Care Learning

What it is

Care Learning is a free online course platform for people who work in health and social care. Its FAQ describes it as "an online platform offering free, certified healthcare courses and career support for professionals across the UK, Ireland, and Australia", and the home page, which opens on an Irish edition of the site, carries the heading "Learning Platform for Irish Healthcare Professionals" with the line "Free online CPD courses · Hands-on training sessions · Updated healthcare modules". The About page says the company aspires to be a catalyst for change in the careers of healthcare professionals across the UK and Ireland.

The About page calls Care Learning "more than just an online academy" and "a community-driven platform dedicated to the continuous professional development of nurses and healthcare workers", built on the belief that education should be accessible to all, "irrespective of geographical location or financial constraints". Its stated mission is to upskill talent in the healthcare sector through free, high-quality education. The FAQ says courses are open to "Care workers, nurses, healthcare assistants, support workers, students, and anyone aspiring to work in healthcare."

The price

The FAQ answers the cost question directly: "All online CPD courses are free. In-person practical training is priced per session." Course cards on the site show a struck-through €169 next to €0, so each online course is presented as a €169 course given away. The FAQ adds that "All Care Learning courses are always free, and you retain ongoing access to enrolled courses for continued learning." Signing up runs through a "Join free" button in the header. The price of a practical session is the one cost the site leaves unpublished; a booking form handles those.

The online course catalog

The home page lists the popular courses with a star rating, a review count, a chapter count and a duration, and most run about an hour. Examples from the home page:

• Safeguarding Children L1 & L2 (Children First), 20 chapters and 3 hours, covering child protection, FGM, PREVENT, the Children First Act 2015, Children First National Guidance 2023 and how to report child abuse in Ireland
• Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP), 13 chapters, on food safety in health and social care
• Safeguarding Adults L3, 8 chapters
• Hand Hygiene, 4 chapters, for clinical and non-clinical staff, built on the WHO 5 Moments framework
• Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS), 12 chapters, using real-life scenarios
• Display Screen Equipment (DSE) in your workplace, described as training for HSE employees
• Dementia, 9 chapters, and Epilepsy Training, 13 chapters, which covers seizure first aid and rescue medication
• Care Certificate modules, sold as separate chapters such as Part 1 (Understanding your Role), Part 2 (Your Personal Development) and Part 10 (Safeguarding Adults)
• Medication Management, 9 chapters, covering administration techniques, documentation, dosage calculations and high-risk medications

The COVID-19 course page lists further titles: Neurogenic Bowel Dysfunction (18 chapters, written for healthcare assistants and support workers), IV Cannulation (23 chapters, including aseptic non-touch technique), Safety Intervention Training (9 chapters on de-escalation and challenging behavior), Trust in Care (8 chapters on adult safeguarding) and AMRIC Outbreak Prevention and Management (3 chapters), the one card marked "CPD Accredited".

Courses can be filtered by role. The home page offers tabs for Carer, Nurse, Senior Carer, HCA, Pharmacist, Chef, Midwife and Kitchen Assistant, and the trainings page filters by role, by type (popular, trending, top rated) and by level (beginner, intermediate, advanced), with separate tabs for online courses and practical training.

Inside a course

The COVID-19 course page shows how a course is laid out. It lists learning outcomes (background, reducing transmission, self-isolation guidance, virus mutations and vaccines, working safely), then 9 modules, from understanding the virus and its vaccines through hand hygiene, protective equipment and caring for patients at home to preventive actions for agency staff in care homes, closing with a summary. A short FAQ on the topic sits below, along with reviews and "You May Also Like" suggestions. The page promises a certificate: "Receive a certificate upon completion, perfect for your professional portfolio and job interviews."

Courses run 100% online and at the learner's own pace, and the site describes them as "Updated healthcare modules". There is also a Care Learning app: "Experience the next level of learning with the Care Learning app. Available on Android and iOS."

Certificates and recognition

On accreditation the site makes several separate statements. The FAQ, asked whether the courses are certified or accredited, answers that "many courses provide certification upon successful completion, aligned with industry standards." A live enrollment widget on the home page says "Certificates recognised across Irish healthcare". The practical-training booking page lists "Nationally recognized qualifications and accreditations" and "Certified instructors and expert trainers", and the practical sessions are described as "accredited, hands-on". Only the AMRIC Outbreak course carries a "CPD Accredited" tag on its card.

The same widget shows enrollment counts for three courses: Health and Safety at 10722 trained and 10144 certified, GDPR, Data Protection, and Information Governance at 10341 trained and 10025 certified, and Medication Management at 268 trained and 197 certified.

In-person practical training

Alongside the free online catalog, Care Learning sells in-person practical training, which it describes as "accredited, hands-on practical training sessions" to help professionals deliver better patient-centered care. Booking starts with a form: the learner selects the practical course, gives a name, email, phone number, country and county or city, and can add up to 350 characters of detail. The booking page also promises "Flexible online and in-person course options".

Trainers

The platform recruits the trainers who run those sessions. The trainer application page offers "Attractive daily rates for delivering training, paid promptly", lets trainers pick their dates, locations and course types, and says the company delivers nationwide and matches trainers with sessions and on-site bookings in their region. Course content, slide decks and assessment tools are supplied, and a coordinator handles scheduling, learners and admin with the backing of a 24/7 operations team. Applicants can attach a CV up to 10 mb.

Support, referrals and the rest

The FAQ says support is available through the platform's contact us section, and the footer links to Contact Us, Blogs, Testimonials, a newsletter signup, and Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn. A Refer & Earn program invites members to "Invite healthcare professionals to join Care Learning and earn rewards for every successful referral." The footer's quick links also point to Jobs and a Career AI page, in line with the FAQ's mention of career support.

Who it suits and who it does not

Care Learning suits carers, healthcare assistants, nurses, midwives and support staff, especially in Ireland, who need to refresh mandatory training such as safeguarding, hand hygiene, HACCP and medication management without paying for it. The short, chaptered courses fit around shifts, the app helps on the move, and the role filters make it quick to find training for a specific job, including kitchen staff and chefs in care settings. Managers and agencies can point new staff at the Care Certificate modules and the safeguarding courses at no cost.

The limits are of scope. Most courses run about an hour, so this is a library of refresher and compliance training rather than in-depth clinical education. The catalog leans heavily toward Irish frameworks such as Children First, HSE and AMRIC, which is a strength for Irish staff and less useful elsewhere. And only one course card carries a CPD accreditation tag, so a professional with formal CPD hour targets should check each certificate against what their regulator or employer accepts.