How to record CPD

Introduction

This video is a guide to recording CPD in your Social Work England online account. It has been updated for 2023.

This year, to meet the CPD requirements, you must record a minimum of 2 different pieces of continuing professional development (CPD). You must include a peer reflection with at least one of these pieces of CPD. 

To record CPD, go to socialworkengland.org.uk and log in to your online account using your email address and password.

If you haven’t recorded diversity data with us previously, we’d like to ask you some equality and diversity questions. The data you provide will help us better understand the social work register and to ensure our processes are fair.

Providing your diversity data should take around 3 to 5 minutes. It will not be used to make a decision about your renewal application.

You do not have to answer every question. It is up to you what questions you answer, if any. You can change your diversity data at any time on your online account. You can also save and return later.

On your online account overview, select ‘record CPD’ under the section ‘Your CPD.’ This will take you to your CPD overview. To record a piece of CPD, select ‘record new CPD.’

Read the information on the start page. There are a few things to remember as you fill in the form:

• Some questions are marked with the word ‘required.’ You must answer all required questions to submit your CPD.
• If you want to come back and finish your CPD another time, you can save a draft. Simply select the ‘save draft and exit’ button.
• For security reasons, the system will log you out after 60 minutes. To avoid losing any unsaved we recommend that you record your CPD in a different document first, then copy and paste it into the online form.
• All text boxes have minimum and maximum word limits. The form will tell you if you have done too few or too many words. You will not be able to submit your CPD record until you have corrected this. Each question also has a suggestion of how many words to write.
• Make sure you anonymise your CPD. It should not include any personal data or information about anyone you support or work with.

When you’re ready, select ‘start now. ’This will take you to the CPD form.

The CPD form

First, select a type of CPD from the drop-down list, such as ‘on the job learning or experience’ or ‘self-directed learning’. Choose the CPD type which you feel best describes the CPD you have done. You can also select ‘other’ and provide a short description.

Next, write a short description of your CPD activity and why it’s relevant to you. For example, ‘I listened to a podcast about how new legislation in social care is affecting the way my service is delivered as a children’s social worker.’

Next, record the date of the CPD activity. If the CPD activity was longer than one day, put the last day. Your CPD must have taken place in the current registration year (between 1 December 2022 and 30 November 2023) to be valid for registration renewal. The system will not allow you to record a date outside of this range.

Next, describe what you have learnt from doing this CPD activity. You may want to refer to the CPD standard when answering this question. For example, you could write about how the CPD activity contributed to an open learning culture (standard 4.5) or kept your practice up to date (standard 4.3).

Next, reflect on and describe the positive impact the CPD activity has had (or will have) on your practice and the people you work with.

This could be people with lived experience of social work, colleagues, or students. If you're not currently working, or not in direct practice, you could think about how your CPD activity might benefit people you come into contact with, or the profession as a whole. You can also think ahead to how your learning might benefit people in the future, for example when you return to work.

At this point, you can choose to record a peer reflection, or finish your CPD. If you do not plan to record a peer reflection, skip ahead to the ‘CPD standard and checklist’ section of this video.

Peer reflection

Recording a peer reflection is optional for each piece of CPD, but you must record at least one piece of CPD with a peer reflection during the registration year.

There is one additional question to answer if you want to record a peer reflection: ‘describe what you have learnt from discussing this CPD activity with a peer.’ The form contains some information about what you should include in a peer reflection, as well as a short list describing who counts as a peer. You can also view a longer list of professionals who count as peers. Please note this list is not exhaustive, and you may choose to reflect with a professional not included on this list.

The most important thing is that the professional has knowledge of your social work practice. You do not need to tell us the name of the person you have discussed your CPD with.

Once you have recorded your peer reflection, you can move on to the CPD standard and checklist.

CPD standard and checklist

Once you’ve finished recording your CPD, you should tick which parts of the CPD standard you have met by doing this activity. Standard 4.6, reflection, and 4.7, recording, are pre-selected, because you meet these standards by reflecting and recording CPD.

You also have the option to upload additional reflections if you wish. You can use this to upload an attachment of any additional reflections, for example, if your organisation uses its own CPD forms. Accepted file types include Word, PDF, Notepad, Word pad and Open office files. Please do not upload evidence of your CPD activity, such as correspondence or certificates, as this is not required. If you are including a peer reflection, you must write about it in the peer reflection box. Attaching a document with a peer reflection will not be accepted.

Finally, tick the boxes on the checklist to confirm that you have provided a description of what you have learnt, reflected on and described the positive impact of the CPD, and not included any personal information about anyone.

Review and submit

When you’re ready to review and submit your CPD, select ‘continue.’ You will then be taken to the ‘review and submit’ screen, which shows an overview of the CPD you have recorded. If you want to change anything in your CPD record before you submit, select ‘edit details.’ Otherwise, select ‘submit CPD.’

You have now submitted your CPD. You can log back in and edit your submitted CPD at any time, for example, if you want to add a peer reflection at a later date.

Remember to record a minimum of 2 pieces of CPD, including at least one piece with a peer reflection, by 30 November, to ensure you can renew your social work registration.

Be sure to follow us on social media for regular updates, and make use of our website, which contains a number of different resources to help you record CPD.

Contact information:

Website: https://www.socialworkengland.org.uk

Enquiries email: [email protected]

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SocialWorkEng

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/social-work-england/