Found: particular will be concerned about, the recruitment and retention of social workers and the high use of agency

Found: career development for social workers, improving retention and reducing the cost a nd reliance on agency

Found: Q217 Nick Fletcher: I have to talk about agency social workers.

Found: be matched with a new adoptive family Percentage of all child and family social workers who are agency

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken to tackle shortages in family social workers.

Answered by David Johnston

Social workers play a valuable role in supporting the most vulnerable in society and the department is committed to ensuring there is an excellent child and family social worker for everyone who needs one. The department recognises the ongoing challenge facing local authorities across the country in recruiting and retaining child and family social workers, with reasons for social workers leaving the profession varied and complex.

On 2 February 2023, the department published the care reform strategy, ‘Stable Homes, Built on Love’, which set out proposals to help stabilise the workforce. This includes supporting the recruitment of up to 461 social worker apprentices, a new Early Career Framework that will set out the development plans for a social worker’s first five years, proposals to reduce the overreliance on agency social workers, and setting up a National Workload Action Group to tackle unnecessary workload drivers which keep social workers away from direct time with children and families.

Every year, through the department’s fast track and development programmes, the department trains an average of 800 new social workers and provides professional development for around 4,000 others.

The number of full time equivalent child and family social workers in post at 30 September 2023 was 33,100. This is the highest figure we've seen since gathering this data. The statistics show that the department’s £50 million average yearly investment over this Spending Review on recruitment and training child and family social workers, alongside the hard work of local authorities is generating positive results.

Found: 36 15 29.4% Senior Practitioner 19 39 67.2% Social Worker 93 56 37.7% At 37.7%, the rate of agency

Found: Details Statistics on: social workers in post (including by social worker characteristics) agency

Found: looking to move from local authority employment into agency . 8 The agency rules do not apply to agency

Found: You should include all Agency Social Workers however procured.

Found: You should include all Agency Social Workers however procured.

Found: families We are prioritising social worker recruitment and retention and reducing the cost and reliance on agency

Found: families We are prioritising social worker recruitment and retention and reducing the cost and reliance on agency

Found: appointment of a permanent social worker, the Claimant’s contract was terminated as opposed to other agency

Found: family social worker workforce, which is due to set out plans for national rules on the use of agency