The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism
Background
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 to their role. The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism is the Government's preferred and recommended training for health and social care staff to undertake. The training is delivered in 2 Tiers; staff need to complete either Tier 1 or Tier 2 and both tiers consist of 2 parts.
Funding Available
In October 2025 the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) confirmed that £11.98m funding has been made available to support delivery of the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training (OMMT) on Learning Disability and Autism to claim on the Learning and Development Support Scheme (LDSS) digital platform.
This funding is for adult social care (ASC) providers registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and for OMMT completed between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2026 eligible for reimbursement. The funding for OMMT is a separate pot to the overall LDSS funding already available for other training and qualifications.
LDSS guidance documents have been updated to include information on making claims for OMMT such as eligibility criteria, maximum reimbursement rates and evidence requirements. Please refer to the updated FAQs which cover key questions around the funding for OMMT.
The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism is named after Oliver McGowan, whose death shone a light on the need for health and social care staff to have better training.As a reminder, to submit claims for OMMT, providers will need to:
- Be registered with the CQC as a provider of ASC services.
- Make sure their organisation has an up-to-date ASC-WDS (adult social care workforce dataset) account which can be set up here.
- Complete the LDSS onboarding form.
- Submit a claim once OMMT has been paid for and completed, providing evidence to demonstrate this.
Funding is only being provided for OMMT as it is the Government’s recommended training package for CQC-registered providers to meet the statutory training requirement under the Health and Care Act 2022. Providers may choose to undertake an alternative training package, which would need to meet expectations set out in the Oliver McGowan Code of Practice.
Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training via Partners in Care
Partners in Care is delighted to be working with First Response Training to provide Part 2 Tier 1 and Tier 2 OMMT training for our members. Tier 1 and Tier 2 courses are available to book via our website here.
If you have sent staff on Tier 1 and/or Tier 2 OMMT courses through Partners in Care since the beginning of September 2025, or have booked staff to attend upcoming courses up to the end of March 2026, you may be eligible to reclaim the cost of this through the LDSS. If you have any queries regarding bookings for OMMT courses made for through Partners in Care please contact us via info@partnersincare.org.uk.
Care providers must ensure that staff members complete the eLearning module before they attend either the Part 2 Tier 1 or Tier 2 training.
Click here for more information on the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism.
