Over the last year universities and employers from across the North West region have been involved in an exciting project supported by Skills for Care, NHS NW and Foundation Degree Forward (fdf).

The aim of the project is to devise a foundation degree in adult social care with a specialist pathway in dementia. This is part of a national project with other pathways in the following areas also being explored: learning disability, long term conditions, sensory services and commissioning and procurement. If you would like to find out more about the national project please our national website.

This new foundation degree qualification will be underpinned by social care principles and standards. It will meet workforce requirements around specialist needs and potential new roles to support people with dementia, and will reflect the workforce development implications of the personalisation agenda. It will be planned in such a way as to enable sustainability, portability and acceptability by employers and people who use services across the region.

A representative steering group chaired by the Alzheimer's Society has had responsibility for the strategic decision making as the work has progressed.

On completion of this work, it is anticipated that Skills for Care will be able to recognise the foundation degree as a valuable new addition to the suite of qualifications available to the social care workforce.