Ethics and Ethical Standards for Social Workers
CPD-Accredited Add to basketProbity & Ethics
Social Work Remediation · Fitness to Practice · CPD UK Accredited & Certified
Social Work England · SSSC · Social Care Wales · NISCC
Social work remediation courses for Social Workers facing concerns, fitness to practice investigations and hearings
CPD-Accredited, self-paced online courses for social workers registered anywhere in the UK, responding to concerns, fitness to practice proceedings and investigations — from a first letter through to an adjudicator hearing. Every course is certified by The CPD Certification Service and issues a CPD certificate on completion.
- CPD-Accredited
- 28 courses
- From £49
- Instant certificate on completion
- All four UK nations
- Bulk buy: any 10 courses for £500
The CPD Certification Service, UK
At a glance
- Who it is for
- Social workers facing a concern, investigation or hearing
- Bodies covered
- Social Work England, the SSSC, Social Care Wales and the NISCC
- Accreditation
- Certified by The CPD Certification Service, Provider No. 13197
- Access
- Immediate, online, at your own pace
- On completion
- CPD certificate for your response or CPD record
- Price
- From £49 per course
Social Work England Investigation Guidance
Which Social Work England remediation courses should you take?
The Core Remediation Set applies to every case, whatever the allegation. Select the type of concern your regulator has raised and you will see those eight courses again alongside the ones that address your concern directly.
Core Remediation Set
Recommended for every case, whatever the allegation. These cover insight, remediation and risk of repetition — the three things Social Work England weighs at case examiner and adjudicator stage.
Select a course name to read more, or the + to add it to your basket.
Select the concern your regulator has raised
Choose the heading that best matches the wording in your letter. The courses below change to match it.
Social Work England Ethics & Ethical Conduct Investigation
If your regulator has raised concerns about your ethical decision-making, consent, dignity, candour or moral conduct, these CPD-Accredited courses could address the specific standards in question.
Primary recommended courses 18 the 8 Core Set courses apply to every case — the rest address this concern directly
Professionalism and Professional Standards for Social Workers
CPD-Accredited Add to basketEthics for Healthcare Professionals
CPD-Accredited Add to basketEthical Boundaries with Patients and Colleagues
CPD-Accredited Add to basketPrivacy, Consent, And Chaperone In Healthcare Practice
CPD-Accredited Add to basketDuty of Candour in Healthcare Practice
CPD-Accredited Add to basketEnsuring Dignity and Non-Discrimination as Healthcare Professionals
CPD-Accredited Add to basketEnsuring Confidentiality in Healthcare Practice
CPD-Accredited Add to basketProfessionalism for Healthcare Professionals
CPD-Accredited Add to basketProbity for Healthcare Professionals
CPD-Accredited Add to basketHow to Ensure a similar Mistake or Misconduct will not be repeated in Future
CPD-Accredited Add to basketFitness To Practice For Healthcare Professionals
CPD-Accredited Add to basketRebuilding Trust of Patients, Public, and Healthcare Regulator
CPD-Accredited Add to basketFurther relevant courses 10related areas that often arise alongside this concern
Financial Integrity For Healthcare Professionals
CPD-Accredited Add to basketProfessional Boundaries For Clinicians
CPD-Accredited Add to basketProfessionalism & Boundaries in Use of Social Media
CPD-Accredited Add to basketEnsuring Clinical Competence And Patient Safety As Healthcare Professionals Courses
CPD-Accredited Add to basketPrescribing Guidance & Standards for Healthcare Professionals
CPD-Accredited Add to basketProfessionalism in Documentation for Healthcare Professionals
CPD-Accredited Add to basketEnsuring Effective Communication as Healthcare Professionals
CPD-Accredited Add to basketEnsuring Teamwork and Collaboration for Healthcare Professionals
CPD-Accredited Add to basketHow to Deal with a Complaint or Investigation
CPD-Accredited Add to basketHow to Avoid a Complaint or Investigation
CPD-Accredited Add to basketSocial Work England Professionalism, Conduct & Attitude Investigation
If your regulator has raised concerns about your attitude towards patients or colleagues, behaviour, incivility, teamwork or communication, these CPD-Accredited courses could address the specific standards in question.
Primary recommended courses 19 the 8 Core Set courses apply to every case — the rest address this concern directly
Professionalism and Professional Standards for Social Workers
CPD-Accredited Add to basketEthics and Ethical Standards for Social Workers
CPD-Accredited Add to basketProfessionalism for Healthcare Professionals
CPD-Accredited Add to basketEnsuring Effective Communication as Healthcare Professionals
CPD-Accredited Add to basketEnsuring Teamwork and Collaboration for Healthcare Professionals
CPD-Accredited Add to basketEnsuring Dignity and Non-Discrimination as Healthcare Professionals
CPD-Accredited Add to basketProfessionalism in Documentation for Healthcare Professionals
CPD-Accredited Add to basketProfessionalism & Boundaries in Use of Social Media
CPD-Accredited Add to basketHow to Deal with a Complaint or Investigation
CPD-Accredited Add to basketHow to Avoid a Complaint or Investigation
CPD-Accredited Add to basketEthics for Healthcare Professionals
CPD-Accredited Add to basketDuty of Candour in Healthcare Practice
CPD-Accredited Add to basketHow to Ensure a similar Mistake or Misconduct will not be repeated in Future
CPD-Accredited Add to basketFitness To Practice For Healthcare Professionals
CPD-Accredited Add to basketRebuilding Trust of Patients, Public, and Healthcare Regulator
CPD-Accredited Add to basketFurther relevant courses 9related areas that often arise alongside this concern
Probity for Healthcare Professionals
CPD-Accredited Add to basketFinancial Integrity For Healthcare Professionals
CPD-Accredited Add to basketProfessional Boundaries For Clinicians
CPD-Accredited Add to basketEthical Boundaries with Patients and Colleagues
CPD-Accredited Add to basketPrivacy, Consent, And Chaperone In Healthcare Practice
CPD-Accredited Add to basketEnsuring Clinical Competence And Patient Safety As Healthcare Professionals Courses
CPD-Accredited Add to basketPrescribing Guidance & Standards for Healthcare Professionals
CPD-Accredited Add to basketEnsuring Confidentiality in Healthcare Practice
CPD-Accredited Add to basketSocial Work England Probity, Honesty & Financial Integrity Investigation
If your regulator has raised concerns about dishonesty, falsified records or timesheets, qualifications, expenses, theft or misleading an employer or the regulator, these CPD-Accredited courses could address the specific standards in question.
Primary recommended courses 18 the 8 Core Set courses apply to every case — the rest address this concern directly
Probity for Healthcare Professionals
CPD-Accredited Add to basketFinancial Integrity For Healthcare Professionals
CPD-Accredited Add to basketEthics and Ethical Standards for Social Workers
CPD-Accredited Add to basketProfessionalism and Professional Standards for Social Workers
CPD-Accredited Add to basketDuty of Candour in Healthcare Practice
CPD-Accredited Add to basketProfessionalism in Documentation for Healthcare Professionals
CPD-Accredited Add to basketEnsuring Confidentiality in Healthcare Practice
CPD-Accredited Add to basketEthics for Healthcare Professionals
CPD-Accredited Add to basketProfessionalism for Healthcare Professionals
CPD-Accredited Add to basketHow to Deal with a Complaint or Investigation
CPD-Accredited Add to basketHow to Ensure a similar Mistake or Misconduct will not be repeated in Future
CPD-Accredited Add to basketFitness To Practice For Healthcare Professionals
CPD-Accredited Add to basketRebuilding Trust of Patients, Public, and Healthcare Regulator
CPD-Accredited Add to basketFurther relevant courses 10related areas that often arise alongside this concern
Professional Boundaries For Clinicians
CPD-Accredited Add to basketEthical Boundaries with Patients and Colleagues
CPD-Accredited Add to basketProfessionalism & Boundaries in Use of Social Media
CPD-Accredited Add to basketPrivacy, Consent, And Chaperone In Healthcare Practice
CPD-Accredited Add to basketEnsuring Clinical Competence And Patient Safety As Healthcare Professionals Courses
CPD-Accredited Add to basketPrescribing Guidance & Standards for Healthcare Professionals
CPD-Accredited Add to basketEnsuring Effective Communication as Healthcare Professionals
CPD-Accredited Add to basketEnsuring Teamwork and Collaboration for Healthcare Professionals
CPD-Accredited Add to basketHow to Avoid a Complaint or Investigation
CPD-Accredited Add to basketEnsuring Dignity and Non-Discrimination as Healthcare Professionals
CPD-Accredited Add to basketSocial Work England Professional Boundaries & Relationships Investigation
If your regulator has raised concerns about inappropriate relationships, dual roles, gifts, online contact or chaperoning, these CPD-Accredited courses could address the specific standards in question.
Primary recommended courses 18 the 8 Core Set courses apply to every case — the rest address this concern directly
Professional Boundaries For Clinicians
CPD-Accredited Add to basketEthical Boundaries with Patients and Colleagues
CPD-Accredited Add to basketPrivacy, Consent, And Chaperone In Healthcare Practice
CPD-Accredited Add to basketProfessionalism & Boundaries in Use of Social Media
CPD-Accredited Add to basketEthics and Ethical Standards for Social Workers
CPD-Accredited Add to basketProfessionalism and Professional Standards for Social Workers
CPD-Accredited Add to basketEnsuring Confidentiality in Healthcare Practice
CPD-Accredited Add to basketProfessionalism for Healthcare Professionals
CPD-Accredited Add to basketEthics for Healthcare Professionals
CPD-Accredited Add to basketEnsuring Dignity and Non-Discrimination as Healthcare Professionals
CPD-Accredited Add to basketHow to Ensure a similar Mistake or Misconduct will not be repeated in Future
CPD-Accredited Add to basketFitness To Practice For Healthcare Professionals
CPD-Accredited Add to basketRebuilding Trust of Patients, Public, and Healthcare Regulator
CPD-Accredited Add to basketFurther relevant courses 10related areas that often arise alongside this concern
Probity for Healthcare Professionals
CPD-Accredited Add to basketFinancial Integrity For Healthcare Professionals
CPD-Accredited Add to basketEnsuring Clinical Competence And Patient Safety As Healthcare Professionals Courses
CPD-Accredited Add to basketPrescribing Guidance & Standards for Healthcare Professionals
CPD-Accredited Add to basketDuty of Candour in Healthcare Practice
CPD-Accredited Add to basketProfessionalism in Documentation for Healthcare Professionals
CPD-Accredited Add to basketEnsuring Effective Communication as Healthcare Professionals
CPD-Accredited Add to basketEnsuring Teamwork and Collaboration for Healthcare Professionals
CPD-Accredited Add to basketHow to Deal with a Complaint or Investigation
CPD-Accredited Add to basketHow to Avoid a Complaint or Investigation
CPD-Accredited Add to basketSocial Work England Clinical Practice, Competence & Patient Safety Investigation
If your regulator has raised concerns about clinical errors, medication or prescribing incidents, failure to escalate, record-keeping or patient safety, these CPD-Accredited courses could address the specific standards in question.
Primary recommended courses 19 the 8 Core Set courses apply to every case — the rest address this concern directly
Ensuring Clinical Competence And Patient Safety As Healthcare Professionals Courses
CPD-Accredited Add to basketEthics and Ethical Standards for Social Workers
CPD-Accredited Add to basketProfessionalism and Professional Standards for Social Workers
CPD-Accredited Add to basketPrescribing Guidance & Standards for Healthcare Professionals
CPD-Accredited Add to basketProfessionalism in Documentation for Healthcare Professionals
CPD-Accredited Add to basketDuty of Candour in Healthcare Practice
CPD-Accredited Add to basketEnsuring Effective Communication as Healthcare Professionals
CPD-Accredited Add to basketEnsuring Teamwork and Collaboration for Healthcare Professionals
CPD-Accredited Add to basketHow to Deal with a Complaint or Investigation
CPD-Accredited Add to basketHow to Avoid a Complaint or Investigation
CPD-Accredited Add to basketPrivacy, Consent, And Chaperone In Healthcare Practice
CPD-Accredited Add to basketProfessionalism for Healthcare Professionals
CPD-Accredited Add to basketHow to Ensure a similar Mistake or Misconduct will not be repeated in Future
CPD-Accredited Add to basketFitness To Practice For Healthcare Professionals
CPD-Accredited Add to basketRebuilding Trust of Patients, Public, and Healthcare Regulator
CPD-Accredited Add to basketFurther relevant courses 9related areas that often arise alongside this concern
Ethics for Healthcare Professionals
CPD-Accredited Add to basketProbity for Healthcare Professionals
CPD-Accredited Add to basketFinancial Integrity For Healthcare Professionals
CPD-Accredited Add to basketProfessional Boundaries For Clinicians
CPD-Accredited Add to basketEthical Boundaries with Patients and Colleagues
CPD-Accredited Add to basketProfessionalism & Boundaries in Use of Social Media
CPD-Accredited Add to basketEnsuring Confidentiality in Healthcare Practice
CPD-Accredited Add to basketEnsuring Dignity and Non-Discrimination as Healthcare Professionals
CPD-Accredited Add to basketSocial Work England Fitness to Practice Investigation — General
If you do not yet know how your regulator has categorised the allegation, or you face concerns spanning several areas, start here. This is the broadest cross-section of our CPD-Accredited catalogue.
Primary recommended courses 18 the 8 Core Set courses apply to every case — the rest address this concern directly
Fitness To Practice For Healthcare Professionals
CPD-Accredited Add to basketEthics and Ethical Standards for Social Workers
CPD-Accredited Add to basketProfessionalism and Professional Standards for Social Workers
CPD-Accredited Add to basketEthics for Healthcare Professionals
CPD-Accredited Add to basketProfessionalism for Healthcare Professionals
CPD-Accredited Add to basketProbity for Healthcare Professionals
CPD-Accredited Add to basketProfessional Boundaries For Clinicians
CPD-Accredited Add to basketEnsuring Clinical Competence And Patient Safety As Healthcare Professionals Courses
CPD-Accredited Add to basketDuty of Candour in Healthcare Practice
CPD-Accredited Add to basketHow to Deal with a Complaint or Investigation
CPD-Accredited Add to basketEnsuring Effective Communication as Healthcare Professionals
CPD-Accredited Add to basketProfessionalism in Documentation for Healthcare Professionals
CPD-Accredited Add to basketHow to Ensure a similar Mistake or Misconduct will not be repeated in Future
CPD-Accredited Add to basketRebuilding Trust of Patients, Public, and Healthcare Regulator
CPD-Accredited Add to basketFurther relevant courses 10related areas that often arise alongside this concern
Financial Integrity For Healthcare Professionals
CPD-Accredited Add to basketEthical Boundaries with Patients and Colleagues
CPD-Accredited Add to basketProfessionalism & Boundaries in Use of Social Media
CPD-Accredited Add to basketPrivacy, Consent, And Chaperone In Healthcare Practice
CPD-Accredited Add to basketPrescribing Guidance & Standards for Healthcare Professionals
CPD-Accredited Add to basketEnsuring Confidentiality in Healthcare Practice
CPD-Accredited Add to basketEnsuring Teamwork and Collaboration for Healthcare Professionals
CPD-Accredited Add to basketHow to Avoid a Complaint or Investigation
CPD-Accredited Add to basketEnsuring Dignity and Non-Discrimination as Healthcare Professionals
CPD-Accredited Add to basketAll 28 CPD-Accredited Social Work England courses
Every course is certified by The CPD Certification Service, awards CPD hours/points, and issues a CPD certificate on completion. Each one appears as a core or primary recommendation under at least one concern type.
£792.0 CPD hours/points
Ethics and Ethical Standards for Social Workers
Helps you understand what the professional standards expects of you, where the concern is about your judgement, honesty, or conduct towards patients. Supports you in handling it openly and writing the reflection an investigator or a panel will read.
CPD-Accredited Add to basket£792.0 CPD hours/points
Professionalism and Professional Standards for Social Workers
Helps you see where your conduct, attitude, or behaviour towards patients and colleagues fell short of professional standards, and why that matters to your regulator. Supports you in building the insight and reflection that go into a remediation response.
CPD-Accredited Add to basket£491.5 CPD hours/points
Module on Insight
Insight is assessed in every case, whatever the allegation. Helps you understand what an investigator or a panel actually means by it, shows you how to demonstrate insight rather than assert it, and supports you in putting it in writing before a hearing.
CPD-Accredited Add to basket£491.5 CPD hours/points
Module on Reflection
Helps you write reflection that holds up to scrutiny from an investigator or a panel, analysing what happened rather than simply describing it. Supports you through the difficult feelings that get in the way, which is why most people find this harder than they expect.
CPD-Accredited Add to basket£491.5 CPD hours/points
Module on Remediation
Supports you in building a remediation plan around the concerns actually raised, rather than assembling a stack of certificates. Shows you how to record what you have changed and present that evidence to your regulator.
CPD-Accredited Add to basket£792.0 CPD hours/points
How to Ensure a similar Mistake or Misconduct will not be repeated in Future
Panels want to know one thing above all else: could this happen again? Helps you work out what genuinely caused it, put safeguards in place that someone else can verify, and answer that question convincingly at a hearing.
CPD-Accredited Add to basket£792.0 CPD hours/points
Fitness To Practice For Healthcare Professionals
Walks you through the process you are in: what fitness to practice means, why cases are opened, what happens at each stage, and what to expect if it reaches a hearing. A sensible first course if the letter you received is the first you have heard of any of this.
CPD-Accredited Add to basket£792.0 CPD hours/points
Rebuilding Trust of Patients, Public, and Healthcare Regulator
For cases where trust has broken down with patients, colleagues, or your regulator itself. Helps you understand what genuine trust-rebuilding looks like during a fitness to practice process, and supports you in demonstrating it rather than promising it.
CPD-Accredited Add to basket£792.0 CPD hours/points
Ethics for Healthcare Professionals
Helps you look honestly at a decision you made and why you made it, where that is what the concern turns on. Takes you through the situations that most often lead to referrals and supports you in showing what has since changed.
CPD-Accredited Add to basket£992.5 CPD hours/points
Medical Ethics Course
A longer course for cases where several concerns have been raised at once, or where the allegations are serious. Helps you work through difficult decisions in clinical practice and supports you in rebuilding trust with your regulator.
CPD-Accredited Add to basket£992.5 CPD hours/points
Professional Ethics Course
For cases where your honesty, integrity, or accountability in day-to-day practice has been questioned. Helps you see how these lapses usually happen and what they mean for patients and colleagues, and supports you in responding credibly during an investigation.
CPD-Accredited Add to basket£792.0 CPD hours/points
Professionalism for Healthcare Professionals
Some concerns do not fall neatly into one category. Reminds you what professional behaviour requires under real pressure, including fatigue and burnout, and helps you reflect on a lapse in a way a panel will find credible.
CPD-Accredited Add to basket£792.0 CPD hours/points
Probity for Healthcare Professionals
If your letter uses the word probity, start here. Helps you understand what honesty and integrity mean in records, declarations, and money, and supports you in rebuilding trust through a documented remediation plan.
CPD-Accredited Add to basket£792.0 CPD hours/points
Financial Integrity For Healthcare Professionals
For cases involving money — claims, declarations, undisclosed interests, or financial conduct that has been questioned. Helps you understand how these cases arise and what they mean for your registration, and supports you in responding.
CPD-Accredited Add to basket£792.0 CPD hours/points
Professional Boundaries For Clinicians
Boundary cases are among the most serious your regulator investigates. Helps you see where the lines sit and how they are crossed gradually, often without intent, and supports you in putting credible remediation together.
CPD-Accredited Add to basket£792.0 CPD hours/points
Ethical Boundaries with Patients and Colleagues
For a relationship that became too close, contact outside work, or gifts. Reminds you of the warning signs and why these cases are treated so seriously, and helps you show insight and accountability afterwards.
CPD-Accredited Add to basket£792.0 CPD hours/points
Professionalism & Boundaries in Use of Social Media
Something posted, shared, or messaged online can lead to a referral as readily as anything in a case note. Helps you understand where the line falls on patient contact, confidentiality, and public comment, and supports you in showing your conduct has changed.
CPD-Accredited Add to basket£792.0 CPD hours/points
Privacy, Consent, And Chaperone In Healthcare Practice
Consent is among the most common causes of referral. Reminds you what valid consent requires, how it should be recorded, and when a chaperone should be offered, and helps you reflect on a case where any of it was questioned.
CPD-Accredited Add to basket£792.0 CPD hours/points
Ensuring Clinical Competence And Patient Safety As Healthcare Professionals Courses
For concerns about your clinical judgement, knowledge, or practice. Helps you work within the limits of your competence, understand how gaps are assessed during an investigation, and show your regulator that competence has been restored.
CPD-Accredited Add to basket£792.0 CPD hours/points
Prescribing Guidance & Standards for Healthcare Professionals
Prescribing cases turn on specifics: controlled drugs, records, remote prescribing, or prescribing for yourself, family, or friends. Reminds you why each attracts scrutiny and supports you in responding where prescribing forms part of your case.
CPD-Accredited Add to basket£792.0 CPD hours/points
Ensuring Confidentiality in Healthcare Practice
A conversation overheard, records accessed, or something shared that should not have been. Helps you understand when disclosure is lawful and how breaches usually happen, and supports you in remediating one.
CPD-Accredited Add to basket£792.0 CPD hours/points
Duty of Candour in Healthcare Practice
Being open after something goes wrong is a duty, not a courtesy. Reminds you what you must tell a patient and when, helps you apologise properly without admitting liability, and explains why your regulator treats failures of candour so seriously.
CPD-Accredited Add to basket£792.0 CPD hours/points
Professionalism in Documentation for Healthcare Professionals
Record-keeping features in a large share of cases. Reminds you what accurate, timely notes should look like and how errors should be corrected, and supports you in reflecting on documentation that has been questioned.
CPD-Accredited Add to basket£792.0 CPD hours/points
Ensuring Effective Communication as Healthcare Professionals
Communication sits behind more complaints than any other single factor. Helps you look again at how you spoke to a patient, a family, or a colleague, and supports you in showing a panel what you would do differently.
CPD-Accredited Add to basket£792.0 CPD hours/points
Ensuring Teamwork and Collaboration for Healthcare Professionals
For concerns that involve colleagues rather than patients — conflict, handover, or how you behave within a team. Helps you understand what went wrong and supports you in evidencing changed working relationships to your regulator.
CPD-Accredited Add to basket£792.0 CPD hours/points
How to Deal with a Complaint or Investigation
Takes you through being investigated: what happens, in what order, and what is expected of you at each stage through to a hearing. Helps you respond well, build your evidence, and manage the strain of it.
CPD-Accredited Add to basket£792.0 CPD hours/points
How to Avoid a Complaint or Investigation
Helps you recognise the situations that most often lead to complaints, and head them off — communication, boundaries, records, and honesty. Useful to you as remediation evidence, and as ordinary CPD if you have had a near miss.
CPD-Accredited Add to basket£792.0 CPD hours/points
Ensuring Dignity and Non-Discrimination as Healthcare Professionals
For cases where a patient or colleague says they were not treated with dignity or respect. Reminds you what is expected, helps you see how bias shapes decisions without anyone noticing, and supports you in responding to your regulator.
CPD-Accredited Add to basketIn short
What are social work remediation courses?
Social work remediation courses are CPD-accredited courses taken by a social worker to evidence insight, reflection and remediation in response to a concern raised with their regulator. They are not a regulator’s product and no regulator approves them: what they provide is independent certification and a dated record that you acted, and when.
This page carries 28 such courses, £49 to £99 each, every one certified by The CPD Certification Service under Provider No. 13197. Eight form a Core Set that applies to any allegation; the rest are grouped by the type of concern raised. Each awards 1.5 to 2.5 CPD hours/points and issues a certificate on completion.
Social work is regulated separately in each UK nation, and the standards are worded differently in each — Social Work England’s six professional standards, the SSSC Codes of Practice, the Social Care Wales Code of Professional Practice, and the NISCC Standards of Conduct and Practice. What every one of them looks for when a concern is raised is the same: that you understand what went wrong, have reflected on it honestly, and can evidence what has changed. No course decides a case and no provider can promise an outcome.
Before you write anything
Who decides your case, and in which nation
Social work is the only profession on this site regulated by four different bodies. Which one holds your registration decides the whole shape of your case, and the stages below are Social Work England’s. Knowing which stage you are at changes what you should be writing and when.
One protected title, four regulators
The title social worker is protected in law across the whole United Kingdom, but there is no single UK register. To use it you must be registered with the regulator for the nation you work in: Social Work England, the Scottish Social Services Council, Social Care Wales or the Northern Ireland Social Care Council. If you move nation, you register again.
Social Work England is the newest of the four
It took over the regulation of social workers in England from the Health and Care Professions Council on 2 December 2019. It is also the odd one out constitutionally: a non-departmental public body accountable to government departments rather than directly to Parliament, which is how most healthcare regulators are constituted.
Four stages, and it matters which one you are in
Social Work England’s fitness to practise process runs in four stages: triage, where it is decided whether a concern merits investigation; investigation, which it aims to conclude within six months; the case examiner stage; and, if it gets that far, a hearing before adjudicators.
Two case examiners and the realistic prospect test
At the case examiner stage a pair of case examiners read the investigation report and apply one test: is there a realistic prospect that adjudicators would find your fitness to practise impaired. If there is not, they can close the concern outright. This is the last point at which a case can end quietly, and it is decided on the papers.
Accepted disposal: a case can end without a hearing
Where the case examiners do find a realistic prospect of impairment, they can propose an outcome to you directly instead of sending the case to a hearing. If you accept the proposal and the final order, the case examiners close the case. That is called accepted disposal, and it depends on you being able to show insight and evidenced remediation at the case examiner stage rather than after a hearing date is set.
Adjudicators are independent of the regulator
If a case does go to a hearing, it is decided by adjudicators — appointed by Social Work England but independent of it, required to declare any conflict of interest, deciding on the evidence and the law alone and giving reasons. Interim orders are reviewed by adjudicators too, and you can ask for an early review.
What does not change, in any nation
The standards are worded differently in each of the four nations, but what every one of them looks for when a concern is raised is the same: insight into what happened, reflection set down in your own words, and remediation you can evidence. That is what the Core Set below is built around.
What a course cannot do
No course decides a fitness to practise case, and no provider can promise an outcome. What a dated certificate from an external provider can do is evidence that you acted, and when.
Social Work England Investigations
Supporting Social Workers through regulatory proceedings
- Courses
- 28, all CPD-certified
- Price
- £49 to £99 per course
- CPD per course
- 1.5 to 2.5 hours/points
- Core set
- 8 courses, 14.5 CPD hours
- Aligned with
- SWE professional standards & SSSC Codes of Practice
- Certificate
- Issued on completion, downloadable
- Accreditation
- The CPD Certification Service, Provider No. 13197
- Format
- Online, self-paced, instant access
- Who they cover
- Social Workers across all four UK nations
- CPD
- No revalidation. England: annual renewal with CPD recorded against professional standard 4. Scotland: Post Registration Training and Learning, the equivalent of 15 days per registration period, recorded in MySSSC. Social Work England requires you to keep recording CPD while a fitness to practice investigation is open.
Facing an investigation by the Social Work England or the SSSC can be one of the most professionally challenging experiences of a Social Worker's career. Whether you are subject to a fitness to practice inquiry, a complaint about your conduct, or concerns raised about your professional standards, demonstrating active engagement with remediation and professional development is a critical part of your response.
Our courses are purpose-built to help Social Workers across the UK respond to a concern raised with their regulator. In England that is Social Work England and its six professional standards; in Scotland it is the Scottish Social Services Council and the Codes of Practice for Social Service Workers. Social work is regulated separately in each nation — Social Care Wales in Wales and the Northern Ireland Social Care Council in Northern Ireland — but the substance of what a regulator looks for is the same everywhere: insight, honest reflection, and evidence that something has changed. Taking proactive steps through structured CPD, reflective practice and demonstrable behaviour change is what investigators and panels look for as evidence of genuine remediation.
All courses are CPD-Accredited and certified by The CPD Certification Service (CPD UK). Each course awards CPD hours/points and issues a CPD certificate on completion, which you can include in a remediation portfolio, in a written response to your regulator, or in your revalidation records alongside your own reflection.
Why These Courses
Why CPD-Accredited courses matter for Social Work England remediation
The Social Work England expects registrants to demonstrate genuine insight and measurable professional development. Accredited Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is one of the clearest ways to show you have taken your obligations seriously.
Built to support your response
Every course is independently assessed and certified by The CPD Certification Service. The certificate, together with the reflection you write from it, is suitable for inclusion in a remediation portfolio or a written response to your regulator.
Immediately available
Access your course the moment you enrol. No waiting, no scheduling — useful when you need to demonstrate prompt action to your regulator or your indemnity provider.
Aligned to the professional standards
Every course is aligned with the professional standards, addressing the standards most commonly cited in referrals, fitness to practice proceedings and revalidation portfolios.
The kind of CPD advisers ask for
Indemnity providers and regulatory solicitors routinely advise social workers facing regulatory proceedings to undertake structured, certified CPD as part of a remediation plan. We receive recommendations from them, which is not the same as formal endorsement by any organisation.
Certificate on completion
Receive a verifiable CPD certificate for each course completed, to include in a remediation portfolio alongside your own reflection, or to share with your solicitor or indemnity provider.
Expert-developed content
Courses are developed by UK healthcare ethics and regulatory specialists with direct knowledge of the professional standards, the professional standards, fitness to practice expectations and remediation best practice.
How It Works
How our courses support your case
A four-step process to demonstrate insight and remediation to your regulator.
Select your courses
Add the Core Remediation Set, then use the concern selector to find courses relevant to what your regulator has raised. Check out securely.
Complete online
Work through each course at your own pace, fully online and available 24/7. Courses include reflective exercises and knowledge assessments aligned to the professional standards.
Receive your certificate
On completion, download your certificate immediately. Each shows the course title, CPD hours/points and your name.
Submit as evidence
Share certificates with your solicitor, indemnity provider or your regulator directly as part of your remediation statement.
Life does not always go according to plan.We are here to help…
Author and course facilitator
Key terms
What your regulator means by insight, reflection and remediation
Four terms recur throughout regulatory correspondence. They are not interchangeable, and being clear about which one a letter is asking for makes a practical difference to how you respond.
- Fitness to practice
- Having the skills, knowledge, character and health to practise your profession safely and effectively. A regulator opens a fitness to practice investigation when a concern suggests that one of those may be in question. It is a question about current and future safety, not only about what happened.
- Insight
- Understanding what went wrong, why it happened, and the effect it had on patients, colleagues and public confidence in the profession. Insight is assessed at almost every stage, whatever the allegation, and it is the element most often described as lacking.
- Reflection
- Setting that understanding down honestly and in your own words, including what you would do differently and what you have already changed. Reflection is the written record of insight, which is why the two are so often confused.
- Remediation
- The concrete steps taken so that the same thing does not happen again — training, supervision, changes to how you work — together with evidence that they happened. Insight without remediation is an account; remediation without insight is a certificate.
These descriptions are our summary of how the terms are used in regulatory practice. They are not quotations from your regulator, and they are not legal advice. Your defence organisation or solicitor should advise on your own case.
Who these courses are for
Social Workers in all four UK nations
Social work is regulated separately in each nation, and the standards are worded differently in each. What every regulator looks for when a concern is raised is the same: that you understand what went wrong, have reflected on it honestly, and can evidence what has changed. These courses support that, wherever you are registered.
Six professional standards
Codes of Practice for Social Service Workers
Code of Professional Practice for Social Care Workers, in force since 1 July 2026
Standards of Conduct and Practice
FAQs
Social Work England remediation courses: frequently asked questions
Answers to the most common questions from Social Workers facing regulatory proceedings.
Will completing these courses help my case?
Yes. Completing accredited CPD relevant to the concerns raised is one of the most effective steps you can take. Investigators and fitness to practice panels look for evidence of genuine insight, remediation and proactive professional development. A certificate from The CPD Certification Service shows structured, documented learning, and gives your written reflection something concrete to build on. How much weight it carries depends on the circumstances of your case, and no course can guarantee an outcome.
Does your regulator approve or accept these courses?
Regulators do not approve, accredit or endorse courses from any provider, including us, and do not keep approved lists. What our courses give you is independent certification by The CPD Certification Service and a CPD certificate recording what you studied and when. You can include that in a remediation portfolio, a written response, or your CPD record — and it is the reflection you attach to it that carries the weight.
How quickly can I access a course after purchasing?
Immediately. Access is granted as soon as your payment is confirmed — no waiting period and no scheduling required. If you are facing an imminent deadline or hearing, you can begin your course and obtain a certificate the same day.
How long do I have access, and can I retake a course?
Twelve months from the date of purchase. The course sits in your account for that whole period, and you can return to it as often as you like, including after you have completed it and downloaded your certificate. Rereading the material costs nothing.
A certificate carries the date you completed the course. If you need one with a current date on it, that means completing the course again, which means buying it again. A repeat purchase of an online course made within your twelve months is charged at half the course fee; once the twelve months have ended it is charged at the full fee. Face-to-face courses are charged at the full fee whenever they are repeated.
Which courses should I choose for my specific regulatory investigation?
Start with the Core Remediation Set. These eight courses cover insight, reflection, remediation and rebuilding trust, and are relevant to every case whatever the allegation.
Then use the concern selector to add courses that address your specific issue: ethics and ethical conduct; professionalism, conduct and attitude; probity, honesty and financial integrity; professional boundaries and relationships; or clinical practice, competence and patient safety. If you do not yet know how your regulator has categorised your case, choose Fitness to Practice, or contact us for personalised guidance.
How many CPD hours or points does each course award?
Most courses award 2 CPD hours/points. The three short modules — Insight, Reflection and Remediation — award 1.5 CPD hours/points each. The Medical Ethics Course and the Professional Ethics Course award 2.5 CPD hours/points each. The Core Remediation Set totals 14.5 CPD hours/points across its eight courses.
Do the courses count towards my CPD?
Yes. All courses award verifiable CPD hours/points certified by The CPD Certification Service (CPD UK). There is no revalidation in social work. In England you renew annually and must record CPD against Social Work England’s professional standard 4, which is the CPD standard. In Scotland the SSSC requires Post Registration Training and Learning — the equivalent of 15 days across each registration period — recorded through MySSSC. A certified course and your written reflection on it fit both.
I have received a notification of referral — what should I do first?
Contact your indemnity provider or a specialist healthcare regulatory solicitor immediately. Alongside legal advice, begin demonstrating proactive remediation by enrolling in courses relevant to the concerns raised. Early action signals insight and genuine willingness to improve — both factors your regulator weighs heavily in investigation and hearings.
Can I purchase courses for a colleague or member of my team?
Yes. Team managers, principal social workers and workforce development leads can purchase courses on behalf of registrants. Please see our bulk buy offer or contact us for team and group enrolment options, especially if several Social Workers need to complete the same course as part of a team-wide remediation programme.
Are these courses suitable if I am not currently under regulatory investigation?
Yes. Many Social Workers take these courses as part of their proactive CPD, renewal preparation or supervision evidence, to deepen their understanding of the professional standards, or to strengthen areas of practice they feel less confident about. Completing ethics and professionalism CPD is good practice for all registrants, regardless of regulatory proceedings.
Official guidance
Read your regulator’s own guidance
Social work is regulated separately in each UK nation. Read the source material for yours.
The one requirement most people miss. Social Work England’s own CPD guidance states that “you must continue to record CPD” if you are subject to a fitness to practise investigation, or if you have a live sanction of suspension or conditions. The reason it gives is that you need to be able to show how you meet the CPD requirements once the investigation concludes. CPD during an investigation is not optional extra credit — it is a standing obligation while your case is open.
Social Work England professional standards
The six standards, including standard 4 on CPD and standard 6 on declaring and cooperating.
socialworkengland.org.uk ↗ England · If a concern is raisedFitness to practise guide
How investigations work, what adjudicators decide, and the sanctions available.
socialworkengland.org.uk ↗ Scotland · StandardsSSSC Codes of Practice
The standards of conduct and practice for social service workers and their employers.
sssc.uk.com ↗ Scotland · If a concern is raisedSSSC fitness to practise
The investigation process, temporary orders, and Fitness to Practise Panel hearings.
sssc.uk.com ↗Probity & Ethics is an independent CPD provider. We are not affiliated with, accredited by, or endorsed by Social Work England, the Scottish Social Services Council, Social Care Wales, the Northern Ireland Social Care Council, or any other regulator.
Go deeper
Our guide to fitness to practise
The courses evidence your remediation. This guide explains the process around them, in more depth than this page allows.
Other Regulators
Remediation courses for other healthcare regulators
We run equivalent CPD-Accredited remediation courses for professionals regulated by other UK healthcare bodies.
- Courses for GMC remediation — doctors
- Courses for GDC remediation — dentists and dental care professionals
- Courses for GPhC remediation — pharmacists
- Courses for HCPC remediation — allied health professionals
- Courses for GOC remediation — optometrists
- Courses for GCC investigations — chiropractors
- Courses for GOsC investigations — osteopaths
- Courses for NMC remediation — nurses and midwives
Prefer a live course, or booking for a team? The same material runs as facilitated day courses via video link. Social workers can book a place on a scheduled date — see Face-to-Face Courses, £499 or £449 inside the Bulk Buy bundle. Organisations can arrange a session for their staff — see courses for healthcare organisations.
Start your Social Work England remediation today
Our courses are here to support Social Workers through fitness to practice processes, investigations and complaints. Immediate access, a CPD certificate on completion from courses certified by The CPD Certification Service, and from £49 per course.