What does CPD mean?
CPD, or Continuing Professional Development, involves developing and maintaining skills, knowledge and experience gained as you work. CPD encourages going beyond the necessary training, providing employees with clear guidelines on how to succeed within their roles and progress to higher ones. CPD activities range hugely, from formal educational courses, such as workshops and seminars, to more informal self-directed studies, and work-based mentoring.

What does CPD certified mean?
If training is CPD certified, this means that it has reached the standards required by Advantage Accreditation. This means that all participants in CPD certified activities will have completed a CPD course.

What does CPD accredited mean?
Accredited CPD content has been evaluated for relevance and quality, meaning participants can be assured that the benefits provided by a course or activity will be applicable to their individual work. The learning value of such courses is high, and the courses are guaranteed to be a credible knowledge source.

Is CPD a qualification?
It is not possible to equate CPD to a qualification due to the difference in learning style. Although not classed as a qualification, CPD is recognised as highly valuable as it involves primarily skill-based learning. Education and training is an essential part of any career. The knowledge and experience you will gain from a CPD activity may not provide you with a qualification but will provide you with a plethora of credible skills applicable to your career.

Is CPD Certification recognised in the UK?
Accredited CPD courses are recognised internationally. We have several UK-based CPD centres and many international CPD accredited centres.

Can you put CPD on your CV?
CPD is a valuable attribute on any CV as it showcases various achievements, including those specific to your current or future sector of work. CPD shows your dedication to your work and your extended industry-specific knowledge and experience in your field.

Are CPD diplomas recognized?
Certificates from CPD accredited courses are credible to employers and businesses as they which have been assessed to ensure high quality and integrity. Although in the past employers may have been hesitant to accept online courses, the increasingly prevalent value added to employees through these such courses has greatly increased their appeal.

Can CPD points be used for university?
Just as CPD cannot be equated to a qualification, CPD points cannot be equated to UCAS points when applying to a UK University. However, CPD accredited courses can be discussed in your personal statement and will give universities an insight into your commitment to your future course or career through the extra skills and knowledge you have developed.

What is a CPD qualification equivalent to?
The number of hours spent on accredited CPD courses are equated to CPD points. Certain employers may require employees to reach a set number of CPD points annually, others may suggest recording these points for personal development.

Is CPD accreditation recognised?
Due to the knowledge and skills gained, CPD is recognised by prospective employers as a valuable and credible achievement which has the opportunity to enhance your workplace skills and adapt you to such an environment.

Are CPD courses legit?
Accredited CPD courses are legitimately recognised as fully certified achievements. Accreditation provides a stamp of approval, assuring prospective students of CPD courses that the courses are genuine and valuable. Advantage Accreditation checks checks training content, course materials and trainers to ensure high quality.

You can sign up for CPD accreditation online.

What does accreditation mean in healthcare?

Healthcare accreditation ensures patients are receiving quality treatment from well-trained industry professionals and allows the maintenance of this high standard of service. Through seeking accreditation, a company’s standards of care can be increased, whilst decreasing the potential risks, and allowing healthcare organisations to work under the correct regulatory guidelines.

What is the difference between accreditation and certification in a healthcare organisation?

Certification is the written endorsement (a form of documentation) of a company’s product or service by a third party, signifying that a product or service meets a specific set of requirements. Accreditation, however, recognises a company’s ability to carry out certain technical activities, via an impartial and qualified third party. The accreditation process involves we checking for a company’s quality against our standards, alongside national frameworks, and regulations. Trainers are also checked against CQC (Care Quality Commission), Skills for Care, NICE (The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) and various other industry bodies.

What are different healthcare accreditations?

There are various accreditations catered towards healthcare – CQC, NICE and Skills for Care being several of the most recognised. However, healthcare accreditations can be built around each individual company’s needs and requirements, in order to maximise the quality of healthcare and care training given.

Is accreditation mandatory for healthcare facilities?

Although not mandatory, accreditation is often voluntarily sought by healthcare organisations as it can be a necessity for licencing and certification. This also aids an organisation’s credibility and ensures care receivers feel confident about the quality of the care that they are receiving.

What are the benefits of accreditation in healthcare?

Not only does accreditation provide benefits such as improving an organisation’s CQC rating, improving staff skills, increasing the brand’s image and guarantee quality assurance for service users, it also benefits many other areas of a healthcare organisation’s service. These benefits include: increasing knowledge and ability and retention among staff, proving support for staff and care receivers, creating ready to use and accessible courses, and ensuring more time in spent on care. These factors increase the sustainability of the training services a company provides.

What are accreditation requirements in healthcare?

There are various criteria we uphold for healthcare organisations, focusing on the trainers, the centres, and the courses themselves:

• How qualified are the staff involved in the training in healthcare?
• Who is providing the training?
• How qualified is the training provider in healthcare?
• Is the centre appropriate for the training?
• Is all necessary medical equipment available?
• Are all safety procedures followed in this environment?
• Does the course provide the necessary skills and knowledge needed by healthcare workers?
• Is the quality of the course high?
• Is the course well-presented?

How do you maintain healthcare accreditation?

The most important factor in maintaining healthcare accreditation is consistency. Companies should prioritize focusing on the accreditation requirements of the accreditation provider, completing annual reports to verify that these standards are being consistently maintained to a high standard and applying for approval for any significant changes in training courses.

How do you obtain healthcare accreditation?

You can sign up online for healthcare accreditation.

Further reading: Accreditation for Health and Social Care providers

Continuing Professional Development (CPD) courses are one of the best ways to improve your skill set and, as a by-product, boost your job prospects in today’s ever-increasingly competitive job market. CPD certificates are recognised as valuable attributes of employees to employers nowadays. Many employers will look for accredited CPD courses on a prospective employee’s application. Your current employer may even outline a specific requirement for CPD points you must, or are advised to, obtain annually, or throughout your career. Essential or not, CPD courses remain advantageous for individuals to get ahead in their professional role.

Is CPD internationally recognised?

Many CPD courses have been accredited in several countries across the globe, making them a useful asset for those wishing to work outside of the UK. CPD courses with accreditation from a trustworthy accreditation provider are much more likely to be valued by international organisations. However, CPD recognition ultimately depends on your specific employer, so it is best to verify the validity of your completed CPD courses with the establishment you are applying to, to ensure the courses you have completed are beneficial to your role or future role with the company.

CPD in the UK and Ireland

CPD is recognised and respected as a favourable qualification by over 1000 institutes across the UK and Ireland. Many businesses and organisations in the UK now require their employees to complete a set number of CPD courses due to its skill-enhancing nature.  In the UK and Ireland, these courses can be completed via online and in-person seminars, lectures or conferences, or through more practical approaches, including workshops, in-house training, mentoring and various events.

Is CPD recognised in the USA?

A similar qualification is used in the US: Continuing Education (CE) or Continuing Professional Education (CPE), as well as industry specific classification such as Continuing Medical Education (CME), Continuing Legal Education (CLE), etc. These qualifications are slightly different from CPD in that they are generally post-secondary learning for adults wishing to expand their knowledge after formal education, whereas CPD focuses on professional skills surrounding management, communication and similar topics. CPD points can be transferred into CPE points, meaning CPD courses completed in the UK (or via a UK provider) are still beneficial to those who go on to work in the US. Furthermore, CE courses are like CPD in that they are often requirements for professionals, particularly in certain industries.

Is CPD recognised in Australia and New Zealand?

In Australia and New Zealand, a similar system is followed to that in the UK and Ireland. There are many CPD schemes led in these countries with similar requirements and outcomes to CPD courses in the UK. CPD is also a highly valued practice here, and there are several opportunities and various methods through which to complete this training across the region.

CPD elsewhere in the world

Following CPD’s growth in the UK, many other countries are beginning to recognise the importance of CPD and similar courses. In Africa, CPD is an emerging practice, with some UK providers already delivering courses in this continent. Similarly, there is an increasing demand for CPD training in the Middle East- many of the practices already taking place in this region reflect UK CPD practices. We have a number of CPD accredited centres based in the Middle East already.

Are online CPD courses internationally recognised?

In the past, many professional bodies have been hesitant to accept online training as a form of CPD. However, accreditation allows for the reliability in these courses that employers are seeking. Online courses are ideal for post-university students, as well as industry professionals desiring to get ahead and gain experience in their respective industry. Online courses are convenient and easily accessible. Online and distance learning qualifications are often only recognised internationally if these courses are accredited. Therefore, it is advisable to engage in CPD material which has been accredited by a competent external body.

In summary, CPD qualifications or equivalent are recognised internationally, across several continents. Although in some countries, qualifications may go by a different name or have a slightly different focus, such as CPE and CE courses in the USA, these qualifications can be equated to CPD points, or vice versa. This makes CPD courses the perfect way to acquire valuable knowledge, skills and experience to aid you throughout your career, including for individuals interested in working internationally. If you are still unsure if your current or future employer accepts your completed CPD courses, it is best to check with your employers themselves. We are more than happy to answer any questions, so please contact us.

Further reading: The CPD Standards Office: CPD Across the Globe

Many of us see the terms illness, disease, disorder, syndrome and condition as interchangeable. We often say “disease” when referring to a disorder or syndrome. However, when it comes to healthcare, it’s important to know the distinction.

Disease
Problems in the structure or function of the body, causing specific symptoms. This must be measurable and recognisable to healthcare staff.

Disorder
Any disruption in the body’s structure or function. We can use “disorder” when there is not enough evidence to make a diagnosis.

Syndrome
A group of symptoms assumed to have the same cause. Knowing the syndrome is essential before diagnosing a disease.

Condition
This describes the state of a person’s health. For example “stable” or “critical” condition.

A Hierarchy of Terms
It all begins with symptoms. When we have a specific group of symptoms at the same time, this is known as a syndrome. Healthcare staff consider your syndrome and your overall health and determine the disorder. Finally, once we know the cause of the disorder, we can diagnose a disease. The process, from first noticing a symptom to receiving a disease diagnosis, can take years.
The term illness can be used at any point. A person can say they are ill when experiencing one symptom, and when they have received a diagnosis. This state does not change unless they recover.

Advantage Accreditation offers a wide range of accredited learning materials. Our accredited centres use these to train their staff and external learners. If you are interested in becoming a training centre, please get in touch.

The government has introduced new legislation requiring those providing cosmetic treatments to have a licence. Please note this legislation is not yet enforced.

If you work in beauty and cosmetics, reading through the Health and Social Care Act 2022 may not be on your to-do list. However, there is a clause that directly affects you. The Act states the need to “licence those providing non-surgical cosmetic procedures such as those involving injection or application of a substance, insertion of needles into the skin, insertion of thread under the skin, or application of light, electricity, cold or heat.”

If any of those treatments sound familiar, here’s what you need to know:

While you may have completed training and taken all necessary precautions in your work, this was not required by law. In 2020, the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health and the Institute of Licensing found that there was a serious need to regulate cosmetic treatments. These regulations are intended to protect the public from harm. If cosmetic treatments are carried out incorrectly, or in unsafe settings, the customer is at risk of serious harm.

Under the Health and Social Care Act 2022, specific cosmetic procedures are prohibited without a licence. These procedures include:
– Anti-wrinkle injections
– Dermal fillers
– HIFU facials
– Microneedling
– Chemical peels
– Phototherapy
– Plasma injections

Any treatment that involves injections, threads under the skin, application of a substance that penetrates the skin, and applications of light, electricity, cold or heat will soon require a licence.

At Advantage Accreditation, we keep on top of updates like this to make sure your training materials are correct. If you are interested in becoming a CPD accredited trainer or training centre, please get in touch.

Appeals from the family of Oliver McGowan have led to new mandatory training in learning disability and autism.

As an infant, Oliver suffered meningitis and received diagnoses of mild hemiplegia, focal partial epilepsy, a mild learning disability and high functioning autism. Throughout his childhood, Oliver developed a good sense of humour and aspirations for the future. As a teenager, with several sporting accomplishments under his belt, Oliver began to train as a Paralympian.

Oliver was admitted to a children’s hospital in October 2015. He was experiencing partial focal seizures and felt scared and confused. He was discharged after a few weeks and given antidepressants. His seizures worsened and he was readmitted that December. Despite having no diagnosis of mental illness or psychosis, he was given antipsychotic medication and held against his will. This had a hugely negative impact on his mood. Doctors noted he was sensitive to antipsychotics. After the removal of the medication, his mood and seizure activity returned to normal.

In April 2016, Oliver was admitted again with partial seizures. He was given antipsychotics again. He suffered an Oculogyric Crisis causing his eyes to roll upwards and stay there. After 6 hours, during which the doctor believed his symptoms were behavioural, he was eventually given Procyclidine to counteract the reaction. Oliver suffered other potential side effects including hallucinations, up to 30 seizures a day, problems urinating, extremely high blood pressure and sweating. Oliver was moved to a specialist adult hospital. Staff restrained him, gave him no privacy and prescribed different antipsychotic medication.

Oliver was then transferred to a Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit. Here, staff immediately saw he did not need to be detained and they reduced all antipsychotic medications. He received support from a specialist learning disability team.

That October, Oliver experienced a cluster of partial seizures and was admitted to general hospital. He developed pneumonia and was intubated. Staff sedated him and gave him antipsychotic medication. Oliver’s temperature reached 42°. He suffered tonic-clonic seizures. His brain was badly swollen. He would be severely disabled. Doctors suspected neuroleptic malignant syndrome, a life-threatening reaction to antipsychotic medication.

After a week on life support, Oliver died on 11th November 2016. He was 18 years old.

The McGowan family strongly believe the hospital staff are to blame for Oliver’s death, especially those who prescribed antipsychotics after his previous bad reactions. They believe staff did not make reasonable adjustments to accommodate for the needs of someone with a learning disability and autism. The family have campaigned for years to see improvements made in healthcare.

Their hard work has paid off. The Health and Care Act 2022 has written the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training in Learning Disability and Autism into law. This is a standardised training package developed by Health Education England and Skills for Care. The training was designed, delivered and evaluated with the help of people with learning disabilities and autism.

In trials across the UK, researchers have seen positive results. 61-88% of learners reported changing their behaviours after the training. 80-94% said the training provided new information, helped them recognise unconscious bias, made them aware of the needs of autistic people in healthcare settings, and gave them new ideas about how to support autistic people.

We are happy to see these results as this training can prevent further deaths. We applaud the McGowan family for their dedication to changing our healthcare system and hope they are comforted by this result.

High quality training courses are absolutely vital, especially in health and care settings. If you share our passion for training and would like to become an accredited centre, please get in touch.

You can find out more about Oliver McGowan and his family’s work at olivermcgowan.org

How does accreditation work? What are your next steps? The information below will help you understand the process of becoming an accredited training centre with Advantage Accreditation. We recommend first reading our guidance on What is Accreditation? and Why get Accredited?

What are accreditation requirements? What are the accreditation standards?
We have our own criteria for centres, trainers and courses.

Centres:
Do you have the necessary set up, processes and polices for training?
Do you have an appropriate equipment and space?
Is the environment up to safety standards?

Trainers:
Do you know who will be conducting training?
Are staff qualified to train others?
Do staff have enough specific subject knowledge?

Courses:
Does the course provide learners with appropriate knowledge?
Does the course grow the learners’ skills?
Is the course well-presented? I.e. no typos or grammatical errors, high quality images, clear structure

Our team will support you through the various stages of accreditation.

How do you prepare for accreditation? How long does it take to prepare for accreditation?
To get started, make sure you have the right staff who are capable of conducting training. You may want to hire someone with teaching experience and qualifications, or train your existing staff.

Next, you can begin to plan and prepare a curriculum. This is not essential, as we provide our own Advantage accredited awards which you can use. If you are looking to create a new course, you will need to create the relevant learning resources. For example, a lesson plan, presentation slides, worksheets, etc.

Once this is all complete, you can sign up online here

This may take a few weeks or months, depending on your organisation’s needs and capacity.

How do you get accreditation? What happens during accreditation process? What are the steps to the accreditation process?
Advantage Accreditation uses a simple, four-step process:

1. Centre Approval
Our team will visit you on site to ensure you are equipped to carry out training. We will discuss any changes or improvements you need to make, and support you in making these improvements.

2. Trainer Approval
You will need to register your trainers with us. This often involves staff at your organisation completing a Train the Trainer course. We will ensure staff have sufficient subject knowledge and teaching skills.

3. Select Courses
This works differently depending on whether you are creating your own bespoke courses. If so, our Curriculum Team will check every detail of your learning materials to ensure they are of a high standard. If not, you can use our own awards. These are already accredited and used by many of our approved centres.

4. Deliver Accredited Training
After this, you can begin training. We will continue to support you through our online portal. Here, you can arrange training, view reports, and create certificates featuring our stamp of approval.

If you have any questions about the process of gaining accreditation, please get in touch with our team today.

We are here to answer all of your questions about accreditation. Perhaps the most important of these is: Why get accredited?

Is accreditation mandatory?
This comes up most often within health and social care settings. Rules and regulations around providing health and social care training can be very confusing. Put simply, accreditation is not mandatory to provide internal staff training. You do not need to be accredited to provide external training either. So, why does anyone get accredited at all?

What is the purpose of accreditation?
Our main goal is to make sure you can provide high quality training that provides an impact to the learner. Once you have gained approval, you can provide reassurance to any learner or external body that your training has been externally quality assured.
We complete an in-depth analysis of your course materials and curriculum, ensuring it is mapped to the appropriate national frameworks, regulations and industry best practise. We also teach an Advantage Accreditation Train the Trainer course to equip your organisation with skilled and knowledgeable staff who want to become trainers.
Altogether, the purpose of accreditation is to show learners and training managers that your centre is a trustworthy and impactful educator.

What are the benefits of accreditation?
– Save money on training for internal staff
– Make a profit by training externally
– Save time on admin with the Advantage portal
– Provide dual-branded certificates featuring our Approved Centre logo
– Access our portfolio of subjects
– Improve skills of staff
– Improve training based on our feedback
– Keep content up-to-date
– Improve your brand credibility
– Demonstrate your organisation takes responsibilities and quality seriously

We believe one of the biggest benefits to becoming accredited is the confidence it gives our centres. After completing the accreditation process, our training providers feel proud of their high quality, externally validated work.

You can find more Guidance in our website’s Resources section. If you have any further questions, please contact us.

Accreditation can seem like a complicated topic, with all sorts of unfamiliar terms thrown in to confuse you. What does accreditation mean? We are here to help! Advantage Accreditation is run by a friendly, experienced team. Let us explain some more about what we do…

What is accreditation?
What is the difference between accredited and non-accredited?
In short, it is a stamp of approval. Non-accredited training has not been checked for quality. It’s anyone’s guess whether the course is any good. Accredited training has passed a number of quality checks, including basics like spelling and grammar and more complex checks such as: “How does this training impact learners?”
Accreditation is external recognition of your adherence to a set of standards, allowing you to hold a certain status or carry out a certain activity. Accreditation is typically held by educational organisations, but may be held by other industries.

What are the types of accreditation?
What is an example of accreditation?
At Advantage, it all begins with centre approval. We make sure your organisation is equipped with capable trainers and can offer a good learning environment. What happens next depends on your individual needs.
You may have your own unique courses in need of accreditation. In this case, we will apply our stringent methods of analysis to your course content, making sure it meets our standards.
Alternatively, you can access our vast portfolio of awards. Examples of our accredited courses range from Level 2 Award in Effective Communication to Level 3 Award in First Aid at Work. We regularly update our learning materials with new terminology and legislation, ensuring all information is correct.
Some of our centres require accreditation for their own courses, and wish to use our content too. We create bespoke accreditation to suit individual needs.
Well-known accreditation schemes include the Red Tractor Scheme, the National Landlords Association, CHAS, Law Society Accreditation and the Federation of Master Builders.

What is the difference between accreditation, regulation, certification and affiliation?
Is accreditation better than certification?
There are so many terms to get your head around! Here is a little “Cheat Sheet”:
• Regulations: Rules created and enforced by an authority (e.g. UK Government)
• Certification: A document showing an achievement
• Affiliation: A connection between two or more organisations
• Accreditation: Official recognition of quality standards to carry out training

What does accreditation body mean?
What is the role of an accreditation body?
Advantage Accreditation is an example of an accreditation body. We support training providers to deliver high quality training by checking course materials, trainers, and more. At Advantage, we also provide our own accredited training materials.
Part of being an accreditation body is staying up-to-date with national standards & regulations, making updates to course content, and providing ongoing support. These national standards are often based on advice from sector skills bodies, voluntary industry bodies and professional associations. Examples include Skills for Care, Energy and Utility Skills, Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA), British Insurance Brokers Association.

We hope this helps you understand more of what accreditation is and what we do! If you have any questions, please contact us.