3.1 Explain the professional responsibility to maintain current and competent practice

This guide will help you answer 3.1 Explain the professional responsibility to maintain current and competent practice.

Working with children and young people demands a high level of skill, accuracy and understanding. Your practice affects the wellbeing, safety and development of those in your care. This means you carry an ongoing responsibility to make sure your skills and knowledge stay current and competent.

Competent practice means performing your role to the required standard. Current practice means being up to date with best methods, legislation and guidance. Both work together and are an ongoing commitment throughout your career.

Why Maintaining Current Practice is Important

Children’s needs change as they grow. New research brings improvements in learning, safeguarding, and child development. Legal requirements and government guidance can change. If your knowledge stays static, your practice will quickly become outdated. Outdated practice can lead to mistakes, breaches of law, or missed opportunities to support a child’s development.

New laws and guidance often aim to improve safety and welfare. A worker who keeps updated can apply these improvements straight away. This protects children and keeps the setting within the law.

Key Areas to Keep Updated

There are several main areas where you should actively maintain competence and stay current.

Legislation and statutory guidance – Examples include the Children Act, Working Together to Safeguard Children, the Data Protection Act 2018, Equality Act 2010. These laws set duties for how you work with and protect children.
Safeguarding – Guidance on recognising abuse, recording concerns, making referrals, and working with other agencies can change. New risks may arise such as online safety and exploitation.
Health and safety – This covers safe environments, risk assessment procedures, accident recording, and infection prevention. Updates can come from HSE guidance or public health information.
Child development knowledge – Research on attachment, behaviour management, learning strategies, and mental health support changes practice for better outcomes.
Special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) – New methods, policy changes and inclusion strategies improve support for children with additional needs.

Approaches to Staying Current

You need active habits to keep your practice up to date. Passively relying on what you once learned will lead to poor standards.

Practical approaches include:

Attending relevant training courses and workshops
Reading professional publications, newsletters, and research summaries
Following updates from government departments and regulatory bodies
Taking part in peer discussions and professional networking groups
Observing experienced colleagues and reflecting on their methods
Booking refresher training for first aid, safeguarding, and other mandatory areas

The Role of Continuous Professional Development (CPD)

Continuous Professional Development means ongoing learning and improvement in your role. It is a formal way to meet your professional responsibility. CPD can include both structured training and informal learning.

Structured CPD activities include:

Accredited training programmes
Online certified courses
Conferences and seminars
Specialist workshops

Informal CPD activities include:

Reading relevant books and articles
Keeping up with sector news
Learning from feedback received from managers or colleagues
Self-reflection after challenging situations

Keeping a CPD record helps track progress and demonstrate your commitment to competence.

Applying Updated Knowledge in Practice

Keeping updated is not enough unless you actively apply changes to your work. You should take new learning and embed it into your daily activities. This might mean adapting routines, changing approaches to behaviour management, or updating risk assessments.

For example, if new guidance advises a better method for preventing choking hazards, you should:

Train staff on the method
Update written policies and procedures
Apply the changes in daily practice
Check all staff follow the updated approach

Action is what maintains both current and competent practice.

The Importance of Reflection

Reflection is looking back on what you did, asking what went well and what could be improved. It links directly to updating practice.

After attending training or dealing with an incident:

Think about how the situation developed
Identify what worked and what did not
Compare with up-to-date guidance
Plan how to change your approach next time

Reflection strengthens your competence and prevents repeating mistakes.

Accountability and Professional Ethics

Workers in the children and young people’s workforce hold a duty of care. This duty is backed by contracts, policies and professional codes of conduct. Being accountable means accepting responsibility for your actions and their effects.

If your practice is no longer current, you cannot meet professional ethics standards. This can harm children and damage trust. Professional ethics often highlight respect, honesty, fairness and safeguarding. Keeping competence current supports all of these principles.

Meeting Organisational Expectations

Most organisations expect workers to maintain training and competence records. This may include:

Completing mandatory refresher courses within given timescales
Providing evidence of CPD hours or qualifications
Following updated policies without delay

Meeting these expectations is part of your professional responsibility. Failure to do this can lead to disciplinary action or loss of employment.

Consequences of Not Maintaining Competence

If you do not keep your practice current:

Quality of care drops
Children may not receive support in line with their needs
There is an increased safeguarding risk
You could breach legal requirements
Parents and carers may lose trust in your service
Your setting could face inspection failures or legal action

These consequences show why your responsibility should be taken seriously.

Working with Others to Maintain Competence

Working with others helps share knowledge and build skills. This can include:

Team meetings to discuss updates in legislation or policies
Peer observations and feedback
Joint training sessions with other professionals
Sharing relevant articles, research, and resources with colleagues

Collaboration reduces the risk of gaps in knowledge and builds a consistent approach across the team.

Professional Responsibility as an Ongoing Commitment

Your responsibility to maintain competence does not end after initial training or qualification. It continues every day. Each change in policy, new law, or discovered best practice is a prompt to update knowledge.

You need to approach your role with the understanding that learning never stops. Being proactive rather than reactive keeps you ahead of changes and supports the highest level of care.

Self-Assessment and Identifying Training Needs

Part of maintaining competence is recognising when your skills and knowledge need improvement. Self-assessment means looking honestly at what you know and where your confidence is low.

Methods of self-assessment include:

Keeping track of situations where you felt unsure
Requesting feedback from supervisors and peers
Comparing current practice to official guidance
Reviewing past incidents to spot areas for learning

Once you identify a need, you should arrange training or support to fill that gap.

Adapting Practice to New Technology

Technology plays a growing role in children’s services. Examples include digital safeguarding records, online communication with parents, and educational apps.

Your professional responsibility includes learning how to use technology safely and effectively. Poor use of technology can breach confidentiality or reduce the quality of learning.

Approaches include:

Attending training on new systems or software
Understanding data protection rules for digital storage
Reviewing guidance on safe internet use for children

Updating your skills keeps both your work and the children safe.

Recording Evidence of Competence

Organisations and inspectors often require proof that workers are current and competent. Evidence can include:

Certificates from recent training
CPD logs
Appraisal records
Notes from reflective practice sessions
Updated policies you have followed or contributed to

Recording evidence shows your commitment and helps in inspections or audits.

Encouraging a Culture of Learning

A culture of learning within the workplace supports everyone’s responsibility to remain competent. When leaders promote regular training and discussion, staff are more likely to stay updated.

You can help create this culture by:

Sharing what you learned from recent training
Asking questions and encouraging discussion
Supporting colleagues who are developing new skills
Offering suggestions for new training topics

Learning together makes competence easier to maintain.

Challenges to Staying Current

There are challenges you may face in keeping your skills up to date. These might include:

Limited time for training
Shortage of funds for external courses
Lack of awareness about new changes
Personal resistance to change

To overcome these challenges, use cost-free resources, online webinars, or sector newsletters. Ask your manager for priority time to update key areas.

Final Thoughts

Maintaining current and competent practice is part of your professional duty. Children and young people rely on your skills to keep them safe and help them develop. Staying updated means giving them the best support possible. It also protects you and your organisation from serious consequences.

Think of this responsibility as part of your everyday work rather than something extra. Each news update, training course, or new policy is an opportunity to improve. When you act on these, you not only meet professional standards but strengthen your own confidence and skill. This ongoing commitment benefits everyone in the setting.