Appendix B - circular NJC/03/07 CPD scheme

This guidance is designed to help you complete the application form for the continual professional development payment. In order to qualify for the payment, you will need to demonstrate continual professional development over and above that required at ‘competent’ level under each of the national standards.

High continual professional development is reached under each national standard by demonstrating that continual professional development against each of the criteria.

For each of the national standards you are required to provide evidence of how you have continually professional developed. Evidence, which should include specific examples where appropriate, will result from the acquisition of experience and knowledge. This may be acquired through day to day experience in the role, training courses, or a mixture of both. You will be judged on the quality of the evidence not the length of the submission.

The national standards and their related criteria are as follows:

(i) Professional competence

• Effective organisation of work to meet the demands of your role
• Commitment to the values of the Fire and Rescue Service
• Commitment to health and safety requirements

(ii) Commitment to the job

• Commitment to achieving your Fire and Rescue Service’s objectives
• Commitment to personal and professional development
• Commitment to achieving high levels of attendance

(iii) Relations with the public and colleagues

• Promoting equality, diversity and human rights in working practices
• Contributing to your Fire and Rescue Service’s objectives, recognising the needs of all relevant communities
• Working as part of a team

(iv) Willingness to learn and adjust to new circumstances

• Making best use of available technology
• Demonstrating an openness to change

The application process

You will find attached to this guidance an application form for you to complete. Remember, the onus is on you to show how you have achieved continual professional development over and above that required at ‘competent’ under each of the national standards.
Care should be taken in completing this form to ensure fair and appropriate decisions are made. If you have any questions that are not covered in this
guidance please talk to your line manager before submitting the application form (PDF).

For each national standard you are required to provide sufficient evidence to enable a fair assessment to be carried out. This does not necessarily mean that you must provide an example for every indicator under each standard.

Eligible employees may submit their applications by 1 March in the year in which they become eligible. Decisions will be notified by 1 June. To be eligible, applicants need to have served for five years following attainment of ‘competent’ level in your current role.
You are not required to prepare a portfolio of supporting evidence. Please do not attach additional pages to the form. Use only the space provided. If your line manager or the verifier requires additional supporting information, they will ask you for it.

From the second anniversary onwards the respective fire and rescue service will review and assess those in receipt of a Continual Professional Development payment to determine their on-going eligibility. Individuals will be notified of the outcome prior to 1 July each year. The expectation is that non-renewal of the payment will be the exception.

The assessment process

A designated appropriate manager will assess your application. It will then be passed to a higher level manager who will act as a verifier for review and to determine whether or not payment should be made.

Please enter your name, role, employee pay number, and the date at which you attained ‘competent’ level in your current role.

Under this national standard, you will need to demonstrate continual professional development and results appropriate for your role. Using only the box provided for your comments, set out clearly and concisely your achievements against the evidence for which managers and verifiers will generally be looking for. The areas that you will need to consider are:

Effective organisation of work to meet the demands of your role

You should indicate, for example, how you:

• make sure that all matters relating to the processing of information are carried out in a prompt, efficient manner and in accordance with policy and procedure.

Commitment to health and safety requirements

A copy of your Fire and Rescue Service’s health and safety requirements and risk assessment for your role may be obtained from your Fire and Rescue Service.

Experience

You should indicate the acquisition and application of knowledge and understanding gained through experience, beyond that required for ‘competence’.

Under this national standard, you will need to show how you have, to the necessary standard, demonstrated commitment to your job in the role in which you have achieved competency and are currently in.

Using only the space provided, set out clearly and concisely how you have shown the sorts of achievements that assessors will be looking for. The areas that you will need to consider are:

Commitment to achieving Fire and Rescue Service objectives

You should indicate, for example, how you:

• take personal responsibility for your actions
• are focused on achieving results
• demonstrate sound judgement
• identify, implement and monitor development activities to enhance your own performance.

Commitment to personal and professional development

You should indicate, for example, how you:

• keep yourself up to date with changes affecting your role
• assess your skills and identify potential personal development needs
• undertake continuous self-development activities
• obtain and utilise feedback from relevant people.

Commitment to achieving high levels of attendance

You should indicate, for example, how you:

• achieved a satisfactory level of attendance in accordance with local policy and/or targets. In making such a judgment Fire and Rescue Service’s will wish to be mindful of any reasonable circumstance which may have impacted upon an individual’s ability to achieve this, and the individual’s usual attendance record.

Under this national standard, you will need to show, to the necessary standard, how you have achieved good relations with members of the public and with your colleagues. The areas that you will need to consider are:

Promoting equality, diversity and human rights in working practices

You should indicate, for example, how you:

• develop and maintain positive working relationships
• ensure that members of the public and your colleagues are treated fairly
• treat colleagues and members of the public with dignity and respect, including behaving in a way that demonstrates that you value difference and diversity in relation to gender, sexuality, ethnicity, religion, disability, age and nationality.

Contributing to your Fire and Rescue Service objectives, recognising the needs of all relevant communities

You should indicate, for example, how you:

provide a service that is responsive and sympathetic and recognises the needs of all relevant communities

Working as part of a team

You should indicate, for example, how you:

• work co-operatively with team members and colleagues
• seek to ensure that team objectives and performance indicators are achieved
• if you have management responsibility, supervise short and medium term objectives, develop plans, monitor work activities, and regularly assess the performance of teams and individuals

Under this national standard, you will need to show how you have, to a high level of continual professional development, demonstrated a willingness to learn new skills and adjust to new circumstances. The areas that you will need to consider are:

Making best use of available technology

You should indicate, for example, how you:

• make best use of available technology in support of your role
• ensure correct operation and compliance with your Fire and Rescue Service policy and requirements.

Demonstrating an openness to change

You should indicate, for example, how you:

• are adaptable and have a positive attitude towards change
• are flexible and can adapt to new ways
• understand the need for, and co-operate with, change suggesting changes to existing systems.
  If you have management responsibility, actively promote and lead your team positively to take change forward.

* Note: Providing evidence against this list should not preclude an individual from raising concern about change through recognised channels.

Remember, use only the space provided. Do not attach additional pages of evidence to the form.

Once you have completed the application form, sign and date the form and submit it to your appropriate line manager.

• Circular NJC/03/07 - Continual professional development scheme
• Appendix A
• Appendix C - application form (PDF)