Unit 1 – The Principles of Understanding Own Role

Unit 1 focuses on understanding your role in adult social care and working professionally within agreed ways of working. It brings together the basics that help you feel clear and confident about what you are responsible for, how you fit into a wider team, and how your day-to-day actions support safe, person-centred care.

Start with your main duties and responsibilities. These will vary depending on your job and setting, but the key idea is the same: you work to support individuals’ wellbeing, rights and independence while following policies and procedures. That can include personal care, supporting meals and hydration, encouraging meaningful activity, reporting changes in condition, and keeping accurate records. It also includes the “behind the scenes” responsibilities that protect people, such as confidentiality, infection prevention routines, and safe moving and assisting where trained.

Unit 1 also covers standards and codes of conduct that relate to your role. These guide how you behave and make decisions at work. They connect to professionalism, respect, accountability, and working within your competence. In practice, this means being honest about what you can do, asking for support when you’re unsure, and not taking shortcuts that put people at risk. It also means treating everyone with dignity, including colleagues and family members, even in stressful moments.

A particularly useful part of this unit is reflecting on how your experiences, attitudes, values and beliefs may affect the way you work. We all bring our own background into the workplace. The goal isn’t to erase that. It’s to notice when a personal view might lead to assumptions or unfairness. For example, you might feel strongly that someone “should” eat a certain diet, or “should” accept support. Adult social care requires you to step back and prioritise the individual’s preferences and rights, while also sharing concerns appropriately and following care plans and risk assessments.

Working in ways that have been agreed with your employer is another key theme. “Agreed ways of working” includes your job description, care plans, policies and procedures, and guidance from your manager. These exist to keep care consistent and safe. If you are ever unclear about the correct procedure, the safest response is to check. That might mean looking at a policy, asking a senior colleague, or seeking advice from your supervisor. It’s always better to ask than to guess.

You’ll also explore employment rights and responsibilities. This includes understanding what you can expect from your employer—such as training, safe working conditions and supervision—as well as what your employer expects from you, such as punctuality, confidentiality, and following health and safety rules. Knowing your responsibilities helps you work confidently and reduces the chance of misunderstandings.

Escalating concerns is covered because safe care depends on speaking up. Concerns might relate to an individual’s wellbeing, unsafe practice, poor standards, or a mistake or near miss. Unit 1 supports you to understand when and how to raise concerns in line with organisational policy. Being honest about errors is part of professional practice. It protects individuals from further harm and supports learning so the same mistake is less likely to happen again.

Unit 1 also explores working relationships. Adult social care involves professional relationships with individuals, families, advocates, colleagues and other professionals. A working relationship is different from a personal relationship because it has boundaries, accountability and a clear purpose. You can be warm and friendly without becoming over-familiar. Those boundaries protect the individual and protect you. They also help you stay fair and consistent.

Partnership working is another strong theme. No one provides care alone. You work with colleagues, managers, healthcare professionals, social workers, advocates and family members (where appropriate) to support the individual. Partnership works best when communication is clear and respectful, and when everyone understands their role. In practice, that might mean sharing observations at handover, recording changes promptly, and asking for advice before a small issue becomes a bigger one.

Here’s a practice example: during a domiciliary visit, you notice a person is more breathless than usual and seems unusually tired. You record what you have observed using clear, factual language and report it to the appropriate person straight away. You do not diagnose or make promises you can’t keep. You follow agreed ways of working. Another example: in a care home, a family member asks you for confidential information about another resident. You explain politely that you can’t share information and direct them to the appropriate person in line with policy.

By the end of Unit 1, you should feel clearer about your duties, the standards that guide your work, how to access policies, and how to work effectively with others. Those foundations will support every other unit, because understanding your role is the starting point for safe, respectful adult social care.

1. Understand own role in the adult social care sector

2. Be able to work in ways that have been agreed with the employer

3. Understand working relationships in adult social care settings

4. Be able to work in partnership with others

  • 4.1 Explain the importance of working in teams and in partnership with others
  • 4.2 Explain why it is important to work in partnership with key people, advocates and others who are significant to individuals being supported
  • 4.3 Demonstrate behaviours, attitudes, and ways of working that can help improve partnership working
  • 4.4 Demonstrate how and when to access support and advice about: • partnership working • resolving conflicts 

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