One in six adults experience a common mental health problem and we estimate that there are over half a million jobs in adult social care services that support people with mental ill health.
Adult social care staff need to have the right values, skills and knowledge to promote good mental health and wellbeing with the people that they support.
Explore what skills and knowledge staff that work in mental health services need, and shares resources to help employers to develop their workforce.
Workforce skills and knowledge
The ‘Mental Health Core Skills Education and Training Framework’ outlines the skills and knowledge that staff that work in mental health services need.
It can help you to design and commission high quality training, that meets the needs of the people that you support, and will support a more efficient and consistent approach to delivering training for the mental health workforce.
Download the framework.
Induction
Mental health/support people with different mental health conditions should form part of induction for new staff.
Standard nine of the Care Certificate, the standards for new staff in health and social care roles, focusses on mental health, and requires an awareness of the experiences and causes of mental health conditions.
We have practical resources and workbooks to help you to implement the Care Certificate as part of induction.
Find out more about the Care Certificate.
PDF - 2.6 MB
Our guide outlines 10 principles that underpin best practice and give an indication about what staff need to know and do, to support good mental health and wellbeing in adult social care services.
Each principle explains what the workforce need to know and do to meet this principle, and the associated behaviours.
PDF - 1,982 KB
The worker’s guide to implementing the common core principles to support good mental health and wellbeing in adult social care.
PDF - 1,986 KB
For people who commission, design or deliver mental health services to help you understand co-production better, reflect on your own practice and implement changes in your organisation.
Explore what’s stopping people from attempting co-production and what can help. It draws on examples and case studies from other people and organisations who are trying to work co-productively over England.
PDF - 342Kb
Skills for Care commissioned this research to look at the support for frontline adult social care support workers in meeting the needs of people with mental ill health. The study was designed to gather new and up to date evidence on the prevalence of mental health needs amongst people drawing on care and support. It also looked at the knowledge, skills or support that frontline workers might need in order to respond appropriately.
Find high quality learning and development
Our Endorsement Framework finds and badges learning providers that provide high quality learning and development to the social care sector, and that we see as the best.
Search for our endorsed providers in our online directory.
Building resilience
The building resilience area offers resources that can support managers build resilience at an individual, team, and organisational level.
Guide to developing your staff
Regular learning and development will help ensure workers can remain up-to-date with best practice to provide the best care and support.