About the training

The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism is co-delivered by trainers with lived experience of learning disability and autism who are paid for their time.

The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training is a standardised package that is delivered by trained and approved trainers.

The consistent content and delivery means it is transferable between employers. It is the government’s preferred and recommended training and is recognised by national bodies advising on standards for the health and care sector.

Training Tiers 

The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism comes in two Tiers of training. Staff will undertake Tier 1 or Tier 2, depending on their role.

Tier 1  

Tier 1 of The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism is for people who require general awareness of the support autistic people or people with a learning disability may need.  

Tier 2  

Tier 2 of The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism is for people who may need to provide care and support for autistic people or people with a learning disability.  

The Tier Guidance will help employers determine which Tier their staff will need.

Training Structure  

The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism is standardised and to complete it individuals must:    

• Complete the elearning package - everyone will need to do the elearning no matter where they work and what tier they need to complete. The elearning is now live.

and for    

• Tier 1 – the 1 hour online interactive session co-delivered by a person with a learning disability and an autistic person along with a facilitator or    

• Tier 2 – the 1 day face to face training co-delivered a person with a learning disability and an autistic person and trainer   

We understand it may take up to six months to complete both parts in the early stages as trainer capacity to deliver the online interactive and face to face elements build for The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism.  

Employees who require Tier 1 need to:

• Complete the elearning

and

• the 1 hour online interactive session

Employees who require Tier 2 need to:

• Complete the elearning

and

• Tier 2 – the 1 day face to face training

Delivering the training

The elearning, which is the first part of both Tier 1 and Tier 2 is available now through elearning for healthcare (elfh). It is free to access in the UK. More information about the elearning and the different ways to access it can be found on the elfh webpage.

The second part of the training, the interactive Tier 1 webinar and the face to face Tier 2 training are delivered by a facilitating trainer, an autistic co-trainer and a co-trainer with a learning disability. Trainers complete a standardised trainers’ training and before being approved to offer training.

Trainer’s training started in spring 2023 and integrated care partnerships are arranging to train more through the cascade model. Our delivery model explains how trainers are prepared and the trainer training cascade model.

Employers who wish to train their own trainers can contact local integrated care partnership to learn when training will be available.

You can visit the express an interest webpage, if you are not already linked into a local integrated care partnership.

For those who wish to buy in training a growing number of training providers and membership organisations are getting involved.

Integrated care partnerships can support employers to work together across the health and care system to deliver the training they need.

A list of approved trainers and provider who can deliver the training is now available on the approved trainer and training provider webpage. The number of approved trainers and organisations will continue to grow over the coming months. In the meantime, if you have any queries or questions about approved trainers and providers, contact england.ommt@nhs.net.

When to complete the training

The elearning is a valuable learning resource and we encourage everyone to access it as soon as possible. The elearning is a vital first step to give staff knowledge and skills to help change culture and improve lives now.

The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism requires both parts of the training to be completed (the elearning and the interactive online or face to face session).

Part 2 of The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training (the interactive online and the face-to-face sessions) makes reference to the elearning package and participants need to recall information from the elearning during part 2 of the training.

Ideally part 1 and part 2 will be completed within days of each other. In circumstances where as much as 6 months go past, we ask participants to refresh their memory of the elearning ahead of the interactive or face to face session.