Originally published: 30 January 2024 | Last updated: November 2026
As a care provider, how often should you refresh your staff's mandatory training? Is annual training essential, or can some subjects be refreshed every three years? And what does the Care Quality Commission (CQC) actually expect?
These are questions we are regularly asked by care home managers and domiciliary care providers.
The answer is not always straightforward. Although some training has specific refresher requirements, much depends on the responsibilities of your staff, the people they support and the risks associated with their roles.
Fortunately, Skills for Care provides useful guidance to help employers make informed decisions.
In this article, we explain the latest recommendations, updated in December 2025, and how to manage your training effectively.
Does CQC require annual mandatory training?
There is no universal CQC requirement for every mandatory training subject to be repeated annually.
Under Regulation 18 (Staffing), providers must ensure employees receive the training, supervision and professional development necessary to carry out their duties safely and competently.
Providers must also regularly review their staff's learning and development needs.
This means that simply arranging annual training for everyone does not automatically demonstrate compliance. Equally, choosing a three-year refresher cycle may be entirely appropriate for certain subjects, provided the decision is supported by relevant guidance, individual training needs and the risks associated with the service.
The important question is whether staff have the necessary knowledge, skills and competence to carry out their responsibilities.
Skills for Care's recommended refresher frequencies
Skills for Care updated its Statutory and Mandatory Training Guide for Adult Social Care Employers in December 2025.
The guidance identifies core training subjects, provides recommendations on refresher intervals and highlights circumstances where additional learning or competency assessments may be necessary.
The following table summarises some of the key recommendations.
Training subject Skills for Care guidance
- Health and Safety Awareness | Three-year refresher interval, or sooner if new risks or activities are introduced
- Fire Safety | Three-year training refresher interval, with practical fire drills at least annually
- Moving and Handling Objects | Three-year refresher interval, or sooner where risks or activities change
- Infection Prevention and Control | Three-year refresher interval, or sooner where risks or activities change
- Safeguarding Adults | Three-year refresher interval, or sooner where needs, risks or activities change
- Safeguarding Children | At least every three years where the worker has not achieved the Care Certificate standards or a recognised adult social care qualification during that period
- Basic Life Support | Formal training at least annually where required
- First Aid | Formal first-aid training refreshed every three years
- Assisting and Moving People | At least every three years if no additional training has been undertaken, or sooner when needs, risks or equipment change
- Food Hygiene | Every three years, or sooner when risks or activities change
- Medication Administration | Review training needs and competency where no additional training has taken place within a year
- Learning Disability and Autism Awareness | Refer to the Oliver McGowan Code of Practice and the requirements appropriate to each role
Important: These are guidance-based intervals, not a universal statutory timetable. Employers must consider the individual circumstances of their service, the requirements of their training policies and any additional legal, contractual or professional obligations.
The three-year recommendations for several subjects also recognise relevant learning completed through recognised adult social care qualifications, helping to avoid unnecessary duplication.
For the complete guidance, see the Skills for Care Statutory and Mandatory Training Guide.
When should training be refreshed sooner?
Even if a training subject has a recommended three-year interval, there may be good reasons to refresh it earlier.
For example:
- Changes in care needs: A person receiving care develops more complex needs requiring additional knowledge or skills.
- New equipment: A care worker starts using unfamiliar moving and handling equipment.
- Changes in legislation or guidance: New requirements affect how a task should be performed.
- Incidents or concerns: An incident, near miss or supervision discussion identifies gaps in knowledge or practice.
- Changes in responsibilities: An employee takes on additional duties, such as administering medication.
- Competency concerns: A manager identifies that a worker needs additional support or training.
A documented training plan should account for these circumstances rather than relying solely on certificate expiry dates.
What about the other mandatory training subjects?
Many care providers deliver a much broader range of training than the core subjects identified in Part 1 of Skills for Care's guidance.
Depending on their service, staff may also need training covering dementia, mental capacity, person-centred care, communication, nutrition and hydration, dignity, positive behaviour support and other specialist areas.
These subjects are important, but Skills for Care does not prescribe a universal refresher interval for all additional training.
Instead, employers are expected to identify what training is necessary for their workforce and establish appropriate refresher arrangements.
For example, a specialist dementia service may reasonably identify more frequent dementia training as necessary, while another provider may determine different priorities based on the people it supports.
The key is to make informed decisions and document the reasons behind them.
Training certificates and workplace competency
Another important distinction is the difference between completing training and demonstrating competence.
Training provides workers with the knowledge and understanding needed for their role. However, some tasks also require practical assessment and observation.
For example, a care worker may complete medication training but should not administer medicines until their employer has assessed them as competent to undertake the relevant responsibilities.
Similarly, moving and handling training may need to be supported by practical assessment using the techniques and equipment relevant to the workplace.
Skills for Care's guidance specifically emphasises the importance of ongoing competency checks, including workplace observations, supervision and discussions about practice.
A completed training certificate is useful evidence of learning, but it does not necessarily demonstrate workplace competence on its own.
How can care providers manage refresher training effectively?
With multiple employees completing different subjects at different times, keeping training up to date can quickly become an administrative challenge.
A practical approach is to:
- Identify the training required for each role.
- Establish and document appropriate refresher intervals.
- Maintain an accurate training matrix.
- Review individual learning needs during supervision and appraisal.
- Arrange additional training when risks, responsibilities or care needs change.
- Retain evidence of completed training and workplace competency assessments.
This helps managers demonstrate that training requirements have been considered and monitored rather than simply scheduling the same courses every year.
Make mandatory care training simpler with Total Training
At Total Training, we understand the challenges care providers face when organising training, managing renewals and keeping accurate records.
That's why we provide 20 core care training subjects through our own trainer-delivered e-learning courses and interactive Live Zoom training.
Our training options include individual courses, complete training bundles and annual subscriptions designed for care providers.
Customers also benefit from a manager dashboard, allowing them to:
- Monitor staff training progress.
- View completed training and certificates.
- Identify training that is due for renewal.
- Receive reminders.
- Arrange training throughout the year.
Our flexible approach helps managers organise staff development while retaining responsibility for identifying the training and competency requirements appropriate to their service.
Want to simplify your staff training?
Explore Total Training's care training subscriptions or browse our 20 mandatory training subjects.
Alternatively, call our team on 01494 771935 to discuss the best options for your service.