Care Certificate, Standard 6 of 15
Communication
Identifying communication needs and preferences, adapting for sensory loss, dysphasia, dementia and English as an additional language, non verbal communication, barriers, and confidentiality in everyday conversation.
Why this standard matters in practice
Almost every complaint about care contains the sentence 'nobody told me' or 'nobody listened'. Communication is not a soft skill in this job; it is the mechanism through which consent, dignity and safety all happen.
How it is assessed
The knowledge in this standard is assessed by a knowledge check, which you can take here as part of the Care Certificate course. Attempts are unlimited and marking happens on our servers, so the answers are never sent to the browser.
Your employer's assessor must also observe you applying it in practice before this standard is complete. That is how the Care Certificate is designed, and it is the reason a purely online Care Certificate does not exist however it is advertised.
Questions about Standard 6
How should I communicate with someone with dementia?
Shorter sentences, one idea at a time, from the front, at eye level, with time to respond. Do not argue with a reality that is real to them. The standard teaches specific techniques and, more importantly, why rushing communication is what creates the distress you are trying to avoid.