ARC England; Association for Real Change

What ARC England; Association for Real Change does

ARC England (The Association for Real Change Ltd) is a UK registered charity (No. 285575) and membership organisation founded in 1978 and headquartered in Chesterfield. It supports organisations involved in the planning or delivery of services for people with learning disabilities and autistic people, positioning itself as the only membership body specifically focused on this provider segment in England. Sister organisations exist in Scotland and Northern Ireland as separate legal entities.

The organisation operates a diversified service portfolio built around its member base. Core offerings include paid membership providing access to network meetings, policy representation, and member discounts; a portfolio of health and social care training workshops (Mental Capacity Act, Medication, Risk Management, Active Support) delivered online via Zoom; a City and Guilds approved Qualifications Centre issuing adult social care diplomas and certificates; a UK-wide ARC Disclosure Service registered with DBS (England/Wales), AccessNI (Northern Ireland), and Disclosure Scotland for criminal record checks; and an ARC Advisory consultancy. Project-based work includes the Us Too (Comic Relief), Safety Net, Get SMART (Google.org/ISD), and Our Social Lives (2024/25, with Learning Disability England and Paradigm) initiatives, plus the Together4Change co-production group.

Revenue is generated across six streams: membership fees (subscription/recurring), training and consultancy (professional services), qualifications (professional services), DBS/disclosure checks (transaction fees), events and conferences (professional services), and publications (one-time licence). Pricing is tiered with discounted rates for members across most services, and no VAT is charged on training. The organisation is funded in part by project grants from public and charitable sources including the Department of Health, Skills for Care, Big Lottery Fund, Comic Relief, and Google.org.

Name

ARC England; Association for Real Change

Legal name

The Association for Real Change Ltd

Website

https://arcengland.org.uk

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Short description

ARC England is a UK registered charity and membership organisation supporting learning disability and autism service providers through membership services, City and Guilds qualifications, training workshops, a UK-wide DBS/disclosure checking service, and sector advocacy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Care Services (Learning Disability and Autism Support)

NAICS

Professional Organizations (81392), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Vocational Rehabilitation Services (62431)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Disability Services & Independent Living Support (BPAGAEAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Autism Classroom & School Program Support (Inclusion/Resource) (EDAKAKAC), Disability Services & Assistive Solutions (Accessibility, Assistive Tech) (BPAGALAM), Independent Educational Consultant Case Management & Service Coordination (EDAKACAO)

Keywords

• Learning disability services
• Social care training
• Adult social care qualifications
• Criminal record checks
• Membership organisations

Headquarters

HQ city

Chesterfield

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: Annual membership fees for learning disability and autism service providers, offering benefits including discounts on training, qualifications, disclosure checks, publications, events and conferences.
2. Training and Consultancy Services: Revenue from open workshops, in-house organizational training, Active Support consultancy, and train-the-trainer programmes. Pricing varies by member/non-member status and format (half-day, full day, individual place).
3. Health and Social Care Qualifications: City and Guilds approved Qualifications Centre providing diplomas and certificates in adult social care. Revenue from qualification registration and administration fees.
4. Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Checks: Criminal record checking service for health and social care employers. Competitive administration fees with discounted rates for ARC members. Covers England/Wales (DBS), Northern Ireland (AccessNI), and Scotland (Disclosure Scotland).
5. Events and Conferences: Revenue from events and conferences including webinars on sector issues such as Supreme Court rulings. Members receive discounted rates.
6. Publications and Resources: Publications, easy-read guides, and project resources available for purchase or download. Members receive discounts.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

ARC England is a membership organisation for learning disability and autism support providers in England, offering annual membership, health and social care training workshops, City and Guilds approved qualifications, and a UK-wide criminal record checking service (DBS, AccessNI, Disclosure Scotland). It also delivers Active Support training and consultancy, sector advocacy through the Care Provider Alliance, and co-produced project resources addressing topics such as domestic abuse, mate crime, and social media safety.

Product overview

ARC England (Association for Real Change) operates as a membership organization offering a portfolio of interconnected services for learning disability and autism providers. The core offerings include: membership services providing networking and representation; Health and Social Care Training Courses covering Mental Capacity Act, Medication, Risk Management, and related topics; Active Support Training and Consultancy for person-centred support implementation; and City and Guilds approved Qualifications including the Level 2 Adult Social Care Certificate and Independent Advocacy Recognition Certificate. The ARC Disclosure Service provides UK-wide criminal record checking through integration with DBS, AccessNI, and Disclosure Scotland. Additional services include project-based initiatives such as Us Too (domestic abuse awareness), Safety Net (mate crime prevention), and Get SMART (social media safety), plus the Our Social Lives research project. These products work together to support providers across training, qualifications, compliance checking, and sector advocacy.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Together4Change: A group focused on advocacy and co-production for people with learning disabilities.
• Our Social Lives

Products and services

• ARC England Membership Annual membership for learning disability and autism service providers in England, providing networking, collaboration opportunities, best practice sharing, training discounts, qualification discounts, disclosure check discounts, and representation with government decision-makers.
• Health and Social Care Training Courses Training workshops covering Mental Capacity Act, Medication, Risk Management, Online Harms, Self-Harm and Self-Neglect, Mate Crime and Domestic Abuse for social care staff, available as open workshops or in-house organisational sessions.
• Active Support Training and Consultancy Person-centred Active Support (PCAS) training that promotes independence and better outcomes for people with learning disabilities through evidence-based support models, delivered as open workshops, in-house training, or train-the-trainer programmes.
• Health and Social Care Qualifications City and Guilds approved qualifications including Level 2 Adult Social Care Certificate, Diplomas in Adult Care, and the ARC Independent Advocacy Recognition Certificate, providing recognised credentials for the health and social care workforce.
• ARC Disclosure Service UK-wide criminal record checking service registered to process Standard and Enhanced DBS checks for England and Wales, AccessNI checks for Northern Ireland, and Disclosure Scotland checks for Scotland, with no set-up charges, no contract, and no minimum or maximum checking requirements.
• ARC Advisory Consultancy Service Advisory consultancy service for member organisations seeking guidance on sector challenges, policy, and best practice implementation.
• Together4Change Group Co-production and advocacy group bringing together people with learning disabilities to address regional and national challenges in the sector, with ARC England's 5-year celebration scheduled for October 2026.
• Our Social Lives Peer Research Project Co-produced research project (2024/25) by ARC England, Learning Disability England and Paradigm investigating the social lives of people with learning disabilities and autistic people, with co-created resources on friendships, transport, money, skills, safety, and employment.
• Us Too Project Comic Relief-funded user-led project on domestic abuse and sexual violence for women with learning disabilities and autistic women, providing peer education workshops, staff training, and accessibility work.
• Safety Net Project Project on mate crime providing resources including the Friend or Fake Easy Read Booklet, questionnaires, presentations, and training materials for individuals, families, partnership boards, and police.
• Get SMART (Social Media Awareness and Resilience Training) Project Peer-led project on social media safety and radicalisation awareness for young people with learning disabilities and autism, funded by ISD and Google.org, with resources for peer education and professional workshops.

Quantifiable outcome

• Active Support project reduced behaviour that challenges, developed new skills, and improved health outcomes including weight loss, mental health improvement, and reduction in alcohol intake and smoking
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Learning Disability EnglandcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Co-produced the Our Social Lives peer research project (2024/25), a co-produced research initiative involving people with learning disabilities as steering group members and peer researchers. Findings include resources on friendships, transport, money, skills, safety, and employment.
• ParadigmcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Co-produced the Our Social Lives peer research project alongside ARC England and Learning Disability England, focusing on social lives of people with learning disabilities and autistic people in England.
• Manchester Metropolitan UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Academic partner for Get SMART (Social Media Awareness and Resilience Training) project evaluation, providing robust academic evaluation to capture evidence of impact and importance of the work.
• PETROC CollegeminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Education partner for Get SMART project, working alongside ARC England and Brook Green Centre for Learning in Plymouth to support young people with learning disabilities.
• JUMPCutsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCreative partner providing Shaun's Story film and other media resources for Safety Net project on mate crime and hate crime awareness for people with learning disabilities.
• Care Provider AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerActive participant in the Care Provider Alliance, working with other sector bodies to address key sector challenges and influence government policy.
• City and GuildscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerARC England is a City and Guilds approved Qualifications Centre, providing health and social care qualifications in England and Wales, with information sharing with SQA for Scotland.
• Brook Green Centre for LearningminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducation partner in Plymouth for Get SMART project, supporting young people with learning disabilities to learn about staying safe on social media.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• VODG (Voluntary Organisations Disability Group): VODG is a UK membership body for voluntary sector disability organisations, offering policy representation, workforce support, training and events. Highly comparable to ARC England as a peer membership association serving disability providers across similar functions.
• National Care Forum: National Care Forum is a membership association for not-for-profit health and social care providers in the UK. Comparable to ARC England as a membership-led body representing care providers, with policy influence and member services.
• Care Provider Alliance: Care Provider Alliance is a coalition of adult social care provider representative bodies, active in policy and representation. ARC England is a member and active participant, making it a comparable peer in the membership/representation space.

Broad incumbents

• Skills for Care: Skills for Care is the strategic workforce development body for adult social care in England, funded by DHSC. Comparable to ARC England as a sector skills/training and policy body, but operates at much larger scale across the full adult social care workforce.
• National Autistic Society: The National Autistic Society is the UK's largest autism charity providing information, support, training, and advocacy. Comparable to ARC England on the autism side of its mission, but operates at much larger scale and broader scope.
• Mencap: Mencap is one of the UK's largest learning disability charities, providing direct services, advocacy, training and policy representation. Comparable to ARC England in sector positioning but far larger, with both provider and advocacy roles.

Emerging players

• Learning Disability England: Learning Disability England is a membership charity led by people with learning disabilities, their families and allies. Directly comparable to ARC England's learning disability focus, and ARC England's actual project partner on Our Social Lives, making it a strong peer.
• United Response: United Response is a national disability charity providing person-centred support for people with learning disabilities and autism. Comparable to ARC England as a learning disability/autism provider, though operating as a direct service provider rather than membership body.

Regional players

• ARC Scotland: ARC Scotland is the sister organisation of ARC England, serving learning disability and autism providers in Scotland. Highly comparable as a peer membership body with identical remit, but operates in a different UK nation.
• ARC Northern Ireland: ARC Northern Ireland is the sister organisation of ARC England serving learning disability and autism providers in Northern Ireland. Directly comparable peer operating in a different UK jurisdiction.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCt0-q80ks-pqhZCUnS3dhPg/videos
• Facebookfacebook.com/arcuk.org
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/arc-england

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ARC England; Association for Real Change