The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism, Tier 1 Part 1. Authored and delivered by NHS England, free of charge — on Care2Learn it never costs a credit, and it is free to anyone in the UK on NHS England's elfh platform. Your staff take it and the completion is recorded on your Care2Learn training matrix alongside everything else. This is the elearning only and does not meet the requirement on its own.
Read this first. The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training has two parts. This is Part 1, the elearning, authored and hosted by NHS England.
Part 2 is a one-hour interactive session co-delivered by a person with a learning disability and an autistic person. It must be arranged separately with an approved training provider. We do not deliver it and cannot.
Completing the elearning on its own does not meet the requirement. That is stated here, on the course screen your staff see, and on the certificate.
What this course covers
- Understand what a learning disability is and what autism is, and how they differ
- Recognise the health inequalities people face and what causes them
- Understand diagnostic overshadowing and how to avoid it
- Communicate and make reasonable adjustments effectively
- Understand your legal duties and where Oliver's story fits
How much does it cost?
Nothing. NHS England provide the Oliver McGowan elearning free to everyone, and it is free on Care2Learn too: assigning it never uses a credit, and it is not part of any bundle or subscription. What Care2Learn charges for is the rest of your training matrix — £4 per person per course, with no minimum order and no subscription. If your team needs a full training matrix rather than one course, a subscription at £2 per learner per month covers every course in the catalogue — see the 2026 price comparison.
How your staff take it
Assign the course from your dashboard as you would any other. Your staff register on NHS England's elfh platform (free, a couple of minutes), complete the elearning there, and upload their elfh certificate on the course screen in Care2Learn. You check it with one tap, and the course counts on your training matrix — expiry tracking, CQC report and all — exactly like a course completed here.
Prefer your team to launch it from Care2Learn with the completion recorded automatically? NHS England allow that one organisation at a time: your organisation signs their terms and they allow a connection in your name. Apply from Settings → Oliver McGowan training in your dashboard; you supply the details and sign what NHS England send, and we handle the technical side. Nothing waits on it — your staff can take the course on elfh in the meantime.
Who needs it
Under the Health and Care Act 2022, staff in CQC-regulated services must receive training on learning disability and autism appropriate to their role. Tier 1 is for anyone who may need to have contact with people with a learning disability or autistic people. Completion is recorded with the date taken and the date it is next due, so it appears correctly on your training matrix.
What the learner receives
The certificate NHS England issue on elfh, kept on file as evidence, and a record on Care2Learn in their own name showing the completion date and the renewal date, downloadable at any time and verifiable at /verify. It records completion of Part 1 only, and says so, because a certificate implying the full training had been done would be worse than no certificate at all.
Related courses
Providers usually assign these alongside it.
- Learning Disability & Autism Awareness — 45 min online, £4 per person
- Positive Behaviour Support — 45 min online, £4 per person
- Mental Capacity Act — 50 min online, £4 per person
You can also browse the full catalogue, or read about the Care Certificate for staff new to care.
Frequently asked questions
Why is it free?
Because NHS England make it free to everyone in the UK as a condition of providing it, and we don't charge for it either — not per person, not inside a subscription. Everything else on Care2Learn is priced as usual.
Do my staff need an elfh account?
Yes, unless your organisation has been allowed its own connection by NHS England. Registering on elfh is free and takes a couple of minutes; the course screen in Care2Learn links to it and tells them to use the same name as on Care2Learn so the certificate matches.
How long does the Oliver McGowan elearning take?
Around 90 minutes, and you can stop and pick it up later — your place is saved on elfh (or on your Care2Learn record, where NHS England have allowed your organisation's connection). It is delivered by NHS England on their own learning hub, so it opens in a new tab when you press start.
Does completing this meet the training requirement?
No. This is Part 1 of Tier 1. Part 2 is a one-hour interactive session co-delivered by a person with a learning disability and an autistic person, and it has to be arranged separately with an approved provider. The elearning on its own does not meet the requirement, and we say so on the launch screen as well as here.
Who actually delivers this course?
NHS England. They authored it, they host it, and the content runs on their servers. Care2Learn records the completion on your training matrix, keeps the elfh certificate on file and tracks the renewal date — and where NHS England have allowed your organisation's connection, launches it and saves progress too. Everything you see after you press start belongs to NHS England.
Why does it look different from your other courses?
Because it is not ours. Our own courses have per-section knowledge checks, optional narration, workplace tasks and wording that changes for England, Scotland and Wales. None of that applies here, because we are not the author. It is a straightforward handoff, and we would rather tell you that up front than have you notice it mid-course.
Is there anything else in the programme?
Yes — two short surveys that NHS England ask for, one before and one after, and a handbook with space to make notes as you go. All three appear in order on the course screen. The handbook is yours to keep.
Does this count towards the Care Certificate?
No — this is a standalone 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.
Add this to your team
Free of charge — assign it from your Care2Learn account and it never uses a credit.
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