The window for all registered social workers to apply to renew their registration and submit their continuing professional development (CPD) record is open.
It is recommended that you take time to record and reflect on your learning, which you are able to save on the Research in Practice website.
However in order to continue to practice you need to complete a renewal application online and submit at least two pieces of CPD to your Social Work England record ahead of the deadline on 30 November.
Research in Practice has a dedicated CPD page to support you in your renewal. This includes video guidance on saving reflections to the Research in Practice website, a Practice Guide for social workers completing their CPD record and podcasts with Social Work England.
Listen to a short audio clip where Kate Metcalf, Regional Engagement Lead at Social Work England, talks about the 'golden rules' of CPD.
You can also attend one of our short events.
Join this interactive webinar for support with recording your CPD as part of registration with Social Work England. This will support you to reflect on your approaches to learning, understand Social Work England’s requirements and explore ways of writing about learning reflectively.
Join this interactive session for an opportunity to reflect on your learning with other practitioners, and for support with recording this reflection as part of Social Work England registration.
Recording CPD
When completing your record it is important to align your reflections with Social Work England’s professional standard relating to CPD (standard 4). In a short open access video Matthew Devlin, Regional Engagement Lead at Social Work England outlines the standard and how it relates to CPD.
Social workers need to record and submit at least two pieces of CPD to their online Social Work England account.
At least one of the pieces of CPD should include peer reflection. Social workers need to describe what they have learnt from discussing CPD with another professional. This could be:
- informal conversations with colleagues in the office
- supervision with a manager
- group supervision
- reflective team meetings
- discussion groups as part of an event.
Social workers should reflect on the impact that this conversation has had on their practice. It should be about the CPD activity they have described in the rest of the form, and all peer reflection should be anonymised.
Record and submit pieces of CPD on the Social Work England website. On the form, there is a series of guiding questions to support your reflection. You will need to answer:
- The type of CPD you are reflecting on
- A short description of the activity and why it is relevent to you
- The date
- What you learnt from doing the activity
- The positive impact that the activity has had (or will have) on your practice and the people you work with
In at least one of the pieces you will also need to describe what you have learnt from discussing the activity with a peer.
Anyone with a Research in Practice account is able to keep a record of their ongoing learning. You can reflect and record your thoughts using the CPD button on each page, as well as bookmarking and sharing resources with colleagues.
Review your reflections in ‘Your CPD’, which you can use to help you when recording your CPD on the Social Work England website.
Our video provides a short overview of how you can record your CPD on our website.
