Tier 2 is for
Staff who may need to provide care and support for autistic people or people with a learning disability — it gives more detailed learning than Tier 1.
Oliver's CampaignThe Oliver McGowan Tier 2 Guide
What the training is, who needs it, and how to get your team through it.
A plain-English rundown for care providers: the two parts of Tier 2, what the day covers, and what you need to arrange as an employer.
Adult social care providers may be able to claim funding towards eligible training.
Both tiers have two parts
The national eLearning package comes first for everyone, then part 2: a one-hour online interactive session for Tier 1, or a one-day face-to-face session for Tier 2.
One tier, not both
Staff complete Tier 1 or Tier 2 depending on their role — not both. Tier 1 is general awareness; Tier 2 is for anyone who provides, or may be required to provide, a service to an autistic person or a person with a learning disability.
It travels with the learner
Because the content and delivery are standardised, completions are transferable between employers.
Named after Oliver McGowan
The training carries Oliver's name because his family's campaigning is what brought it about. Oliver's Campaign is led by his mother, Paula McGowan OBE, and the standardised package exists so that staff across health and social care learn to see, hear and respond to the person in front of them.
Read Oliver's story on the Oliver's Campaign websiteWhat is the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training?
It is the government's preferred and recommended training on learning disability and autism for health and social care staff — a standardised package delivered by trained and approved trainers. It takes its name from Oliver McGowan, whose story and family's campaigning brought the need for better staff training into focus.
Since 1 July 2022, providers registered with the Care Quality Commission in England have been under a legal duty — introduced by the Health and Care Act 2022 — to make sure their staff receive training in learning disability and autism, including how to interact appropriately with autistic people and people with a learning disability, at a level appropriate to their role.
The Oliver McGowan code of practice, which became final in September 2025, sets out the standards that training must meet in both content and delivery, and explains how registered providers should use it.
2
Tiers of training
Tier 1 for general awareness, Tier 2 for those providing care and support.
2
Parts to complete
The eLearning package, then a live part 2 at the tier your role needs.
Built on two national frameworks
The training is based on the Core Capabilities Framework for supporting people with a learning disability and the Core Capabilities Framework for supporting autistic people — the skills, knowledge and behaviours staff need.
Tier 1 or Tier 2?
Which tier your staff need depends on their role. The national tier guidance is written to help employers make that judgement, role by role.
Tier 1
For those who require a general awareness of people with a learning disability and autistic people, and the support they may need.
eLearning package, then a one-hour online interactive session.
Tier 2
For health and social care staff with responsibility for providing care and support for an autistic person or a person with a learning disability — anyone who provides, or may be required to provide, a service to them, regardless of how often that may occur.
eLearning package, then a one-day face-to-face training session.
In social care, some services are used in a planned way. Tier 1 may be adequate for staff if the people currently using the service are known and are not autistic or have a learning disability.
Tier 2 may be needed for all social care staff where a person with a learning disability or an autistic person may start to use the service at any time — regardless of how often that happens or the type of service. If you're unsure which tier a role falls into, send us your job titles and we'll help you think it through.
How Tier 2 works
Tier 2 is completed in two parts, and both are needed for the training to count.
- 1
The eLearning package
Everyone completes the national eLearning first, whatever tier their role needs. It's done online, so it can fit around shift patterns.
- 2
One day face to face
Tier 2 staff then attend a full-day, face-to-face session — co-delivered with experts with lived experience of learning disability and autism.
What Tier 2 covers
Tier 2 goes beyond awareness. As well as the Tier 1 learning, it looks at the areas where care most often goes wrong:
- ✓Avoiding diagnostic overshadowing
- ✓Frequently co-occurring conditions
- ✓Relevant legislation — Mental Capacity Act, Human Rights Act, Autism Act and Equality Act
- ✓Reasonable adjustments, including hospital passports
- ✓Appropriate application of DNACPR
- ✓Culture, professional bias and how behaviour affects outcomes
- ✓Accessible communication methods
- ✓Understanding what the person and their family are communicating
- ✓Ask, Listen, Do
- ✓Learning from LeDeR
Why it matters
Lived experience sits at the centre of this training.
Part 2 of the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training must be co-delivered with experts with lived experience of learning disability and autism, who are paid for their time. That's what makes Tier 2 different from a slide deck: your team hears directly from the people whose experience the training exists to change.
Each Oliver McGowan Tier 2 course we deliver is co-delivered by experts with lived experience of autism and learning disabilities, ensuring this training is grounded in authentic, personal experience rather than theory alone.
What employers need to arrange
- 1
Decide which tier each role needs
Work through your job titles using the national tier guidance, and remember the duty extends to staff who aren't clinical but still have contact with people.
- 2
Get everyone through the eLearning
The eLearning package is part 1 for both tiers, so it's the first thing to arrange — and it's the same for everyone.
- 3
Book the face-to-face day
For Tier 2 staff, arrange the one-day session. We run it at your workplace or at a venue near you, across the UK.
- 4
Keep the records
Hold completion records for every learner, and factor the training into induction and supervision plans — Regulation 18 still applies.
Common questions
Do we need Oliver McGowan training if we're not a specialist service?
Yes. The requirement applies to all services and settings, not just specialist ones, and to all health and care staff who may come into contact with people with a learning disability or autistic people — including ancillary and administrative staff.
Which of our staff need Tier 2 rather than Tier 1?
Tier 2 is for health and social care staff with responsibility for providing care and support for an autistic person or a person with a learning disability — anyone who provides, or may be required to provide, a service to them, regardless of how often that may occur. Where a service is used in a planned way and the people currently using it are known and are not autistic or have a learning disability, Tier 1 may be adequate.
Can we book Tier 2 without doing Tier 1 first?
Yes — staff complete Tier 1 or Tier 2 according to their role. They don't need to do both. The eLearning part is common to both tiers and is completed first.
Does the training have to be delivered in a classroom?
Tier 2 part 2 is a one-day, face-to-face session. We deliver it at your workplace or at a venue near you, so it can be arranged around rotas and shift patterns.
Can we claim funding towards the training?
Adult social care providers may be able to claim funding towards eligible training. Tell us what you need and we'll help you think through the options.
How do we get started?
Send us your job titles, how many staff need training and where you're based. We'll help you work out which tier each role needs and come back with dates for the face-to-face day.
Read it in the government's own words
The details above follow the official guidance. If you're writing a policy or briefing your board, these are the sources worth linking to.
Ask me about the Oliver McGowan Training
NHS England's communication pack for the programme includes this badge for providers to display. It's a simple, recognisable prompt for anyone to ask whether the team has the training. Tell us what you need and we'll help you think it through.
Get a Tier 2 date for your team
Tell us how many people need Tier 2 and where you're based, and we'll come back with dates and a quote.
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Or email us directly at Hello@essentialcareskills.co.uk · www.essentialcareskills.co.uk