The specialist course for services handling Schedule 2 opioids routinely — the five schedules, which drugs need safe custody and which do not, the CD register, running balances, discrepancies, diversion and disposal.
What this course covers
- Identify the five schedules and place the controlled drugs you actually meet
- Say which controlled drugs need safe custody in your setting and which are exempt
- Explain what your setting may lawfully hold and order
- Complete and check a controlled drugs register, including a running balance
- Administer within the limits of your role, with the correct checks, witnessing and recording
- Identify a discrepancy and follow the correct escalation route
- Handle disposal and denaturing correctly for your setting
- Recognise the signs of diversion and know how to raise a concern
What's in each section
Controlled Drugs runs across 12 sections, each ending in a quick knowledge check:
- Why Controlled Drugs Are Different
- The Five Schedules
- The Controlled Drugs You Will Meet
- Who May Do What
- Safe Custody — Which Drugs, Not Which Building
- Storage in Practice
- The Controlled Drugs Register
- What Your Setting May Hold
- Administering Safely and Patches
- Discrepancies and Diversion
- Disposal, Destruction and Denaturing
- Governance and Your Part in It
How much does Controlled Drugs training cost?
£3.99 per person on Care2Learn, with no minimum order and no subscription. If your team needs a full training matrix rather than one course, a subscription from £1.99 per learner per month covers every course in the catalogue — see the 2026 price comparison.
Who needs it
Care workers, senior carers and team leaders in residential, nursing and domiciliary services who support people prescribed controlled drugs. It assumes general medication training has already been completed — this is the specialist course that sits on top of it, for services handling Schedule 2 opioids as part of an ordinary week. Completion is recorded with the date taken and the date it is next due, so it appears correctly on your training matrix and can be evidenced at inspection.
What the learner receives
A certificate in their own name carrying our CPD Member badge (The CPD Certification Service), showing the completion date and the renewal date a year later, downloadable at any time. The record belongs to the learner, not just the employer — it travels with them rather than sitting in one provider's system.
Related courses
Providers usually assign these alongside Controlled Drugs.
- Medication Awareness — 60 min online, £3.99 per person
- Buccal Midazolam — 60 min online, £3.99 per person
- Medication Support: 16–17 Supported Accommodation — 45 min online, £3.99 per person
- End of Life Care — 50 min online, £3.99 per person
You can also browse the full catalogue, or read about the Care Certificate for staff new to care.
Frequently asked questions
How long does Controlled Drugs training take?
About 60 min of e‑learning, across 12 sections with 12 assessment questions. Learners can stop and resume at any point, and it works on a phone.
Is Controlled Drugs CPD Aligned, and how is it assessed?
Yes — it is CPD Aligned, and the certificate carries our CPD Member badge. The assessment is multiple choice with a pass mark of 70%; attempts are recorded and learners can retake it. Renewal is set at 12 months from the completion date, so the course reappears on your training matrix when it is due.
Does this replace general medication training?
No. It assumes it. Medication Awareness covers the rights of medication, MAR charts, routes, PRN, covert administration and errors, with one section on controlled drugs. This course is the specialist detail underneath that section, for services where staff handle Schedule 2 opioids routinely.
Does completing this qualify staff to administer controlled drugs?
No. It builds knowledge. Practical competence to administer controlled drugs must be assessed in your workplace, by an appropriate person, against your own controlled drugs policy. The course says so in its first section and again at the end.
Does it cover which controlled drugs need locking in the cabinet?
Yes, and it is the part most often taught wrongly. Whether a medicine needs safe custody depends on its schedule, not on the fact that you work in a care home. All Schedule 2 drugs must go in the cabinet, along with buprenorphine and temazepam. Midazolam, gabapentin, pregabalin, tramadol and phenobarbital are exempt.
Is the disposal guidance right for our setting?
The course branches. A care home without nursing returns medicines to the community pharmacy, which denatures them. A care home with nursing denatures on site and needs a waste exemption. Getting that distinction wrong is common, so both routes are covered separately.
Does this count towards the Care Certificate?
No — this is a standalone specialist course rather than one of the Care Certificate standards. The Care Certificate is available as its own guided course for staff who are new to care.
Start Controlled Drugs today
£3.99 per person pay-as-you-go — buy it for yourself, or put your whole team on a subscription from £1.99 per learner a month.
Buy this course — £3.99 Add to your team