Social Work CPD: do’s and don’ts

While the Social Work England CPD deadline (30th November) may feel like quite a while away, it will roll around quicker than you think! Today, we’re sharing some key do’s and don’ts for completing your social work CPD, as well as offering a reminder on what counts as a CPD contribution…

Do:

  • Provide detailed and thoughtful CPD entries which clearly state what you did, why it was relevant to your role and how it will inform future practice/what you learned as a result 
  • Record your CPD entries on a separate document before uploading so you don’t lose your work
  • Anonymise your CPD examples
  • Take a ‘little and often’ approach to CPD 

Don’t:

  • Be vague in your description e.g. forget to include your learnings from the chosen CPD activity 
  • Upload your CPD examples straight onto the SWE website
  • Include personal details such as names of service users in your CPD 
  • Leave all your CPD until the last minute 

CPD ideas

  • Read a journal article – Choose a topic that is most relevant to your role and write down what you learned from the literature and how you will apply it to future practice. 
  • Listen to a podcast – Make note of which area of social work the podcast focused on and how it will impact your work with service users. 
  • Reflecting on a piece of feedback you have received – Whether the feedback was negative or positive, take the time to ask yourself: What went well? What didn’t go so wrong? Why? What could be improved? 
  • Shadowing – A great way to grow in your social work career is to observe others. Ask a colleague if you can shadow them for the day so you can gain insight into how they carry out day-to-day responsibilities. We recommend making notes throughout so you can revisit them at the end of the day and reflect on what you’ve learned/how these learnings have informed your practice. 
  • Workshops – Attending or running a workshop demonstrates that you are actively open to learning and developing your social work skills. Again, ensure that you write a detailed description of the session(s) and key learnings. 
  • Mentoring – New colleague on board? Why not offer to mentor them? This is a fantastic idea as both of you can use it as CPD experience, and even better, both of you will gain new skills!

We hope you found this blog of use – don’t forget to share it with your colleagues! If you’re interested in finding a new social work role, give the Social Personnel team a call on 0203 8929 340 today.

carlette Isaac

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