Learning together: Supporting CPD in Tameside Council

As registered social workers and part of the Safeguarding, Quality and Practice Team at Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council, we understand the importance of continuing professional development (CPD). However, it can be difficult for social workers to find the time to undertake this crucial task. 

In 2023, as we approached the window for Social Work England registration and renewal, Laura had the idea to start a CPD club for social workers. The aim of the club would be to support our staff to complete their CPD to high standard. 

We decided to run sessions in September, October and November with a maximum of ten participants. Each session focussed on using a different type of resource, discussing Case Law and Legal Summaries, briefings, and the film Marvellous.  

The most successful session used Research in Practice Case Law and Legal Summaries. To prepare for this, we looked through recent summaries to find examples that would be interesting and relevant to the practitioners we knew would be attending. We then printed out the summary, and a copy of the full text of the Judgment. 

A summary that we found particularly useful explored court decisions around a woman re-gaining mental capacity. The judge found that the expert assessing capacity was able to gain vital evidence by speaking to the person’s social worker. The group found this one particularly interesting because it recognises a social worker’s expertise and emphasises the need to ‘triangulate’ evidence in difficult capacity assessments, and not just repeatedly interview the person!

One of the aims of the session was to enable people to capture the peer reflection that is required to be recorded in at least one piece of CPD. To support this, we organised an exercise that aimed to facilitate discussion in the group. We prepared A3 boards with the relevant CPD standards written on them, asking participants to add their reflections and comments on post-it notes under each standard heading. At the end of the session, we photographed the boards and shared them with the participants so that they could be uploaded to their Social Work England CPD record as a supporting document, or used as a reminder in their practice.

Working in a group – as part of peer reflection or supervision - can provide the opportunity to share knowledge, ideas, and experiences, address challenges, and support professional development. Group supervision is explored in more depth in the new open access Research in Practice Reflective supervision: Learning Hub. It contains practical ideas and tips, exploring different models for group supervision, including intervision.

At the end of the session, we set aside some time for everyone to record their CPD. We recognise that people often end up completing CPD in their own time when they might have done the actual activity during working hours. 

All attendees who provided feedback said that they found the session useful and that they would attend again. 

It can sometimes be difficult to take the time to undertake CPD. Setting aside dedicated time as part of a group has emphasised how important it is to work together to learn and develop in our roles.