1. Study the relevant month's reading material.
2. Answer 8 multiple-choice questions which are set by a practising mental health solicitor.
3. Your marks will be checked by computer and you will immediately be given your score.
4. If you score at least 7 out of 8, then you will be awarded one CPD hour and will be able to print out a certificate for your records.
5. If you fail the test you can resit it until you pass, but will need to re-read the relevant materials carefully.
Further details
1. Solicitors Generally, solicitors must attain 16 CPD credits between 1 November and 31 October each year; however, there are exceptions, such as for newly-qualified solicitors and those who work part-time. Distance learning courses such as this can qualify for up to 75% of a solicitor's CPD requirement per annum, i.e. usually 12 hours. See the SRA website for details.
Of these hours, LSC category supervisors must 'undertake a minimum of 6 hours of Continuing Professional Development per year in the Mental Health Category of Law of which no fewer than 3 hours must be on the Mental Capacity Act 2005'. All questions are mental-health-related, but the following are MCA-related: Jan 2011 (0.25), Feb (0.5), Mar (0.5), Apr (0.25), May (0.5), Jun (0.5), Jul (0.25), Aug (0.25), Sep (0.5), Oct (0.5), Nov (0.5), Dec 2011 (0.75). See 2010 Standard Civil Contract - Specification.
2. Barristers: Established Practitioners (barristers over 3 years' call) must accrue 12 CPD hours per calendar year. Only 4 hours must be accredited by the Bar Standards Board; the remaining 8 can be claimed as unaccredited. This scheme is not accredited. Therefore, Established Practitioners can still subscribe but the CPD hours will have to be claimed as unaccredited. Practitioners would have to satisfy the 4 accredited hours via other means. The subscription period can straddle calendar years, so it is still possible to obtain 12 points per subscription. See Bar Standards Board, 'Frequently Asked Questions about CPD' answer 4.
3. Legal executives: CPD courses accredited by the SRA are suitable for legal executives. See ILEX website.
4. Doctors: Psychiatrists can earn up to 10 external CPD points per annum from online courses, subject to peer group approval. See RCPsych CPD information.
5. Social workers: Suitable as part of your post-registration training. See GSCC, 'Transfer of GSCCs functions to the HPC FAQs' (21/12/11) and HPC, 'Continuing professional development'.
6. Nurses: There is no such thing as approved Prep (CPD) learning activity, so if this learning activity is relevant to your practice then it is suitable for you. See NMC, 'The PREP handbook' (October 2011) para 11.
If you have any enquiries about the scheme - whether technical (e.g. you can't get the system to work) or otherwise (e.g. you disagree with your score) - then you can email jonathan at mentalhealthlaw.co.uk. In addition, there is a feedback form which can be filled in at the end of each assessment.