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SQA National 5 Care: complete guide to the three areas, the question paper and the project

A complete guide to SQA National 5 Care, an SCQF level 5 qualification. Covers the three areas of study (Values and Principles, Human Development and Behaviour, Social Influences), how the course assessment splits between the question paper and the project, and how to study each area for an A.

Browse guides β†’Syllabus dot points (14)

SQA National 5 Care is a one-year course at SCQF level 5 that develops knowledge of why people use care services and the value base needed for working in care, in settings such as health care, social care and childcare. It is graded A to D from two assessment components: a question paper and a project. This page is the index: below is a map of the three areas of study, the assessment structure, and how to study each one.

The three areas of SQA National 5 Care

The course is organised into three mandatory areas of study. Together they take you from the values and provision that underpin care, through how people develop and behave, to the social influences that shape people's needs.

Values and Principles
The foundations of good care: what a care need is and how needs are assessed, the health and social care sectors (statutory, voluntary, private and informal) that meet needs, the features of a positive care environment and the role of legislation, and the care values - dignity and respect, choice, confidentiality, equality, safety, independence and realising potential - that come together in person-centred care.
Human Development and Behaviour
How people grow and change: the principles of human development, the main life stages and their typical changes, the physical, intellectual, emotional and social (PIES) aspects of development, the factors that affect development, and how psychological ideas help a care worker understand behaviour.
Social Influences
How society shapes people: socialisation and its agencies, social groups and pressures such as peer pressure and conformity, prejudice and discrimination and their effects, and how social influences such as poverty, housing and discrimination create or affect care needs.

Course assessment

The National 5 Care award is graded A to D and is made up of two components, both set and marked by the SQA, totalling 120 marks.

  • Question paper - sat under exam conditions and worth 40 marks. It tests knowledge and understanding across the three areas and the skill of applying that knowledge to care issues and scenarios.
  • Project - worth 80 marks and completed under supervised conditions. A candidate responds to a brief, researching the needs of an individual requiring care and the services that meet them, across an action plan, a response to the brief, and an evaluation.

The grade is based on the total marks achieved across both components.

How to study SQA National 5 Care

National 5 Care rewards precise knowledge and the ability to apply it to real people and care situations.

  1. Work from the course content. Each area in the SQA course specification is a checklist; question-paper items are written from it.
  2. Learn care values as meaning plus practice. For each value, say what it means and what the worker does. This answers most Values and Principles questions.
  3. Memorise the lists you can reel off. PIES, the life stages, the care sectors, the agencies of socialisation and the forms of discrimination all appear as list and describe questions.
  4. Always link to care. Many marks come from explaining how a factor, influence or need affects a person's care, not just describing it.
  5. Practise past papers and the project. Use SQA past papers, the specimen paper and the project task to learn the question style and the wording markers reward.

The three areas, topic by topic

Each area has answer pages with worked questions and cross-links, plus an overview guide and a quiz. Browse the full set from this hub: Values and Principles, Human Development and Behaviour, and Social Influences.

For the official course specification

The SQA publishes the full National 5 Care course specification, specimen question paper, past papers and marking instructions, and the project task at sqa.org.uk. Always revise from the current specification and SQA past papers, because question style and terminology are board-specific.

Care guides

In-depth written guides with paired practice quizzes.

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Care practice quizzes

Multiple-choice drills with worked answer explanations. Your scores stay on this device.

The SQA-NATIONAL-5 system, explained

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Common questions about Care

How is SQA National 5 Care structured?
National 5 Care is an SCQF level 5 course made up of three areas of study: Values and Principles, Human Development and Behaviour, and Social Influences. Values and Principles covers care needs and assessment, the care sectors, a positive care environment and legislation, and the values that guide good practice. Human Development and Behaviour covers how people develop across the life stages and how to understand behaviour. Social Influences covers socialisation, social groups, discrimination and how social factors affect care needs. The course develops knowledge of why people use care services and the value base for working in care.
How is SQA National 5 Care assessed?
The course award is graded A to D and has two components, both set and marked by the SQA, totalling 120 marks. The question paper is sat under exam conditions and is worth 40 marks, testing knowledge and understanding of the three areas plus the skill of applying it to care issues and scenarios. The project is worth 80 marks and is a research task completed under supervised conditions, in which a candidate responds to a brief about an individual requiring care. The grade is based on the total marks across both components.
What is the National 5 Care project?
The project is a research task worth 80 marks, completed under supervised conditions and set and marked externally by the SQA. A candidate responds to a brief, researching and investigating the needs of an individual requiring care and the services that meet those needs. It has three sections: an action plan, responding to the project brief, and an evaluation. It rewards a clear plan, good use and analysis of information, and honest evaluation linked to care knowledge.
What does SCQF level 5 mean for National 5 Care?
SCQF is the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework. National 5 sits at level 5, the same level as a GCSE grade in England and the usual stepping stone to Higher (level 6). National 5 Care signals a secure understanding of why people use care services, human development and behaviour, social influences, and the values and principles of positive care practice, alongside the skills expected before moving on to Higher Care.
How should I revise for SQA National 5 Care?
Work through the three areas against the content in the SQA course specification, because question-paper items are written from it. Learn each care value as what it means plus what the worker does. Learn the life stages and the PIES aspects of development, and the factors and theories that explain behaviour. Build clear lists for socialisation, social groups and discrimination, and always link an influence to a care need. Practise applying knowledge to scenarios, and use SQA past papers and the project task to learn the question style.
How does SQA National 5 Care differ from a GCSE in Health and Social Care?
National 5 Care is a one-year SCQF level 5 Scottish qualification set by the SQA, whereas Health and Social Care GCSEs and equivalents are set by English, Welsh and Northern Irish boards. National 5 Care is assessed by a 40-mark question paper plus an 80-mark project, uses Scottish terminology and frameworks such as the Health and Social Care Standards, and is organised into three named areas. Always revise from the current SQA specification and SQA past papers.