CQC Mandatory Training for Care Staff (2026): The Full List, Refresher Periods and Training Matrix
Which training care staff need, how often to refresh it, what CQC actually asks to see and a free training matrix with expiry dates. For care homes and home care in England.
CQC does not publish a fixed list of mandatory training courses. Regulation 18 requires providers to give staff the training their role needs, so you decide the list and must be able to justify it. The exception is learning disability and autism training, which the law says all staff must receive at a level appropriate to their role. For the rest, most providers follow the Skills for Care guide: health and safety, fire safety, moving and handling, infection prevention and control, safeguarding, basic life support, first aid, food hygiene and medicines training where relevant, refreshed at least every three years (basic life support annually).
This guide is for registered managers and providers of care homes and home care services in England. It sets out what CQC requires, the training list most providers use, refresher periods, who needs what, and how to evidence it. It draws on CQC’s Regulation 18 guidance, CQC’s brief guide on learning disability and autism training and the Skills for Care statutory and mandatory training guide (December 2025). Where something is our suggestion rather than a requirement, we say so.
Key takeaways
- CQC has no official list of mandatory courses. Regulation 18 requires the training necessary for each role, and you must monitor it and act quickly when it lapses.
- Learning disability and autism training is the one topic the law names: all staff, at a level appropriate to their role, including admin and ancillary staff who may have contact.
- Skills for Care recommends a minimum refresher of three years for most core topics, annual basic life support and yearly fire drills. Employers set their own frequencies.
- Training dates do not prove competence. Check and record that staff can do the task, through observation and supervision.
- A training matrix with completion and expiry dates, plus evidence you chase gaps, is the record inspectors ask for most.
In this guide
- What does CQC say about mandatory training?
- Statutory training versus mandatory training
- The mandatory training list for care staff
- Who needs what: training by role
- Learning disability and autism training (Oliver McGowan)
- How often should care staff refresh mandatory training?
- Training is not the same as competence
- Induction and starters
- The training matrix inspectors ask for
- What inspectors want to see
- Tracking expiry dates without missing any
- Sources and how this was checked
- Frequently asked questions
What does CQC say about mandatory training?
CQC does not name a set of mandatory courses or refresher periods. Instead:
- Regulation 18 (Staffing) requires staff to receive the support, training, professional development, supervision and appraisal they need for their role. Providers must monitor the training completed and take action quickly when training requirements are not being met (CQC: Regulation 18).
- Learning disability and autism training is named in CQC’s statutory guidance: since July 2022 providers must make sure all staff receive training in how to interact appropriately with people with a learning disability and autistic people, at a level appropriate to their role (CQC brief guide, updated 8 September 2025).
- CQC cannot endorse a named course. Its own guide says Regulation 18 does not say which packages to use, so CQC cannot promote or require a named training programme.
So the list is yours to set, based on the people you support and the tasks staff carry out, and you must be able to explain it. Most providers start from the Skills for Care list below.
Statutory training versus mandatory training
Skills for Care defines statutory training as training usually required by law, or where a statutory body has told an organisation to provide it, for example under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. Mandatory training is compulsory training an organisation or commissioner decides is essential for safe and efficient delivery of services, including what Regulation 18 requires. In daily use the terms overlap, and inspectors care less about the label than about whether staff are trained for what they do.
The mandatory training list for care staff
This table follows the Skills for Care guide. Refresher periods are its recommendations for employers, not fixed legal rules.
| Topic | Who needs it | Recommended refresher (Skills for Care) |
|---|---|---|
| Health and safety awareness | All workers | When a new risk or activity is introduced; minimum every 3 years |
| Fire safety | All workers, relevant to the care setting | When a new risk is introduced; minimum every 3 years. Practice fire drills at least yearly |
| Moving and handling objects | All workers | When a new risk or activity is introduced; minimum every 3 years |
| Infection prevention and control | All workers, relevant to the setting | When a new risk or activity is introduced; minimum every 3 years |
| Adult safeguarding | All workers | When needs change or a new risk is introduced; minimum every 3 years |
| Basic life support | Workers identified by the employer | When identified, or at least annually |
| First aid | As many as the employer decides are needed | Every 3 years |
| Assisting and moving people | Workers who support people to move | When needs change or new equipment is introduced; at least every 3 years if no other training in that time |
| Child safeguarding | All workers, aligned to Care Certificate standard 11 | At least every 3 years |
| Learning disability and autism | All workers, at a level appropriate to their role | Follow the Oliver McGowan Code of Practice (see below) |
| Food hygiene | Workers who handle, prepare or provide food | Every 3 years |
| Medication administration | Workers with medicines responsibilities | When needs, risks or policy change; if no training within a year, review competency |
Beyond this, you must identify extra training from your service and the people you support, for example communication, nutrition and hydration, positive behaviour support, dementia, end of life care, mental capacity and data protection. Skills for Care gives no refresher periods for these, and in CQC-regulated settings it remains the provider’s legal responsibility to identify and provide it.
Who needs what: training by role
The Skills for Care table says “all workers” for some topics and “as identified” for others. This role view is our suggestion for turning that into a matrix. Adjust it to your service and record the reasoning.
| Role | Core topics | Add, if the role involves it |
|---|---|---|
| Care worker (care home) | All core topics, learning disability and autism at the level for direct care | Medication, assisting and moving people, food hygiene, first aid, basic life support, dementia, MCA and DoLS |
| Care worker (home care) | All core topics, learning disability and autism at the level for direct care | Medication, assisting and moving people in people’s homes, food hygiene, lone working and personal safety, basic life support |
| Senior care worker or team leader | As a care worker | Medication competency assessment, supervision skills, incident and safeguarding reporting |
| Nurse | As a care worker | Clinical skills for tasks they perform and the training needed for their professional registration |
| Registered manager or deputy | All core topics | Safeguarding at manager level, MCA and DoLS, governance and audit, notifications, duty of candour |
| Admin, kitchen, housekeeping, maintenance | Health and safety, fire, infection control, safeguarding awareness; learning disability and autism at the level for their contact | Food hygiene (kitchen), moving and handling objects, COSHH |
| Agency, bank or student | Check and record the training they arrive with | Local induction, fire, safeguarding reporting route; verify certificates |
Learning disability and autism training (Oliver McGowan)
This is the area where CQC is most specific, so check it first. The Health and Care Act 2022 introduced the requirement that registered providers make sure staff have training on learning disability and autism, at a level appropriate to the role, including how to interact with autistic people and people with a learning disability. The government prefers and recommends the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training. From 6 September 2025 the Oliver McGowan Code of Practice sets standards for the content and delivery of the training, and CQC says it will consider it when assessing.
- It covers all services and settings, not just learning disability services, and all staff who may have contact, including ancillary and administrative staff.
- Review old training. If you provided learning disability and autism training before, CQC expects you to review it against Regulation 18 and the Code of Practice, rather than assume it still counts.
- Assess need by person. CQC expects an assessment of what level each member of staff needs and what is being done to arrange it, for example an action plan showing when and how training will be delivered.
- What CQC may ask to see: records of training needs assessments, training plans, booked training or evidence of training delivered. It may confirm this in staff interviews.
- If you decide a member of staff does not need it, be ready to show a record of how you reached that decision. CQC says all staff involved in delivering a regulated activity fall within the regulation.
- Where it appears in reports: usually under Safe and effective staffing (Safe) and Governance, management and sustainability (Well-led). Concerns can also bring in Regulations 9, 10, 12 and 13.
Read the full explanation in our Oliver McGowan training guide.
How often should care staff refresh mandatory training?
There is no single legal frequency. The Skills for Care guide sets a minimum of three years for most core topics, and allows a worker who completes a recognised adult social care qualification containing the topic to skip the refresh for three years from completion. Many providers use shorter cycles, commonly annual, for higher-risk topics such as moving and handling, infection control, safeguarding and medicines, because risk changes and skills fade. If you go beyond the recommendation, say why in your training policy so an inspector can see the logic.
Some events should trigger training early: a new risk, a new activity, new equipment, a change in someone’s needs or a change to policy. A resident who now needs a hoist means the staff involved need training before it is used.
Training is not the same as competence
Skills for Care stresses that employers must check and evidence that workers are competent on an ongoing basis, as part of supervision. That means observing practice, not just recording certificates. For medicines, NICE advises that only staff who have had the necessary training and been assessed as competent should administer them. See how to carry out competency assessments and supervision frequency.
Induction and starters
Regulation 18 guidance says providers must have an induction programme that prepares staff for their role, and that training needs are assessed at the start of employment and reviewed at appropriate intervals. Staff should be supervised until they can show competence. The Care Certificate is widely used for new care workers. Record what each starter has completed, what prior training you accepted from previous employers and how you verified it.
The training matrix inspectors ask for
A training matrix is the single record that answers most questions about mandatory training. Whatever you use, it should show:
| Column | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Name, role and start date | Shows who needs what, and that new starters are picked up |
| Each required course | Shows the list is based on role, not one list for everyone |
| Date completed | Evidence the training happened |
| Expiry or review date | Shows you know when it lapses and can act before it does |
| Status (OK, due soon, expired, missing) | Lets you see gaps at a glance and prove you chase them |
| N/A with a reason | Shows a decision, not an omission (especially for learning disability and autism training) |
| Link to competency checks | Shows training turned into safe practice |
What inspectors want to see
- A training matrix showing every worker, every required topic, the completion date and the expiry or review date.
- A training policy that explains your list and frequencies, and why.
- Evidence that gaps trigger action: who is overdue and what is being done.
- Competency checks for key tasks, recorded in supervision.
- Records of training needs assessments for learning disability and autism, and a plan for anyone not yet trained.
- Staff who can explain how training changed what they do. Inspectors speak to staff as well as read records.
Common weaknesses we see in reports and audits: a matrix that is out of date, e-learning with no check that staff understood it, agency staff with no record, “N/A” with no reason, and refresher dates that are tracked but never chased. These are our observations, not a CQC list.
Tracking expiry dates without missing any
For small teams the free matrix above is enough if someone checks it monthly. If you manage many staff or several services, software removes the manual chasing. CQCLogic’s staff training tracker records 15 mandatory courses per worker, tracks expiry dates and can export a PDF report. Supervision and appraisals sit in the same app, so training gaps and competency discussions can be linked in one review. It records what you enter, so set your frequencies to match your own training policy.
Sources and how this was checked
- CQC: Regulation 18, Staffing.
- CQC: Brief guide, mandatory training requirement on learning disability and autism (page last updated 8 September 2025).
- Skills for Care: Statutory and mandatory training guide (December 2025).
Read on 25 October 2026. The role table, the matrix and the “common weaknesses” are our suggestions, not CQC requirements.
Never let training lapse
CQCLogic tracks expiry dates for 15 mandatory courses per worker and flags what is due. It records what you enter and does not replace competency checks. See a sample improvement plan, view pricing or get started free.
Frequently Asked Questions
What mandatory training does CQC require?
CQC does not publish a fixed list. Regulation 18 requires training necessary for each role, with monitoring and quick action when it lapses. The one topic the law names is learning disability and autism training for all staff at a level appropriate to their role. Most providers use the Skills for Care list.
What is the mandatory training for care staff?
Skills for Care lists health and safety, fire safety, moving and handling, infection prevention and control, adult safeguarding, basic life support, first aid, child safeguarding, learning disability and autism training, food hygiene and medication, depending on role, plus extra training identified from the needs of the service.
How often should care staff do mandatory training?
There is no single legal frequency. Skills for Care recommends a minimum of three years for most core topics, at least annual basic life support where required and yearly fire drills. Many providers refresh higher-risk topics more often.
Is mandatory training a legal requirement?
Regulation 18 requires staff to receive the training necessary for their role. Some training is statutory under other law, such as health and safety. Providers define the rest as mandatory for their service.
Does CQC specify which training course to use?
No. CQC says Regulation 18 does not state which packages to use, so it cannot promote, endorse or require a named programme. For learning disability and autism, the government recommends the Oliver McGowan training and CQC considers the Code of Practice.
Does Oliver McGowan training have to be done?
Providers must make sure staff have learning disability and autism training at a level appropriate to their role. The government recommends the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training. If you use other training, expect to show it meets the Code of Practice.
Do admin and kitchen staff need mandatory training?
Yes, at a level for their role. CQC says the learning disability and autism requirement covers ancillary staff who may have contact with people, and health and safety, fire and safeguarding awareness apply to all workers.
What is the difference between statutory and mandatory training?
Statutory training is usually required by law. Mandatory training is compulsory training that the employer or commissioner decides is essential for safe delivery of services.
Can staff use training from a previous employer?
You can accept it if you can verify it and it is current, and you should record what you accepted and how you checked. You remain responsible for making sure the worker is competent for your service.
How do I show CQC our training is up to date?
Keep a matrix with completion and expiry dates, a policy explaining your frequencies, evidence that overdue items are chased, records of competency checks and a training needs assessment for learning disability and autism.
What counts as mandatory training?
Mandatory training is the training your organisation or commissioner decides is compulsory for a role, including what Regulation 18 requires. It overlaps with statutory training, which is usually required by law, such as health and safety. For care staff the Skills for Care list covers health and safety, fire safety, moving and handling, infection prevention and control, safeguarding, basic life support, first aid, learning disability and autism training, food hygiene and medication where relevant, plus any extra training your service needs.
Can staff refuse mandatory training?
Mandatory training is usually set by the employment contract and your training policy, so refusal is a matter for your normal procedures. Find out why first, for example a health reason, a learning need or a clash with shifts, and offer reasonable adjustments. Until a worker is trained, do not let them carry out tasks that need the training, because Regulation 18 expects providers to take action quickly when training requirements are not being met. Persistent refusal can be handled under your disciplinary or capability procedure. This is general information, not legal advice: take employment advice for individual cases.
Do care staff have to be paid for mandatory training?
Generally yes. GOV.UK lists training, and travelling to training, as working time for minimum wage purposes, so time spent on training the employer requires should be paid at no less than the minimum wage rate. Check the GOV.UK guide to minimum wage for different types of work and the terms of your contracts. This is general information, not legal advice.