Social workers in schools do not reduce referral rates, research finds

The practice of embedding social workers in schools is an intervention which allows the workers to undertake statutory social work with children and families.

However, a randomised control trial (RCT), conducted by research organisation What Works for Early Intervention and Children’s Social Care (WWEICSC), found no evidence that embedding social workers in schools achieves the aim of reducing the need for children to receive children’s social care services.

Around 280,000 pupils across 21 local authorities in England were involved in the trial, making it the largest ever RCT in children’s social care.

The trial ran over two years, measuring the impact of the intervention on specific children’s social care outcomes, including the rates of referrals to children’s social care, rates of children entering care, and the number of days children spent in care.