The CPD themes post ASYE year are consolidation and enrichment and your CPD focus will be on core knowledge and skills. Practising at the standards defined by the KSS this is your opportunity to identify training and practice development activities that allow you to build on your foundational knowledge, skills and practice.

The CPD pathway will support you to plan your development, embed practice, begin to deepen and enrich your knowledge and skills, be confident in your professional identity, and to be aspirational about your future career. Your CPD pathway is not prescribed but should include foundational skills in all areas, and also reflect the KSS required for your current role.

Working towards the PCF descriptors of an experienced Social Worker, before progressing to Senior Social Worker, you may choose to think about specialising in a particular practice area or thematic (i.e. Domestic Abuse) by becoming a Practice Lead, diversify into practice teaching and leading in research mindedness.

The CPD themes as a senior practitioner are specialism and complexity, and your CPD focus is around leadership and supervision. This is an opportunity to identify training and practice development activities that stretch you as a practitioner, build on the complexity of case work and consolidate practice in your chosen specialist area. Senior Social Workers should lead on practice development and group supervision, accessing opportunities around coaching, models of group supervision and group work facilitation.

The CPD pathway will support you in:

• starting to develop yourself to the standards described in the practice supervisors KSS, using Connected Practice methodology
• practice leadership – as a Senior Social Worker you are expected to have enhanced knowledge in one or more areas of work gained from both practice experience and formal post-qualification training, such as the modules outlined in the sections below. You will be able to balance views gathered via service user evaluation with your professional knowledge, and incorporate information gained from research. At this level of practice, you will be able to manage complex caseloads and assess cases at higher levels of risk, and offer advice and consultation to members of your team.
• making you aspirational about your future career.

Again, your pathway is not prescribed, but as an experienced practitioner you may choose to:

• continue to pursue a specialist area as a practice lead
• diversify into training/teaching or practice research
• build on knowledge, skills and experience required to progress as a manager, professional educator or advanced practitioner.