Recording and evaluating your learning and development

Updated 2 April 2025

We regularly require solicitors to provide evidence to us that they are maintaining their competence, for example, through our training record reviews. 

Recording your learning and development demonstrates to us that you have taken steps to keep your knowledge and skills up to date. Failure to record this raises concerns to us that not all learning and development needs are being identified and addressed.

You can use our learning and development template to:

• record the activities you have completed,
• evaluate the effectiveness of each activity, and
• explain how you will improve your practice as a result.

You do not have to use our template. If you are not, please make sure you include the learning and development need you have identified and how you identified it in your evidence. Simply listing the learning and development activity you have completed does not provide us with appropriate assurances that you are taking the steps needed to maintain your competence.

To evaluate the learning and development you have completed, it can help to think about:

• what key things you learnt from each activity
• how each activity helped you address the learning and development need(s) it was intended to address
• if you identified any additional learning and development needs as a result of each activity.

To explain how you will improve your practice as a result of the learning and development you have done, it can help to think about:

• the steps you have taken (or plan to take) to apply what you learnt from each activity
• how those steps have improved (or will improve) your practice. To help with this question, you can use tools like our Competence Statement, guidance and warning notices for your area(s) of practice and feedback about your practice
• any further steps you plan to take to address learning and development needs that are ongoing
• what steps you plan to take to address any additional learning, and development needs you identified as a result.

These points highlight that the learning and development process should be cyclical: when you explain how you have reflected on the quality of your practice, it is fine to refer to lessons you learnt and the steps you identified from learning and development you already completed.

You can use our learning and development template to:

• record the learning and development activities you have completed,
• evaluate the effectiveness of each activity, and
• explain how you will improve your practice as a result.