Continuing professional development (CPD)
Take action to work on time constraints
A lack of time is the main issue for practitioners undertaking Continuing Professional Development (CPD). Stress and heavy workloads make it worse. Frontline service and resource limits often come first. Only a few practitioners have their workloads covered while they are at training. They usually just do the minimum CPD needed for renewal of professional registration and work often disrupts this.
This leads to missed opportunities or cancellations due to work crises. Social workers can face challenges from family duties and need fewer distractions to concentrate. Offering flexible CPD options can help. Practitioners can struggle to find time to reflect and document their learning. Quick reflections might lower the quality of their evidence.
It's crucial to reduce workloads for CPD success. Ideally, activities should be during work hours. If practitioners train on days off, they should get time off later. Efforts should be made to ensure this time off is used.
CPD is a long-term investment
Leaders might find initiatives costly, especially those with external training, materials, or work time.
Organisations often prioritise short-term financial goals over investing in employee growth. Leaders also feel pressured to show economic value, prioritising this over the quality of learning.
To address economic pressures, organisations can emphasise the long-term benefits of CPD. These include improved employee performance, retention and organisational effectiveness.
You should develop strategies to measure return on investment. These include tracking improvements in employee performance, job satisfaction and retention rates. Implement cost-effective options such as:
- internal training programmes
- mentorship schemes
- online learning platforms
- small ‘bite-size’ learning opportunities
- mechanisms for enhancing reflective practice
- peer-to-peer learning
Encourage learning and development by investing in employee growth, even during economic challenges if possible. Encourage employers and employees to collaborate. They should find opportunities that benefit both personal career goals and the organisation.
Organisations should encourage CPD to develop employee growth
CPD should tackle current challenges, making it practical for practitioners. Research by Social Work England shows that some practitioners see CPD as just a formality. It might not always lead to meaningful learning. A supportive workplace culture is crucial for effective CPD. Practitioners find handouts and resources helpful in assessing CPD's value.
Following communities of practice principles can enhance professional development. Use the reference section to find out more about this approach, which concentrates on strengths and active participation. Practitioners value CPD but need support. Social Work England suggests that practitioners should explore their learning needs with peers and managers.
A gap exists between expected and provided CPD, and this shows the need for practitioner input. The study, Enhancing Wellbeing in Social Work Students: Building Resilience in the Next Generation explores practitioners’ opinions of CPD. It found that practitioners valued:
- on-the-job training
- job rotations
- shadowing
- peer-to-peer coaching
Nearly half of the survey group (48%) wanted more training in emotional resilience and mental health. They sought help to handle job pressures.
The research also found a demand for practical sessions, reflection, and cost-effective knowledge-sharing among colleagues. Studies highlight the advantages of in-person professional development. They stress the importance of networking.
Learning from peer feedback is valuable. New professionals also want to learn about racism and anti-racist practices. CPD should be high quality, up-to-date, and taught by engaging experts. Research helps employers choose education topics that meet practitioners' needs. Leaders should involve practitioners in developing and assessing CPD. They should include people from various backgrounds, fields, and experience levels. Employer standard 5: Supervision offers more insights on using co-design to drive change.
Show flexibility in how your organisation offers CPD
CPD events that only offer in-person or fixed-time options can exclude busy people or those managing work crises. To solve this, organisations should provide flexible learning. This includes online courses, self-paced modules, webinars, short podcasts, and recorded sessions.
Offering various activities throughout the year is important. It ensures continuous learning and aids those struggling to meet yearly requirements. It's also vital to clarify CPD's scope. It's not just about training or attending events. As Social Work England notes, CPD covers anything that supports a practitioner's growth and work. Important learning is gained through a variety of informal mechanisms, such as:
- listening to podcasts
- reading relevant articles and research
- discussions with colleagues
- supporting research and resources peer reviews to build policy and knowledge of current issues
- reflecting on values and ethics that influence practice
Create a culture that values learning and development
Many practitioners want more support and encouragement to engage in CPD. Some argue that participation's success depends on attitudes. It depends as much on managers and team culture as on workers. Managers can provide guidance, resources and encouragement to help professional growth. This may include working with practitioners to:
- identify relevant learning opportunities
- allocate time and resources for CPD activities
- offer mentorship or coaching
- provide constructive feedback on progress
Managers can help create a culture that values learning and development. In this culture, employees feel motivated to engage in CPD. Time to engage in CPD is vital for everyone. Newly qualified workers often seek more professional development. Conversely, experienced staff might not.
Experts might feel their workplace lacks development support. This is more critical for new workers with limited time and money. Organisations might concentrate on learning that suits their goals. They might ignore personal growth areas. This can lead to disengagement. Employers want professional growth but may worry about ideas conflicting with rules.
Reduce resistance to change by showing the benefits of CPD
Organisations may resist new ideas, fearing disruptions to established processes or routines. This can stifle innovation and hinder organisational growth. Many factors contribute to this. Practitioners might feel they know enough and are good at what they do. They might not want to spend time and effort learning new things.
Worries about being unable to grasp new concepts or technologies could lead to fear of failure. Employees might also see CPD as a challenge to their professional identity. They connect their competence with their current skills and knowledge. Encouraging change needs proactive communication, including:
- providing a clear rationale for the need for development
- illustrating the benefits
- offering support and resources
- building a culture that prioritises continuous learning and growth
Involving practitioners in designing and doing CPD can improve buy-in. It can also reduce resistance.
Create effective measurement processes
Measuring the impact and effectiveness of CPD initiatives is challenging. Put effective evaluation mechanisms in place to justify continued investment. Use a range of metrics and include practitioners in the co-design of evaluation mechanisms. This is essential to assess and improve CPD opportunities.
References
This is the list of research and evidence sources used to produce this section. Publicly available links are included.
Asano, T. (2015). Professional learning as a way of being a social worker. [PhD thesis, University of York]. White Rose eTheses Online.
Beddoe, L., & Duke, J. (2013). Continuing professional development of registered social workers in New Zealand. Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work, 25(3), 35-49.
Cane, T. C., & Tedam, P. (2023). "We didn’t learn enough about racism and anti-racist practice": Newly qualified social workers’ challenge in wrestling racism. Social Work Education, 42(8), 1563-1585.
Ceatha, N. (2018). Using Communities of Practice to deliver Continuous Professional Development for Social Workers in Ireland. ResearchGate.
Community Care. (2019). Less than one in ten social workers have workload covered when they do training, survey finds. Community Care.
Community Care. (2023). Quality of social work CPD ‘much higher’ than in previous year. Community Care.
Cooper, B., & Rixon, A. (2001). Integrating post-qualification study into the workplace: The candidates' experience. Social Work Education, 20(6), 701-716.
Kroll, B. (2004). The challenge of post qualifying child care award teaching: Reflexivity and the role of books and biscuits. Social Work Education, 23(6), 653-666.
Latifi, S., Noroozi, O., & Talaee, E. (2021). Peer feedback or peer feedforward? Enhancing students’ argumentative peer learning processes and outcomes. British Journal of Educational Technology, 52(2), 768-784.
Mitchell, C. (2001). Partnership for continuing professional development: The impact of the Post Qualifying Award for Social Workers (PQSW) on social work practice. Social Work Education, 20(4), 433-445.
Moore, T. (2020). The emotional experience of continuing professional development for social workers (Unpublished doctoral thesis). Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust.
Social Work Reform Board. (2010). Building a safe and confident future.
The resources have been developed by
Research in Practice
in collaboration with
DfE.
Published: 30 October 2024
Last updated: 30 October 2024
Published: 30 October 2024
Last updated: 30 October 2024