learning activity has improved their own knowledge, skills and understanding
- 2.2d Describe how reflecting on a situation has improved their own knowledge, skills and understanding
- 2.2e Describe how feedback from others has developed their own knowledge, skills and understanding
- 2.2f Demonstrate how to measure their own knowledge, performance and understanding against relevant standards
- 2.2g List the learning opportunities available to them and how they can use them to improve the way they work
- 2.2h Demonstrate how to record progress in relation to their personal development
- 2.2i Explain why continuing professional development is important
Please note: There is a lot of crossover in the mapping of Care Certificate skills with Level 2 Diploma in Care skills, so where questions are virtually identical, the same learning resources are used.
Care Certificate Standard 2 Workbook Answers
Here, you will find exemplary answers to all the questions in the workbook for Standard 2 of The Care Certificate – Your Personal Development.
The blank workbook for standard 2 can be downloaded from the Skills for Care website (PDF format)
Accompanying Video
Activity 2.1a
There are a range of different sources of support available to you that will help you to progress your learning and development in your role. Complete the diagram below to identify some of the sources of support that you could use or access.
Sources of support for my learning and development include:
- My manager
- My co-workers (particularly experienced and senior colleagues)
- My tutor/training provider
- My mentor
- Governmental agencies (e.g. Care Quality Commission, Health & Safety Executive etc.)
- Skills for Care/Skills for Health
Activity 2.1b
Creating a personal development plan (PDP) is a step-by-step process and will involve you working with different people. Fill in the boxes below to describe the process for agreeing a personal development plan and for each step identify who will be involved in the process.
- STEP 1: Set your objectives – Collaborate with your line manager to identify what knowledge/skills/understanding you wish to develop and will benefit your organisation. You and your line manager will be involved in this step.
- STEP 2: Make your plan – Work with your line manager to decide how you will achieve your objectives. This could be done in several ways, including on-the-job training, formal training (either in-house or external) or through your own research. You, your line manager and any third parties that will deliver your training will be involved in this step.
- STEP 3: Set the timescale – With your line manager, set yourself deadlines to complete your objectives. You and your line manager, and possibly a third-party such as your tutor, will be involved in this.
Activity 2.1c
Learning is a process that involves us throughout our lives and not just at school. There are many different ways in which we can learn, for example using feedback from others is a great way to learn and help us to develop and improve the way we work. Complete the sentence below to explain why feedback from others is so important for our learning process.
Feedback from others is important in helping me develop/improve because it lets me know what I am doing well and the areas in which I could improve. Without feedback from others, I may believe that I am doing something correctly when in reality, I am not. I may also gain new insights into how to do part of my job role better or more efficiently.
Constructive criticism can increase my competence and the quality of my practice. Positive feedback will give me more confidence in my job role. By learning from others, especially those more experienced than myself, I can improve my knowledge, skills and understanding and become a better care worker.
Activity 2.2a
Literacy, numeracy and communication skills are necessary for you to carry out the requirements of your role. Often the skills that you need to use will be very specific to your responsibilities and the service that you work in. Fill in the boxes below to describe how you will use your literacy, numeracy and communication skills in practice.
I will need to use my literacy skills when I:
- Read policies and procedures
- Read and write care plans and risk assessments
- Read and write client’s daily records
- Send and receive emails
- Fill in forms
- Read and leave notes for my team in the communications book
I will need to use my numeracy skills when I:
- Check the client’s finances
- Complete my timesheet
- Administer medication
- Help clients when making payments/withdrawing cash etc.
- Checking timetables for public transport
- Recording measurements such as weight and fluid intake
I will need to use my communication skills when I:
- Communicate with clients
- Communicate with my co-workers and managers
- Communicate with other professionals
- Communicate with the client’s family members and friends
- Communicate with other members of the public as a representative of my organisation
Activity 2.2b
Your current levels of competence in literacy, numeracy and communication are likely to be very specific to you as an individual. Explain how you would check your current levels of literacy, numeracy and communication skills.
My current levels of literacy, numeracy and communication skills can be checked by completing assessments in these areas. This could be provided by an external training agency or by doing one of the many tests that can be found online.
Activity 2.2c, 2.2d and 2.2e
Complete the table below to describe how the different development activities have helped to improve your knowledge, skills and understanding.
| Development activity | Provide a description of the development activity | How has it helped to improve your knowledge? | How has it helped to improve your skills? | How has it helped to improve your understanding? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. A learning activity that you have undertaken recently | Medication administration training (topical creams, lotions, ointment, gels and foams) | I now know a wide range of topical medications and what thy are used for. | I know how to apply topical medication correctly and the right amount to use. | I know the importance of using PPE such as latex gloves and aprons. |
| 2. Reflecting on a situation | An individual tripped on a rug and sprained their ankle | Upon reflection, I thought about how the accident could have been avoided and how similar accidents could be avoided in future | I now do regular observational checks for potential hazards in the workplace | I understand that although some risk is unavoidable, proper planning and care can minimise risk to acceptable levels |
| 3. Feedback from others | My manager informed me that she had observed me performing personal care without the correct PPE (I used gloves but did not wear an apron) | I now know that i should wear both apron and gloves when performing personal care | Having reviewed my organisation's personal care policy and procedure I now perform personal care in the correct way using correct PPE | My manager helped me to understand the importance of using a disposable apron so that potential infection cannot be transferred between clients on my clothes |
Activity 2.2g
Part i) For each of the learning opportunities below, decide whether each is an example of a formal learning opportunity or an informal one. (Tick your option).
| Learning Opportunity | Formal | Informal |
|---|---|---|
| Annual appraisal with your manager | X | |
| E-Learning courses | X | |
| Watching a documentary | X | |
| Undertaking a training course | X | |
| Breaktime discussion with colleagues | X | |
| Reading a magazine or journal | X |
Part ii) Select 3 learning opportunities that are available to you, you could select ones from the list above or ones that are specific to you. For each learning opportunity, list how it will help you to improve the way you work.
- PROACT-SCIPr Training – This will teach me how to manage challenging and aggressive behaviour correctly and give me the confidence to work with individuals that have behaviour that challenges.
- Care Certificate – This will give me the basic foundation of knowledge, skills and understanding I need to work in the health and social care sector.
- Maths Functional Skills – This will help me to reach the right level in my maths skills to perform my job role competently.
Activity 2.2i
Continuing professional development (CPD) is essential for work in the health and social care sectors. Explain why CPD is important for your own and others’ development.
Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is essential for a health and social care worker because it means that we can stay up-to-date with current legislation and standards as well as remain competent in performing our role.
Over time, things do change, and it is important that a worker’s knowledge, skills and understanding remain relevant so that their practice is correct.