Practice Leader
Practice Leaders support people with personal care, daily living, and independence in settings like homes, residential care, or supported living. They use their specialist knowledge to guide and mentor colleagues, role model best practice, and stay up to date with new approaches.
They lead others and promote safe, inclusive, person-centred care. Through this they to protect people’s rights and support their quality of life.
See which NCFE qualifications align to the Practice Manager role in the Care Workforce Pathway below.
You can use this to see what’s expected at your current level and what learning can support your development. You can also see how you can progress to the next stage of your career in adult social care.
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NCFE qualifications for the Practice Leader pathway
The following qualifications are the knowledge and competencies required to succeed in Practice Leader roles.
Level 4 Diploma in Adult Care units that can support this role:
Unit: NCFE CACHE Specialist areas of care J/616/6324*
Unit: NCFE CACHE Lead communication in adult care settings D/616/6409*
Unit: NCFE CACHE Lead inclusive practice in adult care settings D/616/6412*
Unit: NCFE CACHE Lead health and safety in adult care settings H/616/6413*
Unit: NCFE CACHE Facilitate support planning to ensure positive outcomes for individuals and to support well-being M/616/6415*
Unit: NCFE CACHE Professional practice in adult care settings T/616/6416*
Unit: NCFE CACHE Undertake research in adult care L/616/6325*
Unit: NCFE CACHE Lead learning and development in adult care F/616/6399*
Unit: NCFE CACHE Professional supervision in adult care R/616/6407*
Unit: NCFE CACHE Mentoring in adult care K/616/6400*
Unit: NCFE CACHE Lead practice to promote quality assurance in adult care A/616/6403*
Unit: Service improvement and development in adult care
Unit: NCFE CACHE Promote innovation and change in adult care R/616/6326*
Unit: NCFE CACHE Advocacy in adult care F/616/6306*
Unit: NCFE CACHE Lead practice in providing information, advice and guidance M/616/6317*
Level 3 Diploma in Adult Care units that can support this role:
Unit: Promote communication in care settings
Unit: NCFE CACHE Promote equality, diversity, inclusion and human rights in care settings M/650/1371*
Unit: NCFE CACHE Promote health and safety in care settings R/650/1372*
Unit: NCFE CACHE Facilitate support planning to ensure positive outcomes for individuals and to support wellbeing M/616/6415*
Unit: Understand duty of care
Unit: NCFE CACHE Lead learning and development in adult care F/616/6399*
Unit: NCFE CACHE Mentoring in adult social care H/616/6380*
Unit: Supervision skills and developing and supporting others
Unit: NCFE CACHE Contribute to quality assurance in adult care F/616/6385*
Unit: NCFE CACHE Promote innovation, change and positive representation of own organisation D/650/1385*
Mental health
Unit: Promote mental wellbeing and mental health
Level 3 Certificate in Understanding Mental Health
Train the Trainer
Level 3 Award in Education and Training
Assessing Learning
Level 3 Award in Understanding the Principles and Practices of Assessment
Level 3 Award in Assessing Competence in the Work Environment
Level 3 Award in Assessing Vocationally Related Achievement
Level 3 Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement
*Unit available upon request.
Level 3 Certificate in Understanding Autism
Unit: NCFE CACHE Support individuals with autism spectrum condition (ASC) A/616/6353*
Unit: NCFE CACHE Understand how to support individuals with autism spectrum condition (ASC) F/616/6354*
*Unit available upon request.
Level 3 Certificate in the Principles of End of Life Care
Unit: NCFE CACHE End of life care D/616/6359/UNITCACHE
Unit: NCFE CACHE Understanding the effect of dementia on end-of-life care (R/650/5298)*
Unit: NCFE CACHE Managing symptoms in end-of-life care (T/650/5299)*
Unit: NCFE CACHE Understand end-of-life care for individuals with specific health needs (J/650/5301)*
Unit: NCFE CACHE Support individuals during the last days of life (K/650/5302)*
Unit: NCFE CACHE AN 50 Support individuals at the end of life (M/615/7326)*
*Unit available upon request.
Level 3 Award in Supporting Individuals with Learning Disabilities
Unit: Understand the context of supporting individuals with learning disabilities
Unit: NCFE CACHE HSC S 16 Principles of supporting individuals with a learning disability regarding sexuality and sexual health (Y/616/6361)*
Unit: NCFE CACHE HSC S 17 Support individuals with learning disabilities to access healthcare (D/616/6362)*
*Unit available upon request.
Level 3 Certificate in Understanding Mental Health
Unit: NCFE CACHE Understand mental ill health M/650/5189*
Unit: NCFE CACHE Awareness of mental health legislation J/650/5294*
Unit: NCFE CACHE Understand the legal, policy and service framework in mental health F/650/5148*
Unit: NCFE CACHE Support individuals to manage their own recovery from mental health conditions H/650/5149*
Unit: NCFE CACHE Understanding suicide interventions L/650/5150*
Unit: NCFE CACHE Support positive risk taking for individuals M/650/5151*
Unit: NCFE CACHE Support individuals with mental health conditions to change patterns of behaviour using coping strategies R/650/5152*
Unit: NCFE CACHE Understand mental health interventions T/650/5153*
Unit: NCFE CACHE Effective communication and building relationships in mental health work Y/650/5154*
Unit: NCFE CACHE Enable mental health service users and carers to manage change A/650/5155*
Unit: NCFE CACHE Enable individuals with behaviours that challenge to develop strategies to manage their behaviour D/650/5156*
Unit: NCFE CACHE Understand care and support planning and risk management in mental health H/650/5158*
Unit: NCFE CACHE Understand the importance of personal wellbeing when working in mental health services M/650/5160*
*Unit available upon request
Level 2 Certificate in the Principles of Addiction Recovery
Unit: NCFE CACHE Carry out assessments to identify the needs of substance users R/616/6374*
Unit: NCFE CACHE Test for substance use K/616/6378*
Unit: NCFE CACHE Support individuals who are substance users (D/616/6376)*
Unit: NCFE CACHE MH 12 Recognise indications of substance misuse and refer individuals to specialists (T/615/7277)*
*Unit available upon request.
Unit: NCFE CACHE Understand sensory loss (J/616/6369)*
Unit: NCFE CACHE HSC S 27 Support the assessment of individuals with sensory loss (F/616/6371)*
*Unit available upon request.
Skills for Care resources
Every journey will be unique. Use the Skills for Care assessment tools to evaluate skills, plan development and advance careers in adult social care:
Role profile
Specialist role focusing on high-quality care delivery and mentoring others.
Career path
Can move into Deputy Manager or Registered Manager roles, or into training and development positions.
