Care Staff Competency Assessments: How to Carry Them Out and Record Them
Training certificates show attendance, not ability. Here is how to check that care staff can actually do the job safely, how often to do it and how to evidence it.
A competency assessment is a check that a care worker can perform a task safely and correctly, usually by observing them do it, discussing their understanding and recording the result. Regulation 19 requires providers to assess competence before staff work unsupervised, and the Skills for Care guide says employers must check and evidence competence on an ongoing basis, as part of supervision. There is no fixed frequency: you plan it around the complexity and risk of the task.
Inspectors are rarely satisfied by a training matrix full of green cells. They want to know whether staff can do what they were trained to do, so they watch practice and ask questions. A competency assessment gives you the same evidence before they arrive. This guide shows how to design them, which tasks to prioritise, how often to repeat them and how to record the results.
Key takeaways
- Competence is shown by observed practice and knowledge, not certificates alone.
- Regulation 19 guidance expects systems to assess competence before staff work unsupervised, with supervision until they are competent.
- Skills for Care says employers should plan the frequency of checks based on the complexity of the task and record it in training and development policies.
- Prioritise high-risk tasks: medicines, moving and handling, infection control, personal care and safeguarding response.
- Blend formal observations with informal checks such as quizzes and reflective discussion.
In this guide
What a Competency Assessment Is
Skills for Care describes formal competency checks as “observations of the worker’s practice whilst they are carrying out key tasks”, including checks of both practice and knowledge. There are also informal ways of checking, “for example a quiz in a team meeting, discussions about practice in supervisions and creating opportunities for reflective practice”. A balance of both gives a well-rounded view (Skills for Care: Statutory and mandatory training guide).
Regulation 19’s guidance adds that providers “should have systems in place to assess the competence of employees before they work unsupervised in a role” and must provide appropriate direct or indirect supervision until the person is assessed as competent (CQC: Regulation 19). Regulation 18 requires staff to have the competence to meet people’s needs and the supervision to maintain it (CQC: Regulation 18).
Which Tasks to Assess
| Task | What to observe | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Medicines administration | Checking the MAR, right person, dose, time and route, safe storage, correct recording, handling of refusals and errors | NICE advises staff only administer medicines once trained and assessed as competent by the employer |
| Moving and handling | Correct use of hoists and slings, positioning, communication with the person, equipment checks | Required for workers who assist people to move |
| Infection prevention and control | Hand hygiene, correct use of PPE, cleaning and spills, waste disposal | Observe during other tasks too |
| Personal care and dignity | Consent, privacy, dignity, promoting independence, skin checks | Observe interaction as well as technique |
| Safeguarding and reporting | Ability to recognise concerns and describe how to report them | Use scenario questions |
| Food and fluids | Hygiene, textures and consistency, positioning and monitoring | Include allergy awareness |
| Record keeping | Accuracy, timeliness and content of daily notes | Compare notes against what you saw |
Skills for Care notes that observing a key task such as medication administration also gives a chance to see how the worker interacts with people and their infection control and record keeping practices, so one observation can cover several areas.
How to Carry Out an Assessment
- Agree the standard. Write a short checklist from your policy and procedure for the task. Yes or no criteria are easiest to apply.
- Tell the worker what is being assessed and why, so it feels like support, not a trap.
- Observe a real task in normal conditions. Do not intervene unless someone is at risk.
- Ask questions afterwards to test understanding, for example “what would you do if the MAR did not match the label?”.
- Give feedback straight away, praise what was done well and be specific about gaps.
- Record the result: date, assessor, task, criteria, outcome and any actions.
- Act on gaps: extra training, supervision or reassessment with a date. Restrict the task until the person is signed off, where safety requires it.
How Often Should Competency Be Checked?
Skills for Care says employers “should plan appropriate timescales for competency checks based on the complexity of the activity, any additional requirements and/or when a new activity or risk is introduced within practice”, documented in training and development policies. It also gives specific benchmarks:
- Fire safety: practice fire drills at least yearly, with more frequent drills to consider for part-time or night workers.
- Medicines: if a worker has not undertaken additional medicines training within a year, training needs and competency should be reviewed and assessed. NICE also recommends an annual review of each staff member’s knowledge, skills and competencies for managing and administering medicines, more often after a medicines-related incident (NICE SC1).
- New risk or activity: reassess when practice, equipment, a person’s needs or policy change.
For everything else, decide a cycle that fits the risk, such as annually for high-risk tasks and at supervision for lower-risk ones, and write it down.
What to Record
| Field | Example |
|---|---|
| Worker and role | A. Patel, senior carer |
| Task and standard used | Medicines administration, per medicines policy v4 |
| Date, assessor and method | 12 Oct, deputy manager; observed round plus questions |
| Outcome per criterion | Competent on 9 of 10; storage of controlled drugs prompt needed |
| Actions | Shadow round with team leader by 19 Oct; reassess by 2 Nov |
| Sign-off | Assessor and worker signed; next review date set |
Competency discussion is part of supervision, so link it to your supervision records and to your training matrix, and follow up gaps at your governance meeting.
Keeping It Manageable
The hard part is not the observation but remembering who is due. CQCLogic’s supervision log records supervisions and appraisals with sign-off by supervisor and staff member, and the staff training tracker holds completion and expiry dates for 15 mandatory courses, so you can see who is overdue for training or supervision and add competency observations to the same review. Competency observation forms themselves are yours to design and attach as evidence.
Keep staff competence visible
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is a competency assessment in care?
A check that a care worker can perform a task safely and correctly, usually by observing their practice and testing their knowledge, then recording the outcome and any actions.
How often should care staff have competency assessments?
There is no fixed period. Skills for Care says to plan timescales based on the complexity of the task, with practice fire drills at least yearly and a competency review for medicines if no additional training has been done within a year.
Are competency assessments a CQC requirement?
Regulation 19 guidance expects systems to assess competence before staff work unsupervised, and Regulation 18 requires staff to have the competence and supervision to do their role, so providers need a way to evidence competence.
Who can carry out a competency assessment?
Someone competent in the task and trained to assess, such as a senior carer, team leader, deputy, trainer or the registered manager. Avoid assessing your own work.
What is the difference between training and competency?
Training gives knowledge and skills. Competency is showing you can apply them safely in practice, so it needs observation and questions, not just a certificate.
Can competency be checked informally?
Yes. Skills for Care describes quizzes in team meetings, discussion in supervisions and reflective practice as informal checks, but formal observation of key tasks should also be done.
What if a worker is not competent?
Give feedback, arrange extra training or supervision, restrict the task if safety requires it and reassess by an agreed date. Record every step.
Sources: Skills for Care: Statutory and mandatory training guide (Dec 2025) · CQC: Regulation 19, Fit and proper persons employed · CQC: Regulation 18, Staffing · NICE SC1: Managing medicines in care homes