Reporting year 2024

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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1 updatefor Reporting year 2024

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

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Data sets: download or create tables

Data sets present comprehensive open data from which users can create their own tables using the EES table tool or download a zipped CSV file.

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; and sickness absence.

    Number of rows
    1,300
    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 2024
    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: sex; age; ethnicity; role; and time in service.

    Number of rows
    35,100
    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 2024
    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: sex; age; and ethnicity.

    Number of rows
    115,906
    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 2024
    Data set information page for 3. Role by characteristics (in post)
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  • 4. Cross-characteristics (in post) - national only

    National

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

    Number of rows
    1,152
    Indicators
    • Social workers in post - FTE (as at 30 September)
    • Social workers in post - headcount (as at 30 September)
    Filters
    • Sex
    • Age group
    • Ethnicity major
    Time period
    2017 to 2024
    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. FTE figures on the number and rate of social worker leavers due to: total attrition; full attrition; agency attrition; and movers between local authorities.

    Number of rows
    8
    Indicators
    • Social worker leavers - FTE (year to 30 September)
    • Turnover rate - FTE (year to 30 September)
    • Total attrition - FTE (year to 30 September)
    Time period
    2017 to 2024
    Data set information page for 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 2024 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 2024.

File formats and conventions

Symbology

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

     z        Data is not applicable

     x        Data is unavailable for unknown or other reasons    

     c        Suppressed to protect confidential information

     low   Rounds to 0, but is not 0

     u        low reliability

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.

Data files

All data files associated with this release are listed below with guidance on their content. To download any of these files, please visit our data catalogue.

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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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