Happy New Year!

24 January 2013

Welcome to your first Registration Update for 2013.

2013 Renewals

Revalidation became an eligibility requirement for Registration renewals from 2 January. Registered Professionals who apply to renew in 2013 must have completed the revalidation record in your online registration account to be eligible.

The decision on which development activities to undertake is yours. We trust you to be clear on what your professional development needs are and make the right decisions about the development activity you undertake. For renewal applications in 2013 we require you to record 12 hours development activity.

Keep a file of the evidence to support the record you create online. We'll ask a significant number of you to send in your file, so we can audit it. Based on what you all put on the system and the outcome of the audit we'll offer advice and guidance for following years. Our approach will be supportive and constructive, as always.

The most common question is about the criteria for structured versus unstructured activity. Essentially structured is anything that has a predetermined learning outcome. We publish answers to the questions we get on www.nrcpd.org.uk/revalidation, so if you're unsure about anything you should find the answer there. If not, get in touch. For those of you planning an extended break from regulated practice, or suffering illness that prevents you from working for an extended period, the Revalidation requirement is pro-rata for the months you work, with the support of relevant documentation - please contact us, for further information. The board will consult on an extended breaks policy at the February Practitioners' Forum meeting, and publish after its meeting in March.
Supporting Information. We have to see the original of documents you provide to support your application. We will return the documents you provide with your official confirmation letter and ID card. When you make an application, please make sure that your address details in the My Information section of your online registration account are up to date, so they get back to the right address.
Late Renewals. After 31 March 2013 we will charge an administration fee for renewal applications made more than three months after the end of your previous Registration. If you complete your application within three months of your previous expiry date, we will backdate your Registration to run continuously.

New Approved Courses

We are delighted to tell you that we have approved Durham University's MA in Translation Studies and Queen's University Belfast MA in Interpreting. Graduates of the QUB MA are eligible to register as Sign Language Interpreters. Language combinations will include BSL/ISL, ISL/English and BSL/English.

Graduates of the Durham MA course are eligible to register as Sign Language Interpreters or Sign Language Translators depending on the modalities of English they use to complete the qualification.

We look forward to welcoming the graduates on to the register in the future.

Strategy Update

NRCPD Board met in London on 8 November 2012 for a facilitated discussion on its strategic aspirations for 2013-2016. The results of that discussion will inform more detailed planning work for activities NRCPD will engage in over that period.

The Board agreed four statements of strategic intent:

Achieve increased credibility and authority with key stakeholders by establishing external validation of the registers;
NRCPD will need to be relentlessly competent every day with every aspect of service delivery;
Achieve increased awareness by ensuring Service Providers stipulate registration as a pre-requisite to employment;
Gain increased trust and respect from key stakeholders via a programme of practical engagement.

We look forward to discussions in our consultative framework to refine these statements, and scope and plan the activity needed to achieve them.

SignSafe

We all know it can be complicated for the public to understand whether they are using an interpreter who is safe to practise, or an untrained 'signer', and we know many Registered Sign Language Interpreters have been frustrated at losing work to unregistered, unqualified service providers. With that in mind, at the end of 2012 we launched SignSafe™ to make the choice clear and simple. Our aim is to make it easy for the public to choose a Registered Interpreter and highlight the risks of using untrained interpreters. We have sent every Registered Sign Language Interpreter a supply of SignSafe™ promotional leaflets that show the public NRCPD Registered interpreters are proud to operate to professional standards. We are promoting SignSafe™ directly to interpreting purchasers and corporate bodies and we ask you to promote the campaign by wearing your Photo ID Card and handing out the leaflets to clients and customers. If you need more leaflets, please get in touch.

Payment of fees

Please remember to pay your Registration fee in line with the terms set out on the invoice you receive. We will remove from the register individuals who do not pay their fees in a timely manner. Make your cheques payable to 'NRCPD', or use the online payment facility offered by Signature.

Changes to CRB enhanced disclosures

The Criminal Records Bureau for England and Wales has merged with the Independent Safeguarding Authority to become the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). In Scotland the Protecting Vulnerable Groups Scheme is fully up and running. Some of you have told us you are experiencing difficulties in securing the paperwork required to register. We are investigating and will update you when we have made progress.

Review of Code of Conduct

A small working group of the NRCPD Board and Standards Advisors is reviewing the Code of Conduct for Communication Professionals. The working group is due to report its recommendations to the board meeting in March and we will open a consultation shortly after that.

NOS for Lipspeakers and Speech to Text Reporters

NOS for lipspeakers and speech to text reporters can be found here: http://www.skillscfa.org/standards-qualifications/language-intercultural.html

Numbers registered

The numbers of registered communication professionals at 31 December 2011 and 31 December 2012 are:

	31/12/11	31/12/12
Registered Sign Language Interpreters	714	773
Trainee Sign Language Interpreters	N/A	248
Trainee Interpreters	106	0
Junior Trainee Interpreters	160	0
Registered Sign Language Translators	N/A	4
Registered Lipspeakers	36	42
Registered Speech to Text Reporters	26	25
Registered Electronic Notetakers	14	11
Registered Manual Notetakers	12	12
Registered Interpreters for Deafblind People	19	17
Total	1,087	1,132

The total number has risen by 45 compared to this time last year. Thanks to you all once again for your support and recognition of the importance of professional registration.