Practitioners are rejecting Social Work England’s proposals to use artificial intelligence (AI) to examine continuing professional development (CPD) entries in the future, a poll has found.
The regulator is considering the use of AI as part of wider reforms to the CPD process and will hold a public consultation in 2026-27.
Social Work England said it would continue to record manual sampling, but was considering how AI could support the CPD review process and thematic analysis of submissions, and said existing sampling methods “offer limited value in terms of insight into quality, content and approach”.
Ethical implications of AI remain unaddressed
However, two-thirds (67%) of 854 respondents to a recent Community Care poll said AI should not be considered unless its ethical and data privacy implications are addressed.
A further 22% said the technology could be used, but not without guidelines and human oversight.
Only 11% fully supported the regulator’s proposals, arguing that it would expedite the process and provide useful insights into social worker learning.
Calls for national AI guidance remain unanswered.
There is currently no national or sector-specific guidance on the use of AI, despite repeated calls for its use from social work bodies, including the British Association of Social Workers.
A study commissioned by Social Work England last year also concluded that governments, regulators and professional bodies need to agree a national approach that takes into account the ethical and privacy-related challenges of AI.
Regulator plans to restart CPD inspections
Annual CPD checks on a 2.5% sample of submissions have been suspended in 2024 as part of Social Work England’s plans to reform its approach to this issue.
However, the sampling process is scheduled to resume after the 2026 registration renewal period, with regulators currently scheduled to review up to 3% of records.
The decision follows a finding in the 2024-25 Monitoring Report on Social Work in England that the Office for Professional Standards had failed to meet one of its registration criteria, the requirement for proportionate arrangements to ensure that registrants remain fit to practice, for the first time in five years.
The report said the review process meant social workers had to ensure CPD “withstands intense scrutiny” and created a “deterrent effect” that was removed by Social Work England’s decision to discontinue the practice without putting an equivalent in its place.
