The BESCLO covers 8 basic areas in social care. These are:

1 The values of social care

2 Promote Life Quality for the Individuals you support

3 Working with Risk

4 Understand your role as a care worker

5 Safety at work

6 Communicating positively

7 Recognise and respond to neglect and abuse

8 Develop as a worker

Each of these is expressed in terms of learning outcomes

What is a 'learning outcome'?

A learning outcome is a demonstration that the learner has learnt a specific area of knowledge or can perform a specific task to a required level.  The ECC is a 'knowledge award' and the ECC exam tests for a learner's knowledge of the BECLO areas.

This is how it works - for example take the second BESCLO area

2 -   Promote Life Quality for the Individuals you support

This has three separate learning outcomes

2.1  Understand the importance of finding out the history, preferences, wishes, needs and abilities of the individual(s) you are supporting

2.2 Understand the need to make sure that everything you do is based around the individual(s) you are supporting

2.3 Understand the need to enable the individual(s) you support to control their own lives and make informed choices about the services they receive.

Each of these three learning outcomes has very clear specific things which the learner must be able to do to show they have the knowledge which underpins the each learning outcome. So, taking Learning Outcome 2.3 above, this means that the learner has understood the need to enable the individual(s) s/he supports to control their own lives and make informed choices about the services they receive.

 because s/he can:

- Explainwhy it is important to empower the individual(s) s/he supports to take control of their own lives

- Give examples of howin everyday life s/he can empower the individual(s) s/he supports to take control of their own lives.   Explain the meaning of informed choice.

- Describe ways to supportthe individual(s) s/he is supporting to make informed choices about the services they receive.