Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management for Social Care

Qualification Summary

Overview

As an accepted Registered Manager qualification, the Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management for Health and Social Care aims to provide practitioners working in, or aspiring to work in, a Registered Manager role with the knowledge and skills needed to lead and manage others in an adult social care setting in Northern Ireland.

There are two Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management for Health and Social Care qualifications available to practitioners in a leadership and/or management role in Northern Ireland:

• Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management for Health and Social Care (Adult Management) (Northern Ireland) – for those working in a leadership and/or management role in Home Care (including Supported Living) or Day Care services.
• Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management for Health and Social Care (Adult Residential Management) (Northern Ireland) – for those for those working in a leadership and/ or management role in a residential social care service.

The Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management for Health and Social Care is also appropriate for managers who have not yet achieved a vocational qualification at this level. This qualification aims to: 

• Focus on the study of health and social care settings.
• Offer breadth and depth of study.
• Provide opportunities to acquire a number of practical skills. 

The objective of this qualification is to confirm the learner’s occupational competence in a leadership and management job role.

It is anticipated that the review of the Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management for Health and Social Care qualifications will take place, in partnership with all relevant stakeholders, in late 2025. Once reviewed, the Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management for Health and Social Care qualifications will go ‘live’ for access and registration by September 2026, if not before.

• This diploma is one of the recognised registered manager qualifications in Northern Ireland.  

NB: Your employer will be able to offer you advice about whether you are in a role that will enable you to gather the 'naturally occurring evidence' (inclusive of direct observations of practice) to complete this work-based qualification i.e. in order to be able to pursue the Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management in Health and Social Care (Adult Management) (NI), you need to be undertaking supervision, appraisal, quality assurance, etc work tasks as natural parts of your job role.