New apprenticeships Senior Healthcare Support Worker
End-point assessment
We offer a full range of assessment services to support the diverse requirements of the new apprenticeships standards.
You can use Pearson as your end-point assessment organisation regardless of whether you choose to use our on-programme offer or not.
Important information
The updated Assessment Plan for Senior Healthcare Support Worker (SHCSW) was approved and published by the Institute for Apprenticeships on 5th September 2018. Any learners registered after 5th September 2018 will be required to undertake EPA with this assessment plan.
Pearson's current EPA offer and the associated products for the Senior Healthcare Support Worker standard and Assessment plan on this page are related to the legacy assessment plan for learners registered on Apprenticeships prior to 5th September 2018.
We will be producing new specification and associated products for the new assessment plan in due course.
Our end-point assessment service
You can use Pearson as your end-point assessment organisation regardless of whether you choose to use our on-programme offer or not.
As an SFA-approved Assessment Organisation we provide a full range of assessment services to support the diverse requirements of the new apprenticeships standards.
There are three components that make up end-point assessment for the Healthcare Support Worker apprenticeship. Assessment will consist of:
- a multiple choice and short answer questions test
- an observation
- an interview (supported by learning journal)
Each component of end-point assessment is graded. Apprentices will also receive a grade for the overall end-point assessment. This will be Pass/Merit/Distinction.
Multiple-choice and short-answer test
Apprentices will have 60 minutes to answer 30 1 mark questions and 4 short answer questions worth 5 marks.
The multiple choice questions will be designed to cover the core knowledge requirements within the standard:
- Health and well-being
- Duty of care and candour, safeguarding, equality and diversity
- Person centred care and support
- Communication
- Personal, people and quality improvement
- Health, safety and security
The short answer questions cover the knowledge requirements in the apprentice’s chosen specialism:
- Adult Nursing Support Worker
- Assist with clinical tasks
- Activities of daily living
- Maternity Support Worker
- Assist with clinical tasks
- Assist with caring for babies
- Support mothers and birthing partners
- Theatre Support Worker
- Assist healthcare practitioners with delegated clinical tasks
- Support individuals
- Equipment and resources
- Mental Health Support Worker
- Assist with delegated clinical tasks and therapeutic interventions
- Support individuals
- Risk assessment and risk management
The test will be graded Fail/Pass/Merit/Distinction based on the number of marks achieved.
Observation
The Independent Assessor will spend a minimum of 90 minutes observing the apprentice during their normal course of work in their normal workplace.
The observation of practice will be pre-planned with the apprentice, their line manager/employer and the independent end-point assessor, and should be scheduled for a time when the apprentice will have sufficient opportunities to meet the observation outcomes (below).
The observation will assess the following areas of the apprenticeship standard:
- Treat people with dignity, respecting individuals' diversity, beliefs, culture, needs, values, privacy and preferences.
- Show respect and empathy for those you work with, have the courage to challenge areas of concern, be adaptable, reliable and consistent.
- Show discretion, resilience and self-awareness.
- Assist registered healthcare practitioners with clinical tasks, working to best practice and following care plans.
- Communicate effectively with individuals using a range of techniques, observe and record verbal and non-verbal communication.
- Follow the principles for equality, diversity and inclusion.
- Demonstrate what it means in practice to promote and provide person-centred care and support work as part of a team, seek help and guidance when you are not sure.
- Maintain a safe and healthy working environment.
- Move and position individuals, equipment and other items safely.
- Use a range of techniques for infection prevention and control appropriate to the task undertaken, e.g. waste management, spillage, hand washing, use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
The observation is ungraded above a pass.
Interview (supported by learning journal)
The interview (supported by learning journal) is a planned, structured competence-based interview between the apprentice and the independent endpoint assessor. Its purpose is to assess the apprentice’s level of competency linked to the relevant apprenticeship standard outcomes. It gives apprentices the opportunity to showcase, using real work-based evidence from their learning journal, their ability to use relevant skills, behaviours and underpinning knowledge effectively to undertake their duties as a healthcare support worker.
The interview will be between the Independent Assessor and the apprentice and will last for a maximum of 45 minutes.
Apprentices will be required to present real work-based evidence from their learning journal to validate and support their responses to the interview questions.
This element will be graded Fail/Pass/Merit/Distinction.
