Training Diaries in Performance Leader gives you the flexibility to manage multiple training programmes tailored to your firm's needs—whether that's SRA, SQE, LPC, or any other qualification framework. This guide walks you through creating and configuring jurisdictions, setting up competency categories, and customising the user experience.
Accessing the Training Diary dashboard
Before you begin creating jurisdictions, you'll need to access the Training Diary back-end dashboard where all configuration happens.
As a Super Admin, navigate to Manage Apps in your admin menu
Click on Training Diary
You'll see the dashboard displaying any existing jurisdictions
Note: Users will only see jurisdictions they've been assigned to, so you have full control over who accesses which training programmes.
Starting from a regulator template
Before building a jurisdiction from scratch, check whether one of the built-in templates already covers your regulator. On the Training Diary dashboard, switch to the Starter templates tab.
Each template is a pre-configured starting point — the diary layout, completion model, and categories are already set to match a regulator's scheme:
SRA-style (England & Wales) — a Full Cycle diary following the SRA's outcomes-based continuing competence framework
BSB-style (England & Wales) — a lighter, hours-based scheme for Established Practitioners, with optional planning and a required annual statement
LSS-style (Scotland) — the Law Society of Scotland's hours-based scheme, with a verifiable-hours split and mandatory subject minima
LSI-style (Ireland) — the Law Society of Ireland's scheme, including the Group Study requirement
NSW-style (New South Wales) — a unit-based scheme with four core-area minima, also a reasonable base for other Australian Uniform Law states
Click Enable on a template to create a jurisdiction from it, then adapt it using the sections below.
Important: these templates reflect our interpretation of each regulator's framework and are a starting point only. Your firm remains responsible for confirming the final setup meets its regulatory obligations.
Creating a new jurisdiction
Jurisdictions are the foundation of your Training Diary setup. Each jurisdiction represents a distinct training programme with its own requirements and structure.
Click the + New Jurisdiction button in the top right of the dashboard
Enter a Jurisdiction Name (e.g., "SRA Training Contract", "SQE 2026") — this is the name users and administrators see
Select the CPD Year Start Month — CPD years begin on the first day of the selected month, which anchors progress towards targets
Optionally add a Description with notes about the jurisdiction
Click Create Jurisdiction
You set the requirement basis, diary structure, categories, form fields, and users after the jurisdiction is created, from its configuration screen (covered in the sections below).
Choosing the diary style
Training Diaries can run in three styles, depending on who the diary is for:
Full Cycle: the complete SRA continuing competence workflow — reflections, goals, logged activities, evaluations, and an annual declaration. Best suited to qualified solicitors and fee earners.
Lighter: a middle option where planning is available but not compulsory — users can set planned learning needs if they want to, without being taken through the full cycle.
Activity log: the simplest experience, where users log activities against categories with no planning step at all. Best suited to trainees and people who aren't solicitors.
You don't pick the style directly — it's derived from the Plan stage in Diary settings → Structure:
Off → Activity log
Optional → Lighter (optional planning)
Required → Full Cycle (Reflect, Plan, Do, Evaluate)
The screen shows the Resolved diary layout as you change the setting, so you can see the effect before saving.
On Full Cycle diaries, the Structure tab also lets you rename each stage and rewrite its instructions under Cycle Stages, and relabel the reflection statuses, goal statuses, and evaluation outcomes to match your firm's language. You can tailor the fields for any of the three options too (see Customising form fields below).
Setting the diary length
Each jurisdiction runs for a defined cycle, which sets the compliance period users are measured against. Three fields in Diary settings → Details work together to define it:
CPD year starts — the month the cycle opens in.
Cycle length — how many months it runs for. For example 24 for a full training contract, or 6 for a single seat.
Start year — the year the cycle schedule is anchored to.
Assign users to the jurisdiction (see Assigning users to jurisdictions below).
The Jurisdiction Overview at the top of the configuration screen then shows the resulting cycle, for example Sep → Aug, and users see the actual dates in their diary.
Please note: cycles are set to the month, not to a specific date. A diary always runs from the first day of the start month to the last day of the final month — so a six-month diary starting in September runs 1 September to 28 February. It isn't currently possible to configure an exact start and end date, such as matching a seat rotation that begins mid-month.
Important: Once a diary has CPD records against it, its timing is locked and can't be changed — the overview shows Cycle timing: LOCKED with the reason. Until then it shows EDITABLE. Set the cycle carefully before users start logging entries.
Shorter cycles don't carry over. If you set up a six-month diary, you'll need to create a new diary and reassign those users for the next period, with no cumulative carryover — so most firms choose the full two-year period unless someone is close to the end of their contract.
Setting the completion model
The completion model decides what "done" means for this diary. Open Diary settings → Completion and choose a Requirement basis:
Reflection-based — completion is judged on the reflective records users capture, rather than a number. Typical for SRA-style continuing competence.
Numeric target — users track progress against a number of hours, units, or credits.
Choosing Numeric target reveals four more fields:
Annual target — how much each user must log in a cycle
Verifiable minimum — how much of that total must be verifiable
Private study cap — the most that can come from private study
Unit label — what the number is called (for example
hours,units, orcredits). This is the wording users see on their progress counter
Use 0 for any target or cap that doesn't apply to your scheme.
Configuring an existing jurisdiction
Once you've created a jurisdiction, click Configure on its row to open the configuration screen. Jurisdiction Overview at the top summarises the current settings — diary type, status, cycle, requirement basis, assigned users, diary layout, declaration flow, and whether the cycle timing is still editable. Below it, Setup Areas is where you make changes:
Diary settings — opens a five-tab dialog covering Details, Completion, Structure, Language, and Declaration
Categories — the subject areas users record against
Users — who is assigned to the diary
Activity Fields and Reflection Fields (plus Goal Fields and Evaluation Fields on Full Cycle diaries) — extra custom fields
Open any area with its Edit, Manage, or Assign button. A jurisdiction that hasn't been used yet also offers Delete jurisdiction; once it has CPD records against it, that option disappears.
Setting up competency categories
Categories help users organise their entries and ensure they're covering all required areas of competency. These appear as options when users create new entries.
In the jurisdiction's configuration screen, open Categories with the Manage button
Click Add Category
Enter a Category Name (e.g., "Client Care", "Advocacy", "Research")
Choose a Category Color — this helps with visual distinction in reporting and for end users
Set the Requirement to Optional or Mandatory (mandatory categories require users to complete activity within them)
Click Create Category
You can create as many categories as your programme requires, and they'll appear at the top of the entry form for users to select from. You can align categories to a recognised framework — for example the four SQE competencies or your firm's own skill standards — and you can add, edit, or remove them at any time.
Customising form fields
Custom fields allow you to capture information specific to your firm's requirements beyond the standard entry fields.
In the configuration screen, open Activity Fields (or Reflection Fields) with the Manage button
Click Add Your First Field (or + Add New Field if the area already has fields)
Choose a Field Type — Text Input, Text Area, Select Dropdown, Date, Radio Buttons, or Checkboxes
Give the field a Title, add optional Instructions, and set whether it's a Required Field
Click Save Input, then Save Activity Fields to apply your changes
These custom fields will appear in the user's entry form, allowing you to gather tailored information for each training diary entry. Whatever you type into Instructions is shown to users as help text beneath the field.
Please note: the standard entry fields — Title, Description, and Learning Outcomes & Reflection — are built in, and their prompt text can't currently be edited. If you need different wording, add your own Text Area field with the title and instructions you want.
For Full Cycle jurisdictions, you can add fields to each part of the workflow from the jurisdiction configuration:
Activity Fields: the fields users complete when logging an activity. A common addition is a secondary category (a multi-select field, so a single entry can cover more than one skill), alongside a "Work done for" field to record who allocated the work.
Reflection Fields: extra fields shown when users capture a reflection.
Goal Fields: extra fields on the goal form in the Plan step.
Evaluation Fields: extra fields captured at evaluation, before the annual declaration.
Note on confidential information: Remind users not to upload documents containing confidential client information — client details should be redacted before anything is attached.
Setting up the year-end declaration
Open Diary settings → Declaration to set the confirmation flow users see at the end of a cycle. Choose a Declaration workflow:
None — no in-app declaration at all
Self-certification — users confirm they've completed their requirement themselves
Cycle review — users review their Reflect, Plan, Do, and Evaluate stages before declaring
If you choose either of the last two, two more options appear:
Declaration wording — the statement users are shown at the moment they declare. Edit this to match the wording your regulator requires.
Require written statement — asks users to write a short statement of their own before they can declare
Renaming the terminology users see
If your firm or regulator uses different words from the platform's defaults, open Diary settings → Language. You can rename Entry, Activity, Jurisdiction, Category, Reflection, Goal, Evaluation, Source, and Declaration, and set the Alert title and Alert message shown at the top of the user's diary.
Assigning users to jurisdictions
Once your jurisdiction is configured, you'll need to assign users so they can start logging entries.
Within your jurisdiction, navigate to the Users section and click Assign
Search for and select the users you want to add to this jurisdiction
Save your changes
Users will now see this jurisdiction as an option when they access their Training Diary, and it will appear in their left-hand menu.
Tips for success
Start simple: Create one jurisdiction fully before building others to understand the workflow
Use clear naming: Make jurisdiction and category names immediately understandable to users
Test the user journey: Proxy in as a user to experience the entry creation process
Review regularly: Check in on how users are engaging with categories to ensure they're fit for purpose
Related guides
To let a compliance or L&D lead manage a diary and its reporting without access to wider HR data, see Set up restricted admin access for Training Diaries.
To run compliance and activity reports across your users, see Explore reporting and analytics for Training Diaries.