This awareness-level qualification introduces learners to:

• The importance of health and safety in a care home environment
• The legal framework, including the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the Health and Social Care Act 2008
• The role of the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in regulating standards
• Common hazards in care settings, including moving and handling, slips and trips and hazardous substances
• The safe moving and handling of people and loads under the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992
• The principles of infection prevention and control
• The control of substances hazardous to health (COSHH), including medicines and cleaning chemicals
• Fire safety and the safe evacuation of residents with reduced mobility
• Safeguarding awareness and the duty of care towards residents
• Accident and incident reporting, including RIDDOR

• Social care has one of the highest workplace injury rates in the UK. Musculoskeletal disorders from moving and handling remain the leading cause of staff injury and long-term absence in the sector.
• Falls are the dominant risk to residents. Older people fall more often and are injured far more seriously when they do, and the consequences frequently extend well beyond the initial fracture.
• Evacuation is genuinely difficult. Residents who cannot walk, cannot hear an alarm or cannot understand an instruction change fire safety from a procedure into a planning exercise, which is why progressive horizontal evacuation and personal plans exist.
• Regulators inspect health and safety as part of care quality. Premises, equipment and safe care are explicitly within the scope of the Care Quality Commission and its equivalents in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
• Residents are more vulnerable to everything. Scalding, infection, dehydration and medication errors all carry higher consequences in an older population with existing health conditions.
• Overreaction is also a failure. Removing a resident’s independence in the name of safety causes measurable harm, and staff need to understand where the proportionate line sits.

• Foundation-level (Level 1) qualification suitable for care, domestic, catering, maintenance and activities staff
• Minimum of 4 hours’ instructional contact time, designed for flexible short-course delivery
• Delivered entirely online through the Britsafe learning management system (LMS) no physical classroom attendance is required
• Course materials are provided digitally (soft copy) via the LMS
• Assessed via an online examination through the Britsafe Examination Management System (EMS), with a minimum pass mark of 70%
• Certification issued with an anti-counterfeit hologram security seal, available both as a physical copy and as a soft (digital) copy
• Written for the residential care setting, addressing the dual nature of a care home as both a workplace and a home
• Covers the balance between protection and dignity, including least-restrictive practice
• Relevant to residential homes, nursing homes, supported living and specialist dementia units
• Available fully online to learners in the UK and internationally

Knowledge developed:

• The UK health and safety legal framework as it applies to residential and nursing care
• The dominant risks in social care: moving and handling, falls, fire, infection and scalding
• Equipment safety requirements for hoists, slings, beds and lifting accessories
• Regulatory expectations around safe care, premises and equipment in all four UK nations
• The principle of proportionate risk management and least-restrictive practice

Skills developed:

• Recognising unsafe moving and handling practice and knowing when to stop and seek support
• Identifying and removing everyday falls hazards before an incident occurs
• Following infection prevention procedures consistently, including hand hygiene and PPE use
• Using cleaning products safely and reading product labelling and safety information
• Reporting accidents, near misses and equipment defects accurately and promptly
• Raising concerns about unsafe practice through the correct route

This Award is designed for anyone working in or entering a care home environment, including:

• Care assistants and healthcare assistants
• Senior carers and shift leaders seeking a structured refresher
• Housekeeping, domestic and laundry staff
• Catering and kitchen staff working within care settings
• Maintenance and estates staff
• Activities coordinators and wellbeing staff
• Reception, administration and ancillary staff
• Agency and bank staff working across multiple homes
• New starters and career changers entering social care
• Volunteers and befrienders spending time in care settings
• Registered managers and deputies wanting a baseline induction resource for their teams

No prior qualification in health and safety or care is required this Award

There are no formal academic prerequisites for this Level 1 Award. It is open to learners aged 16 and above with a reasonable standard of spoken and written English, sufficient to engage with course materials and complete the assessment. No prior care experience is assumed.

There are no formal academic prerequisites for this Level 1 Award. It is open to learners aged 16 and above with a reasonable standard of spoken and written English, sufficient to engage with course materials and complete the assessment. No prior care experience is assumed.

Assessment is conducted through an online examination via the Britsafe Examination Management System (EMS). Learners must achieve a minimum score of 70% to pass. On successful completion, learners receive a certificate, available both as a physical copy and as a soft (digital) copy. Results and certificates are typically issued promptly following successful completion.

While this Level 1 Award is a foundation qualification rather than a standalone career credential, it provides relevant grounding for roles including:

• Care Assistant or Healthcare Assistant
• Senior Care Assistant or Shift Leader
• Domestic, Housekeeping or Laundry Assistant
• Catering Assistant in care settings
• Maintenance and Estates Operative
• Activities and Wellbeing Coordinator
• A stepping stone toward team leader, deputy manager and registered manager pathways

• Residential care homes
• Nursing homes and care homes with nursing
• Dementia and specialist care units
• Supported living and extra care housing
• Learning disability and mental health residential services
• Respite and short-break care services
• Hospices and palliative care settings
• Domiciliary and home care agencies
• Care staffing and recruitment agencies
• Local authority and NHS-commissioned care services

• Supports compliance with the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
• Provides documented evidence of health and safety induction training for regulatory inspection
• Supports expectations under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 relating to safe care, premises and equipment
• Helps reduce staff musculoskeletal injury, the leading cause of absence and turnover in the sector
• Reduces the frequency and severity of resident falls through better everyday hazard awareness
• Provides a fast, consistent induction route for agency, bank and new staff across multiple homes
• Strengthens the defensibility of the home’s arrangements following an incident or inspection

• A recognised, portable credential valued across residential, nursing and domiciliary care
• Knowledge that protects the learner’s own long-term physical health, particularly their back
• A flexible short-course format (minimum 4 hours) that fits around shift and rota patterns
• Confidence in raising safety concerns and knowing when to stop and ask for help
• A foundation for progression into senior care and management roles

Learners can apply this qualification directly to:

• Recognising when a handling task is unsafe and seeking assistance rather than improvising
• Checking hoists, slings and handling equipment for damage and reporting defects immediately
• Removing everyday falls hazards such as trailing leads, spills, poor lighting and cluttered walkways
• Supporting residents’ mobility and independence without unnecessary restriction
• Following fire procedures and understanding a resident’s personal evacuation plan
• Using cleaning chemicals correctly and storing them securely away from residents
• Applying hand hygiene and PPE consistently, including during outbreaks
• Checking water temperatures before bathing and reporting scalding or water system concerns
• Completing accident, incident and near-miss records accurately and promptly

This Award is best positioned as the first step in a health and safety pathway for social care. Learners often progress into:

• Practical moving and handling training with hands-on competency assessment
• Level 2 and Level 3 Diplomas in Adult Care
• Fire marshal and fire warden training for care settings
• Infection prevention and control qualifications
• First aid qualifications appropriate to care environments
• Safeguarding adults training at the level appropriate to the role
• Broader occupational health and safety qualifications for managers and deputies

• Level 2 and Level 3 qualifications in health and safety or adult care
• Care Certificate completion for those new to the sector
• Senior carer, team leader and deputy manager development routes
• Registered manager pathways, including relevant leadership and management qualifications
• Specialist study in dementia care, end of life care and infection control

Britsafe Qualifications UK Limited delivers this qualification fully online, making it accessible to learners across the UK and internationally without the need to attend a physical training centre. The underlying principles safer handling, falls prevention, infection control and proportionate risk management in a residential setting are consistent with international standards of care practice. This gives the qualification particular value for internationally recruited care staff preparing to work in UK settings, and for care providers operating across more than one country.

1. What does this qualification cover?
   It covers health and safety in residential and nursing care: the legal framework, moving and handling, falls prevention, fire safety and evacuation, COSHH and cleaning chemicals, infection prevention and control, water safety and scalding, equipment and environmental hazards, lone working, and accident reporting.
2. Does this replace practical moving and handling training?
   No, and this is important. Safe people-handling requires hands-on practical training and supervised competency assessment that cannot be delivered or verified through an online course. This Award covers the principles, the legal duties, the equipment and the reasons injuries occur, and it complements practical training rather than substituting for it. Employers should continue to provide face-to-face moving and handling training and assessment for staff who handle residents.
3. Is this the same as the Care Certificate?
   No. The Care Certificate is a broader induction framework for new health and social care workers covering fifteen standards, including communication, safeguarding and person-centred care. This Award focuses specifically on health and safety and can support the health and safety elements of a wider induction, but it is not the Care Certificate itself.
4. Why does the course talk about dignity in a health and safety qualification?
   Because in care, the two cannot be separated. Measures such as bed rails, movement restriction and constant supervision reduce one risk while creating others, including entrapment, deconditioning and loss of independence. Regulators expect proportionate, least-restrictive approaches, so staff need to understand that over-restriction is a form of harm rather than an abundance of caution.
5. Who is this qualification aimed at?
   Care assistants, domestic and housekeeping staff, catering, maintenance and activities teams, agency and bank workers, and anyone entering a care home environment.
6. Are there any entry requirements?
   No formal prerequisites are required. Learners should have a reasonable standard of English and be aged 16 or above.
7. How long does the course take to complete?
   The qualification has a minimum instructional contact time of 4 hours, making it a compact, focused course suitable for induction-level delivery.
8. How is the qualification assessed?
   Through an online examination via the Britsafe Examination Management System, with a minimum pass mark of 70%.
9. Will this satisfy our regulator?
   It provides documented evidence of health and safety training appropriate to a Level 1 role, which supports inspection. Regulators assess the whole service, however, including premises, equipment, staffing levels, practical competency and management systems, so training is one part of the picture rather than a guarantee of compliance.
10. Does it cover safeguarding?
    Only at the margins, where physical safety and safeguarding overlap. Safeguarding adults is a distinct subject with its own training levels and local procedures, and staff should complete dedicated safeguarding training appropriate to their role.
11. Is it relevant to domiciliary care as well as care homes?
    The content is written around the residential care setting, but much of it handling, falls, infection control, chemicals and lone working transfers directly to home care. Domiciliary staff should note that working in service users’ own homes brings additional considerations, particularly around lone working and uncontrolled environments.
12. What materials are provided with the course?
    Learners receive digital (soft copy) course materials via the Britsafe learning management system. The course is delivered entirely online; there is no physical classroom attendance or physical course material.
13. What happens after I pass the exam?
    Successful learners receive a certificate from Britsafe Qualifications UK Limited, featuring an anti-counterfeit hologram seal for authenticity. The certificate is available both as a physical copy and as a soft (digital) copy.
14. Is this qualification recognised internationally?
    Yes. Britsafe Qualifications UK Limited delivers this qualification fully online to learners across the UK and internationally.
15. Can this qualification lead to further study?
    Yes. It provides a foundation for progression into adult care diplomas, practical moving and handling training, infection control qualifications and higher-level health and safety study.