Discovery for a National Care Academy Model

Overview

Social Care Wales, sponsored by the National Office for Care and Support, is seeking market feedback in advance of a future procurement to commission a supplier to undertake a national mapping and evidence gathering discovery exercise to inform the next phase of the National Care Academy programme for the social care sector in Wales.

The National Care Academy is a national framework and virtual infrastructure that will support locally delivered academy models. It will not operate as a standalone organisation and will be delivered collaboratively with local authorities and sector partners.

Aims & Objectives

The proposed commission will focus on a short, focused discovery phase to

Map existing pre‑employment activity, training, learning and development provision across Wales;

Understand recruitment routes, learning pathways and career progression across the social care workforce;

Identify existing local authority “care academy” models and equivalent initiatives;

Review proportionate UK and international comparator models.

The discovery aims to provide a clear, accurate and evidence-based picture of the current landscape and will be used to explore delivery options and inform service design before committing to a preferred route forward.

Scope of Services

The scope of services is expected to include

Mapping alignment to the Social Care Wales Social Care Workforce Offer and progression frameworks;

Identification of gaps, duplication and inconsistencies across national, regional and local provision;

Consideration of funding, delivery models, bilingual provision, digital access and workforce learning behaviours;

Analysis of enablers, barriers and future opportunities.

Stakeholder Engagement

Relevant stakeholder contacts will be provided, and engagement sessions with ADSS Cymru, all 22 Welsh local authorities, and other key stakeholders will be arranged by Social Care Wales and ADSS Cymru in advance of contract mobilisation.

These engagement activities are expected to take place during October 2026. The supplier will be required to review existing intelligence held by Social Care Wales and the Welsh Government and provide structured, reusable mapping outputs.

This phase will not include large scale testing or validation of findings with the workforce, which is anticipated to take place in a subsequent phase of the programme.