Social Work and Social Care Practitioner’s Post Registration Training and Learning (PRTL) is a priority for the Social Care Council to ensure the provision of quality social work and social care services for the public and to ensure workers are safe and competent to practice.
PRTL also provides benefits for registrants and employers, strengthens skills within the profession and enhances public confidence in social work and social care.
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What is Post Registration Training and Learning (PRTL)?
Continuous professional learning (CPL) throughout your career is essential in building your confidence and practice as a social workers, social care practitioners and managers. It supports you to:
- improve the service your provide;
- develop and enhance your job skills, knowledge, behaviour and practice;
- keep up-to-date with developing practice, legislation and policy;
- provide evidence that you have met the Standards of Conduct and Practice.
Social workers, social care practitioners and managers must undertake and record a minimum of 90 hours of continuous professional learning during each registration period – this is called Post Registration Training and Learning (PRTL).
A registration period is as follows:
- 3 years for a social worker and social care manager
- 5 years for a social care practitioner and senior care practitioner
PRTL can include the following:
- Induction – this is your employer induction and required training.
- Having conversations, listening, observing, reading, question and reflecting.
- Attending in-house training including refresher and developmental training, and other service specific training and workshops.
- Self-directed learning and research.
- Completing digital learning relevant to practice to supplement and complement employer training and development e.g. using the Learning Zone or SCIE.
- Supervisions and one-to-ones.
- Completing qualifications.
- Life, work and learned experience.
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Standards of Conduct and Practice
The Standards of Conduct and Practice are binding on all social care practitioners and social workers and require you to be accountable for your learning and development as follows:
Standard of Conduct 6:
- You must be accountable for the quality of your work and take responsibility for maintaining and improving your knowledge and skills.
Standard of Practice 6:
- As a social worker, you must develop yourself and others.
- As a social care practitioner, you must develop yourself as a social care practitioner
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Renewal of Registration
At the end of a registration period (3 or 5 years), registrants must renew their registration with the Social Care Council. When registrants renew their registration they are asked to:
- Confirm that they have undertaken the required 90 hours of PRTL/CPL;
- Pay a registration renewal fee;
- May be called for PRTL audit
Go to Registration for more information on fees and registration renewal.
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PRTL Audit
Each year the Social Care Council audits a random sample of registrants. This means at your renewal point you could be asked to submit an audit submission form. This is why it is important to:
- Keep a record of your learning, and
- Keep up-to-date with emails or texts from the Social Care Council.
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Learning Zone Resources
The Social Care Council have developed a range of digital learning resources to support registrants PRTL/continuous professional learning.
- These resources include reflective learning scenarios and questions that have been developed to allow registrants to evidence their learning.
- It is important to keep a record of this learning and to discuss and share completed questions with your mangers during supervision or team meetings.
Go to Learning Resources to find out more.
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More Information and Guidance
Click on the tiles below to access digital guides providing more information on PRTL requirements for social workers, social care managers and social care practitioners and PRTL Audits.
See Associated Resources for quick access to key guidance documents and forms including:
- PRTL Guidance for Social Care Practitioners, Managers and Social Workers.
- Audit Submission forms.
- Examples of audit submission forms.