Professionalism and the Professional Standards for Social Workers

About this course

This CPD course helps social workers in England understand and apply professionalism and the professional standards set by Social Work England. It covers the meaning of professionalism in social work, the regulatory framework, the six professional standards, professionalism in everyday practice, the challenges that test it, breaches of standards and their consequences, and reflection, insight and remediation.

Where the companion ethics course explores values and dilemmas, this course focuses on what professionalism looks like day to day: registering and renewing, recording CPD, writing defensible records, working with other agencies, managing caseloads and hostility, behaving professionally online and outside work, working as an agency social worker, and supporting the learning of others. It is designed for all registered social workers, including those responding to a concern or fitness to practise matter.

CPD Value and How to Record It:

This course is designed to provide approximately 3 hours of learning, including reading, the reflection points, the reflective account and the assessment. In the UK, CPD is generally recorded as the time actually spent learning, so you should record the time you genuinely spend, which may be more or less than the estimate.

How the course fits your revalidation or CPD requirements depends on your regulator. For example, the NMC asks nurses, midwives and nursing associates to record 35 hours of CPD over three years, of which at least 20 must be participatory; self-directed online learning such as this course usually counts as individual learning unless you complete it with others. The GMC expects doctors to reflect on CPD for appraisal and revalidation rather than setting a fixed number of hours. The HCPC, GDC, GPhC, GOC, GOsC and GCC each set their own CPD requirements, so check the current rules that apply to you. Always keep your certificate together with your written reflection.

What you will learn

• Understand the meaning and importance of professionalism in social work.
• Describe the role of Social Work England and the six professional standards.
• Apply the professional standards to everyday practice.
• Demonstrate professionalism in communication, accountability, record-keeping and digital conduct.
• Navigate challenges to professionalism, including power, pressure and difficult situations.
• Use reflection, insight and remediation to strengthen professionalism over time.

Who this course is for

Social workers registered with Social Work England, including newly qualified, agency and experienced practitioners and those responding to a concern; relevant also to social workers in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Social workers: this cross-profession course covers principles that apply across health and social care; most worked examples come from healthcare settings.

Course content

9 sections · 3 CPD hours · 15 MCQs

Course facts

CPD value

Approximately 3 hours of learning; can be recorded as one of your two pieces of Social Work England CPD and used for a peer reflection

Format

Self-paced reading with practice cases, reflective questions in each section, walkthroughs and a written reflective account

Standards covered

Social Work England professional standards and registration rules; CPD requirements; BASW Professional Capabilities Framework; post-qualifying knowledge and skills statements; employer standards; agency rules for child and family social workers

Assessment

15 scenario-based multiple-choice questions; pass mark 12 out of 15 (80%)

Questions about this course