Module 1: Your caring role

Module 1: Your caring role. Video transcript

Full narration with what is on screen, for learners who prefer to read or cannot hear the video.

[00:00] Module 1: Your caring role

On screen: Coming Home Carer Skills; About 5 minutes. Picture: Grace and Samuel sit side by side on a sofa, sharing a photo album and smiling. A cup of tea on a side table.

Welcome to Module 1 of Coming Home Carer Skills: Your caring role. On screen is Grace. She looks after her dad, Samuel, at home. In the next few minutes, we will look at what family carers do, where the limits are, who can help, and your right to a carer's assessment.

[00:21] Before we start

On screen: Our own free course for family carers.; Topics follow the 16 Care Certificate standards (2025).; Not the Care Certificate. Not a qualification.; Not endorsed by Skills for Care, NHS England or Skills for Health..

First, a short note. Coming Home Carer Skills is our own free course for family carers. Its topics follow the 16 Care Certificate standards (2025) from Skills for Care, NHS England and Skills for Health. It is not the Care Certificate, it is not a qualification, and those organisations have not endorsed it.

[00:45] In this module

On screen: What family carers do; Where the limits are; Working with paid carers, GPs and social workers; Your right to a carer's assessment.

By the end, you should know what family carers do, where the limits are, how to work with paid carers, GPs and social workers, and how to ask for a carer's assessment where you live.

[00:58] You are a carer

On screen: If you help someone because of their age, illness or disability, you are a carer.; Family and friends count too.. Picture: Grace helps Samuel into his coat at the front door, ready to go out. Samuel holds his walking frame and laughs at something she said.

If you help someone because of their age, illness or disability, you are a carer. It does not matter if they are your parent, your partner, your child or a friend. Lots of people do not use the word carer at first. Using it can help you get support.

[01:18] What family carers do

On screen: Washing, dressing and meals; Going to appointments; Shopping, cleaning and laundry; Bills, letters and forms; Keeping someone company. Picture: Four-panel montage, one everyday task per panel: (1) Ravi plates up lunch for Anjali at the kitchen table; (2) Grace and Samuel sort letters together (no readable writing); (3) Morag and Alasdair walk slowly arm in arm to the shop; (4) Ciara and Declan play cards and laugh.

Family carers do all sorts of things. Help with washing, dressing and meals. Going along to appointments. Shopping, cleaning and laundry. Sorting out bills and forms. And keeping someone company. All of this counts as caring. You also know the person best: what they like, and what helps. That knowledge matters.

[01:45] Where the limits are

On screen: Some tasks need training. If you have not been shown how, do not try it.; Follow the person's care plan.; Never change medicine doses yourself.; If someone falls, do not lift them. Call for help.. Picture: Grace sits at the kitchen table reading a plain folder (the care plan, no readable writing). She looks thoughtful, phone beside her, ready to ask a question.

So, where are the limits? You are not expected to be a nurse. Some tasks need training, such as helping someone move, some medicines, or wound care. If you have not been shown how, do not try it. Ask their nurse, therapist or pharmacist. If the person has a care plan, follow it. Never change medicine doses yourself. And if someone falls and you cannot help them up safely, do not lift them. Call for help.

[02:19] Their choices, your limits

On screen: The person still makes their own choices.; You support. You do not take over.; You can say how much caring you are able and willing to do.. Picture: Samuel points at the cardigan he wants to wear while Grace holds up two options, smiling and letting him choose.

Two more things. The person still makes their own choices, as far as they can. Your job is to support, not to take over. And you are allowed to say how much you can do. In England and Wales, the law says a carer's assessment must look at whether you are able and willing to keep caring. Being honest about this is not failing.

[02:43] Worried about someone's health?

On screen: Contact their GP, or call NHS 111.; Northern Ireland: contact your GP out of hours service.; In an emergency, call 999..

If you are worried about someone's health, contact their GP, or call NHS 111. In Northern Ireland, contact your GP out of hours service. In an emergency, call 999.

[02:59] Working with paid carers

On screen: Tell them what the person likes.; Agree how you will share news.; Worried about the care? Speak to the agency first.. Picture: Joy, the paid carer, and Grace chat in the hallway. Joy holds a plain notebook. Samuel waves from the front room behind them.

You are part of a team. If paid carers visit, tell them what the person likes and how they like things done. Agree how you will share news, such as a notebook or a phone call. If something about the care worries you, speak to the care agency first.

[03:17] GPs and social workers

On screen: Tell the GP practice you are a carer.; Social workers can arrange an assessment for the person, and one for you.. Picture: Split frame. Left: Grace talks to Bea at a GP surgery reception desk. Right: Hamza the social worker sits with Ravi and Anjali at their dining table, all smiling, a plain folder open.

Tell the GP practice that you are a carer, and ask them to note it. If the person agrees, the practice can talk with you about their health. Social workers work for the council, or for the Health and Social Care Trust in Northern Ireland. They can arrange an assessment for the person you care for, and a separate one for you.

[03:41] A carer's assessment

On screen: A talk about you and how caring affects you.; It is free. It is not a test.; It might lead to a break, help at home, local groups or advice on benefits.. Picture: Hamza listens as Grace talks at her kitchen table, both with mugs of tea. Grace has a short handwritten list (no readable words).

A carer's assessment is a talk about you: how caring affects your health, your work and your free time. It is free, and it is not a test of how well you care. It might lead to things like a break from caring, help with housework, local support groups, or advice about benefits for carers.

[04:02] Where you live

On screen: England: carer's assessment (local council); Wales: carer's needs assessment (local council); Scotland: Adult Carer Support Plan (council or carer centre); Northern Ireland: carer's assessment (Health and Social Care Trust). Picture: Four front doors side by side, each with its household at the door: Grace and Samuel (England), Rhys and Carys (Wales), Morag and Alasdair (Scotland), Ciara and Declan (Northern Ireland). Each waves.

The name and the route depend on where you live. In England, ask adult social services at your local council for a carer's assessment. In Wales, ask your council for a carer's needs assessment. In Scotland, ask your council or local carer centre for an Adult Carer Support Plan. In Northern Ireland, ask your Health and Social Care Trust for a carer's assessment. Each Trust has a Carer Coordinator who can help.

[04:33] Getting ready

On screen: Write down what you do in a typical week.; Note what is hardest and what would help.; You can bring a friend, relative or advocate.; Disagree with the result? You can complain.. Picture: Evening. Grace writes a list at the table while Samuel dozes peacefully in his armchair nearby, a lamp on.

To get ready, write down what you do in a typical week, what you find hardest, and what would help. You can have a friend, a relative or an advocate with you. If you disagree with the result, ask the council, or the Trust in Northern Ireland, how to complain.

[04:52] Get help

On screen: Carers UK helpline: 0808 808 7777 (free); Your local council, or your Trust in Northern Ireland; Scotland: your local carer centre; Hands-on skills: British Red Cross or St John Ambulance; Health worries: GP or NHS 111 (Northern Ireland: GP out of hours service); Emergency: 999.

If you need help now, Carers UK runs a free helpline on 0808 808 7777. Your local council, or your Trust in Northern Ireland, can tell you about support near you. In Scotland, so can your local carer centre. For hands-on skills, such as first aid, look for an in-person course from the British Red Cross or St John Ambulance.

[05:19] To sum up

On screen: You are a carer, and what you know matters.; Know where the limits are. Ask if unsure.; Work as a team.; Ask for a carer's assessment.; Next: read the pages, then try the quiz.. Picture: Grace and Samuel laugh together over a cup of tea at the kitchen table. Through the window, Joy waves as she arrives up the path.

To sum up. You are a carer, and what you know matters. Know where the limits are, and ask when you are not sure. Work with paid carers, the GP and social workers as a team. And ask for a carer's assessment. It is your right. Now read the pages below, then try the quiz. You can take it as many times as you like.