CQC Mandatory Training List for Care Homes (2026 Update)

CQC does not publish a single definitive list of mandatory training for care home staff. What they do is inspect against regulations that require your staff to be suitably trained, and they expect you to demonstrate compliance. The result is a set of training topics that every care home in England must cover, even if no single document says "here is the list."

This guide compiles every training topic CQC inspectors routinely check during Well-Led and Safe inspections, the regulation each relates to, who needs it, and how often it must be renewed.

If you are unfamiliar with how training matrices work, read our guide to training matrices first. For sector-specific examples you can copy and adapt, see our training matrix examples.

The Legal Basis

The primary legislation is the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. Two regulations matter most:

Regulation 18 (Staffing): "Persons employed by the service provider in the provision of a regulated activity must receive such appropriate support, training, professional development, supervision and appraisal as is necessary to enable them to carry out the duties they are employed to perform."
Regulation 12 (Safe Care and Treatment): Requires providers to assess risks and do "all that is reasonably practicable to mitigate any such risks."

CQC inspectors use these regulations as the basis for assessing whether your training programme is adequate. They do not check training for its own sake — they check it as evidence that your staff are competent to provide safe care.

The Complete CQC Mandatory Training List

1. Care Certificate

What it covers: 15 standards covering duty of care, communication, privacy and dignity, fluids and nutrition, awareness of mental health, safeguarding, and more.
Who needs it: All new healthcare support workers and adult social care workers. This is the baseline for anyone without prior care qualifications.
Renewal interval: One-off (completed within first 12 weeks of employment). No formal expiry, but CQC expects competencies to be maintained and refreshed.
CQC regulation: Regulation 18 (Staffing) — demonstrating staff receive appropriate training.
Note: Skills for Care updated the Care Certificate standards in 2024. Ensure you are using the current version.

2. Safeguarding Adults and Children

What it covers: Recognising signs of abuse and neglect, reporting procedures, Mental Capacity Act implications, local authority referral processes (Section 42 enquiries under the Care Act 2014).
Who needs it: All staff. Managers and designated safeguarding leads need advanced training (Level 3+).
Renewal interval: Annual refresher.
CQC regulation: Regulation 13 (Safeguarding Service Users from Abuse and Improper Treatment).
Note: Your local Safeguarding Adults Board may specify additional requirements. Check with your local authority.

3. Moving and Handling (People)

What it covers: Safe techniques for assisting residents with mobility, use of hoists, slide sheets, and stand aids. Risk assessment for individual residents.
Who needs it: All care staff, nursing staff, and anyone who assists residents physically. Kitchen and administrative staff may need a general awareness module if they are in areas where they might need to assist.
Renewal interval: Annual practical refresher.
CQC regulation: Regulation 12 (Safe Care and Treatment), supported by the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992.
Note: Moving and handling of people requires separate training from moving and handling of objects. The techniques are different and the risks are significantly higher.

4. Fire Safety

What it covers: Fire prevention, evacuation procedures (including PEEP — Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans for residents with limited mobility), fire extinguisher use, fire door awareness.
Who needs it: All staff, including bank and agency workers.
Renewal interval: Annual. New starters must complete fire safety training as part of induction before working unsupervised.
CQC regulation: Regulation 12 (Safe Care and Treatment), supported by the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
Note: The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 introduced additional requirements for multi-occupied residential buildings. Ensure your training reflects the latest duties.

5. First Aid

What it covers: Basic life support, choking response, managing bleeding, shock, seizures. For care homes: recognising deterioration, when to call 999 vs out-of-hours GP.
Who needs it: You need a minimum number of trained first aiders based on your risk assessment (Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981). In practice, CQC expects enough first aid-trained staff to cover every shift.
Renewal interval: 3 years for the full First Aid at Work certificate. Annual refresher recommended. Emergency First Aid at Work also lasts 3 years.
CQC regulation: Regulation 12 (Safe Care and Treatment).

6. Infection Prevention and Control (IPC)

What it covers: Hand hygiene, PPE use, outbreak management, cleaning protocols, waste disposal, managing infections in a residential setting.
Who needs it: All staff. This includes kitchen staff, laundry staff, and maintenance — anyone entering the care environment.
Renewal interval: Annual.
CQC regulation: Regulation 12 (Safe Care and Treatment), specifically the Code of Practice on the Prevention and Control of Infections (the Hygiene Code) under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.
Note: Post-COVID, CQC pays particular attention to IPC compliance. Inspectors will observe practice as well as check records.

7. Medication Administration

What it covers: Safe administration of medicines, storage requirements, controlled drugs procedures, covert medication protocols, PRN (as needed) medication protocols, recording and error reporting.
Who needs it: All staff who administer or handle medication. In most care homes, this includes senior carers and above.
Renewal interval: Annual competency assessment. Initial training must be completed before the staff member administers medication unsupervised.
CQC regulation: Regulation 12 (Safe Care and Treatment). CQC also references NICE guideline SC1 (Managing Medicines in Care Homes) and the NICE Medicines Management guidance.
Note: Medication errors are one of the most common findings in CQC inspections. Your matrix should track both the training completion and the competency sign-off as separate items.

8. Mental Capacity Act (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS)

What it covers: The five statutory principles of the MCA 2005, assessing capacity, best interest decisions, DoLS applications, the role of the Relevant Person's Representative, and restrictions vs deprivations of liberty.
Who needs it: All care staff. Managers and senior staff need enhanced training covering application processes and legal responsibilities.
Renewal interval: Every 2 years, though annual refreshers are common practice.
CQC regulation: Regulation 11 (Need for Consent), Regulation 13 (Safeguarding).
Note: The Liberty Protection Safeguards (LPS) were intended to replace DoLS under the Mental Capacity (Amendment) Act 2019. Implementation has been repeatedly delayed. As of 2026, DoLS remains the operative framework. Ensure your training covers the current system, not the replacement that has not yet taken effect.

9. Food Hygiene

What it covers: Safe food handling, storage temperatures, allergen management, cleaning schedules, HACCP principles.
Who needs it: All kitchen staff must hold Food Hygiene Level 2 at minimum. Care staff who assist residents with meals need food safety awareness. Kitchen managers need Level 3.
Renewal interval: Every 3 years.
CQC regulation: Regulation 14 (Meeting Nutritional and Hydration Needs), supported by the Food Safety Act 1990 and Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 (retained EU law).

10. GDPR and Data Protection

What it covers: Handling personal and sensitive data, resident confidentiality, Subject Access Requests, data breach reporting, lawful basis for processing under the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.
Who needs it: All staff who access, record, or discuss resident information — which means everyone.
Renewal interval: Annual.
CQC regulation: Regulation 17 (Good Governance) — CQC expects robust data handling as part of overall governance.

11. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI)

What it covers: The Equality Act 2010 protected characteristics, unconscious bias, culturally sensitive care, accessible communication.
Who needs it: All staff.
Renewal interval: Every 2-3 years. Many providers include EDI in annual mandatory training days.
CQC regulation: Regulation 10 (Dignity and Respect), Regulation 9 (Person-Centred Care).

12. Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism

What it covers: Understanding learning disabilities and autism, communication adjustments, reasonable adjustments, recognising diagnostic overshadowing.
Who needs it: All staff in CQC-regulated settings. This became a legal requirement in November 2024 under the Health and Care Act 2022, Section 181.
Renewal interval: The full programme is delivered once. Refresher arrangements are still being finalised by Health Education England / NHS England, but providers should plan for periodic updates.
CQC regulation: Health and Care Act 2022, Section 181, now reflected in Regulation 18 (Staffing) expectations.
Note: There are two tiers. Tier 1 is for staff who may have incidental contact with people with a learning disability or autism. Tier 2 is for staff who provide direct care. Most care home staff need Tier 2. The training must be delivered by, or co-delivered with, people with lived experience of learning disability and autism.

Training Summary Table

Training Topic	Who	Renewal	Key Regulation
Care Certificate	New care workers	Once (12 weeks)	Reg 18
Safeguarding	All staff	Annual	Reg 13
Moving & Handling	Care staff	Annual	Reg 12
Fire Safety	All staff	Annual	Reg 12, Fire Safety Order 2005
First Aid	Risk-assessed number	3 years	Reg 12
IPC	All staff	Annual	Reg 12, Hygiene Code
Medication	Administering staff	Annual	Reg 12, NICE SC1
MCA/DoLS	All care staff	2 years	Reg 11, Reg 13
Food Hygiene	Kitchen/food handling staff	3 years	Reg 14
GDPR	All staff	Annual	Reg 17
EDI	All staff	2-3 years	Reg 9, Reg 10
Oliver McGowan	All staff	Once + refresher TBC	Health and Care Act 2022, s.181

Using This List in Practice

Print this list. Check it against your current training matrix. The gaps will be obvious.

Common findings when care homes run this comparison:

Oliver McGowan training not started. It became mandatory in late 2024 but many homes are still arranging delivery. CQC will ask about it.
MCA/DoLS not refreshed. Because the renewal cycle is 2 years rather than annual, it falls off the radar.
Medication competency assessments missing. Staff completed the initial training but the annual competency re-assessment was never scheduled.
Agency and bank staff not tracked. Your matrix covers permanent staff but temporary workers have no records on file.

If you want to check your care home's training compliance against CQC requirements automatically, use our CQC mandatory training checker. Upload your current matrix and it flags what is missing.

For a broader compliance gap analysis covering any sector, try the training compliance gap checker.

What CQC Inspectors Actually Check

During a Well-Led inspection, the inspector will typically:

Ask to see your training matrix or records.
Pick 3-5 staff members and check their records against the mandatory list.
Cross-reference records with what they observe in practice (does the carer who claims moving and handling training actually use correct technique?).
Ask staff directly: "When did you last do fire safety training? What would you do if you suspected abuse?"

The matrix gets you through step 1 and 2. Steps 3 and 4 are where training quality matters — not just completion, but comprehension.

This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal or regulatory advice. CQC requirements may vary by service type, local authority area, and the specific findings of your inspections. Training topics and renewal intervals listed here reflect common CQC expectations as of early 2026 — always verify against current CQC guidance and Skills for Care resources for your specific service.

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