One in four children's social workers is a manager

Nearly a quarter of children’s social workers in England are in management posts.

Latest workforce figures from the Department for Education (DfE) show 23 per cent of the workforce was either a first-line, middle or senior manager last year.

That compares to 20.2 per cent in 2023 and 19.8 per cent in 2017.

First line managers made up the highest proportion – 15.9 per cent compared to 13.3 per cent in 2017. Middle managers made up five per cent of the workforce compared to 4.7 per cent in 2017 and senior managers 2.1 per cent compared to 1.8 per cent in 2017.

Meanwhile, the number of case-holding full-time equivalent (FTE) social workers fell 6.2 per cent last year (by 1,586) to make up 40.5 per cent of the workforce – a fall of almost ten per cent since 2017.

The reduction was only partially compensated for by a 3.6 per cent rise (equal to 563 FTE workers) in senior practitioners.

Overall, the ratio of case carrying social workers to non-case carrying social workers was 1.4 to one, assuming managers are generally non-case carrying. 

The DfE maintains that cases can be held by social workers in any role. But an experienced children's social worker said: "In most statutory roles senior managers, middle managers and first-line managers generally do not do casework. 

"Some specialist teams might have models where first-line managers will hold a small number of complex cases but it's more likely that senior practitioners will do that."

The total amount of FTE children’s social workers in England increased by 3.7 per cent last year to a record high of 34,328.

However, the data suggests an increasingly management-heavy workforce and a proportional reduction in practitioners engaged in frontline work.

The number of qualified children’s social workers without cases rose by 4.5 per cent last year to now make up 18.6 per cent of the workforce. Workers in this category could be engaged in research, policy development or other non-frontline work.

Reaction

Judy Walsh, chair of BASW England's Children and Families Group, said: “These figures challenge the claim that we have more children’s social workers than ever. While overall numbers have risen, fewer are holding cases, and a growing proportion are in management. 

"Effective management support is crucial to frontline social work practice, however we are concerned that these statistics raise serious concerns about capacity on the frontline, for social workers to build direct relationships with children ,young people and families, which we know lead to better outcomes.

"With vacancy rates still high at 17.3 per cent, it’s clear that working conditions, caseload pressures, and retention issues remain unresolved. We need urgent action to support case holding social workers, reduce bureaucracy, and ensure the workforce is in the right place to deliver for children and families.”

John McGowan, general secretary of the Social Workers Union, said: “Social workers are doing their best for the vulnerable people they support every day and too many layers of management is yet another issue for staff on the ground.

“The vacancy rate remains high and is increasing the strain on frontline social workers who are already feeling the bite of underfunding, poor working conditions, and burnout. 

“There seem to be too many cooks in the kitchen. Social workers need higher quality management and less bureaucracy so that they can be supported in their roles and in turn spend more time supporting people.”

McGowan added he is constantly hearing about high vacancy rates and experienced social workers leaving. 

“This level of churn is a symptom of the pressure social workers are under. We urgently need to improve working conditions so good social workers stay in post.”

The DfE claim the

Some positive signs

There were some signs of progress in the Children’s social work workforce data for 2024. The vacancy rate fell by 6.9 per cent last year, though 17.3 per cent of full-time equivalent posts remained vacant on 20 September, a 23 per cent rise on 2017.

There was less reliance on agency social workers in 2024, down by 9.2 per cent. Stiffer rules on their use that came into force at the end of last October, after the data period, are likely to bring this down further.

Staff turnover fell by 2.1 per cent in 2024 to 13.8 per cent, while average caseloads dropped slightly from 16 per worker in 2023 to 15.4 last year.

However, the sickness rate went up from 3.2 per cent to 3.4 per cent.