CPDCourses.com provides flexible psychology-related professional learning for people who want to develop their understanding of human behaviour, child development and related psychological topics. The current dedicated Psychology course collection focuses on child psychology, with structured online programmes covering development, attachment, communication, personality and emotional growth.
Psychology CPD can also have a formal regulatory context for some professionals. In the UK, HCPC-registered practitioner psychologists must meet the HCPC standards of continuing professional development. These regulatory requirements are separate from general online study and should not be confused with course completion, CPD accreditation, QLS endorsement, BPS membership or professional registration.
If you want to compare the current psychology offer directly, visit the Child Psychology course collection. You can also browse the full CPD course catalogue for related subjects in counselling, mental health, healthcare, teaching and professional development.
The dedicated Psychology category currently centres on two structured child-psychology programmes. Course hours and prices below were checked against the live course pages on 7 October 2026 and may change.
| Course | Published Study Hours | Current Price | Course Focus | Award / Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Certificate in Child Psychology QLS Level 3 | 200 hours | £79 | Foundational child development, attachment, emotional development, cognition, language, personality and social development | Quality Licence Scheme endorsed. Successful learners receive a QLS Certificate of Achievement and Learner Unit Summary. The programme is non-regulated and is not an Ofqual-regulated qualification. |
| Diploma in Child Psychology QLS Level 4 | 400 hours | £112 | Broader study of child and adolescent development, attachment, cognition, language, personality, social development and adverse childhood experiences | Quality Licence Scheme endorsed. Successful learners receive a QLS Certificate of Achievement and Learner Unit Summary. The programme is non-regulated and is not an Ofqual-regulated qualification. |
These courses can support knowledge development for people working with children or studying psychology-related subjects, but neither course confers psychologist registration, a protected practitioner title, diagnostic authority or specialist therapy competence.
Psychology CPD is Continuing Professional Development related to maintaining, extending or applying psychological knowledge and professional capability. It can include formal courses, supervision, reading, research, conferences, peer discussion, reflective practice, service-development work and other learning relevant to a person's role.
Development needs may arise through:
Effective CPD starts with a genuine development need rather than a target number of certificates. For a broader introduction to professional learning, see our guide to what CPD means.
The current CPDCourses.com psychology offer is especially relevant to learners interested in child development and professionals whose work involves children, young people or families. This may include:
These groups do not have identical professional requirements. An HCPC-registered practitioner psychologist has regulatory obligations connected with registration. A teacher, family-support worker, student or parent does not automatically fall under the same framework.
Professional psychology in the UK includes regulated practitioner roles. The HCPC standards of proficiency for practitioner psychologists set the threshold standards registrants must meet for safe and effective practice.
Professional registration should not be confused with general psychology study. Completing an online Psychology CPD course does not itself make someone:
These professional routes involve specific education, supervised practice, competence and registration or membership arrangements. General CPD can support continuing learning, but it is not a substitute for the education and registration route required for regulated practice.
Continuing Professional Development is a requirement of HCPC registration. The HCPC's current CPD requirements state that registrants must undertake regular CPD, keep an accurate record, use different types of learning activity and consider how development improves practice and benefits service users.
The HCPC's formal standards require registrants to:
The HCPC does not prescribe one universal annual number of CPD hours for registrants. Its framework is based on relevance, variety, application and impact rather than a simple points or hours target.
The HCPC audits a random sample of each profession at registration renewal. If selected, a registrant must provide a profile demonstrating how their development meets the CPD standards. The HCPC states that the record should be continuous and current, and its audit guidance considers activity over the relevant registration cycle.
This makes ongoing record keeping more useful than trying to reconstruct professional learning only after an audit request arrives.
The British Psychological Society supports professional learning, ethical practice and the development of psychology. However, the BPS is not the statutory regulator for practitioner psychologists.
Current BPS guidance explains that the Society does not set one universal number of CPD hours for psychologists and directs practitioner psychologists to the HCPC's CPD standards for regulatory requirements. The BPS also provides its own learning and professional resources.
The Society's Practice Guidelines describe good psychological practice and emphasise professional judgement, competence, reflection and continuing development. BPS members should also follow the current BPS Code of Ethics and Conduct where applicable.
Specific BPS registers, qualifications, training routes or member groups may have additional requirements. Professionals should therefore check the rules that apply to their own status rather than relying on a generic CPD figure.
HCPC registrants are expected to use a mixture of learning activities. A series of online courses can form part of professional development, but should not necessarily make up the whole CPD portfolio.
Relevant activities may include:
The best mix depends on the learner's responsibilities and professional framework.
The current CPDCourses.com Psychology collection focuses strongly on child psychology. This aligns the available course offer with learners who want structured knowledge of development from infancy through adolescence.
Available topics include:
These subjects may support educators, childcare professionals, support workers and other learners who need a stronger conceptual understanding of child development. They can also contribute to a registered professional's CPD where the learning is relevant to that person's scope of practice.
Knowledge of child development should still be applied within appropriate professional boundaries. Observing a developmental concern does not by itself establish a psychological diagnosis.
Attachment theory can provide a useful framework for thinking about early relationships and aspects of emotional development. Psychology-related CPD may explore attachment formation, separation, caregiving relationships, emotional regulation and social development.
However, developmental outcomes are influenced by many interacting factors. Professionals should avoid using one theory as a simple explanation for complex behaviour or treating a short course as authority to make clinical conclusions.
When a concern falls outside the learner's competence, appropriate referral, supervision or specialist assessment may be required.
Assessment, formulation and diagnosis are specialist areas of psychological practice. The depth of competence required depends on the professional role, context and type of assessment.
Relevant CPD may strengthen knowledge of:
General Psychology CPD should not be used to imply competence to perform specialist diagnostic, psychometric or therapeutic work without the appropriate education, supervised training, current competence and, where required, professional registration.
Professionals carrying out regulated psychological work should use current HCPC standards and relevant BPS professional practice guidance alongside role-specific requirements.
Psychological practice should not change simply because a technique, digital tool or commercial claim becomes popular. Professional learning should help practitioners evaluate evidence, limitations, ethical implications and relevance to the people they support.
Useful questions include:
The BPS Code of Ethics and Conduct emphasises professional standards including competence, responsibility, respect and integrity for Society members.
AI and digital systems can support research, information retrieval, data analysis, administrative workflows and some forms of digital mental-health support. They also create risks involving confidentiality, bias, transparency, evidence quality and human accountability.
Before using AI in psychology-related work, professionals should ask:
General AI study can improve awareness, but it does not remove professional obligations or make an unvalidated tool suitable for psychological assessment, diagnosis or treatment.
The phrase “accredited psychology CPD courses” needs careful interpretation. CPD accreditation, QLS endorsement, BPS accreditation, HCPC approval and regulated qualifications are not the same thing.
CPD accreditation concerns professional-development learning assessed under the relevant CPD accreditation framework. It does not itself provide HCPC registration, a protected title or a regulated psychology qualification.
The two current child-psychology programmes in the Psychology category are endorsed by the Quality Licence Scheme. QLS operates in the non-regulated learning market, and its endorsed courses are not Ofqual-regulated qualifications.
BPS accreditation of psychology education and training is a separate process associated with recognised psychology programmes and professional routes. A general online CPD course should not be described as a BPS-accredited psychology qualification unless that status is specifically confirmed by the BPS.
The HCPC regulates practitioner psychologists and sets standards for registration and professional practice. Completing a CPD course does not itself provide HCPC registration.
For further background, see our guide to what CPD accreditation means.
Choose learning that relates to what you currently do, or to a clearly defined future responsibility for which development is appropriate.
Useful evidence can come from supervision, feedback, appraisal, research developments, audit, service changes or professional reflection.
If your role involves children and families, the current child-psychology Level 3 or Level 4 programmes may be relevant. If your development need concerns another area, use the wider course catalogue or another provider offering a course that more closely matches the requirement.
Confirm whether the programme is QLS-endorsed, CPD-accredited, a provider completion course or another type of learning. Do not infer BPS or HCPC approval from the phrase “CPD course”.
If the course is intended for an HCPC audit, employer requirement, BPS register, formal training pathway or another professional purpose, check the relevant framework before enrolling.
A useful CPD record should show why the activity mattered and what changed as a result.
You may record:
Weak entry: Completed a child-development course.
Stronger entry: Reviewed child-development theory after supervision identified uncertainty around age-appropriate communication in my support role. The course helped me distinguish developmental concepts more clearly. I will use this learning to adjust how I explain information to younger service users and discuss the change in supervision.
The stronger entry connects learning with a real development need, intended application and reflection.
A practical development cycle can involve:
This is more useful than selecting an arbitrary annual number of online course hours.
Psychology CPD online courses can provide flexible knowledge-based learning for people balancing work, study and personal responsibilities. Their value depends on relevance, quality and how the learning is used.
Before choosing online CPD, compare:
Online learning can be one part of a wider CPD portfolio. Some professional capabilities require supervision, practical training, workplace experience or formal approved education that cannot be replaced by self-paced study alone.
Psychology CPD is Continuing Professional Development related to maintaining or extending psychological knowledge and professional capability. It can include courses, supervision, research, reading, conferences, reflective practice and workplace learning.
It is a requirement for HCPC-registered practitioner psychologists because they must meet the HCPC standards of continuing professional development. Requirements differ for psychologists and psychology-related professionals who are not HCPC registrants.
The HCPC does not set one fixed annual CPD-hours target. Registrants must undertake regular, varied and relevant CPD, maintain an accurate record and demonstrate compliance if selected for audit.
The BPS states that it is not the regulator for psychologists and does not specify one general number of CPD hours for all psychologists. Practitioner psychologists should use the HCPC standards for regulatory CPD requirements.
Potentially. Relevant online learning can form part of an HCPC registrant's CPD portfolio, but the overall record must meet all HCPC standards, including using a mixture of learning activities.
No. A CPD certificate provides evidence of completed learning. It does not confer HCPC registration, a protected practitioner title, BPS Chartered status or specialist clinical competence.
No such status is stated on the current child-psychology course pages. The current Level 3 and Level 4 child-psychology programmes are QLS-endorsed non-regulated courses. BPS-accredited psychology qualifications are a different form of education and recognition.
No. Diagnosis and specialist psychological assessment require the appropriate professional education, competence, scope of practice and, where applicable, HCPC registration.
The dedicated Psychology category currently focuses on child psychology, making it particularly relevant to learners and professionals working with children, young people, education, care, family support or related settings. Registered psychologists should choose any CPD activity according to their own scope of practice and professional requirements.
The Level 3 certificate currently lists 200 study hours and provides a foundational programme. The Level 4 diploma lists 400 hours and provides broader study, including additional content on adverse childhood experiences and trauma. Both are QLS-endorsed, non-regulated programmes.
Keep an ongoing record showing the activity, development need, learning, relevance, evidence, application and reflection. HCPC registrants should ensure their records can demonstrate compliance if selected for audit.
Choose psychology-related learning according to the responsibility or knowledge area you genuinely need to develop. If your focus is child development, compare the current Child Psychology courses and review the syllabus, study hours and QLS endorsement before enrolling.
If your professional-development need falls outside child psychology, use the full CPD course catalogue to compare relevant subjects. HCPC-registered practitioner psychologists should continue to use current HCPC CPD requirements, their scope of practice and applicable professional guidance when planning and recording development.
