Practice breaks policy

Taking a break from practice for less than two years

• If you are registered with NRCPD you can take a break from Professional practice but stay on the register if
• a. your break is less than one year;
• b. you have paid the annual registration fee; and
• c. you meet the annual CPD requirement.

• Please tell us if you are prevented from engaging in professional practice due to illness, injury, parental leave, bereavement or some other event. We will reduce your CPD requirement for up to12 months if
• a. you provide evidence for your inability to work; and
• b. the duration of the inability to work is one month or more.

• If you are prevented from practicing due to illness, injury, parental leave, bereavement or some other event, you are responsible for making sure you are fit to practice after your break.

Taking a break from practice for more than two years

• You will be classed as taking a break from practice if
• a. you take a break from practice for more than two years; or
• b. you take a break from practice for less than two year but are unable to meet the annual CPD requirement.
• c. You take a break from registration whether practising or not.

• If you are already registered with NRCPD and take a break from practice, we will remove your name from the register and you will not appear on the public search facility. You should notify us of your break as soon as possible, using the practice break notification form.

• After your break from practice, NRCPD need to be confident your knowledge and skills are at the appropriate level before registering you. The length of your break determines what you need to do.

Registration requirements after a break of up to two years

• A CPD profile of 24 hours of CPD activity. This must include 2 different structured activities and 1 unstructured activity.

Taking a break from practice within two years of Qualifying

Newly qualified professionals must register within 6 months of qualifying and begin completing Continuing Professional Development (CPD).

If you are newly qualified (within two years since qualification) and are unable to work due to illness, injury, parental leave, bereavement, or other reasons, we will reduce your CPD requirement by 50% if

• you provide evidence for your inability to work and
• the duration of the inability to work is one month or more.

The reduction of 50% CPD will only apply for the first year of the practice break. Where practice breaks continue beyond a 12 month period, you must complete the full CPD requirement for the second year before returning to the register.

If you are unable to complete any CPD for a 12 month period, a practice assessment will be required before you return to the register.

No further adjustments can be made during the first 2 years post qualification.

Registration requirements after a two or more years break from practice

• A CPD profile of 24 hours of activity that has been developed with, monitored by and verified by a qualified assessor in the same professional category (or suitably experienced communication professional in the case of STTRs, lipspeakers, notetakers and interpreters for deafblind people). This must include 2 different structured activities and 1 unstructured activity.

• An assessment by a qualified assessor in the same professional category (or suitably experienced communication professional in the case of STTRs, lipspeakers, notetakers and interpreters for deafblind people).

• *Accepted Assessing Qualifications

• Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement (qualified Assessor)
• PGCE (Postgraduate Certificate in Education)
• QTS (Qualified Teacher Status)
• CertEd (Certificate in Education)
• DET (Diploma in Education and Training)
• PGDE (Postgraduate Diploma in Education)
• QTLS (Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills)
• SCITT (School-Centred Initial Teacher Training)
• MAEd (Masters in Education

If you have a qualification that is not listed, please get in touch and provide the full details of your qualification.

Registration requirements after being registered with another regulator

• Evidence of your registration with your current regulator. You must have been registered for a minimum of 12 months, within the last 12 months.

• A CPD profile of 24 hours of activity. This must include 2 different structured activities and 1 unstructured activity.

• Evidence of your qualifications

Special Consideration

• If you have not taken a break from practice but are unable to meet the CPD requirement. Please contact us to discuss your circumstances

Continuing professional development

• The CPD requirement must be fulfilled within the twelve months before you apply for registration.

• Your CPD activity can include both structured and unstructured activity.
• a. You must complete at least 2 different structured activities and 1 unstructured activity.

• If you have been using your skills during your break you can use that activity to complete your CPD profile. It might include
• a. a research or teaching position related to your profession; or
• b. remaining active by volunteering, outreach or consultancy work.

This can account for 50% of your CPD requirement and you must provide dates and times of the work as well as relevant notes/research.

• Full guidance on developing a CPD profile can be found in the CPD handbook on the NRCPD website.

Fees

• Any fees associated with meeting the requirements for registration are the responsibility of the applicant.