The European Care Certificiate (ECC)
So
what is the ECC?
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The ECC is a certificate that provides independent proof of an individual’s minimum level of knowledge of social care work. It is recognised across much of Europe.
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The certificate is awarded after passing a short, yet searching, multiple answer exam, which must be taken under exam conditions.
What does ‘ECC Compliant’ mean?
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Any training programme (from a degree course to an in house induction programme) can be recognised as ‘ECC Compliant’. The content of an ‘ECC Compliant’ training programme has been independently checked and confirmed as covering (as a minimum) set of learning outcomes known as the BESCLO (Basic European Social Care Learning Outcomes).
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Training materials can be promoted as ‘ECC Compliant’ when their covering of the BESCLO has been checked and agreed by a lead partner. TASS UK is a lead partner in the UK.
Who is the ECC aimed at?
It is aimed at workers and students who want to work in any social care setting. It is also aimed at employers who might offer it to new workers as an induction process, or find that someone applying for a job has an ECC and so they need to know what that means.
What are the entry requirements for the ECC?
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The ECC is open to anyone. There are no academic or study entry requirements and it has been designed to be easily accessible and inexpensive. In practice there are two simple requirements; we expect candidates to be over 16 years old and they must be able to read and answer the questions.
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The assessment tests knowledge, not competence.
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The knowledge tested is the minimum knowledge required to work in social care. This does not mean it is simple however. The questions are searching and require the student to have a clear understanding of all the topics being tested.
How will it work in the UK?
There is an ECC Board who manage the implementation and development of the award across Europe. TASS UK is one of the main Lead Partners operating in the UK. TASS UK’s role is to promote the award in the social care sector and oversee the quality assurance of training programme accreditation and the exam. TASS UK works with delivery partners who deliver the training and invigilate the exams.
For more information contact us now.