CPD requirements by profession

Social Work England CPD requirements for social workers

Last reviewed 25 October 2026

If you are hunting for the number of CPD hours Social Work England requires, there isn’t one. The scheme counts pieces of CPD and the reflection behind them, not time — which means a strong CPD year is defined by what your learning changed, not by how many hours you can total up.

Pieces of CPD, not hours

The requirement is deliberately light on quantity and heavy on reflection. For the current (2026–27) registration year it is:

Two pieces sounds modest, and in volume it is. The work is in the reflection: each piece has to show what you learned and how it relates to your practice, and one of them has to carry a peer’s perspective as well as your own. The CPD you record must have been done during the current registration year to count towards renewal.

The peer reflection

This is the element that most distinguishes the Social Work England scheme, and the one people leave too late. At least one piece of your recorded CPD must include a peer reflection: you discuss that learning with a peer — a colleague, manager, or another professional whose view is relevant — and record their perspective alongside your own reflection. It is a required part of the record, not an optional extra, and because it depends on someone else’s time it is the component least suited to a last-minute scramble in November.

Who has to record CPD

The requirement applies to all registered social workers in England — including those not currently working, those in non-caseholding roles, and overseas registrants. If you are on the register, the obligation applies, regardless of whether you are practising. Recording is done through your Social Work England online account; there is no paper route.

Why “pieces plus reflection” is about quality, not volume

A scheme that asked for a fixed number of hours could be satisfied by attendance. An outcomes-based one cannot: two pieces of genuinely reflective CPD will meet the requirement, while a stack of certificates with no reflection will not. The practical consequence is that the quality of the learning matters far more than its length. A focused session with clear learning outcomes gives you something specific to reflect against; a long but vague update often produces activity you struggle to turn into a meaningful record at all.

Where CPD accreditation fits — and where it doesn't

This is the part most training providers get wrong, so it is worth being blunt about it.

Social Work England does not approve, endorse or pre-authorise external CPD providers or courses. Neither we nor any other CPD accreditation body can make a course “Social Work England approved”. Any provider telling you otherwise is overstating what they hold, and registrants who repeat that claim in a record are the ones exposed if it is questioned.

What independent accreditation actually does is narrower and more useful: it gives you evidence that the learning was assessed against a published standard, with stated outcomes, a justified hour claim, and a certificate anyone can check. If your CPD is selected for Social Work England’s annual review, that evidence is what turns “I did a course” into something defensible — and it gives you solid material to reflect, and to reflect with a peer, against.

An AssuredCPD-accredited course carries stated learning outcomes, a CPD-hour figure assessed as proportionate rather than self-declared, and a unique verification code. We are explicit in our own rules about what providers may and may not claim — see what you can and can't claim once a course is CPD accredited.

What to look for in a course

Whatever body you report to, the same four questions separate learning that will stand up from learning that won't:

• Are the learning outcomes written down? You cannot reflect on what a course changed if it never said what it intended to teach — and reflection is the whole requirement here.
• Is the hour claim justified, or just asserted? An inflated figure is the single most common reason a course fails our assessment, and it is the figure you will be putting your name to.
• Was anything actually assessed? A completion certificate for watching a video is not evidence of learning.
• Can the certificate be checked by someone else? A PDF proves nothing on its own. A reference a third party can verify does.

Under Social Work England’s scheme the first question does most of the work: a course that states what it intends to teach gives you something concrete to reflect on — by yourself and with a peer — while one that does not leaves you with activity but little to record.

How the UK bodies compare

CPD requirements are set independently by each body, and they differ far more than most people expect. Across the thirteen below, several set no hours target at all; several count records, pieces or outcomes rather than time; two require a set share of the total to be verifiable; one fixes nearly half the requirement to named subject areas. Knowing which model you are under matters more than knowing any single number.

Three practical points fall out of that table. First, a figure from one body tells you nothing about another — 40 ACCA units, 35 NMC hours over three years and two Social Work England pieces are not comparable quantities. Second, several bodies now specify not just how much CPD but what kind: verifiable units for ACCA and the GDC, named themes for CIOB, participatory hours for the NMC, a peer reflection for Social Work England and the GPhC. Third, if you hold dual registration you are under both regimes at once, and the stricter one governs your planning.

Five mistakes that cost people their CPD year

These come up across every regime, and all five are avoidable at no cost.

1. Planning against the wrong year. Some bodies run January to December, some from your own renewal or registration date, and Social Work England runs 1 December to 30 November. Diarise your date, not a colleague's.
2. Leaving the peer reflection until last. It needs another person's time, so it is the component most likely to slip and the least possible to do in a hurry. Line it up early.
3. Collecting certificates that prove attendance but not learning. If the certificate does not state learning outcomes and hours, you are reconstructing the detail from memory months later — and reflection built on a blank is thin.
4. Recording activity but not impact. An outcomes-based regime asks what changed in your practice. A list of course titles answers a different question.
5. Believing a provider's claim of regulator approval. Social Work England does not approve external CPD providers. A course advertised as “approved” by it is misdescribed, and repeating that claim in your own record is your exposure, not the provider's.

Common questions

How many CPD hours do Social Work England registrants need?

There is no hours requirement. Social Work England runs an outcomes-based scheme: for the current registration year you must record a minimum of 2 different pieces of CPD, at least one of which includes a peer reflection. What matters is what the learning achieved, not how long it took.

What is a peer reflection for Social Work England CPD?

At least one piece of your recorded CPD must include a peer reflection — you discuss that piece of learning with a peer and record their perspective alongside your own. It is a required element, not optional, and it is the part that most distinguishes the Social Work England scheme.

When is the Social Work England CPD deadline?

The registration year runs from 1 December to 30 November, and you must have recorded your CPD by 30 November. Registration renewal is open from 1 September to 30 November each year, and meeting the CPD requirement is part of renewing.

Who has to record CPD with Social Work England?

All registered social workers in England, including those not currently working, those in non-caseholding roles, and overseas registrants. If you are on the register, the requirement applies to you.

What happens if I don’t record enough CPD?

If you have not recorded the required CPD by the deadline, your registration will not be renewed and you will be removed from the register. Social Work England also reviews a sample of registrants’ CPD each year.

Does Social Work England approve CPD courses or providers?

No. Social Work England does not approve, endorse or pre-authorise external CPD providers or courses. You decide what is relevant to your practice and record the learning and reflection. A provider advertising itself as “Social Work England approved” is misdescribing what it holds.

Do CPD records from one professional body count for another?

Usually the learning can count if it is relevant to your practice under both, but the arithmetic does not transfer. Each body sets its own requirement, period and recording rules, so the same activity may need to be logged twice in different formats. If you hold dual registration, plan against the stricter regime.

What should a good CPD certificate show?

The provider, the date, the hours claimed, the learning outcomes covered, and a reference someone else can check independently. A certificate stating only that you attended is the most common reason people struggle to evidence an activity later.

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AssuredCPD is an independent CPD accreditation body. We are not a government or regulatory body and do not award regulated qualifications. AssuredCPD accreditation is not endorsement, approval or recognition by any professional body named on this page, and we have no affiliation with them. Requirements are summarised from each body’s own published guidance and were checked on 25 October 2026; those bodies change their rules from time to time, so always confirm against the official source linked above before relying on it.