Your employer should work with you to develop your individualised learning and development plan. At this level, continuous professional learning is captured as part of your induction and the learning and development planning process for your organisation.
As a new social care practitioner, the entrance level qualification will include all the important training you need to begin working in social care, as assessed in practice. It will also ensure that you have the required knowledge of the Standards of Conduct and Practice for Social Care Workers, underpinned by the supporting values below:
- Respecting the rights, dignity and inherent worth of individuals
- Working in a person-centred way
- Treating people respectfully and with compassion
- Supporting and promoting the independence and autonomy of service users
- Acting in the best interest of service users and carers
- Upholding and promoting equality, diversity and inclusion.
- Safeguarding yourself and others.
- Ensuring the care, you provide is safe and effective and of a high quality
As a new social care practitioner once you have completed your induction and are settled into your role, you may want to consider completing the Level 2 Diploma in Health and Social Care – see qualifications pathway to learn more.
There is no current requirement that staff undertake accredited qualifications but the Social Care Council requires all social care practitioners to undertake continuous learning and development throughout your careers to evidence you are meeting your Standards of Conduct and Practice for Social Care Workers as follows:
- Standards of Conduct 6 – 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.
- Standard of Practice 6 – As a social care worker, you must develop yourself as a social care worker.
This learning and development is essential in building your confidence and professional practice as a social care practitioner and it is called Post Registration Training and Learning (PRTL). You are required to complete 90 hours of learning and development in each registration period and be able to provide evidence of this. A registration period is five years for social care practitioners.
See RQIA Training Guidance in Relevant Resources for further training guidance information specific to your service.
Relevant Resources
Use this resource library to find documents that will help you with your career development.
Supporting your Continuous Learning and Development Journey
The Learning Zone has been developed to support social care practitioners continuous learning and development journeys and career pathways.
You will find a section specifically to support social care practitioners providing you with access to relevant information and guidance to support you when you enter the sector to help you develop your knowledge, skills, competence and capabilities and become self-regulated learners.
As well as the above information and guidance, the Learning Zone provides free access to a Learning Resource Library. This is a library of accessible free learning resources covering a wide range of relevant topics and consistent messaging on standards, values and best practice. These resources have been designed in partnership with the sector and key stakeholders to supplement and complement the training provided by employers to:
- support you to better retain key knowledge and skills.
- learn at a time and pace that suits you best.
- support you to develop your knowledge and skills and take responsibility for your learning and development, and/or
- help you reflect on your learning and provide evidence of your learning by completing reflective learning questions that are built into to the digital resources which can be used to evidence your 90 hours of continuous learning and development/PRTL