+
Continuous
Professional
Development for
Social Care Workers
Catherine Byrne
CPD Officer, Social Care
+
What is Continuous Professional
Development???
+
Continuous Professional
Development

CPD is defined as:
“the means by which health and social care professionals
maintain and improve their knowledge, skills and
competence, and develop the professional qualities required
throughout their professional life”
CORU, 2013
CPD is any activity where an individual learns new skills or
knowledge relevant to their professional role.
+
Types of CPD Activities

On the Job Learning

Incident Reviews

Peer Discussions/ Team
Meetings

Coaching/ Mentoring

Active Involvement in
Professional Body

Personal Learning Journals

Supervision


Inter-professional Meetings or
Consultation
Research, publication or
presentations

Involvement in new work (e.g.
deliver new training, develop
organisational policy or
review)

And many others……

Courses, workshops or
conferences

Reading Journal Articles
+
Why engage in CPD?
+
Benefits of CPD
Individual

Promotes Lifelong learning

Increased Job satisfaction
Organisation

High quality, best practice
based service

Development of an
accountable, flexible & skilled
workforce

Improves confidence,
knowledge & enhances skills

Enhances Career
Opportunities

Improves Staff motivation and
morale

Provides structure and support
to meet professional goals

Quality Assurance
+
CPD CYCLE
Understanding the Process
+
CPD Cycle
Review
Demonstrate
Reflect
Implement
(Adapted from Kolb's Learning Cycle)
Plan
+
Review of CPD Needs

Individual Reflection on practice to assess
knowledge and skills.

Can be carried out with a manager, supervisor or colleagues (e.g.
performance review, annual review).

May include reviewing job description, key objectives, work
plans, services strategies, departmental reviews etc.

Identify what your priority learning needs are!!

Record these needs on a Personal Development Plan or Personal
Learning Plan .
+
Plan for CPD
“Don't wait for your ship to come in, swim out to it.”
― Cathy Hopkins

Once your priority learning needs are identified consider
how best to meet them (e.g. supervision, consultation etc.)

Set a timeline – A CPD cycle will run for two years

Remember Learning can happen at any time. It can be planned or
unplanned. The important thing is to include unplanned learning into your
portfolio!!
+
Implement your plan

Take action!!

Reflect on your learning

What knowledge or skills have I learnt?

Did this meet my learning need? If not, how do I meet my
learning need?

How can I incorporate this learning into my practice?

Has this raised any further learning needs?
+
Demonstrate CPD

A CPD Portfolio refers to a method of recording your CPD
activities

It will include record of;





Professional Role & practice setting
Personal Learning Plan
CPD Log - record of CPD activities
Evidence of CPD engagement (e.g. certificate of attendance at a
course, supervisors signature of supervision received etc.)
Reflective Practice Worksheets

Registration Board may request CPD Portfolio as part of their
audit process to ensure fitness to practice
+
Reflective Practice

There are various definitions but
simply it is the process by which you
stop & think about your practice,
consciously analyse your decision
making and draw on theory and relate
it to your practice (CSP, 2013)

Reflection should happen at all stages
of CPD cycle.

It allows us to understand our learning
needs, consider what learning has
been and how to incorporate this
learning into practice!!
+
REGISTRATION & CPD
CORU Framework for Continuous Professional Development
+
CORU – National Regulatory Body

CORU is the body responsible for regulating Health and
Social Care Professions (HSCP).

Established under the Health & Social Care Act (2005) the
overall role of CORU is to protect the public by promoting
high standards of professional conduct, professional
education, training and competence amongst HSCP.

Comprises of HSCP Council & 12 Registration Boards

Currently 5 Boards have been established. Social Workers
and Radiographers registration has opened.
+
Responsibility of Registration
Boards
The Registration Board is responsible for:

Establishing and maintaining the Register of members for
that profession

Recognising qualifications gained outside the State

Approving and monitoring education and training
programmes for entry to the register

Setting the code of professional conduct and ethics
giving guidance to professionals on continuing
professional development
+
Registration Process

If you wish to practice using the title of “Social Care Worker”
you will be required to register with Social Care Workers
Registration Board.

This will be a Protected Title meaning it is an offense to use
this title unless registered

To be entitled to apply to register an individual must;





Meet minimum educational qualifications or;
Prove competency to work in sector (only available during grand
parenting period)
Demonstrate you are fit & proper to practice
Be engaged in practice of your profession
Be garda vetted
+
Registration & CPD

The Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics adopted by
each Registration Board requires that registrants must keep
their professional knowledge and skills up to date, of a high
quality and relevant to their practice.

The Code requires that registrants take part in CPD on an
ongoing basis, to maintain records of the CPD activity and
comply with registration boards requirements.
+
What this means for you??

The professional has an onus of responsibility to engage in
CPD

Registration Board Requirements – 60 credits over two year
CPD cycle (may be subject to change)

1 credit equals approx. 1 hour of learning

Must maintain a record of CPD activities (i.e. CPD Portfolio)

Provide evidence of CPD (i.e. CPD Portfolio) if audited by
registration board to prove fitness to practice
+
Social Care Workers & CPD

You are well placed to engage in CPD due to the nature of
our work.

Social Care Workers are doing it anyway! The only thing that
will change is the need to record your learning.

Registration & CPD will build recognition of Social Care Work
& the work you do!

CPD provides the opportunity to continue to learn & to
enhance our practice which ultimately helps service users
we work with.
+
Irish Association of Social
Care Workers
Professional Representative Body for Social Care Workers
+
Irish Association of Social Care
Workers/ Social Care Ireland

Professional Body of Social Care Workers

Social Care Ireland is the umbrella body for workers
(IASCW), managers (IASCM) & educators (IASCE)

This aims to strengthen the voice of Social Care Workers and
will bring practice and education closer together

Membership details for IASCW are available on
www.iascw.ie and www.socialcareireland.ie
+
Contact Details
Catherine Byrne
P15, Floor 4
Dublin Institute of Technology
40 – 45 Mountjoy Square
Dublin 1
(01) 4024160
(087) 7463926
[email protected]
+
Further Resources

www.socialcareireland.ie

www.coru.ie

www.HseLand.ie

Irish Journal of Applied Social Care http://arrow.dit.ie/ijass/