How will the new CPL requirements affect my current
registration?
The new CPL requirements will only apply once you have completed your first annual re-registration after June 2024. If you pay your fee every year in September, this is when you will have to begin using the new CPL requirements for your annual declaration the following September.
What does the annual declaration involve?
For the CPL part we will ask you to confirm that you have completed CPL for the year against the core learning elements, and in particular the mandatory areas of trauma informed practice and adult and child protection.
What happens if I don’t manage to complete CPL?
We will contact your supervisor or the counter-signatory for your workplace and discuss the situation with them. We will work with you to ensure you are clear about the expectations and help you to understand how you can meet these as an essential part of your registration requirements. The most extreme consequence would be removal from the register for not meeting your registration requirements.
You’re removing hours, but I still need to do 12 a year as I
work in an ELC setting receiving funding for children under the
National standard for Early Learning and Childcare and Funding
follows the child. How will this work?
You can still fulfil both the requirements by ensuring that you track the hours as well as the core learning elements in your records and we are ensuring that the hours can still be recorded on our My learning app for those that want to do so.
How do the changes impact newly qualified social workers (NQSW)?
The CPL model sets out the mandatory learning activity all NQSWs need to complete to meet their CPL requirement. The mandatory learning activity is relevant to all NQSWs regardless of setting and will support professional development. The mandatory learning activity and associated guidance can be accessed through the new CPL website and the SSSC NQSW website. From October 2024 employers will begin to roll out an approach that will support NQSWs called the NQSW Supported Year.
What are the mandatory skills and knowledge areas for my
specific role?
This website is to help registrants navigate this, but everyone has mandatory requirements for trauma informed practice and adult and child protection. If you are moving from one part of the sector to another there are additional areas which are identified in the model to help ensure that knowledge for specific job roles is emphasized.
What do I do if I am dual registered?
You can choose the most appropriate pathway to your role, however you can choose to also cover CPL from different pathways as long as you cover all of the core learning elements. If you are registered as both a social worker and in social care or children and young people, then choose a social work pathway that best fits your roles.
What are the mandatory requirements of CPL?
You are required to cover all of the Core learning elements each year for your part of the Register. This is 7 for the social care and children and young people workforce and 8 for social workers and care inspectorate officers.
You are also required to cover some form of trauma learning and both child and adult protection, no matter what part of the workforce you are registered on. This can also be used to cover the core learning elements.
You may find learning involves more than one core learning element at a time and this is acceptable to cover your requirements.
Do I have to be trained to trauma enhanced level as a social
worker?
Ensuring Scotland's social work services are able to recognise where people are affected by trauma, and respond in ways which reduce risks of retraumatising and supports recovery is a priority for the Office of the Chief Social Work Adviser. However, the resources currently available are mainly at trauma informed and trauma skilled level. Social workers should work their way through the resources and will be supported by the availability of further future resources at trauma enhanced level and training in their local authority and nationally supported by the Trauma Responsive Social Work Services team.
For more information on this programme specifically for social workers, please see the National Trauma Transformation Programme website
We have only linked to the National Trauma Transformation Programme at enhanced and specialist levels in the 'I want to specialise' pathway for social workers as this will need to be accessed on a face-to-face basis and social work leaders will need to access these independently.