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If your CPD log only contains courses, you are under-recording. Professional bodies recognise a wide mix of learning, and most of it is already happening in your working week. Here are one hundred activities that count, grouped so you can spot the ones you already do.
Formal learning
- Attending a course or workshop
- Completing an online course or e-learning module
- Studying for a qualification
- Attending a conference
- Attending a webinar
- Completing a MOOC
- In-house training sessions
- Mandatory compliance training (safeguarding, health and safety, data protection)
- First aid training
- Attending a professional body event
- A masterclass or intensive short course
- Induction training for a new role
- Assessment or moderation training
- Coaching or mentoring qualifications
- Attending a lecture or public talk in your field
Reading and research
- Reading a professional journal
- Reading a book related to your work
- Reading updated statutory guidance
- Reading an inspection or inquiry report
- Following a research summary or evidence review
- Reading a professional body's newsletter or bulletin
- Listening to a professional podcast
- Watching a documentary or recorded lecture relevant to your practice
- Reviewing case law or regulatory decisions
- Subscribing to and reading sector news
- Reading a colleague's dissertation or project
- Comparing your practice against a published framework
- Studying an exam syllabus to support a learner
- Reading audit findings for your service
- Reviewing your organisation's policies in depth
Learning with and from others
- Supervision sessions
- Peer reflection discussions
- Team debriefs after difficult events
- Shadowing a colleague
- Observing a peer teach, assess or lead
- Being observed and receiving feedback
- Journal clubs
- Community of practice meetings
- Networking events with a learning focus
- Asking an expert colleague to explain something
- Action learning sets
- Interprofessional or multi-agency meetings
- Visiting another organisation or setting
- Secondments and job swaps
- Peer review of your work
- Receiving a 360-degree feedback report
- Discussing feedback from service users or customers
- Case discussion groups
- Mentoring conversations as the mentee
- Professional supervision of your safeguarding or clinical work
Teaching and sharing
- Delivering training to colleagues
- Mentoring a junior colleague
- Coaching someone through a task
- Writing an article or blog post
- Presenting at a conference or team meeting
- Creating a resource, checklist or guide for others
- Supervising a student's placement
- Assessing or marking work
- Moderating others' assessments
- Leading a workshop
- Recording an explainer or tutorial
- Answering questions in a professional forum
- Writing a case study
- Contributing to a textbook, guidance or toolkit
- Teaching a session outside your usual subject
Learning through practice
- Taking on a new responsibility
- Leading a project
- Managing a budget for the first time
- Handling a complaint and reviewing what it taught you
- Chairing a meeting
- Recruiting and interviewing
- Carrying out an audit
- Writing a policy or procedure
- Implementing a new system or process
- Covering a more senior role
- Working with a new client group
- Learning a new piece of software properly
- Adapting your practice after an incident
- Piloting a new approach and evaluating it
- Preparing for and attending an inspection
Reflection and review
- Writing a reflective account of a significant event
- Reviewing your appraisal feedback
- Setting and reviewing development goals
- Updating your personal development plan
- Analysing your own performance data
- Reviewing feedback you have received over the year
- Writing a learning journal
- Revisiting an old reflection to see what changed
- Preparing your revalidation or renewal submission
- Reviewing your CPD record for gaps
Professional contribution
- Serving on a committee or working group
- Volunteering in a professional capacity
- Being a school governor or trustee
- Contributing to a standards or curriculum review
- Examining or verifying for an awarding body
- Acting as a professional reference or panel member
- Organising a learning event
- Representing your organisation externally
- Participating in research
- Reviewing a colleague's CPD or portfolio as a critical friend
How to record them
Whatever the activity, the entry formula is the same: what you did, when, how long, what you learned, and what you will do differently. Two minutes per entry, written close to the event, beats an afternoon of reconstruction before a deadline.
Frequently asked questions
Do informal activities really count as CPD?
Yes. Most professional bodies explicitly recognise reading, supervision, peer discussion, mentoring and learning from practice. What matters is that you record and reflect on them.
Does mandatory training count towards CPD?
Generally yes. Safeguarding, first aid and compliance training are legitimate CPD, though a record made only of mandatory training looks thin - mix it with self-directed learning.
How do I evidence a conversation as CPD?
Record the date, the topic, who you spoke with by role (not necessarily name), the insight you took and any change to your practice. That is enough for most regulators.
How many different types of CPD should I show?
There is no magic number, but a mix across formal learning, learning with others and learning through practice is what bodies like the HCPC look for.
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