Social Work England peer reflection: a worked example

What a peer reflection is, who can be your peer, what to talk about, and a worked example.

What a peer reflection is

Social Work England asks you to record a minimum of two different pieces of CPD by midnight on 30 November each year, and to include a peer reflection with at least one of them.

A peer reflection is a conversation about one piece of your CPD with someone who knows your practice, and then a short record, written by you, of what came out of it. It is there so that your learning gets a view other than your own.

Who can be your peer

Social Work England accepts a wide range of people and says its list is not exhaustive:

A social worker registered in any of the four UK nations.
Your line manager or supervisor.
Another professional who knows your practice, such as a nurse, doctor, academic, teacher, police officer, probation officer, mental health worker, occupational therapist, psychiatrist or psychologist.

Two people are ruled out: someone you provide support to, and someone you line manage.

What the conversation should cover

Social Work England says that when you discuss your CPD with a peer you should talk about what you have learnt from doing the CPD, and the positive impact the activity has had, or will have, on your role, your practice and the people you work with.

Ten minutes is usually enough. The part worth writing down is the question your peer asked that you had not asked yourself.

A worked peer reflection

The CPD: a half-day course on working with people who repeatedly decline support.

What I said I had learnt: that repeated refusal is often about control rather than about the service being offered, and that the way I record a refusal shapes how the next worker approaches the person.

Who I spoke to: my supervisor, in our monthly session.

What my peer added: she asked what I would do if the person’s refusal put them at greater risk over the winter. I had been thinking about respecting the decision, but not about how I would keep the door open. She suggested agreeing a single point of contact and a date to come back, so the person knows the offer stands.

What I will do as a result: at the end of every visit where support is declined, I will agree a specific date to make contact again and record it, rather than leaving it open.

Writing it up without overthinking it

Name the CPD and roughly when it was. A line is enough.
Say what you learnt, in your own words.
Say what the peer added or questioned. This is the part that shows the conversation actually happened, and the part people leave out.
Say what will be different in your practice, with one concrete example.
Record it on your Social Work England online account, attached to the piece of CPD it belongs to.

Keep it anonymous

Do not include anything that could identify a person, a family or a colleague. Remove names, places and any detail that would let a reader work out who you mean.

Record it by speaking

ReflectReady has a Social Work England template with a peer reflection heading. You say what the CPD was, what you learnt and what your peer added, in your own words, and it sorts them under the headings ready to read, edit and copy into your online account. The AI only sorts your words, it never writes them. Free to try.

Sources: Social Work England: CPD guidance.