Social Work England report highlights changing landscape of social work education

Social Work England has published a “landmark” report reflecting on five years of regulating qualifying social work courses, offering insights into the evolving education and training landscape.

The report, Preparing for practice: social work education in England, follows the regulator’s completion of its first reapproval cycle, which reviewed 257 courses across the country.

After reviewing all courses, 99.2% were approved, though 664 conditions were applied across 80.5% of programmes to drive improvement. These conditions most often related to process development, administration, and strategic engagement with partners.

Since 2023, the number of courses has grown by 58, a 19.5% increase, while the number of providers has fallen by 9.6%. Much of this change is driven by the expansion of apprenticeships, with 44 undergraduate and 11 postgraduate apprenticeship courses approved in the past year.

Providers have adapted to societal shifts, including the COVID-19 pandemic and emerging technologies such as AI. However, financial pressures on universities and local authorities, alongside rising student living costs, remain significant challenges.

Social work courses continue to attract a diverse student body, with higher participation from mature and female students, as well as black, disabled, and low socio-economic backgrounds compared to other university cohorts.

Sarah Blackmore, Executive Director for Professional Practice and External Engagement, said:

“High quality social work education directly protects the public. What we have learned will inform our approach to regulation in the years ahead as we work in partnership with providers and the social work sector to improve consistency and quality. We also hope this report provides a useful contribution to broader discussions around the future direction of social work education and training in England so it can continue to support social work students to thrive.”

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