CPD stands for Continuous Professional Development. At tiney, you need a minimum of 16 hours per year.
Log it in your app: Learning tab > CPD > Add to CPD. Loads of things count. Be ready to chat about your CPD at your Quality Assurance visit.
How to log your CPD
In your tiney app:
Tap the 'Learning' tab.
Select 'CPD' at the top.
Tap 'Add to CPD'.
Add the basics: date completed, time spent, and format.
Add your reflections. Impact: what have you learned, and how is it making a difference to you or the children you work with? Implementation: what will you change as a result? Any ideas you plan to try out?
Save it. You'll see your total minutes and how close you are to your 16-hour goal.
Remember, CPD and Resources are also available on web.tiney.co if you’d like to use a larger screen to record your learnings.
What counts as CPD?
Loads of things count, as long as you're learning something useful for your practice.
Watch: tiney live or recorded webinars, or EEF videos of evidence-based techniques
Learn: tiney courses in your app, external training (like Childcare.co.uk), or accredited courses like a Level 3 in Early Years
Read: books, articles, or research on Early Years practice
Listen: Early Years podcasts, like the Early Excellence Podcast
Refresh: safeguarding training to keep your practice up to date
Connect: in-person events like the tiney Conference, tiney book club, or observing an experienced practitioner.
How to set your own CPD goals
Not sure where to start? The tiney Quality Framework is a great tool for working out where to focus. You'll find it in the Resources section of your app. Once you've downloaded it:
Highlight 3 descriptors you feel really confident with. These are your strengths.
Pick 3 descriptors you feel less sure about. These are the areas you'd like to grow.
From there, build a CPD plan that builds on your strengths and helps you fill the gaps.
A note on the 16 hours
16 hours is the minimum per year. Once you find topics and formats you love, you'll often go way beyond that without trying.
Your CPD will come up at your Quality Assurance visit, so try to add reflections as you go. It's much easier than trying to remember everything at the end of the year.
Why CPD matters
As educators, we're lifelong learners, and there's always room to grow our practice. CPD isn't just about doing the learning. It's about reflecting on it and putting it into action, so you keep building your knowledge, skills, and impact on the children you care for.
Research shows that focusing on your professional development:
Builds your confidence (TALIS, 2019)
Improves your effectiveness as an educator, with a knock-on effect on children's outcomes (EEF, 2021)
Boosts motivation and reduces the risk of burnout (OECD, 2021)
We know life is busy, and your own learning can feel like one more thing on the list. But time spent on your development pays off in your confidence, your efficiency, and the difference you make to the children in your care.