Reporting year 2023

Children's social work workforce

Annual statistics on child and family social workers, including agency social workers, employed in local authorities in England.

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5 data sets available for download

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  • 1. Indicators (in post, starters, leavers, agency workers, vacancies, caseload and absence)

    Local authority, National, Regional

    FTE and headcount figures on: - social workers in post - starters - leavers - agency social workers in post - vacancies - caseload - sickness absence

    Number of rows
    1,137
    Indicators
    • Social workers in post - FTE (as at 30 September)
    • Social workers in post - headcount (as at 30 September)
    • Social worker starters - FTE (year to 30 September)
    Time period
    2017 to 2023
    Data set information page for 1. Indicators (in post, starters, leavers, agency workers, vacancies, caseload and absence)
    Create table using 1. Indicators (in post, starters, leavers, agency workers, vacancies, caseload and absence)

  • 2. Characteristics (in post, starters, leavers)

    Local authority, National, Regional

    FTE and headcount figures on characteristics of social workers in post, starters and leavers by: - age - ethnicity - gender - role - time in service

    Number of rows
    30,699
    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
    • Breakdown
    Time period
    2017 to 2023
    Data set information page for 2. Characteristics (in post, starters, leavers)
    Create table using 2. Characteristics (in post, starters, leavers)

  • 3. Role by characteristics (in post)

    Local authority, National, Regional

    FTE and headcount figures on the role of social workers in post by: - age - ethnicity - gender

    Number of rows
    96,509
    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 2023
    Data set information page for 3. Role by characteristics (in post)
    Create table using 3. Role by characteristics (in post)

  • 4. Cross-characteristics (in post) - national only

    National

    FTE and headcount figures on the cross-characteristics of social workers in post by: - age - ethnicity - gender

    Number of rows
    1,008
    Indicators
    • Social workers in post - FTE (as at 30 September)
    • Social workers in post - headcount (as at 30 September)
    Filters
    • Gender
    • Age group
    • Ethnicity major
    Time period
    2017 to 2023
    Data set information page for 4. Cross-characteristics (in post) - national only
    Create table using 4. Cross-characteristics (in post) - national only

  • 5. Attrition (leavers) - national only

    National

    These are official statistics in development (https://osr.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/policies/official-statistics-policies/official-statistics-in-development/). FTE figures on the number and rate of social worker leavers due to: - total attrition - full attrition - agency attrition - movers between local authorities Figures on the total number of social workers in post and leavers, as well as the associated turnover rate, are included from file 1 for context and comparison.

    Number of rows
    7
    Indicators
    • Social workers in post - FTE (as at 30 September)
    • Social worker leavers - FTE (year to 30 September)
    • Turnover rate - FTE (year to 30 September)
    Time period
    2017 to 2023
    Data set information page for 5. Attrition (leavers) - national only
    Create table using 5. Attrition (leavers) - national only
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Data guidance

Description of the data sets included in this release, including information on data sources, coverage, quality and any data conventions used.

Description

This guidance describes the data included in the underlying data files of the 2023 official statistics release ‘Children's social work workforce’.

This data is released under the terms of the Open Government Licence (opens in new tab) and is intended to meet at least 3 stars for Open Data (opens in new tab). 

The methodology page should be referenced alongside this data.

Coverage

This annual release contains statistics on children and family social workers, including agency social workers, employed in local authorities in England. Each reporting year covers the period 1 October to 30 September.

The information is based on data collected by the department from local authorities in the annual Children’s social work workforce census (opens in new tab). 

The underlying data files include national, regional and local authority level information for the years 2017 to 2023.

Symbology

The following symbols are used in the underlying data files as follows: 

     c     to protect confidentiality - secondary suppression may also be applied to figures to protect confidentiality

     u      low reliability

     x      data not available 

     z      data not applicable 

Rounding

Figures for full-time equivalents (FTEs), rates, percentages, caseload and working days have been rounded to one decimal place. Therefore component parts may not sum to totals if applicable.

Headcounts and cases held are reported to the nearest whole number.

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Contact us

If you have a specific enquiry about Children's social work workforce statistics and data:

Children’s Services Statistics Team

Email: csww.stats@education.gov.uk
Contact name: Andy Brook

Press office

If you have a media enquiry:

Telephone: 020 7783 8300

Public enquiries

If you have a general enquiry about the Department for Education (DfE) or education:

Phone: 0370 000 2288

Opening times

Monday to Friday from 9.30am to 5.30pm (closed on bank holidays)

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