People learn in many ways, through training, supervision, professional discussions and everyday practice. Managers and supervisors play an important role in supporting learning and professional development. They can support workers by creating opportunities to learn, reflect and put new knowledge into practice.
This page offers guidance and practical resources for managers and supervisors to support their staff’s continuing professional development (CPD) and reflective practice.
Supporting professional development helps workers provide safe, effective and person-centred care and support. Regular conversations about learning help workers to keep developing their skills and knowledge throughout their careers.
As a manager, you can support workers to:
A positive learning culture encourages people to learn, share ideas and reflect on their practice. Learning should be part of everyday practice, not just formal training.
You can create a positive learning culture by:
Learning needs will change throughout someone’s career. Use supervision and regular conversations to talk about:
These conversations help workers identify learning opportunities relevant to their role and professional development.
The Codes of Professional Practice for Social Care, and National Occupational Standards (NOS) can help identify the knowledge, skills and behaviours needed for different roles, and support conversations about learning and development.
Supervision gives workers time to reflect on their practice, discuss what they’ve learnt and set development goals.
Use supervision to explore:
Reflective conversations help workers understand how learning affects their practice and improves the care and support they provide.
Use our reflective questions for supervision to support these conversations.
Learning doesn’t just happen through formal training. Workers learn through many experiences, these include:
Recognising informal learning helps workers understand that professional development happens every day.
Learning has the greatest impact when it’s applied in practice.
Use supervision to discuss:
These conversations help workers use what they’ve learnt and identify future development needs.
Managers play an important role in helping workers develop their careers.
Regular development conversations help workers to:
When managers support career development, workers build confidence and develop the knowledge and skills they need for future roles.
The pay and progression framework and qualification framework can support career development conversations by helping workers understand the knowledge, skills and qualifications that support progression.
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