Occupational therapists (OTs) are expected to engage in professional development activities on an ongoing basis to improve their practice.
OTs are required by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) to renew their registration every two years. The registration window for OTs in the UK is from 1 August to 31 October 2025. During renewal all occupational therapists will need to confirm that they meet HCPC standards of continuing professional development, and 2.5% will be asked to submit a CPD profile to demonstrate that they continue to meet the HCPC standards of proficiency.
The key requirements of the CPD standards set by the HCPC are to:
- Maintain a continuous, up-to-date, and accurate record of CPD activities.
- Demonstrate that CPD activities are a mixture of learning activities relevant to current or future practice.
- Ensure that CPD contributes to the quality of practice and service delivery.
- Ensure that CPD benefits the person accessing services.
- Present a written profile containing evidence of CPD upon request.
- The professional development of OT’s can be enhanced through their involvement in Care Quality Commission (CQC) assessments.
The professional development of OT’s can be enhanced through their involvement in Care Quality Commission (CQC) assessments.
What is a CQC assessment?
CQC is the regulator of health and adult social care in England. They assess how well local authorities are performing against their duties under Part 1 of the Care Act 2014. This is to ensure health and social care services provide people with safe, effective, compassionate, high-quality care and encourage care services to improve.
CQC assessment preparation
Active preparation for CQC assessment can contribute to continuing professional development, especially where additional work such as report writing, strategic assessment and community engagement contribute to evidence submissions.
In early 2025, Research in Practice was commissioned to develop resources to support Principal Occupational Therapists (POTs) and senior OTs with preparation for CQC assessment. The resources, developed with the input of POT Network members and some of our OT partners, aim to help senior OT professionals build confidence in establishing and showcasing their leadership role. At all levels of the profession, the resources also demonstrate how to highlight the impact of occupational therapy in delivering wellbeing, prevention, and independence as mandated by the Care Act 2014.
Whilst many local areas have already been through their CQC assessment, this blog can help OTs to reflect on their participation in the process, and the wider contribution to their CPD activity.
The resources, published by Partners in Care and Health, can be found on the Local Government Authority website:
- Preparing for CQC assessment: a resource for principal occupational therapists
- The Care Act 2014 and occupational therapy: a handy summary
Care Act statutory guidance is clear that registered social workers and occupational therapists are two of the key professions in adult care and support. However POTs often reflected that the profession lacked visibility during CQC assessments and, more generally, needed support to raise awareness and understanding of what the POT role could deliver and the influence it could have. This need was also reflected by OTs in practice, and in early CQC reports where OT input was minimal.
In response, the resources:
- Are action oriented and include practical tools and checklists to support effective preparation. They address the specific role OTs play in assessing eligibility, enabling independence, and evidencing outcomes in CQC inspections.
- Detail the CQC framework, demonstrating how OTs can respond to assessment themes such as Working with People; Providing Support; Ensuring Safety and Leadership – and how to document where OT really makes an impact in people's lives.
- Emphasise the collaborative approach that should be taken, making clear where OT leadership can influence promoting equitability and lived experience involvement, professional integration with social workers and engagement with multi-disciplinary teams.
What counts as CPD activity?
CQC will want to hear about how councils and their lead OTs use their professional and ethical standards to provide assurance about the quality of their work.
Being able to describe how OT standards underpin practice and guide the work of the occupational therapy workforce also helps to meet some of the requirements of the CPD standards set by the HCPC. CPD activity supports practice development and meets the requirements of both the professional regulator and the local authority regulator.
This includes:
The Principal Occupational Therapists role encompasses professional practice, learning, leadership, and evidence-based development. There is much variation in the role between local authorities (indeed some areas do not have a POT), but the OT impact is demonstrable.
Senior and/or experienced OTs ought to be included in preparatory meetings and interviews with CQC alongside Principal Social Workers (PSWs). Written reports and strategic plans developed here contribute to the body of evidence presented to CQC and can also be counted as CPD activity.
Where CQC assessors lack OT knowledge, OTs might need to educate them on the broader OT role and any specific local expertise.
An OT in a leadership position in the council, with the capacity to engage, is one of the factors that can make a difference to ensuring that their specialism, and the role of adult social care, is heard...
Early involvement in evidence returns and self-assessment responses is important; use OT-led examples where possible. Case studies especially can bring examples of OT practice to life and demonstrate specific impacts. These can then be used for wider CPD training within or across teams.
Utilising wider resources to illustrate strategic thinking, such as Care Act guidance, RCOT standards, NICE quality standards, and self-assessment tools helps to build a narrative about OT practice where you are. Also, being honest about challenges and how they are being tackled can demonstrate real growth; assessors value transparency and continuous improvement.
OTs have the skills and knowledge to work with people to enable and empower them before barriers to everyday activity escalate, requiring more intervention.
From published CQC reports now available, we can assert that a ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’ evaluation should easily point to impact in prevention, equity, safeguarding, workforce planning, governance, and innovation.
Using robust evidence from OT casework, applying agile storytelling (for example, about your wait list reduction or strengths-based practice), and highlighting outcomes from surveys (ASCOF, Carers UK) will clearly evidence impact and progression for CQC.
It would also provide a body of CPD activity that ‘contributes to the quality of practice and service delivery’ as required in the HCPC standards.
The CQC will wish to hear directly from people who draw on care and support, and unpaid carers, about their experiences, and from focused engagement with partners...
Key considerations for occupational therapy engagement in CQC assessment
- Contribute early & be assertive to improve your visibility during the preparation and assessment visit.
- Align your OT role clearly within Care Act duties and CQC assessment themes.
- Build a compelling narrative using data and real-world outcomes, remembering to include consideration of prevention work and equity across different groups.
- Reflect and document progress including using case examples, training exercises and assessment reviews to demonstrate continuous improvement.
- For adult social care senior leaders, there is also a responsibility to support the OT service in raising its profile and demonstrating impact. POTs should be included in the same spaces as PSWs, and where there is no POT, a senior OT practitioner can still be included in CQC presentations to represent the service effectively. As far as possible, the Principal or lead OT should be included in the CQC interview list and any planning meetings.
You can also add to your CPD by contributing to a Research in Practice blog or getting involved with developing and shaping resources for OTs, including publications, podcasts and events. Please contact Research & Development Manager, Sherrelle Parke for further information about how you can get involved.
We hope these resources support you in your CPD renewal and CQC assessments.
CPD and CQC assessments for occupational therapists
Occupational therapists are expected to engage in professional development activities on an ongoing basis to improve their practice. This can be enhanced through their involvement in Care Quality Commission (CQC) assessments.
Adding value: Occupational Therapy
Occupational Therapy (OT) is a science-based, health and social care profession that’s regulated by the Health and Care Professions Council. For Occupational Therapy Week this blog looks at the key elements of professional OT and how Research in Practice resources can support.