Our CPD Quality Assurance Standards
Clear, rigorous CPD quality assurance standards designed to recognise high-quality Continuing Professional Development.
Every application is reviewed against defined criteria to ensure CPD is structured, relevant, credible and capable of delivering meaningful professional development.
What We Assess
Learning Outcomes
Learning outcomes should clearly describe what participants are expected to know, understand or be able to do after completing the CPD activity and should be appropriate for its purpose and intended audience.
Course Content
Content should be relevant, accurate, current and appropriate for the intended audience, with sufficient depth to support the stated learning outcomes.
Structure & Delivery
The learning activity should have a logical structure and clear learning journey, with content and delivery methods appropriate to the stated outcomes and intended participants.
Learner Assessment
Where appropriate, assessment should provide suitable evidence that learning, understanding or participation has taken place and should align with the stated learning outcomes and course content.
Supporting Evidence
Providers should supply sufficient course materials, learner guidance and supporting documentation to enable an independent assessment of the quality and suitability of the CPD activity.
CPD Hours
Claimed CPD hours should reflect genuine learning time and be supported by the structure and content of the activity. Breaks, registration, refreshments and unrelated activity should not be included.
Our CPD Quality Assurance Principles
Independent
Consistent
Evidence-Based
Quality-Focused
Applications are assessed objectively against defined standards.
The same core assessment criteria are applied across applications.
Validation decisions are based on the documentation and evidence submitted.
Validation is designed to recognise credible and meaningful professional development.
Possible Validation Outcomes
Approved
The CPD meets the required validation standards.
Referred
Further information, evidence or improvements are required before a final decision.
Not Approved
The submission does not currently meet the required standards.
Applicants receiving a referral will be told what further information or improvements are required.
Maintaining Standards
Validation applies to the course or CPD activity assessed. Providers are responsible for maintaining the quality and integrity of the validated content. Material changes to validated CPD may require further review to ensure ongoing compliance with our standards.