What is it and how do I use it?
The Dementia Training Standards Framework was first released in 2015 and was known as the Dementia Core Skills Education and Training Framework. It was developed by Skills for Health and Health Education England in partnership with Skills for Care. The revised version, released this year, uses the new short name which is both easier to remember and describes what it is. This is just one of a range of core skills frameworks which can be found on the Skills for Health website. It was developed to guide a consistent approach to delivery of dementia education and training and set out core skills and knowledge that are transferable and applicable across different types of service provision.
Who does it apply to?
The Dementia Training Standards Framework is applicable to everyone working in health and social care services providing care or support for people living with dementia, including health, social care, housing, sports facilities, voluntary sector, etc.
The Framework sets out learning objectives for 14 different subject areas. The number of learning outcomes is determined by the role people play in care. For health staff, there are 3 tiers and in the framework these are matched to the 4 social care work force groups.
How do I know if the training I buy helps my staff meet this standard?
All training providers should be able to tell you which learning outcomes in which subjects their training will meet. For example, if you wish your staff to learn more about Equality, diversity and inclusion in dementia care, you would expect that the training provider will be able to demonstrate that they cover 100% of tier 2 learning objectives.
The research project ‘What works’ in dementia education and training? funded by the Department of Health Policy Research programme and carried out by Leeds Beckett University, University of Bradford and University of Leeds has produced the Dementia Training Design and Delivery Audit Tool (DeTDAT) and accompanying manual that can be used by care and training providers, commissioners and others involved in training design, delivery or purchasing to assess how well a training package meets good practice criteria identified in the What Works study.
The Association for Dementia Studies will happily supply this information to you for any of our education and practice development courses that we provide. Also, if you ask us to deliver training, we will always check if there are any subjects from the Framework that you would like us to include.
How do I find training and resources to help me train my staff?
Managing Success in Dementia Care, has been developed to support leaders and managers working across health and social care to implement the learning outcomes of the Dementia Training Standards Framework. It is designed to support managers and others responsible for training within organisations to identify resources they can use to deliver education and training activities at tier 2 (core skills and knowledge for people who regularly work directly with people living with dementia). For example, subject 4, Person-centred dementia care refers our free Care Fit for VIPS online tool kit.
You can also look at the courses and masterclasses that we deliver and we can come and provide training for you or advise your in-house training team.
Association for Dementia Studies Blog 