Duty of Candour training that gets your team CQC-ready
- CQC-aligned, mapped to the Care Certificate framework
- Completed in the hub in over 60 languages
- A certificate for every staff member, for your CQC evidence
- A wrong answer triggers a follow-up lesson, so gaps are closed
No subscription needed. Bulk discounts from 10+ licences.
From £25.99 per staff member, one-off. No subscription needed.
Trusted by UK care providers
Specialists in the technology behind it all
The same technology behind the world's best products powers CareStream, so your team's duty of candour training stays accurate, always up to date with the latest guidance, and is delivered in over 60 languages.
What is Duty of Candour and Why It Matters
Duty of Candour is a legal requirement to be open and transparent when something goes wrong with care that causes harm. at the care setting, we must always be honest with residents and those involved in their care. This is part of our Statement of Purpose and how we lead and manage. When mistakes happen, being open helps residents feel respected, allows us to learn, and maintains trust.
What is the main purpose of the Duty of Candour?
In the hub, a wrong answer sends the staff member a short follow-up lesson and a fresh question on the same point. They close the gap before they can finish the module, and every attempt is recorded for your CQC evidence.
That is how the training works. Give your whole team the full Duty of Candour module.
Avg. Duration
About 35 minutes
Certificate
For every staff member
Available Languages (60+)
Course Published by
A clear, practical grounding in duty of candour.
This training explains your legal and professional duty to be open and honest with residents and their families when mistakes happen in care. You will learn when the formal Duty of Candour applies, what actions you must take, and how to support residents through difficult conversations. Being transparent builds trust and helps us learn from incidents.
By the end, your staff will be able to:
- Identify when an incident triggers the formal Duty of Candour under Regulation 20
- Explain the specific actions required when exercising the Duty of Candour at this care setting
- Describe how to communicate openly and supportively with residents and families after an incident
- Apply the principles of openness and honesty in everyday care situations
- Recognise your individual responsibilities under professional codes of conduct
A closer look at the duty of candour module.
The module is built in short, practical sections. Each one teaches a part of the topic, then applies it to a real care scenario and checks understanding before moving on.
What is Duty of Candour and Why It Matters
Duty of Candour is a legal requirement to be open and transparent when something goes wrong with care that causes harm. at the care setting, we must always be honest with residents and those involved in their care. This is part of our Statement of Purpose and how we lead and manage. When mistakes happen, being open helps residents feel respected, allows us to learn, and maintains trust.
When the Formal Duty of Candour Applies
The formal Duty of Candour applies to specific incidents that must be notified to the CQC under Regulation 18. These are unintended or unexpected incidents that a healthcare professional believes have caused death, prolonged pain or psychological harm, impairment lasting 28 days or more, changes to body structure, shortened life expectancy, or need treatment to prevent these outcomes. Not every mistake triggers the formal duty, but we must always be open and honest.
The Actions We Must Take
When the Duty of Candour applies, the registered manager or person in authority must take specific actions. They must speak directly and in person with the resident and relevant others. They must explain exactly what happened, apologise sincerely, provide support, say what we are doing to investigate and learn, and put everything in writing. We must keep full records of the incident and all actions taken. These steps must happen as soon as reasonably possible.
Communicating with Residents and Families
When exercising Duty of Candour, communication must be clear, honest, and compassionate. We speak directly with the resident if they have capacity and consent. If the resident lacks capacity, we communicate with their lawful representatives but involve the resident as much as possible. We use plain language, not jargon. We listen to their concerns and feelings. We give them time to ask questions. Our apology must be genuine and express real sorrow and regret.
Your Individual Responsibilities as a Care Worker
Every staff member has a duty of candour in line with their professional code of conduct. You must be open and honest in all your work. You must admit mistakes when they occur. You must apologise for them. You must put matters right promptly. You must follow all reporting and recording procedures. If you make a mistake, report it immediately to your line manager. Never hide errors or hope they will not be noticed. Openness protects residents and helps us all learn.
Learning and Preventing Future Incidents
Duty of Candour is not just about apologising. It is about learning from mistakes and preventing them from happening again. When we investigate incidents, we look at what went wrong and why. We identify changes needed to systems, training, or procedures. We share learning with all staff. We tell residents and families what we have learned and what we have changed. This shows we take their safety seriously and builds confidence in our care.
The things your team must remember.
- Duty of Candour is a legal requirement to be open and honest when care causes moderate or serious harm
- The formal duty applies to specific incidents that must be notified to the CQC under Regulation 18
- We must speak in person with residents and families, explain what happened, apologise sincerely, and put it in writing
- Every staff member must be open and honest, admit mistakes, apologise, and report incidents immediately
- We communicate with lawful representatives when residents lack capacity, but involve the resident as much as possible
- Learning from incidents and preventing future harm is essential to Duty of Candour
Not a slideshow once a year. Training that sticks.
CareStream delivers duty of candour training in the hub your team already uses, grounded in best practice and your own policies, so it fits your care setting and not a generic template.
Short teaching sections and a real care scenario, then an assessment that checks understanding.
Staff complete it in over 60 languages, while your records stay in English.
A wrong answer triggers a short follow-up lesson and a fresh question, so the gap is closed.
Automatic reminders at 90, 30 and 7 days, with a live compliance dashboard.
From your dashboard to your team, in the CareStream hub.
Training is delivered in the hub each staff member logs into. You allocate the modules, they complete them in their own language, and you get the completion records and certificates for your CQC evidence, with any gaps closed by automatic follow up training.
Assign Duty of Candour to each staff member in seconds. No course builder and no setup for each person.
Staff work through the module on any device, in over 60 languages, teaching then checking understanding. A wrong answer sends a short follow up lesson.
See live completion status and a certificate for every person, ready as evidence for CQC.
Any step, in their language, in one tap.
Care teams are diverse and training should not leave anyone behind. On any lesson or question, a staff member taps the language button and the whole step flips into the language they think in. They understand it properly, and your records stay in English.
- One tap flips any lesson or question into their language, instantly.
- Over 60 languages, with no setup and no separate versions to manage.
- Completions and certificates stay in English for your CQC evidence.
Try the language buttons in the preview above.
Built for real learning, not box ticking
Every CareStream course goes further than a lesson and a quiz. These features come as standard on every course, giving your staff a richer way to learn and giving you the evidence to prove it.
Every course is built on recognised UK guidance and cites its sources, from NICE and Skills for Care to the NHS and the legislation itself.
A plain English glossary of the technical terms in each course. A simple way to support every learner, including staff with English as a second language.
A quick knowledge check before the lesson is compared with the final assessment, so every certificate comes with evidence of how much the course actually taught.
After passing, staff record what they will do differently in their day to day work. Their reflection is saved to their training record and shown with their certificate.
A printable one page takeaway of the outcomes, key points and key terms. Perfect for staff files, supervision conversations and the staff room wall.
A printable checklist for managers to confirm skills in practice, with a sign off section. It completes the picture beyond the knowledge assessment.
Wrong answers become lessons, not failures
Most e learning marks an answer wrong and moves on. CareStream does not. Every wrong answer triggers an automatic follow up loop that teaches the point again and rechecks it, so no knowledge gap is left behind.
A wrong answer immediately opens a short lesson explaining the point, so the gap is closed there and then.
A fresh question on the same point checks the lesson has landed. The loop repeats until it has.
Staff move on to the next module and their certificate once they genuinely know the answer, not just after one lucky guess.
Why choose CareStream?
Training built for the care sector, delivered the way busy teams actually learn.
- 90+ care-specific training courses
- Bitesize, engaging lessons your staff actually finish
- Mapped to the Care Certificate & CQC standards
- Available in 60+ languages
- Instant certificate on completion
- Flexible learning, anytime, on any device
- Content kept up to date with UK care regulations
- Time to complete: ~35 min
Frequently asked questions.
Is Duty of Candour training mandatory in care settings?
How often should staff complete Duty of Candour training?
Can CareStream deliver Duty of Candour training in other languages?
Does the training include an assessment?
More training your team may need
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Annual CertificateComplaints Handling
This training covers how we handle complaints at our home, following our Duty of Candour Policy. You will learn when and how to be open with residents and families when things go wrong, how to respond to concerns properly, and how to record and learn from complaints. Handling complaints well protects residents and builds trust.
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Give your team duty of candour training that actually sticks.
Add it to your basket, allocate it in seconds, and let the evidence build itself.
Compared
Three ways to train a care team.
These modules are written and kept current by us, so your managers do not have to write or maintain them. We have compared what each approach does rather than naming providers, because products change and this should still be true next year.
| CareStream | A generic e-learning library | A trainer you book | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Try a real lesson and a real question before you buy | |||
| Learning outcomes and time to complete stated up front | |||
| Written lesson sections, each with its own illustration | |||
| Interactive exercises after the lesson that teaches them, in every module | |||
| Assessment in every module, with the key points to revisit | |||
| Taken in any of sixty plus languages | |||
| A wrong answer triggers a follow-up lesson, not just a re-sit | |||
| Practical sign-off by a manager where the subject needs it | |||
| Completion files itself into your training matrix and evidence pack | |||
| Bought one module at a time, with no annual contract |
Generic libraries are often cheaper per learner. They teach a national standard rather than being built, updated and evidenced around the way a CQC-registered service is actually inspected.
Care policies
Every module is written from a policy
If the policy behind it is out of date, the training inherits that. Sixty six policies written for your service, checked against current law and read by a person before they carry your name, from £39.
