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.
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.