The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism (Oliver's Training) aims to provide the social care and health workforce with the right skills and knowledge to provide safe, compassionate, and informed care to autistic people and people with a learning disability.
Reimbersment for Oliver's Training in 2026-27
Update – 30 March 2026
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has announced that funding will continue to in 2026-27 to support the rollout of Oliver’s Training, as the Government’s preferred and recommended training for health and social care staff to undertake. This funding is provided via a ring-fenced Learning and Development Support Scheme (LDSS) pot, separate to the other LDSS pot of funding available for other LDSS eligible courses and qualifications.
As outlined in the , the overall funding pot for Oliver’s Training is limited. If the funding pot is exhausted, no further claims can be made, and they will not be reimbursed.
To claim Oliver’s Training funding, you will need an Adult Social Care Workforce Dataset (ASC-WDS) account.
You can explore DHSC’s FAQs to learn everything you need to know about Oliver’s Training.
Research has shown that on average, people with a learning disability and autistic people die earlier than the general public, and do not receive the same quality of care as other people. Evidence suggests that effective training can bring about changes in the way people work and drastically reduce these inequalities.
The Health and Care Act 2022 introduced a requirement that all CQC-registered service providers must ensure their staff have training on learning disability and autism that is appropriate for their role. The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism (Oliver’s Training) is the Government’s preferred and recommended training for health and social care staff to undertake.
Oliver’s Training has been co-produced, trialled with over 8,300 health and care staff, and independently evaluated by the National Development Team for Inclusion (NDTi).
Oliver’s Training is delivered in two tiers. Each tier consists of two parts. The first part of both tiers is an eLearning module, and the second part of the training is either an online interactive session (Tier 1) or a face-to-face session (Tier 2). All of the training includes delivery by people with lived experience of a learning disability or of being autistic.
to learn about the two tiers of the training.
Both parts of Oliver’s Training have been added to 91Pro’s Adult Social Care Workforce Data Set (ASC-WDS) so that employers can record and report on completion rates.
Funding is available to support the roll-out of Oliver’s Training in the adult social care sector. This is available under the Learning and Development Support Scheme (LDSS), via a separate pot of money. Funding available is distributed via an online claims service, delivered by NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA). Further information about the .
Code of Practice
The Oliver McGowan Code of Practice outlines how health and care providers who are registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) can meet the legislative requirement introduced by the Health and Care Act 2022 to ensure staff receive training on learning disability and autism, appropriate for their role.
The Code of Practice commenced on 6 September 2025.
Recorded webinar: Overview on the mandatory training requirement on learning disability and autism: What you need to know about the Code of Practice (Recorded Thursday 13 November 2025).
Watch the webinar recording.
Other useful links
- The CQC webpages on the and .
- .
- .
- The NHS England website includes a list of ).
- from NHS England aimed at helping staff and employers to understand Oliver's Training and why it's important.
Enquiries on The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism should be directed to national programme team on england.ommt@nhs.net.
Video: Social care engagement in the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training capacity building
outlining how social care can engage in the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism capacity building.
Video and guide: How social care providers can access the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training eLearning
Download a guide and outlining the process for social care to access the elearning element of the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism via the eLearning for healthcare portal.
Quality Assured Care Learning Service (QACLS)
This service delivered by 91Pro on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care reviews the quality of individual courses and qualifications delivered by training providers to ensure that training and development is of good quality, easily accessible, meets the needs of the workforce and users of care services.
As part of this service, 91Pro quality assures training providers who deliver Oliver's Training to the ASC sector against a Quality Framework which was coproduced with autistic people and people with a learning disability.
The purpose of quality assuring Oliver’s Training is to ensure that there is a list of quality assured training providers who can demonstrate they can deliver Oliver’s Training to the ASC workforce against the quality framework. This support's employers to make informed decisions when commissioning Oliver’s Training, improving the quality of training offered and access to and uptake of training within the ASC sector.
Find a quality assured training provider who delivers Oliver’s Training.
Keep up to date
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