Best Practice Programme
DSDC’s award-winning Best Practice in Dementia Care Learning Programme has been running since 2007 and is used by organisations globally.
This course is designed to help you think about how you respond to the person with dementia. Underpinning this is a person-led approach to care, which focuses on the needs of the individual.

Facilitators complete the online course over a two week period, then prepare their course submission. The course is designed to be accessed at your own pace, and fit in with working life.
On successful completion you will become a Registered Facilitator allowing you to support through the programme, using a cascade approach.
About the Programme
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One experienced staff member attends the DSDC Best Practice in Dementia Care Facilitator Training, which is Accredited by RCN, with 16 hours of CPD. This is the staff member(s) who you want to Facilitate the programme in your organisation. Once trained, we refer to them as a ‘Facilitator’.
After successful completion of the course, Facilitators will be provided with eight Learner Workbooks (and a Facilitator Guide) so they can return to their organisation and take a team of staff through the programme. DSDC recommends groups are between four – eight learners at a time.
Facilitators are able to continue taking groups of staff through the course by purchasing additional training materials.
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DSDC recommends working through the learning materials over a four to six-month period. Training materials are designed for self-study to allow training to be meaningful and individualised, although there is also group work.
The Facilitator will act as a mentor to learners to encourage them to meet their personal learning objectives. By meeting regularly to discuss the resources, it allows the opportunity for learners to reflect on experiences and practices and link their new knowledge to consider how they would make changes moving forward.
At the end of the programme, Learners are asked to complete a reflective exercise, which is submitted to DSDC for marking.
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Facilitators
The Best Practice in Dementia Care Facilitator Training is Accredited by RCN, with 16 hours of CPD. Upon successful completion of the course, Facilitators will receive a certificate and digital badge from DSDC.Participants
At the end of the course, Participants are asked to write a short reflective account to be submitted to DSDC for marking. Upon successful completion, learners will be issued with a certificate plus a digital badge, which can be affixed to their email signature. -
Organisations can buy more packs for the Facilitator to take more staff through the training programme. To purchase additional packs, please contact us at dementia@stir.ac.uk
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If you would like to train a group of Facilitators, please contact us at dementia@stir.ac.uk as it may work out more cost effective if we travel to you to deliver training.
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The programme is accredited by the Royal College of Nursing with 16 CPD hours. The programme can be used as recognised learning for candidates looking to achieve vocational qualifications in the UK.
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If you require additional copies of the final essay template or learner privacy notice, you can find these in publications.
Feedback from previous participants
Course Facilitators and Participants speak about DSDC's Best Practice Programme which aims to empower frontline healthcare staff to improve care for people with a dementia.