June 2008

This is the second of my reports to update you on progress with what the Steering Group (CPDSG) has achieved so far. You will recall that the CPDSG was set up just over eighteen months ago following a tripartite meeting of the Farriers Registration Council, NAFBAE and the Worshipful Company of Farriers. It is a small group but has achieved much in that time.  One of its greatest strengths is that these three organisations are represented by experienced and respected working farriers. One of our objectives is to identify events that will be of value and we have already been approached by a number of organisations who wish to have their seminars accredited for CPD.  We were also tasked to produce a simple method of recording CPD which could be used to produce a record of CPD undertaken at the end of each year.  A 'mandraulic' system is in use at the moment, with all the data being input by hand, and farriers will recently have received the first of the annual letters showing how much CPD farriers have recorded.

As with all new systems, this has not been without its problems, and one of the main issues is that the 'points list' went out using the word 'required' in it.  This was the early thinking of the CPDSG and it was clear soon afterwards that we wished to try and avoid compulsion, which is why the WCF, NAFBAE, and the FRC are so keen to set up our own independent system of CPD so we could avoid government legislation which could make CPD mandatory, together with the bureaucracy which that would entail.  So for 'requirement', read 'target'.  The Introduction to CPD explains how it will work in more detail.  An updated Points List is available on this site.

 It is also worth emphasising that there is no possibility of mandatory CPD in the near future, unless the government were to introduce it as a requirement for all regulated professions. There is no provision in the Farriers Registration Act, and any work on a new Veterinary Surgeons Act, which could introduce it if farriers wanted and DEFRA agreed, will not start before late 2011 at the earliest.

 It is also important to note that we do not want the recording activity to be burdensome for you or the recording office

• a points system will be used to value seminars and other events
• there is a table of points values on our websites
• seminars for newly qualified farriers are being run at least twice per year called 'Building a Successful Business', and the ones run so far have been a great success.  If you want free business advice, whether new to it or not, then do come along.
• further CPD events are planned, and the aim is to try and hold these in regional centres to avoid the need for long distance travel
• It is also in the programme to run a seminar to assist those Dip WCFs who have aspirations towards the AWCF qualification 
• At the end of each year each farriers' CPD achievements will be verified and a certificate of confirmation produced.  If you are a horse owner, you may wish to ask your farrier what CPD he has undertaken 
• As additional courses and events are available they will be published in the CPD sections of the websites

As mentioned in an earlier article, we would rather develop a CPD system ourselves than have one forced upon us and we are keen to emphasise the benefits of CPD activity. Unsurprisingly, many farriers are already attending seminars or studying at home. Our system will formally recognise and record this. We would also like to thank all those farriers who completed the recent survey. Your input was really valuable and helped us in determining our future direction.

R.G. Howe (Middle Warden, The Worshipful Company of Farriers) Chairman, Farriery CPD Steering Group