Continuous Professional Development (CPD)

At the CIEP, we believe that all individuals and teams can benefit from engaging in CPD, and there are also benefits for the profession when practitioners commit to continuously developing their skills and knowledge. Some of the benefits of CPD are:  

• identifying and addressing professional development needs 

• reflecting on professional progress 

• supporting career development and progression 

• demonstrating commitment to the profession 

• driving the progression and standards of the profession 

• increasing confidence and credibility 

• building specialist subject knowledge to improve earning potential.

CPD can take many forms. Some CPD activities will be more formal, such as a qualification or assessed training course, whereas others are informal, such as reading relevant blog posts or listening to relevant podcasts. The type of CPD activities you choose will depend on your personal objectives, but some examples available via the CIEP are:  

• completing a self-assessed training course 

• completing a tutor-assessed training course 

• attending the CIEP conference (either online or in person)

• attending local or special interest group meetings (either online or in person)

• reading CIEP content (such as blogs, factsheets and guides) 

• volunteering on CIEP committees or special working groups

• attending online CPD events such as webinars

• completing CIEP exercises. 

The CIEP recognises that members may look to other training providers or organisations for their CPD activities. Other activities that members may choose to engage in include:  

• mentoring and coaching

• attending webinars 

• listening to podcasts 

• reading relevant books, blogs, articles or magazines

• attending relevant conferences

• completing relevant qualifications or training courses.

There are five key stages involved in the CPD cycle: 

1. Identifying your needs: It's important to start by identifying your learning and professional development needs so your CPD is targeted and supports you to meet your objectives and goals. Using frameworks, such as the CIEP's Curriculum for Professional Development, can be a helpful starting point to assess your current knowledge and skills against good practice or standards and to identify any gaps. 

2. Planning your CPD: Once you've identified your learning and professional development needs, you should plan how you are going to plug any gaps in your skills, knowledge or experience. CIEP members might like to use the free CPD planning template available above. 

3. Undertaking and recording CPD: Now that you have a plan in place, you can start to put that plan into action by engaging with the CPD activities that are available to you. CPD takes many forms, and it's a good idea to try to engage with a variety of activities wherever possible. 

4. Reflecting on your learning: It's important to reflect on any CPD that you complete, and the CIEP's CPD tool has a section dedicated to reflection where you can add your thoughts. Your reflective commentary might include your thoughts on how useful you found the CPD activity and why, the learning you'll take away from the activity and how you'll apply that learning to your professional practice. 

5. Applying your learning: The final stage of the CPD cycle is to apply your learning to your professional practice. As you do, you should continue to reflect on how your CPD has affected your working practice. 

Is CPD mandatory for CIEP members?  

All CIEP members are encouraged to engage with CPD in order to support their professional development, and using the online CPD tool is a great way of recording the CPD that you have completed. However, completing and recording CPD is not a mandatory requirement.  

How many hours of CPD should I complete each year?  

Because CPD is not mandatory for CIEP members, we have not set a target number of hours which members should complete annually. However, we recommend that members aim to complete at least 25 hours of CPD each year (which equates to just less than half an hour per week).  

What counts as CPD? 

Any activity which supports you to become a better editorial professional counts as CPD. We recommend that, to get the most of your CPD, you set yourself objectives or create a professional development plan, and engage in activities which allow you to achieve those objectives. However, we recognise that objectives and priorities can shift throughout the year and plans need to be flexible.  

Can I use my CPD record to support my CIEP membership upgrade application? 

Using the tool is a great way to record the CPD you have completed, some of which you may be able to use as evidence towards your upgrade application. You can find out more about the upgrading process and criteria here. Please note that your CPD record will not automatically be logged in your upgrade application. 

Who has access to my CPD record?

Your CPD record will not be shared with anyone outside of the CIEP office. Members of the office team have access to data in the CPD records (including reflective statements) via a CPD dashboard. This information will only be used to assess how members are using the tool.