Social Work / Social Care & Media

The Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) registration renewal period for social workers in England opens on Monday 1 September 2014 and social workers have until 30 November 2014 to renew their HCPC registration.

It’s the first time that social workers will re-new their registration with the HCPC based on the HCPC standards and subject to the HCPC CPD audit, as this was previously managed by the GSCC. Therefore, below is a short guide and some helpful links to ensure you are registration ready.

You can also join a special @SWSCmedia Twitter chat together with @The_HCPC on the 9^th of September 2014 from 3:00pm – 4:00pm. This chat will focus on discussing and answering any questions regarding renewal of social workers’ registration and the HCPC audit of social workers’ CPD. You can use the hashtag #SWSCmedia to follow the Twitter chat or to join in the conversation and to ask your questions directly from the HCPC.

Below are a few pointers relating to renewal of registration and the HCPC CPD audit, and here is a link to Jonathan Jones’ blog about the HCPC registration:

1. HCPC registration renewal period for social workers in England opens on Monday 1^st of September 2014 and closes on 30^th of November 2014.
2. Registered social workers will be posted details on how to renew their HCPC registration and will receive a reminder of their authentication code for the online renewal system.
3. Renewing registration online takes a few minutes with the authentication code and costs £160 for the two-year registration renewal period. The quickest and easiest way to do this is online at http://www.hcpc-uk.org/registrants/renew/.
4. Every social worker needs to complete a professional declaration which includes confirming meeting the HCPC standards.
5. There are no Post-Registration Learning and Training (PRTL) forms to be completed, however, there is a requirement that registrants must undertake Continuing Professional Development (CPD) to HCPC standards.
6. HCPC will undertake an audit of social workers’ CPD, and therefore a random sample of 2.5 per cent of social workers will be invited to submit a continuing professional development (CPD) profile. Those selected will receive a separate letter informing them of this request.

HCPC CPD standards state that registrants must:

• Maintain a continuous, up-to-date and accurate record of their CPD activities;
• Demonstrate that their CPD activities are a mixture of learning activities relevant to current or future practice;
• Seek to ensure that their CPD has contributed to the quality of their practice and service delivery;
• Seek to ensure that their CPD benefits the service user

There are many types of CPD activities including shadowing, mentoring a colleague, reading, researching and writing.  You can find more information about the renewal of your registration using this link and further details about CPD, including sample profiles and video guides, is available here.

To contact the HCPC Registration Department email: registration@hcpc-uk.org or phone: +44 (0)845 300 4472 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm).

Looking forward to your views and questions regarding the HCPC registration renewal and CPD audit @SWSCmedia Twitter chat on 9 September 2014 from 3:00 to 4:00 PM with hashtag #SWSCmedia.