Care Planning and Risk Assessment – Extended Knowledge

Course fee: HCPA Standard Member: Fully funded*
Associate/Network Member: £112.50+VAT | Non-member: £225+VAT

Three day course at HCPA Campus
Day 1: 10/11/2026
Day 2: 17/11/2026
Day 3: 18/11/2026

Course Overview

This three-day extended knowledge course supports care staff to strengthen their understanding and practical skills in assessment, care planning, and risk management. Ideal for senior care staff or those in lead roles, the course covers the full care planning journey, from initial assessment through to daily delivery, risk assessment, and quality assurance.

This course is aligned with the Workforce Development Pathway under:
• Care or Support Worker – Established in their role with consolidated skills and experience
• Enhanced Care Worker – Delegated healthcare activities and/or condition-specific support

Entry Requirements
Learners must be responsible for care planning activities in their services.

Course structure

Day 1 – Laying the Foundations
Focuses on pre-admission information gathering, referral and funding pathways, and planning for a smooth transition into care. Learners will explore the principles of person-centred assessment and how different conditions and needs influence planning. Key safeguarding, human rights, and service agreement considerations are also covered.

Day 2 – Care Planning and Risk in Practice
An interactive workshop day where learners apply learning to develop real-life care plans and SMART outcomes. The session explores how to manage fluctuating needs, balance risk and choice, and create clear, practical risk assessments that reflect daily care delivery and mental capacity principles.

Day 3 – Reviewing and Improving Quality
Covers quality assurance, record-keeping, and the use of tools such as ABC charts and incident logs. Learners will learn to evaluate and update care plans, reflect on lessons from incidents, and understand the role of supervision, digital tools, and co-production in maintaining safe, high-quality care.

Learning outcomes:

Day 1:
•Explain the importance of effective information gathering and assessment.
•Describe referral pathways, funding options, and the role of brokerage.
•Outline the legal and safeguarding principles that underpin assessment and care planning.
•Identify the key considerations when assessing and accepting a care package.
•Describe how to support a safe and person-centred transition into care.

Day 2:
•Explain the principles of consent, mental capacity, and best-interest decision-making.
•Describe the features of effective, person-centred care plans.
•Identify approaches to capturing communication, culture, preferences, and individual outcomes within care plans.
•Outline how meaningful goals and outcomes can be developed, monitored, and reviewed.
•Explain how choice, independence, and risk can be balanced through positive risk-taking and effective risk assessment.

Day 3:
•Explain how monitoring tools and records provide evidence of outcomes, wellbeing, and changing needs.
•Identify when care plans and risk assessments require review, escalation, or reassessment.
•Describe the principles of co-production and meaningful involvement in care planning and decision-making.
•Outline the purpose of advance care planning and the documentation that supports future decisions.
•Explain how audits, learning, and quality assurance processes support continuous improvement in care.

*Please note: As per our T&C’s, this course carries a fee in the event of non-attendance, non-completion or late cancellation.
Bookings of more than two delegates per site may be amended to allow access to all member organisations at the discretion of HCPA.
Delegates who are late may not be admitted into the training and a cost incurred.