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Continuous Professional Development
"All of the top achievers I know are life-long learners... Looking for new skills, insights, and ideas. If they're not learning, they're not growing... not moving toward excellence."
Denis E. Waitley
Continuous Professional Development (CPD) is now an essential component of working in the social services sector. Every three years, those registered with the SSSC will be required to show they have undertaken Continuing Professional Development in order to remain on the register. The level of CPD required varies according to your level of responsibility.
CPD focuses on the development of knowledge and understanding for effective practice. It could include academic and practice development such as completing a professional development award or SVQ, or it could equally involve informal learning and learning and development in the workplace such as shadowing or completing an in-house course. In essence, CPD is any development which contributes directly to improving the quality of care received by service users.
In this section we will outline the various different tools to help you on your way with CPD and discuss how other organisations have approached CPD.