The Academy is changing!
The Social Care Academy celebrates its first birthday in the new year, and with it comes exciting changes.
In January 2026, the Social Care Academy's learning platform will undergo a significant upgrade. Here is what to expect.
What you need to know
eLearning
All eLearning courses you have started must be completed before 19 January 2026.
We will transfer records of any courses you complete in full by that date. However, progress on partially completed courses cannot be transferred, so please make sure to finish anything you've started.
Skills for Care eLearning
If you enrolled onto Skills for Care’s eLearning courses, will no longer be able to access certificates for these courses in the new system. To ensure you receive your certificates, you must complete the courses and surveys and download your certificates by 19 January 2026.
Live Training
You don’t need to do anything. Any live training you’re booked onto will be carried over to the new system.
During the two-week downtime of the learning portal, you’ll be able to book training courses temporarily via the Academy Website.
Live training bookings will resume in the new system from 2 February 2026.
Website Address
The Academy website will stay the same:
What's changing?
A new Learning Portal
We’re moving to a brand-new system that makes it easier to explore our learning catalogue and find the courses you need.
Enhanced eLearning
Expect a serious upgrade!
Courses will be more interactive, immersive, and industry-leading.
Manager Tools
Managers will soon be able to:
- Enrol staff onto training courses directly
- Track individual progress
- Monitor team compliance with training requirements
A fresh look
In January 2026 the Academy website will have a completely refreshed design for a modern, user-friendly experience.
And so much more!
New content, improved navigation, improved course directories, we’re building an Academy that grows with you. This is just the beginning.
What to expect and when
31 November 2025
We’ll pause all work and development on the current Academy learning portal.
19 January 2026
The learning portal will go offline temporarily. You won’t be able to log in or book training during this time.
2 February 2026
The new learning portal launches! We’ll send out detailed guides to help you get started.
Your email and user profile will transfer across, and you’ll receive a temporary password to log in.
February 2026
We’ll begin migrating your learning records.
Everything you’ve completed on the old portal will be transferred to the new one so you can continue accessing certificates.
March 2026
New manager functionality goes live!
Managers will be able to:
- Enrol staff onto courses
- View individual training records
- Monitor team-wide compliance
Partnership Changes
The Social Care Academy launched at the start of the year as a one-year pilot. A nation-first Academy partnership between Staffordshire County Council, Stoke-on-Trent City Council, the Integrated Care Board (ICB), and Skills for Care.
The pilot has been a resounding success. Over 2,000 users and roughly 50% of all CQC locations in our area signed up. Thanks to this strong engagement, the partnership between Staffordshire County Council, Stoke-on-Trent City Council, and the ICB will continue as the Academy moves into its next phase.
As the pilot concludes, we extend our sincere thanks to Skills for Care for their valuable involvement throughout 2025. The end of the pilot marks the end of Skills for Care's direct involvement in the Academy. While they will no longer be directly involved, we remain committed to working closely with them and look forward to future collaboration.
Skills for Care issued the following statement:
We’re pleased to have been part of the one-year pilot collaboration with Staffordshire County Council, Stoke-on-Trent City Council and the Integrated Care Board (ICB) to explore placed-based academy models for the adult social care workforce. Skills for Care's role in the Social Care Academy for Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent was designed with a defined timeline for us to learn more about how local academies can support workforce development in adult social care.
Throughout the pilot, we’ve seen fantastic engagement from care providers and partners, and we’re proud that our involvement has been a valued part of the academy’s success. The insights gained over the past year have been incredibly valuable and will contribute to our broader work in support of learning and development offers in the adult social care sector.
While our formal role in the academy concludes in December, we remain committed to supporting the academy locally, including ongoing promotion through our Registered Managers networks. We continue to see the local authorities and the ICB as valued partners and look forward to working with them on developing impactful learning and development solutions for the sector in the future.
We’d like to thank everyone who contributed to the pilot and look forward to seeing the continued impact of the academy in the local area.