Unexpected rise in children's social worker vacancies

Statistics released by the Department for Education (DfE) show that, as of 30 September 2015 there were 5,470 children’s social work vacancies. This compares with 4,320 as of September 2014 – a rise of 26.6 per cent.

The DfE has described the rise as “unexpected”. It said it could be down to local authorities not counting vacancies that are covered by agency staff in previous years.

The figures show that there were large variations between vacancy rates in different regions – with the highest in London (25 per cent) and outer London (29 per cent). The lowest rate is in Yorkshire and the Humber where seven per cent of positions are vacant.

Overall, the data shows that the number of children’s social workers has risen – from 26,810 in September 2014, to 28,570 in September 2015, a rise of seven per cent.

There was also a rise in the number of agency staff being used. As of September 2015 there were 5,070 agency workers, compared with 4,430 in September 2014 – a rise of 14.4 per cent. A total of 4,010 agency workers in 2015 were covering vacancies.

The turnover rate in the year up to September 2015 was 16 per cent.

Caseloads for children’s social workers vary from 12 children in need per social worker in Yorkshire and the Humber to 18 children in need per social worker in outer London. The average across England is 15.

A DfE spokeswoman said government reforms are raising the quality of social work by improving training and "upskilling" professionals.

“We know that there are challenges but programmes including Frontline and Step Up To Social Work, are attracting hundreds of outstanding graduates. Since 2010 government has invested £700m in recruitment and social worker training.

“This data will help us identify where we need to target support so can raise the quality of social work and ensure every child has the best possible start in life.”