Senior Healthcare Support Worker (Level 3)
Senior Healthcare Support Worker (SHSW) provide high-quality, compassionate care to patients or individuals across various healthcare settings. They work under the guidance of registered healthcare professionals, assisting with clinical, therapeutic and diagnostic tasks while supporting patients’ physical and emotional well-being. SHSWs also work in partnership with individuals, families, carers, and other service providers to ensure effective and person-centred care. They always follow standards, policies or protocols and act within the limits of their competence. The role may include specialisations such as adult nursing, theatre, diagnostic imaging or therapy support.
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Employer Feedback
Feedback from Managers on the benefits the Senior Healthcare Support Worker apprenticeship has brought to the organisation:
”Our apprentice has been an asset to the practice, having them as an apprentice has helped us considerably meet our business needs as it created additional appointments, in turn we have been able to book a variety of patients for our apprentice, and they have gained a lot of confidence doing the different reviews.”
Duration
15 months
Most Suitable For
Those already working in a healthcare role with some experience, who are looking to progress to a senior healthcare position and/or advance their knowledge and skills. This programme is ideal for Healthcare Assistants, Healthcare Support Workers and Care Workers
Award
Level 3 Senior Healthcare Support Worker Advanced Apprenticeship award and Level 3 BTEC Diploma in Healthcare Support.
Additional Funding
- If apprentice is under the age of 25, Employer may not have to pay Class 1 Employer National Insurance. Full details and criteria are found here.
- For apprenticeships starting between 1 August 2024 - 31 July 2026, employer may be eligible for £1,000 if apprentice is aged 16 - 18 years old (or 15 years of age if the apprentice’s 16th birthday is between the last Friday of June and 31 August); or aged between 19 and 24 years old and has either an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan provided by their local authority and / or has been, or are, in the care of their local authority. Full details and criteria are found within the relevant DfE Funding Rules.
- Some Councils are providing incentive payments to local small employers who recruit and employ young apprentices. To find out more, including eligibility and how to apply for an incentive, please visit Lancashire Skills and Employment Hub (details within the GRANT presentation)
- Lancashire County Council incentive is £3,000 for 100 Lancashire employers
- Chorley Council incentive is £1,500 for Chorley employers
- Fylde Borough Council incentive is £5,000 for Fylde employers recruiting a new apprentice who is a Fylde resident.
Start Date
Cohort 25 start date: 8th April 2025 (taught sessions will be Tuesdays) Cohort 26 start date: 16th July 2025 (taught sessions will be Wednesdays) Cohort 27 start date: 24th October 2025 (taught sessions will be Fridays)
Teaching Delivery
Both face-to-face (Education Centre at Chorley and South Ribble Hospital or RPH) and independent online (e-portfolio) learning and resources.
Key Learning Requirements
Apprenticeships require learners to achieve specific new knowledge, skills and behaviours (KSBs), which are detailed in the Apprenticeship Standard. These are achieved by;
1) Programme Teaching; face-to-face taught sessions every fortnight. Alternative fortnights will require apprentice to work remotely, completing their independent study via an e-portfolio.
2) Independent study; such as assignment/project research and write up
3) Learning in the workplace; shadowing colleagues, completing programme assigned work based projects, day-to-day development within your current role duties/work activities, reflections with mentor, relevant training sessions.
Modules
For this apprenticeship you will choose to focus on one of the specific routes; Adult Nursing Support (other routes available are only relevant to Trust learners). More information on each route is available in the provider resources and/or the apprenticeship standard.
Placements
This programme does not require external placements to be completed, although varied experiences are beneficial.
Assessments
Assessed throughout the programme by assignments, observations, evaluations and End Point Assessment.
Key Candidate Entry Requirements
• Employed 30 hours or more for the duration of the apprenticeship. The apprenticeship duration may be extended to support staff who work less than this (will be looked at on individual basis).
• Formal experience of work as a Healthcare Support Worker. During induction you must complete an induction which meets the 15 standards as set out in the Care Certificate.
• Preferably, evidence of English and Maths at GCSE C/4 (or above) / Functional Skills Level 2 / Equivalent. If the candidate does not have evidence of Maths and English at the relevant level, there are two options; 1. via NHSE funded online revision and exams. Contact Training Hub Apprenticeship Team for more details.
2. Or, Education Provider will support the learner through the relevant learning and exams, alongside their apprenticeship. An initial diagnostic assessment will be completed by the Education Provider at application stage to determine suitability for this option.
Full requirements and details are found on the Education Providers course webpage.
Key Employer Entry Requirements
• Ensure Learner has the support and opportunities to achieve the requirements of the apprenticeship.
• A member of staff, preferably experienced Senior Healthcare Support Worker, to mentor the apprentice.
Listed as an Approved Provider under an NHS Procurement
Yes
Application Timescale
It takes on average 2 months to complete all application stages for this programme.
If recruiting to this position, additional time will be required for recruitment and advertising stages.
Additional Training Hub Support
Primary Care employees have access to:
- All resources provided by the L&SC PC Training Hub such as Digital training, Health and Wellbeing support and events.
- Plus, The HCSW webpage highlights options and resources suitable for this role, such as phlebotomy training.
- Plus, this webpage lists non-clinical training and resources, which may compliment the apprenticeship (always check suitability with your apprenticeship education provider).
Pathway
On successful completion of this apprenticeship, examples of further apprenticeship options include; Assistant Practitioner, Nursing Associate, Nursing, AHP.
Skills England has an
interactive occupational maps tool which shows the variety of progression pathways using apprenticeships.
Career progression does not have to be linear. Entry criteria may differ per provider and even more varied routes may be available depending on the individuals prior learning and experience.
Information Last Updated
15/01/2025
Further Programme and Provider Information
Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is a successful Apprenticeship Training Provider. In 2023/24, their overall Qualification Achievement Rate (QAR) was 82.3%, an impressive 26.7% above the national average, placing them in the top 8% of providers in the country. 100% of learners who completed the apprenticeship achieved their qualification, with the majority earning the highest grade of distinction. For the Level 3 Senior Healthcare Support Worker apprenticeship, the Training Provider’s QAR is 89.4%, which is significantly higher than the national average of 50.2%.
How to Apply
If you would like to apply for an apprenticeship (either for yourself, a member of staff or a vacancy position), please complete the Primary Care Expression of Interest Form. This is for Primary Care Employers within Lancashire and South Cumbria only. By completing the expression of interest form, the Training Hub Apprenticeships team will be able to complete basic pre-checks, provide you with personalised guidance, and start the programme application process for you. If you would like to discuss anything first, please email [email protected] or call Olivia, Apprenticeships Manager, on 07735161775. You can find out more about the stages of applying for an apprenticeship within our Apprenticeships Process - Employer Guide. Social Care Employers within Lancashire and South Cumbria, please contact Dawn on [email protected]
If you would like to know anything further about the programme itself, please contact: LTHTR apprenticeship team on 01257 247205 or [email protected]
