This section is designed to help social workers fullfill their Post-Registration Training and Learning (PRTL) requirements.
Quicklinks
What is PRTL?
What sorts of PRTL are acceptable?
How do I log my PRTL?How can Community Care help?
Top tips on PRTL
Frequently Asked Questions
What is PRTL?
The Social Care Register is a register of people who work in social care and have been assessed as trained and fit to be in the workforce. It is administered by the Social Care Councils.
In order to remain on the social care register, social workers must undertake to keep their practice up to date through ongoing study. This study is called "Post Registration Training and Learning" (PRTL)
The requirement is to:
- complete 90 hours (or 15 days) of study over the three year registration period.
- keep an accurate record of this study
Failure to meet these conditions may be considered misconduct.
What sorts of PRTL are acceptable?
The GSCC says any activity "which could reasonably be expected to advance the social worker's professional development, or contribute to the development of the profession as a whole", is acceptable.
Appropriate forms of study include:
- training, courses and seminars (including formal qualifications like the PQ award)
- reading – for instance a piece of research or policy report
- job shadowing – for instance a day workshadowing a colleague in a related team or profession
- teaching
- conducting your own research
These activities should:
- benefit your current employment
- benefit your career progression
- reflect your preferred learning style
- make the most of the learning opportunities available to you
How do I log my PRTL?
The GSCC requires you to store the information about your PRTL in a document called a Record of Achievement. This document will be submitted to the GSCC at the end of your registration period to demonstrate that you have met the criteria for re-registration.
You can store this information in any way you like – on paper, or as an electronic document. However, the Record of Achievement needs to contain some specific information in order for the GSCC to accept it.
This information includes:
- your name and social care registration number
- your employers’ name and address
- the exact start and end dates of your registration period
- the grand total of all your PRTL hours
- your signature
- your manager or employer’s signature
How can Community Care help with your PRTL?
Community Care is a vital tool to help you to meet your PRTL requirements.
We can support you in your PRTL with:-
Community Care Live
Our exciting Community Care Live programme
Spend a day – free of charge – at our Community Care Live events and document your learning to count towards your PRTL.
Community Care conferences
Attend any of our Community Care conferences which are in a variety of fields from autism to sexually harmful behaviour in young people and count your hours towards your PRTL. Remember to document what you have learned.
Community Care features
Read our Community Care features each week and discuss in your teams then document outcomes. Community Care’s features are split into adults services and children’s services in the magazine and are all archived onto our website.
Community Care discussion forum
Shadow a social worker. Network with like minded colleagues on our discussion forum and arrange to shadow colleagues for PRTL hours.
Community Care news
Sign up to our weekly Snapshot e-mail which will bring you up to date with all the latest policy announcements and research in the social care sector. The website news is updated throughout the day, every working day.
- Keep detailed records.
- Hang on to all certificates or attendance records.
- Job shadow a colleague.
- Do research related to your practice.
- Set aside some regular time dedicated to research or learning about a new policy.
- Hold discussions with colleagues about your field of work.
- Develop your learning needs and outcomes with your manager and share your learning with your colleagues.
- Go to events and workshops.
- Do some certified training or study.
- The post-qualifying award can count towards PRTL.
PRTL can be in-house training on anything that allows you to do your job better.
If you can identify professional development then it can count towards your PRTL. Examples might include team meetings or training events that benefit your personal development; reading an article, report or document; taking on new or different responsibilities; completing induction.
Please note full guidance is available. The information above is an extract only and the GSCC recommends reading the full guidance as these tips will not relate to all registered social workers’ needs.
Frequently asked questions:
What sort of PRTL activities can I undertake?
Whose responsibility is PRTL?
Do I have to spread the learning evenly over the three years?
Does my employer have to give me time off to do PRTL?
How does formal training and learning affect my PRTL?
I’m working part time. Does that affect how much PRTL I have to complete?
I’m self employed. How does that affect my PRTL?
I’m a newly qualified social worker. When should I apply for registration?
I work for an agency. What are their responsibilities in relation to my PRTL?
I’m not currently working as a social worker, but I am registered. What are my PRTL responsibilities?
What happens if I don’t complete my 90 hours?
Do I have to spread the learning evenly over the three years?
No. It can be carried out and completed at any point during this period. Registrants need to keep a record of all PRTL undertaken, as the GSCC will ask for a completed Record of Achievement when considering applications to renew registration. It may ask you to provide supporting evidence.
Whose responsibility is PRTL?
Yours. Your employer has a duty to support you to meet these requirements. But as a registered social worker, you are responsible for making sure that you meet the GSCC’s Post Registration Training and Learning requirements. The Code of Practice for Social Care Workers (code 6) states that:
"As a social care worker, you must be accountable for the quality of your work and take responsibility for maintaining and improving your knowledge and skills."
This includes:
- meeting relevant standards of practice and working in a lawful, safe and effective way (code 6.1); and
- undertaking relevant training to maintain and improve your knowledge and skills and contributing to the learning and development of others (code 6.8).
The GSCC will only renew your registration if:
- It is satisfied that you have completed the PRTL requirements
- AND your employer or endorser has endorsed your renewal form
What sort of PRTL activities can I undertake:
The GSCC has been extremely non-prescriptive about what is acceptable. However, the following are all OK:
- arranging to shadow the work of a colleague in a related team or profession;
- negotiating protected time to research latest policy and good practice developments in their field of practice;
- doing research related to your practice;
- completing a period of secondment in another area of related work;
- identifying and recording learning gained from an appraisal.
- learning from reflection gained after a particular case or activity;
- team meetings or team training events that benefit your individual development;
- attending meetings or conferences where there are identifiable learning outcomes;
- reading an article, report or document where insight or learning results;
- doing a new task;
- taking on new or different responsibilities;
- assessing risk and taking an informed judgement and then reflecting on its outcome;
- doing research in relation to writing a report, giving a presentation, leading a discussion or running a seminar or group.
Does my employer have to give me time off to do PRTL?
No. However, employers have a responsibility to support social workers to meet these requirements. The Code of Practice for Employers of Social Care Workers (code 3) states that:
"As a social care employer, you must provide training and development opportunities to enable social care workers to strengthen and develop their skills and knowledge."
This includes:
- providing induction, training and development opportunities to help social care workers do their job effectively and prepare for new and changing roles and responsibilities (code 3.1);
- contributing to the provision of social care and social work education and training, including effective workplace assessment and practice learning (code 3.2); and
- supporting staff in posts subject to registration to meet the GSCC’s eligibility criteria for registration and its requirements for continuing professional development (code 3.3).
The GSCC expects PRTL activities to be consistent with a registrant’s work role and the aims and objectives of their employer. It is important that the registrant and their manager or employer discuss and plan how the registrant will meet the training and learning requirements. This will allow registrants to build on their knowledge, experience and expertise in current areas of practice. In turn this will also support the employer’s objectives.
I’m working part time. Does that affect how much PRTL I have to complete?
No. The aim of PRTL is the same for every registrant, however many hours they work. Part-time workers should be given the same opportunities and support to meet their Post Registration Training and Learning requirements as other categories of workers (15 full days or 90 hours over the three year registration period). It is equally important for this group of staff to be appropriately prepared for the demands of the job through continuous development of their knowledge, skills and values.
I’m self employed. How does that affect my PRTL?
As with all social workers, self-employed and independent social workers need to satisfy the GSCC that they have taken part in PRTL when they apply to renew their registration.
The training and learning activities self-employed social workers do should enhance their areas of expertise and support their work, just as it should for social workers that work for an employer.
There are clearly different issues for self-employed and independent social workers in meeting the PRTL requirements. For example, they will need to plan time for self reflection and to identify their own training and ongoing development needs.
I’m a newly qualified social worker. When should I apply for registration?
Newly qualified social workers should apply for registration after completing a degree course. Most newly qualified social workers will be at the beginning of their social work career. It would be expected that the first few years would be a period of consolidation of their initial learning and training. Formal PQ awards at specialist level may be particularly appropriate for this group.
I work for an agency. What are their responsibilities in relation to my PRTL?
The employment agency and the commissioner of the service share a responsibility for making sure workers are fit and competent to practice. Opportunities should be provided for these workers to meet their Post Registration Training and Learning requirements. The line manager should provide supervision and support for the worker to meet these requirements. Responsibility for who should carry out supervision and support should be clearly set down. It is important to clarify who will be responsible for providing supervision and support and this should be clearly set out. This will normally be the line manager.
I’m not currently working as a social worker, but I am registered. What are my PRTL responsibilities?
Those on the Social Care Register and not in direct social work practice such as educators, inspectors or professional advisers have a crucial role in contributing to social work practice and the profession. This is often achieved either by influencing the standard of training of workers coming into the profession, training them while still practising or by commenting on standards of practice to create better outcomes for service users. Such registrants will need to complete PRTL that is appropriate to their roles.
There may be some people who, although not directly practising in social work, have chosen to register because they are qualified and want to retain their interest and commitment to the profession. These registrants may be senior managers who work at local, regional or national level. Such registrants will need to make sure that they can provide evidence of participation in training and learning activities which could count as PRTL. Examples of such activities are involvement in national conferences (either as participants, presenters or group facilitators), doing research related to social work and social care, participating in advisory group work at regional and national level and producing articles that are relevant to social care.
Some registrants may not be able to meet the Post Registration Training and Learning requirements because of gaps during the period of registration due to career breaks, maternity leave, lengthy illness or unemployment. The GSCC accepts that learning can happen in a number of ways and can result from various sources. These include reading, attending courses, discussion and debate, professional argument and personal reflection. As long as these are recorded and the transferability of the learning noted, these will usually be acceptable. Many people who are returning to work after long absence complete a ‘returnee’s’ course or induction to help them back to work. All of these are potential PRTL activities.
Whatever the circumstances may be, if registrants have any doubts about meeting the PRTL requirements, they should contact the GSCC as soon as possible for advice. In most cases, registrants will be asked to provide a written explanation of their individual circumstances for consideration by the GSCC.
What happens if I don’t complete my 90 hours?
Failure to complete your PRTL requirement may be considered misconduct.
The GSCC will only renew your registration if:
- it is satisfied that you have completed the PRTL requirements
- AND your employer or endorser has endorsed your renewal form
The GSCC may ask registrants to provide evidence that they have taken part in training and learning in addition to their Record of Achievement. When renewing registration, the GSCC will sample a percentage of registrants and look at their evidence for PRTL.
How does formal training and learning affect my PRTL?
The time involved in studying for a certified qualification such as a social work Post-Qualifying (PQ) award can be used to meet the Post Registration Training and Learning requirements.
Other formal learning might consist of in-house training that is deemed to be essential for a particular role such as specialist training about looked-after children or approved training in child protection.
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