Occupational Therapy CPD: Meeting HCPC Standards and the Audit

The HCPC does not count your CPD hours, ask for a set number of courses or want a folder of certificates. What it asks is simpler and, for some people, harder: that your learning is continuous, varied, recorded, and makes a real difference to your practice and to the people you work with. If you can show that, you meet the standards.

The audit works on a sample. At each renewal, a random selection of registrants from each profession is asked to submit a CPD profile showing how they have met the standards over the previous two years. Most occupational therapists are never selected, but anyone can be, and the profile is far easier to write if you have been keeping a decent record all along. Always check the current detail on the HCPC website, because process and deadlines can change.

This guide is for qualified occupational therapists, whether you work in the NHS, social care, a charity or for yourself. It covers the standards in plain terms, the audit, CPD ideas that are not courses, and how to record it all without it becoming a second job.

What the HCPC actually asks of you

The HCPC's standards of continuing professional development apply to every registered profession, so they are written broadly. In plain terms, they ask you to:

• Keep a continuous, up-to-date and accurate record of your CPD. Not a scramble the week before renewal. A running record.
• Do a mix of learning activities that are relevant to your current or future practice. Five webinars on the same topic is not much of a mix.
• Seek to ensure your CPD has improved the quality of your practice and the service you deliver.
• Seek to ensure your CPD benefits service users. This is the part people underwrite most often.
• Present a written profile on request, in your own words and supported by evidence, explaining how you have met the standards.

Notice the word "seek". The HCPC is not asking you to prove that a particular course produced a measurable outcome for a specific client. It is asking you to show you have thought about the link between what you learned and what you do, and tried to make it count.

The standards sit alongside the HCPC standards of proficiency for occupational therapists and the standards of conduct, performance and ethics. Your CPD is the way you keep meeting those as practice, evidence and your own role change. If you want a refresher on what registration covers more broadly, see our guide to HCPC registration for occupational therapists.

How the HCPC CPD audit works

When your profession's renewal period comes round, the HCPC selects a random sample of registrants to audit. If you are one of them, you will be told and given a deadline to submit your profile. Selection is random, not a sign that anyone has concerns about you.

What goes in a profile

The HCPC publishes guidance and sample profiles, and it is worth reading those before you start. Broadly, a profile includes:

• A summary of your practice: your role, setting, the people you work with and what you actually do day to day.
• A statement explaining how you have met each of the standards, drawing on specific examples of CPD from the last two years.
• Supporting evidence that backs up what you say.

The HCPC sets word limits for the summary and the statement. Check the current figures in their guidance rather than relying on memory or a colleague's old template.

If you are selected

Do not panic and do not pad. Assessors are looking for a clear thread: here is what I do, here is what I learned, here is how it changed my practice, here is how that helped the people I work with. A handful of well-explained examples beats a long list of activities with no reflection.

Pick examples that cover different types of learning and that you can link clearly to service users. Anonymise everything. Evidence should never identify a client, and that includes photographs, reports and letters.

If you genuinely cannot meet the deadline because of illness or other circumstances, contact the HCPC early. Ignoring the request is the one thing guaranteed to make it worse, because failing to engage with an audit can put your registration at risk.

CPD ideas for occupational therapists beyond courses

Courses are fine. They are also expensive, often hard to get time off for, and frequently forgotten within a month. Much of the most useful CPD happens in the gaps of an ordinary working week. The trick is noticing it and writing it down.

Reflection on real cases

A visit that went badly, an assessment where you were unsure, a client whose goals you misread. Writing a short structured reflection on what happened, what you think now and what you would do differently is CPD in its purest form. Use whatever model suits you. The model matters less than being honest.

Supervision and peer discussion

Formal supervision counts, and so does a structured case discussion with a peer. Record the topic, what you took away and what you changed. If you work alone, arranging regular peer supervision is one of the best investments you can make, for your CPD record and your sanity.

Reading, with a purpose

Reading a journal article, a NICE guideline update or a clinical review counts if you can say why you read it and what you did with it. "Read article on falls" is thin. "Read updated guidance on falls risk, reviewed my home assessment checklist and added two prompts" is CPD.

Teaching and supervising others

Supervising a student, running a short session for colleagues, training carers in safe moving and handling, or explaining equipment to a family all involve preparing, checking your own knowledge and responding to questions. That is learning, and it is easy to evidence with session plans and feedback.

Audit, service review and quality work

Auditing your own reports for clarity, reviewing how long equipment recommendations take to be acted on, or checking whether your outcome measures are actually being used are all strong CPD. They link directly to service quality, which is exactly what the standards ask about.

Special interest groups and networks

RCOT specialist sections, local networks and online journal clubs give you access to people working on the same problems. Presenting a case, contributing to a discussion or helping organise an event all count.

RCOT resources

The Royal College of Occupational Therapists has learning resources, professional standards and a career development framework that can help you plan CPD rather than collect it. Using the framework to identify a gap and then filling it gives your record a shape that assessors recognise.

Service user and carer feedback

Asking clients and families what helped and what did not, then acting on it, is one of the most direct ways to show benefit to service users. A simple feedback form after a block of visits can feed straight into a reflection.

Other ideas worth recording

• Shadowing a colleague in another profession, such as a physiotherapist, speech and language therapist or community nurse.
• Learning a new standardised assessment and using it with supervision.
• Writing a clinical guide, information leaflet or protocol.
• Reviewing a piece of equipment or technology you have not used before and working out who it suits.
• Attending a multidisciplinary meeting outside your usual area and reflecting on what you learned.

Recording CPD without it becoming a second job

The best CPD record is the one you will actually keep. A few habits make the difference.

1. Log it the same week. Five minutes on a Friday beats three days in the month before renewal. Memory is a poor evidence base.
2. Use the same four headings every time. What I did. What I learned. What I changed. How it helped service users. If you fill those four lines, you have most of a profile already.
3. Keep evidence alongside the entry. Anonymised notes, certificates, session plans, feedback, a revised checklist. Store it in one place, digital or paper, so you are not hunting through emails later.
4. Tag by type. Mark each entry as reflection, supervision, reading, teaching, course, audit and so on. A quick glance tells you whether your mix is lopsided.
5. Review every few months. Look at what you have, spot gaps and plan the next quarter. This is also the moment to pick out two or three examples you would use if audited.

Whatever format you choose, keep data protection in mind. Your CPD record should never hold identifiable client information, and if you are self-employed you are responsible for storing records securely.

CPD when you work independently

Employed occupational therapists usually have supervision, in-service training and a manager nudging them towards appraisal. Independent practitioners have none of that unless they build it themselves. The standards are exactly the same.

Some practical points if you work for yourself:

• Arrange supervision deliberately. Paid clinical supervision, a reciprocal arrangement with another independent practitioner, or a peer group. Put it in the diary as you would a client visit.
• Budget time, not just money. Every hour on CPD is an hour you are not billing. Treat it as a fixed cost of practising safely and plan for it.
• Stay connected. Isolation is a real risk to practice. Specialist sections, networks and online groups help keep you current and give you someone to ask.
• Stay within your competence. Private work can pull you towards referrals outside your experience. Your CPD should either build that competence properly or help you recognise when to refer on.
• Use your own work as learning. Report writing, case reviews and client feedback are rich CPD material for independent practitioners, particularly if you produce functional assessments and reports where clarity and accuracy matter.

If you are thinking about the move, our practical guide to going private as an occupational therapist covers insurance, record keeping and the wider set-up. Locum work raises similar questions about supervision and CPD, which we cover in locum occupational therapy work.

Borrowing from revalidation thinking

The HCPC does not run a revalidation process in the way the Nursing and Midwifery Council does. But revalidation offers a useful structure, and borrowing it makes your CPD record stronger and an audit far less stressful.

Revalidation-style thinking means, over each two-year cycle, deliberately building in:

• Practice-related feedback from clients, carers, colleagues or commissioners.
• Written reflective accounts that link a piece of learning or feedback to your standards and your practice.
• A reflective discussion with another registered professional about your learning and development.
• A short annual review of what you have done, what changed and what you will focus on next.

None of this is required by the HCPC. It is simply a sensible way to make sure your CPD is planned, reflective and tied to real practice, which is what the standards ask for anyway.

Where your CPD shows up for the people you visit

For the older person waiting on a home assessment, or the parent trying to make sense of a report about their child, CPD is invisible. What they notice is whether you know your stuff, explain it clearly and recommend things that work in their home.

That is the real test of CPD, and it is why the service user standard matters. Families increasingly check registration and ask about experience before booking. Our guide on how to choose a private occupational therapist tells them to do exactly that. Being able to describe what you have learned recently and how it shapes your work is good practice and good for trust.

It is also worth being honest in your CPD about the edges of occupational therapy. Learning when a client needs a GP, a physiotherapist, a speech and language therapist or a specialist nurse instead of you is as valuable as learning a new technique.

Frequently asked questions

How many CPD hours does the HCPC require?

None. The HCPC does not set a minimum number of hours or points. It looks at whether your CPD is continuous, varied, recorded and beneficial to your practice and service users. Some employers set their own expectations, so check those separately.

Will I definitely be audited?

No. A random sample of registrants is selected at each renewal. You may never be chosen, or you may be chosen more than once over a career. Keep your record up to date so it does not matter either way.

Does unpaid or informal learning count?

Yes, if it is relevant to your practice and you can show what you learned and how it affected your work. Reading, peer discussion, reflection and teaching all count. Paid courses are not more valuable in the HCPC's eyes.

What if I have had a career break or worked part time?

The standards still apply, but the HCPC recognises that practice looks different for different people. Explain your circumstances in your practice summary and show CPD that fits your actual role. If you are returning after a break, check the HCPC's return to practice requirements.

Can I use the same activity for different standards?

Yes. One well-documented piece of learning can show variety, improvement in practice and benefit to service users at the same time. Assessors care about the quality of the link, not the number of separate activities.

Should I keep my CPD record after renewal?

It is sensible to keep it. It helps with appraisals, job applications, supervision and planning your next cycle, and you may want to show a longer pattern of development. Store it securely and keep client information out of it.

Next steps

If you are an HCPC-registered occupational therapist offering home visits, find out about listing your practice in the directory, see how families find support through our home assessment page, and browse the areas below to see who is already practising near you.