Free CPD-Accredited Course Teaches Senior Care Professionals to Transform the Spaces People with Dementia Call Home
Alison has launched a new CPD-accredited course: Dementia Care Environment Design for Senior Care Workers. This free online advanced certificate course equips senior care workers, deputy managers, and care home managers with the evidence-based frameworks and practical tools to redesign dementia care environments from the ground up — addressing the spaces, lighting, objects, technology, and sensory details that either support a resident's sense of identity and calm or slowly erode it. Aligned with NICE NG97, NHS England standards, and Skills for Care, and drawing on peer-reviewed research from the Dementia Lab 2025 conference, it is the only course of its kind available free of charge.
Most dementia training teaches care workers how to communicate with a person. This course teaches them how to design the world around that person. Learners will explore how to apply person-centred ethics to every environmental decision, from the language used in handovers to the objects on a resident's bedside table. They will study how colour, light, and sensory design affect agitation, orientation, and wellbeing; how to involve residents themselves in shaping their living spaces through structured co-design; and how to introduce assistive technologies — including social robots and reminiscence apps — in ways that reduce isolation rather than replacing human connection. Learners will also build four practical audit tools — sensory, artefact, occupation, and environmental biography audits — that generate direct, inspector-ready evidence for CQC assessments.
55 Million People. A Crisis the Environment Can Help Solve.
According to the World Health Organization, 55 million people worldwide are currently living with dementia, with nearly 10 million new cases diagnosed each year. By 2050, that number is projected to reach 139 million — the vast majority in low- and middle-income countries where dementia care infrastructure is only beginning to develop. Dementia is already one of the leading causes of disability and dependency among older people globally, and the cost — human, financial, and systemic — is immense.
The environments in which people with dementia live have a documented and significant impact on their quality of life. Poorly designed spaces — with harsh lighting, unfamiliar layouts, clinical aesthetics, and an absence of personal objects and meaningful activity — increase distress, accelerate cognitive decline, and place greater strain on care staff. Yet the evidence base for dementia-friendly design, including the role of sensory environments, reminiscence spaces, and personalised objects in supporting wellbeing, remains largely inaccessible to the frontline workers who are best placed to act on it. Advanced training of this kind has historically been the preserve of architects, occupational therapists, and specialist consultants — not the senior care workers who manage residents' daily lives.
Why the Environment Is the Next Frontier in Dementia Care
Mike Feerick, Founder and CEO of Alison, stated: "The best dementia care workers in the world know that how a space looks, sounds, and feels matters as much as anything a clinician can do. We want to give every senior care worker — in a care home in Galway, in Nairobi, in Lagos — access to the research and the practical tools that let them turn their setting into somewhere a person with dementia can truly feel at home."
This launch expands Alison's growing portfolio of specialist dementia and elder care courses, reinforcing its commitment to bringing the latest evidence directly into the hands of the professionals who need it most.
To learn more or enrol in the course, visit: alison.com/course/dementia-care-environment-design-for-senior-care-workers
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About Alison
Alison is a global leader in free online learning and skills development. With over 50 million registered learners across 193 countries (as of October 2025), Alison empowers individuals, communities, and organisations to upskill quickly and effectively – at zero cost.
The Alison platform provides immediate access to over 6,000 free, CPD-accredited courses, covering essential areas such as Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Cybersecurity, Digital Marketing, Project Management, Business Operations, Healthcare and Sustainability. Courses are created by a mix of independent experts and global leaders, including IBM, Stanford and Microsoft.
For organisations, Alison offers a Free Learning Management System (LMS) that enables unlimited learners to access thousands of courses with no upfront cost. A premium version with advanced analytics and customisation is also available. Alison's offering includes a full suite of assessments and psychometric tools, including a Workplace Personality Assessment, Mental Health & Wellbeing Assessment, English Language Proficiency Test, as well as Numerical, Verbal, and Abstract Reasoning tests.
To further support career development, learners also gain access to a Career Guide, a Resumé Builder, and the ability to study offline through the Alison App. The platform is also expanding its reach with multilingual versions, starting with complete Spanish, French, and Hindi offerings — reaffirming its mission to make education accessible to anyone, anywhere.
Founded in 2007, Alison pioneered the concept of free, large-scale online learning and is recognised as the world’s first MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) platform. Today, its mission continues: to break down barriers to learning, helping people gain skills, build confidence, and improve their lives — no matter where they live or what they earn.
