A personal development and learning plan (PDLP) is an action plan that helps you get organised, identifies learning and development needs to help you do your job better or help you in your career, and then track progress.

Social care workers have a responsibility to ensure that they address their relevant personal and professional learning and development on a continuous basis.

The personal development and learning plan will be drawn up at week 8 Supervision, revised regularly in supervisions and reviewed annually ( or sooner if required) at appraisal.

Who should be involved in the creation of your personal development and learning plan?

The most important person involved in your PDLP is you; however, your Manager, other workers and the people you provide care and support for, will all play a part.

How should a personal development and learning plan be created?

In order to agree your PDLP, you need to identify goals by taking the following steps:

Step 1 Break down what you do in your job by considering:

• Its purpose
• How your job description and the person specification relate to the  purpose
• What it means to do the job safely and at the required standard
• Identify what knowledge, skills and attitudes are required to do the  job well.

Step 2 Reflect and evaluate your performance. Identify the parts of the job that you do well and the parts you do not do so well. What do you find difficult or challenging about it. Use the feedback from others to enable yourself fairly and with balance.

Step 3 you will follow a process so that your line manager agrees and approves the PDLP. Your manager may wish you to prioritise your learning and development plan in line with the organisations aims and annual objectives and in line with national and registration requirements. Your manager may insist you complete a particular course within a particular timeframe.

Step 4 Throughout the year address your learning needs and aim to achieve the identified outcomes within the timescale set. Flag up any new learning needs to your manager and ensure they are addressed appropriately.

Having decided your goals, you will work with your supervisor to agree SMART objectives enabling you to achieve these. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-based.

There are a number of formal and informal support opportunities available to help you achieve your goals: see topic 2.2 ‘Formal and Informal Sources of Support for Learning and Development’.

Use to answer question 2.1b of the Care Certificate