How a course earns the mark
The mark is a picture of the process. One circle wrote it, the other checked it, and we only put our name to the part both have seen.
- 01WrittenA qualified author writes the activity and supplies the evidence: outcomes, hours and sources.
- 02ReviewedA second qualified person, not the author, reads it against the sources and signs it off.
- 03Checked by usOur reviewer reads the provider's process against eight standards and opens three samples.
- 04On the recordThe result is published with the reviewer's name and a date it runs out, 24 months later.
Read it for yourself
The CPD Council Standard
Sixteen pages. Eight rules, what each one means, and the evidence our reviewer examines.
Why providers join
Three pages for your team: six reasons, what it costs next to per-activity schemes, and the five steps.
Eight rules a learner can understand and a provider can prove
Each activity says who it is for and what a learner will know or be able to do afterwards.
- Audience and learning outcomes on each sampled activity page
- Outcomes compared with content and with the end-of-activity questions
This is the evidence our reviewer records against CS 1 on every verification. Read CS 1 in full.
Hours match the time a typical learner takes, including the understanding check.
- Hours shown on activity pages and certificates
- Timing method described in writing
- Sampled hours compared with word count, video length and question count
This is the evidence our reviewer records against CS 2 on every verification. Read CS 2 in full.
The author is qualified or currently experienced in the subject, and the provider can show it.
- Author register with qualifications and current roles
- Each sampled activity matched to a named, qualified author
This is the evidence our reviewer records against CS 3 on every verification. Read CS 3 in full.
A second qualified person reviews and signs off before anything is published. The record is kept.
- Written peer review procedure
- Reviewer names and qualifications
- Three review records with requested changes and sign-off dates
- Reviewer is not the author on each sample
- Sign-off date precedes publication date
- Requested changes traced into the published version
This is the evidence our reviewer records against CS 4 on every verification. Read CS 4 in full.
AI may draft. A qualified human owns every claim and the same review applies before publishing.
- Written AI-use statement
- Review records for AI-assisted drafts
- References in sampled activities opened and confirmed to exist and to support the claim
- Regulatory statements checked against the regulator’s current page
This is the evidence our reviewer records against CS 5 on every verification. Read CS 5 in full.
Every activity ends with a check matched to its outcomes. No certificate before it is done.
- Questions or reflection prompts at the end of each sampled activity
- Questions matched to stated outcomes
- Certificate confirmed to issue only after completion
This is the evidence our reviewer records against CS 6 on every verification. Read CS 6 in full.
Name, title, hours, date, provider and a unique number that can be looked up.
- Sample certificate
- Lookup method for certificate numbers
- Name, title, hours, date, provider and unique number all present
This is the evidence our reviewer records against CS 7 on every verification. Read CS 7 in full.
Every activity carries a review date and is re-reviewed within 24 months or withdrawn.
- Activity list with review and expiry dates
- Expiry handling traced on one example: withdrawn from sale at the date
This is the evidence our reviewer records against CS 8 on every verification. Read CS 8 in full.
CPD Council Insights
Practical writing for providers and the professionals who choose their courses.
