Mental Capacity Act (MCA): e-Learning course

Free!

This CPD-accredited online course explores the Mental Capacity Act 2005, including best interests decision-making, and how to support people to make their own decisions.

The course is for everyone who looks after or cares for someone, for example, doctors, nurses, care assistants, social workers, and family members.

Course content

  • Introducing the Mental Capacity Act
  • Supporting people to make decisions
  • Assessing capacity
  • Best interests decisions
  • More complex decisions
  • What to do when there is disagreement
  • Planning for the future
Screenshot of course

Learning outcomes

  • Gain an understanding of the five key principles of the MCA
  • Be better able to support people to make their own decisions
  • Be able to assess people’s capacity appropriately
  • Understand and be part of making best interests decisions
  • Be familiar with key advance planning tools

CPD accreditation

CPD Standards Office accredited course By studying the course, and passing the assessment, you will be issued with a certificate showing 2.0 CPD points.

CPD Standards Office accredited course ref no 60036/37.

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Frequently asked questions

  • Who is this course for? Open

    This e-learning course is targeted at all staff working with people who lack or may lack capacity in the health and social care sectors. This includes paid and unpaid carers as well as families. Trainers and students will also find these resources useful. The e-learning resource can be integrated into the higher education social work curriculum either as directed or self-directed study.

  • How long does it take to study the course?Open

    This is always a difficult question to answer as no two people are the same. There are a number of factors to consider such as level of knowledge, reading speed and in which order the course is completed.

    For that reason, our estimates are really quite broad. Analytics shows that learners take an average of two hours to study the course and pass the assessment.

  • SCORM compliant (on your LMS) versionOpen

    If you are interested in hosting this e-learning course and/or the assessment, on your Learning Management System (LMS) or Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) we are able to help.

    We can provide:

    • Course content: A SCORM 1.2 or 2004 compliant version of the course.
    • Assessment / certification: A SCORM 1.2 or 2004 compliant version of the assessment.
    • Course updates: We will supply you with course updates for an agreed period of time.

    Contact us to find out more about bringing our course to your learners on your platform.

  • Version historyOpen

    v7 (September 2022) Course content reviewed and updated, plus completely new visual rebuild improving usability and accessibility. The course is now free to study.

    v6 (December 2018) Improvements to the learner's progressing tracking. Plus the course can now be viewed on mobiles and tablets, in addition to desktop computers.

    v5 (October 2017) Course is now CPD accredited. The course is no longer offered for free.

    v4 (April 2017) Separation of course content and assessment/certification process to improve the experience for learners.

    v3 (October 2016) Assessment / certification element was improved.

    v2 (March 2016) Original release of the 2016 version of the MCA course.

    v1 Flash-based version of the course. This version of the course was free to use.

  • Terms and conditionsOpen

    • From accepting the course invite, the learner will have 90 days access to the course and its assessment / certification.
    • You can study the learning material (content) in any order, but you must view all the learning material before you can proceed to the assessment.
    • During your enrolment period you will have three attempts to pass the assessment. Only if you pass the assessment will a certificate be available for download. The assessment pass mark is 80 per cent.
    • An internet connection is required, with the ability to stream video content from Vimeo and YouTube.
    • All material in these resources, including text, graphics, photographs, video and audio is copyright of the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE), unless otherwise stated.
    • Use of this course is freely permitted, but commercial use is not authorised unless permission is first obtained in writing.
  • Recommended devices / web browsers Open

    SCIE recommends using the latest versions of device operating software and browsers to access our e-learning courses.

    The minimum technical requirements are (depending on your setup):

    • Chrome: Latest version
    • Firefox: Latest version
    • Microsoft Edge: Latest version
    • Safari: Latest version
    • iOS: 10
    • Android: Marshmallow (6.0)

    This course has been tested on a selection of Apple and Android mobile and tablet devices, running the latest web browsers.

    SCIE cannot take responsibility if the course, assessment or certificate does not work on your particular device or software.

    Please note: Usage of Microsoft Internet Explorer, including IE 11, is not recommended.