How to renew your registration video transcript
How to renew your registration
Introduction
This video is a walkthrough for social workers, demonstrating how to apply to renew your registration with Social Work England.
All social workers who wish to remain on the register must apply to renew between 1 September and 30 November each year. You can use this video as a guide to help you complete the registration renewal application.
Video walkthrough
Getting started
Go to ‘My account’ on the Social Work England website and log in using your email address and password. You will be taken to your online account overview. Select ‘Apply to renew your registration’ in the section ‘Annual renewal is now open.’
Read the information before you start the renewal application. To meet our renewal requirements, you must have recorded CPD on your online account by 30 November. If you have not recorded any CPD on your account, you can do this during renewal or after submitting.
Here are some other points to consider before you start:
- Renewing should take about 20 to 30 minutes; but will take longer if you record CPD.
- If you need to take a break, you can save your progress and return later.
- If you do not pay your fees by Direct Debit, have your card details ready to pay your registration fee.
- Have your current and previous employment details available. You will be asked to provide details of your employment as a social worker for the past 12 months.
- We may ask for documents to evidence some changes to the information we have about you. This could be because you've changed your name, or if there's been a change in your circumstances.
- Please don’t delay; we recommend renewing well in advance of the 30 November deadline.
When you’re ready to start your application, select ‘Start Now.’
First, check that your details are correct. Edit any details that are not up to date by selecting ‘Edit details.’ Add any missing information by selecting the highlighted issue, then tick ‘Yes, the above details are correct.’
You can save and exit at any point during your renewal application and return to it later. Select ‘save and exit’ on the left side of the screen.
Otherwise, select ‘Save and continue’ to move on to the next step - employment details.
Employment details
Next, check or provide details of your employment for the past 12 months, including outside of the UK. Add your current or most recent employment first. We need your employment details to secure public protection, including to investigate any concerns raised.
The form has a new field, ‘type of social work’, which you will need to complete before continuing. The system will alert you to this.
To provide this new information, select your employer, complete the ‘type of social work’ field, check all your information is correct, and save.
If your employment details have changed, for example if you have a new job, select ‘add employment’ to add a new employer.
If you want to give us more information about your current situation, including if you're currently unemployed, please add it here.
Make sure we have all the necessary details for your employer or employers. When you’re happy that you have all the correct information, tick ‘yes, the above is correct.’ Select ‘Save and continue’ to move on to the next step – other regulators.
Other regulators
If you are currently registered with another social work or healthcare regulator, either in the UK or overseas, please provide details. If you are not registered with any other regulators, just confirm that this is correct to continue to the next step. Do not add Social Work England in this section – only add any other regulators, such as those in other countries.
Make sure we have all the necessary details for your registration with another regulator, then tick ‘Yes, the above is correct.’ Select ‘Save and continue’ to move on to the next step - professional standards.
Professional standards
Review the professional standards and tick the declaration to confirm that you have read and understood them, and that you will continue to meet them. Select ‘Save and continue’ to move on to the next step – CPD.
Continuing professional development (CPD)
If you have not recorded any CPD on your online account, you will have the option to record CPD now, or after submitting your application.
If you choose to record CPD now, your application progress will be saved, and you will be taken to your online account.
If you change your mind, you can return to your renewal application via the link ‘Return to your renewal application’ which you can find at the top and bottom of the CPD overview.
When recording CPD during the renewal process, please note you cannot use the ‘save as a draft’ functionality – you may wish to type up your CPD in a different document first. Select ‘Submit CPD’ at the end of the form to mark as complete.
When you have recorded CPD, you can return to your application via the link ‘Return to your renewal application.’ When you return, the CPD screen will now show that you have recorded CPD.
Watch our CPD video for more help on how to record CPD.
If you want to skip this step and record CPD after you have submitted your renewal, you must tick the declaration ‘I want to continue without recording CPD now and I understand that I need to record CPD before 30 November’ and remember to record before the deadline.
Safe and effective practice
The next step is safe and effective practice. We need to know that people on our register are able to fulfil their role as a social worker safely and effectively. Any safe and effective practice declarations previously made do not need to be made again. You must tell us about any convictions, penalty notices or cautions you have not already declared. You should include convictions received outside England and Wales, which, if committed in England and Wales, would constitute an offence.
We then need to know if your fitness to practise has been found to be impaired by any regulatory body. This includes regulators outside of the social work profession. You do not need to tell us about any fitness to practice cases you may have been involved with through us or the HCPC.
Next, you need to tell us if there have been any changes to your circumstances that bar you from working with vulnerable groups. The page details what this includes.
Next, you need to tell us about any new health conditions. Our focus is whether there is something that might adversely affect your practice; you don’t need to tell us about health conditions you are managing effectively.
If you answer ‘yes' to a question about your safe and effective practice, you will be asked to provide further information.
Next, you will pay your registration fee.
Registration fee
You can either pay in full by card, or set up a Direct Debit if you do not already have one. Please note, if you apply to renew after 24 September, the only option will be to pay in full, because the deadline to change or set up a Direct Debit will have passed.
If you choose to pay in full by card, you will be taken to GOV.Pay to make the payment of £90.
Enter your card and billing details to complete the payment on GOV.Pay.
Select ‘Continue’, make sure your information is correct, then select ‘confirm payment.’ You will then be taken back to your renewal application, which will confirm the payment has been made.
Review and submit
Next, review the information you have provided in your renewal application and then select ‘Save and continue’. If you need to make any changes, select ‘Edit details’ in the relevant section.
Next, read and tick each declaration and then select ‘Submit renewal application’. You have now submitted your application to renew your registration. Make a note of your reference number, starting RN.
If you have completed all 3 parts of the renewal application, you will see a confirmation screen. This will explain what happens next.
We will send a message to the inbox on your online account to confirm that we have received your application.
You can check the status of your renewal application on your online account in the section ‘Annual renewal is now open’. If there are still parts of the process you need to complete, you will see 3 cards. The 3 cards will tell you if you have submitted your application or if it is still in progress, whether or not you have paid, and whether or not you still need to record CPD.
If you need more help
If you need more help, or have any problems, you can use our online support guide. Simply go to the bottom of any page on the Social Work England website and select ‘online account guide.’
You can also find more information on our website. Visit the ‘registration’ section and select ‘apply to renew your registration’ for further guidance and answers to common questions.
If you have any other questions about the renewal process, email our registration and advice team at [email protected]. Please include screenshots when emailing us, to help us identify and solve the problem.
Thank you
We will be in contact after 30 November to confirm your registration status. You can check the status of your registration at any time by searching the online register. Thank you for applying to renew; we look forward to the next year of being your regulator.