There’s a sentence tucked into Chris Badger’s column in this month’s Care Management Matters that I think every Registered Manager should read twice. The CQC’s Chief Inspector of Adult Social Care and Integrated Care writes that “not all providers are actively seeking appropriate training for their staff despite this being a regulatory requirement”. He’s talking about training on learning disability and autism, the training that carries Oliver McGowan’s name.
I should explain why that matters, because I think some providers could overlook the significance of this or file it under “another course” when it’s nothing of the sort. I also want to point out something not every provider seems to know, which is that the first part of the training is free.
I’m sure everyone knows that Oliver McGowan was 18 and was autistic and had a learning disability and epilepsy. In hospital in 2016 he was given medication that he and his parents had explicitly asked staff not to give him. He had a severe reaction to it and died on 11th November 2016. The independent review of his death concluded it was potentially avoidable, and the Government’s own Code of Practice puts it plainly: “Oliver died because clinicians did not understand learning disability, autism and how this affects a person.”
I started out as a nurse working in acute medicine (amongst other fields), a long time ago now, and I know exactly how a ward runs when it’s busy and nobody has time to listen properly to a family. I also know the difference it makes when someone on that ward does understand. That’s the whole point of this training, and it has nothing to do with getting a certificate for the file. It’s about making sure there isn’t another Oliver.
So what does the law actually ask of you? Since 1st July 2022, under the Health and Care Act 2022, every CQC-registered provider has had to make sure its staff get learning disability and autism training that’s appropriate to their role. The Code of Practice that defines what “appropriate” means was laid before Parliament in June 2025 and became final on 6 September last year. It sets four standards: a minimum curriculum, training that helps staff apply what they’ve learned, a live and interactive element co-delivered by an autistic person and a person with a learning disability, and proper evaluation. The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training is the Government’s preferred and recommended way of meeting all four, and it comes in two parts and two tiers.
Part 1 is an e-learning module on NHS England’s elearning for healthcare hub, and NHS England’s own guidance says it’s “free for everyone in the UK to access”. Staff register with a work email address, or you can use the elfh bulk upload service to set up accounts for your whole team in one go. The module is here: https://portal.e-lfh.org.uk/Component/Details/781389.
Part 2 is the live session, and this is where the tiers come in. Tier 1, for people who only need general awareness, is a one-hour live online interactive session. Tier 2, for anyone who may provide care and support to an autistic person or a person with a learning disability, is a full day face to face. Both parts have to be completed for the training to count (the e-learning on its own is a start, not a finish) and the whole package needs refreshing at least every three years. NHS England’s FAQ, updated in June 2025, covers the practical questions: https://www.hee.nhs.uk/sites/default/files/FAQ%20-%20The%20Oliver%20McGowan%20Mandatory%20Training%20-%20Final%20June%202025.pdf.
The thing that catches providers out most often is scope. The requirement covers everyone who might come into contact with an autistic person or someone with a learning disability, which in a care home means the cook, the maintenance person, the agency worker on a Saturday night and the new starter who began on Monday. If you decide someone doesn’t need it, CQC expects you to have a written justification. The Code is also clear that “the onus will be on the provider to explain its rationale for not following the code”, so you can use training other than the Oliver McGowan package, but if you do, you’ll need to show it meets all four standards. I suspect most providers will find the official package is the simpler route.
I’m not going to pretend this is easy, though. The e-learning costs you nothing except the time to do it, but the live session is different. A full day off the rota for every care worker is a real cost in a sector that’s already running on empty. You pay the training provider first and claim the money back afterwards through the Learning and Development Support Scheme, and the pot for Oliver’s Training is ring-fenced but limited, so when it’s gone it’s gone. Funding has been confirmed for this financial year, but nobody has promised it for the next, and good co-trainers with lived experience aren’t an infinite resource either. None of that is a reason not to do it, but it is a very good reason to get on with it now rather than later.
If you haven’t got this sorted yet, I’d start by mapping every role to a tier and writing down the reasoning. Get everyone registered for the free e-learning this week, because there’s nothing to wait for, and book the live sessions now, because that’s the part that takes time to arrange. Put both parts into induction so new starters never fall through the gap. Keep the evidence in one place (the role mapping, the certificates, the dates, the refresh schedule and a few examples of how practice has changed), and claim the funding while it’s there.
Badger’s column has arrived in the same month CQC is giving every provider a named inspector. When yours makes contact, I’d expect this to be one of the first things they ask about, because their chief inspector has just told the whole sector he’s looking. You’ll want to have the answer ready.
Oliver’s parents have spent almost a decade turning the worst thing that can happen to a family into something that protects other people’s children. The least we can do as a sector is take the training seriously, and the first step costs nothing at all.
Bill Watson, Director, Insequa