Overview

The Foundation Skills competitions have been created to showcase the skills of students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), additional learning needs (ALN), or who require additional support for learning (ASL). Participants will be tested against core competencies aligned to Entry level 3 or level 1. To be eligible participants should have to achieved or working be working towards Level 3 or Level 1 qualification.

These competitions provide excellent opportunities for students and learners to develop their vocational skills, employability and wider skills for work, personal, social and independence skills.

This WorldSkills UK competition showcases the values, behaviours and attitudes required to work in health and social care and what it means to provide quality care. The competition is practical and are open to people currently studying Health and Social Care.

The skills you need to demonstrate

  • Hygiene, Health and Safety

  • Interpersonal skills

  • Communication skills

  • Care plan

  • Risk assessment

  • Hazard identification

  • Empathy

  • Person-centred care

Prepare for competition success

Our library of endorsed local skills competition briefs ‘benchmarking assessments’ helps prepare learners to build technical skills, productivity, and mindset competencies for national competition success, including employability progression pathways.

Paired with the benchmarking tracker, educators can record progress, identifying strengths and target areas for improvement. Together, they offer a reliable, standards-led framework, creating a sustainable model for skills development that supports educators to empower learners to be competition ready.

Contact details

Entry criteria

  • This is an individual competition
  • There are no limits as to the number of entries per organisation
  • Competitors must be familiar with the basics of health and social care (for further information please look at the ‘Useful resources’ section below)
  • This competition is only open to people with learning difficulties

How it works

Registrations open on Monday 2 March 2026, 9am and will close Friday 27 March 2026, midnight.

Entry Stage will be released on Monday 3 March with a final deadline of 17 April, 2025.

Qualifiers will take place between 5 May to 27 June, 2025 (Exact dates will vary by competition).

To help finalists prepare ahead of the UK Final, we will provide relevant technical training and share mindset development techniques, to support them to remain focused on achieving success.

Prepare students and apprentices by engaging with our benchmarking resources to master their skills and mindset masterclasses to build confidence and resilience on the WorldSkills UK Learning Lab.

The National Finals are scheduled to take place in Wales during the week commencing 16 November 2026.

Kickstart a career in Health & Social Care

If you’re interested in Health & Social Care then visit our Careers pages to learn more.

Learn more about this career
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