SQA Higher Care Values and Principles: a complete overview of care values, legislation, codes of practice, equality and confidentiality

What this area actually demands

The Values and Principles area is the value base of Higher Care. The examiners test your knowledge of the care values that guide practice, your understanding of the legislation and codes of practice that make those values enforceable, and your ability to apply values to real care situations and to judge what happens when they fail. It is built on the Care: Principles and Practice content of the course.

This guide walks through the area, then sets out the patterns the SQA repeats. Each topic has a matching dot-point page with practice questions; this overview ties them together.

The care values

The area opens with the care values that underpin all contemporary care: dignity and respect, choice and control, confidentiality and privacy, equality and anti-discriminatory practice, safety and protection from harm, promoting independence, and effective communication. Each value protects part of the service user's wellbeing, and together they form person-centred care, where the service user is at the centre of every decision.

Legislation and codes of practice

Care values are made enforceable by law and codes. Key legislation includes the Equality Act 2010, data protection law (UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018), the Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007 and the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000. Key codes are the Health and Social Care Standards (what people should expect, framed as personal outcomes) and the SSSC Codes of Practice (how the workforce must behave). The crucial distinction is that legislation is law everyone must obey, while a code of practice sets professional standards enforced through a register.

Equality, diversity and anti-discriminatory practice

The value of equality is examined in depth. Discrimination can be direct or indirect and is driven by prejudice and stereotyping. It harms service users emotionally, socially and physically and destroys trust. Anti-discriminatory practice means valuing diversity, adapting care to individual needs, and actively challenging discrimination.

Confidentiality

Confidentiality means sharing personal information only on a need-to-know basis. It builds trust and is required by data protection law and the SSSC Codes of Practice. It is not absolute: it must be broken where there is a risk of harm, suspected abuse, or a legal duty to disclose, sharing with the right person and following procedure.

Applying values to practice

Knowing values is not enough; Higher tests how they are applied. A worker applies dignity, choice, rights, confidentiality and anti-discriminatory practice through everyday actions, adding up to person-centred care. When values are not applied, service users are harmed, trust is lost, and the worker and service breach the law and codes.

How this area is examined

A typical SQA profile for Values and Principles:

• Describe questions. Setting out care values, laws, or ways to maintain confidentiality.
• Explain questions. Showing why a value matters or how a law protects a service user, pairing a point with its consequence.
• Analyse questions. Examining how values are applied in a situation, or the effects of discrimination, in depth.
• Applied scenarios. Reading a short case and explaining how values, law and good practice apply to it.

Check your knowledge

A mix of recall and explanation questions covering the area. Attempt them, then check against the solutions.

1. Name four care values that underpin care practice. (4 marks)
2. State the difference between legislation and a code of practice. (2 marks)
3. Define direct and indirect discrimination. (2 marks)
4. Give two situations in which confidentiality should be broken. (2 marks)
5. Explain what person-centred care means. (2 marks)