The Government has been urged to act after official figures showed the number of children’s social workers has fallen for the first time since 2017.
New Department for Education data revealed there were 31,600 children and family social workers in England at the end of September 2022 - down 2.7% from the previous year and the first reduction in numbers since the Government started collecting the information in 2017.
In addition, 5,400 children’s social workers left the profession in the year and vacancy numbers were up by more than one-fifth at 7,900.
Both were also record highs.
Association of Directors of Children’s Services president, Steve Crocker, said: ‘The Government must take swift and meaningful action.’
The Local Government Association said its own research showed four out of five councils were having difficulty recruiting children’s social workers and 72% were struggling to retain them.
This meant local authorities were increasingly having to turn to costly agency staff to plug gaps.
A Department for Education spokesperson said it was ‘taking forward ambitious plans’ to recruit up to 500 new child and family social worker apprentices and introduce more support and professional development for a social worker’s first five years.
They added: ‘To reduce the use of agency social workers, we are consulting on proposals including capping the amount a local authority can pay for them and introducing a minimum level of experience required.’
This article was originally published by The MJ (£)
