Reading List

A focused Reading List to support and extend learning from Sexual Safety, Consent, and Resident Relationships for Residential Care Staff.

This course is written for UK care-home staff. Where relevant the content uses England guidance and England and Wales Mental Capacity Act (MCA) examples; links and signposting point to Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland where safeguarding, regulation, capacity or adult protection arrangements differ.

1. Core England Guidance for Care Homes

• CQC - Relationships and sexuality in adult social care services
  Official guidance for providers and inspectors covering sexuality needs, sexual relationships, capacity to consent to sexual relations, sexual disinhibition, incident response and staff training requirements.
  https://www.cqc.org.uk/sites/default/files/20190221-Relationships-and-sexuality-in-social-care-PUBLICATION.pdf

• CQC - Issue 11: Promoting sexual safety
  A CQC learning resource emphasising an open reporting culture, learning from incidents and working with residents, relatives and staff to prevent sexual harm in adult social care.
  https://www.cqc.org.uk/guidance-regulation/adult-social-care/learning-safety-incidents/issue-11-promoting-sexual-safety

• NICE - Safeguarding adults in care homes (NG189)
  Care-home safeguarding guidance covering indicators of sexual abuse, residents' rights where capacity exists, staff-resident red flags and actions to take if abuse is suspected.
  https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng189

• NICE - Decision-making and mental capacity (NG108)
  Guidance on supporting decision-making, assessing capacity lawfully and keeping the person central when capacity to consent is uncertain or fluctuating.
  https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng108

• GOV.UK - Mental Capacity Act Code of Practice
  The statutory Code for England and Wales explaining legal duties when acting for people who may lack capacity to make particular decisions.
  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mental-capacity-act-code-of-practice

• CQC - Regulation 11: Need for consent
  CQC guidance on obtaining lawful consent in regulated services, useful for linking sexual safety to broader consent expectations in care homes.
  https://www.cqc.org.uk/guidance-regulation/providers/regulations-service-providers-and-managers/health-social-care-act/regulation-11

2. Nation-Sensitive Signposting

• GOV.WALES - Safeguarding adults at risk of abuse or neglect
  Wales-specific safeguarding guidance for organisations and practitioners. Wales uses the MCA 2005 framework for capacity but has different safeguarding and care structures to England.
  https://www.gov.wales/safeguarding-adults-risk-abuse-or-neglect

• Scottish Government - Adult support and protection
  Scotland's adult protection framework. Scotland does not use the MCA 2005 or the CQC system described in the main course content.
  https://www.gov.scot/policies/social-care/adult-support-and-protection/

• Department of Health NI - Mental Capacity Act Code of Practice and Other Key Documents
  An entry point to Mental Capacity Act (Northern Ireland) 2016 guidance; Northern Ireland uses a different legal framework from England and Wales.
  https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/articles/mental-capacity-act-code-practice-and-other-key-documents

• Department of Health NI - Adult Safeguarding: Prevention and Protection in Partnership
  The Northern Ireland adult safeguarding policy framework, for NI-specific protection and reporting context alongside mental capacity guidance.
  https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/articles/adult-safeguarding-prevention-and-protection-partnership

Use this list to deepen your knowledge of sexuality in care, lawful consent, resident protection, sexual disinhibition, staff boundaries and the safeguarding and legal frameworks that apply in relevant jurisdictions.