3. Role by characteristics (in post)
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FTE and headcount figures on the role of social workers in post by: sex; age; and ethnicity.
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Data set details
- Theme
- Children's social care
- Publication
- Children's social work workforce
- Release
- Reporting year 2025
- Release type
- Number of rows
- 135,303
- Geographic levels
- Local authority, National, Regional
- Indicators
- Social workers in post - FTE (as at 30 September)
- Percentage of social workers in post - FTE (as at 30 September)
- Social workers in post - headcount (as at 30 September)
- Filters
- Organisation role
- Breakdown
- Time period
- 2019 to 2025
Data set preview
| time_period | time_identifier | geographic_level | country_code | country_name | region_code | region_name | old_la_code | new_la_code | la_name | role | breakdown_topic | breakdown | inpost_FTE | inpost_FTE_percentage | inpost_headcount | inpost_headcount_percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Reporting year | National | E92000001 | England | Total | Age group | Total | 36186.3 | 100 | 38292 | 100 | |||||
| 2025 | Reporting year | National | E92000001 | England | Total | Age group | 20 to 29 years old | 5329.1 | 14.7 | 5399 | 14.1 | |||||
| 2025 | Reporting year | National | E92000001 | England | Total | Age group | 30 to 39 years old | 10813.9 | 29.9 | 11523 | 30.1 | |||||
| 2025 | Reporting year | National | E92000001 | England | Total | Age group | 40 to 49 years old | 9902.5 | 27.4 | 10479 | 27.4 | |||||
| 2025 | Reporting year | National | E92000001 | England | Total | Age group | 50 to 59 years old | 7332.7 | 20.3 | 7694 | 20.1 |
Variables in this data set
| Variable name | Variable description |
|---|---|
| breakdown | Breakdown |
| inpost_FTE | Social workers in post - FTE (as at 30 September) |
| inpost_FTE_percentage | Percentage of social workers in post - FTE (as at 30 September) |
| inpost_headcount | Social workers in post - headcount (as at 30 September) |
| inpost_headcount_percentage | Percentage of social workers in post - headcount (as at 30 September) |
Footnotes
- Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster were unable to provide data for 2025 following a cyberattack which had a significant impact on their information management systems. Therefore, figures from the previous year were used as best estimates for these local authorities to calculate 2025 totals for England, London, and Inner London.
- For certain years, there can be small differences in the totals for different characteristics. This is due to social workers with unknown characteristics being excluded from the respective totals.
- Age of the child and family social worker at 30 September of the reporting year.
- White comprises white British, white Irish, or any other white background.
- Mixed / Multiple ethnic groups comprises white and black Caribbean, white and black African, white and Asian, or any other mixed background.
- Asian / Asian British comprises Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Chinese, or any other Asian background.
- Black / African / Caribbean / Black British comprises black Caribbean, black African, or any other black background.
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Contact us
If you have a specific enquiry about 3. Role by characteristics (in post) statistics and data:
Children’s Services Statistics Team
Email: csww.stats@education.gov.ukContact name: Andy Brook