Duration
Typical duration to gateway - 18 months (this does not include EPA period).

Occupation Profile
A Lead Practitioner has a greater depth of knowledge and expertise of particular conditions being experienced by the user of services. They will have specialist skills and knowledge in their area of responsibilities which will allow them to lead in areas such as care needs assessment, occupational therapy, physiotherapy and rehabilitation. They will be a coach and mentor to others and will have a role in assessing performance and quality of care delivery. Lead Practitioners in Adult Care may work in residential or nursing homes, domiciliary care, day centres, a person's own home or some clinical healthcare settings.

Entry Requirements
Applicants must: Achieve the required level of Maths and English as part of the apprenticeship if a recognised qualification is not already held Be employed and have the support of their employer to undertake the programme

Commitment
6 hours a week (based on a 30 hour week) of a learner's contracted hours must be given to support the completion of the programme. Tutor led sessions are a mandatory part of the course along with any other learning activities set by the assessor or tutor. Maths and English may need to be undertaken in addition to the main qualification depending on previous attainment in these areas. It is likely that the learner will be required to undertake research, reading and write ups to support their learning. The programme requires 100% commitment from the learner & employer to ensure successful completion.

Delivery
Our blended approach means that our programmes are flexible and enable apprentices to experience a range of learning and support opportunities in a variety of formats such as online or at a local ACL centre. The apprentice will have a dedicated tutor who they will meet (online or face to face) once a month who will guide them through their apprenticeship and prepare them for their End Point Assessment. Additional workshops and seminars will be available to all learners to support additional learning and the off job learning requirement.

Benefit to Learner
1. Build professionalism and confidence in a working environment 2. Ability to manage their own performance 3. Gain knowledge on Adult Social Care within the context of their work setting

Benefit to Business
1. Productive team members 2. Highly qualified staff 3. Responsible and adaptable team members

End Point Assessment (EPA)
End Point Assessment (EPA) takes place at the end of the apprenticeship programme and is a comprehensive holistic assessment of the skills, knowledge and behaviours required as laid out in the apprenticeship standard. The Lead Practitioner in Adult Care EPA is made up of: Observation of practice - by independent assessor in apprentice's own workplace setting. This will be to check the competence of the apprentice to the relevant standard. Competence interview with independent assessor - Apprentice will submit the portfolio at least three weeks before the competence interview is due to be held. The portfolio will be reviewed by the assessor and will be the subject of the competence interview.