End of Life Care qualifications and training courses

Last Updated: 09 Jun 2020

This suite of qualifications supports the Department of Health's national end of life care strategy in England. It aims to improve end of life care practice and establish a standard across all services.

These qualifications are for people working with those reaching the end of their lives. The learners taking these qualifications will be care assistants, support workers or healthcare assistants.

Candidates will learn about various aspects of end of life care including communication, managing discomfort and supporting individuals with loss.

Having completed one of these qualifications, the candidate may wish to complete a larger qualification such as the Diploma in Health & Social Care or to work towards one of the many small qualifications available for continuing professional development, such as the awards or certificates in dementia care.

The qualifications are relevant to people working in health and health and social care settings where individuals who are supported are approaching the end of their life. This may include health, residential, domiciliary care and palliative care settings throughout England and Northern Ireland. The candidates taking these qualifications could be care assistants, support workers or healthcare assistants.

Available to deliver in the following:

England
Northern Ireland

Interested in delivering this qualification?

Find out more about how to become an approved City & Guilds centre or fill out our online customer application form.

General Information

What Is Involved In Studying This Course?

You will learn about a variety of areas directly relevant to the role, including assessing supporting individuals at the end of their lives and their families, supporting individuals through change, and helping manage pain and discomfort.

You will be assessed through written assignments and your competency in your work practice.

What Careers Can This Lead To?

Having completed these qualifications, workers may then progress into more complex roles as they have demonstrated continuing professional development in a specific area of practice.

What Is Involved With Delivering This Course?

The competence-based Certificates are designed to be assessed in the candidate’s workplace as they undertake their normal work role. On-site assessors/trainers/tutor should also be occupationally competent and delivery staff must meet the requirements as outlined in the qualification handbook.

The knowledge based units will be assessed by City & Guilds externally set and internally marked/quality assured assignments. Competence based units will assessed through work-based practice and all evidence will be collated through a portfolio. The portfolios of evidence will show candidates have demonstrated their practice and knowledge which meets the assessment criteria.

To find all the resource requirements; download the qualification handbook from the documents section of the webpage.

Level 2

This level 2 Award is comprised of only one unit. This is helpful as an introduction to the area and will give those that have little or no knowledge a basic understanding of end of life care.

The unit is
• Understand how to work in end of life care

What Careers Can This Lead To?

It gives new workers directly involved in providing health or care services for people approaching the end of their lives the basic principles and knowledge of how to work in this area. It also enables those that wish to move into this area of work to do so.

Level 2 Award in Awareness of End of Life Care (3571-02)

Last Registration Date: 31 Dec 2023

Level 2 Award in Awareness of End of Life Care

Accreditation No: 600/6919/3 This is a reference number related to UK accreditation framework
Type: Credit based qualification This is categorisation to help define qualification attributes e.g. type of assessment
Credits: 3 Credits are a measure of the size of the qualification
Guided Learning Hours: 28 - 28 This is the average contact time a centre would typically commit
Total Qualification Time: 30 The total time for the qualification
Key Stage: Data unavailable This shows the equivalent Key Stage level.
Last Certification: 31/12/2025 This is the last date that a certificate can be issued
Qualification fees in the UK: £49.10 Our typical price is the one that is most often paid by a centre for a completed learner. Some prices are made up of multiple charging points so action like taking difference units or specialisms to complete and resitting assessments may mean the cost for some learners differs.

Level 3

The Award is a knowledge-based qualification of three units. There are no pre-requisite qualifications needed to access it. The units are
• Understand how to work in end of life care
• Principles of working in end of life care
• Understand how to support individuals during last days of life

The level 3 Certificate is a competence-based qualification. It’s appropriate for you if you are a care worker or a health support worker, and you have some responsibility in your workplace.

What Careers Can This Lead To?

The Award gives candidates the knowledge to develop their practice of working with people approaching the end of their lives, and will enable them to progress in a supervisory and/or managerial capacity or gain CPD qualifications.

The Certificate is for Managers and supervisors in statutory, voluntary and private sector organisations which provide health or care services for people approaching the end of their lives to develop practical and management skills in this area.

Level 3 Award in Awareness of End of Life Care (3571-03)

Last Registration Date: 31 Dec 2023

Level 3 Award in Awareness of End of Life Care

Accreditation No: 600/6842/5 This is a reference number related to UK accreditation framework
Type: Credit based qualification This is categorisation to help define qualification attributes e.g. type of assessment
Credits: 10 Credits are a measure of the size of the qualification
Guided Learning Hours: 89 - 89 This is the average contact time a centre would typically commit
Total Qualification Time: 100 The total time for the qualification
Key Stage: Data unavailable This shows the equivalent Key Stage level.
Last Certification: 31/12/2026 This is the last date that a certificate can be issued
Qualification fees in the UK: £66.00 Our typical price is the one that is most often paid by a centre for a completed learner. Some prices are made up of multiple charging points so action like taking difference units or specialisms to complete and resitting assessments may mean the cost for some learners differs.

Level 3 Certificate in Working in End of Life Care (3571-04)

Last Registration Date: 31 Dec 2023 Supportive services: Learning Assistant

Level 3 Certificate in Working in End of Life Care

Accreditation No: 600/6841/3 This is a reference number related to UK accreditation framework
Type: Credit based qualification This is categorisation to help define qualification attributes e.g. type of assessment
Credits: 26 Credits are a measure of the size of the qualification
Guided Learning Hours: 191 - 218 This is the average contact time a centre would typically commit
Total Qualification Time: 260 The total time for the qualification
Key Stage: Data unavailable This shows the equivalent Key Stage level.
Last Certification: 31/12/2026 This is the last date that a certificate can be issued
Qualification fees in the UK: £103.00 Our typical price is the one that is most often paid by a centre for a completed learner. Some prices are made up of multiple charging points so action like taking difference units or specialisms to complete and resitting assessments may mean the cost for some learners differs.

Additional information for centres

LEARNING ASSISTANT IS AVAILABLE FOR THIS QUALIFICATION

Learning Assistant is an innovative and cost effective e-portfolio solution that allows colleges and training providers to dramatically improve the delivery of their vocational qualifications.

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Here you can find all documents related to this suite of qualifications.

By clicking on the section headings below, you can access a variety of documents such as the qualification handbooks and assessment materials, Statements of Purpose, and recognition letters from industry and employers.

Some documents may be password protected. Passwords can be retrieved by logging in to Walled Garden and visiting the Administration section of the relevant qualification catalogue page.

Interested in delivering this qualification?

Find out more about how to become an approved City & Guilds centre or fill out our online customer application form.

Assessment materials

Centre Documents

3571-02-03-04-05 L2 L3 L5 Awards Certificates in End of Life Care QHB v5-1 pdf 968 KB 24 Jul 2018

End of Life Care (3571)