Social Work England

Social Work England has been the specialist regulator for social workers in England since 2019. They are an independent public protection body, setting professional, education and training standards for social workers. Social Work England will also investigate and manage ‘fitness to practice’ cases brought against social workers.

All qualified social workers must register with the relevant regulator before they can practice social work.

In its January 2016 paper 'A vision for change', the Department for Education announced it would set up a new regulatory body for social work in England. The new regulatory body would have a ‘wider remit’ to look at post-qualification, accreditation and CPD. From Monday 2 December 2019, regulation of social workers was transferred to Social Work England from the Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC).

Regulators & professional registration

Social workers must be registered with one of four UK regulators. Find out more including how to raise a concern about a social worker.

Who is on the board at Social Work England?

The Interim Chair is Dr Andrew McCulloch.

He is chair of GMC Services International, a national committee member for Healthwatch England and a freelance consultant in health and social care and international development. Until 2017 he was chief executive of the Picker Institute Europe – a world leader in evaluating and reporting on patient/staff experiences in health and social care. Prior to joining Picker, Andrew was chief executive of the Mental Health Foundation. He was previously a civil servant at the former Department of Health.

The Chief Executive is Colum Conway.

Colum became Chief Executive of Social Work England in September 2018. He is a registered social worker and previously led the professional regulator for social work and social care in Northern Ireland from 2013 to 2018. Prior to this, Colum spent six years as Chief Executive of a large not-for-profit organisation providing care services in all programmes of care across both jurisdictions in Ireland. Colum has worked in statutory family and child care services, early years policy, funding and service provision, and family systems support services in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

View the other board members at Social Work England.

What involvement have BASW had with Social Work England so far?

BASW is represented on the Social Work England Professional Expert Group and staff meet with representatives from Social Work England on a regular basis.

Find out what social workers need to know about the change of regulator by visiting this Community Care article.

CPD Requirements

I've been called upon to submit CPD

Social Work England look at a 2.5% sample of CPD to ensure that it is valid.

You won’t be asked to upload any additional CPD if selected for validation, they will base this on the CPD that has already been recorded in your online account.

Do annotated slides from training count as CPD?

It is up to you what you include as CPD. We’ve not specified an amount or type of CPD that you should complete. You should decide how much CPD you need to do, taking into account your personal circumstances and how you’re practising at the time. You are the best person to determine your own learning needs and we want to encourage your learning to happen in diverse, flexible and innovative ways that support your work. For more information about how to meet the CPD requirements, please see the Social Work England website.

Is there a minimum number of hours training that should be completed each year?

CPD registration requirements workshop

Hosted by Social Work England, this workshop offers you an overview of continuous professional development (CPD), how to meet the CPD requirements and how to maintain your registration requirements for this registration year. BASW England Professional Officer, Wayne Reid provides an insight into the wide-ranging opportunities to access CPD via BASW.

View the full workshop here.

Fitness to Practise

If a complaint is made against a social worker, the regulator carries out a triage test to help decipher whether there are reasonable grounds to investigate your fitness to practise. Fitness to practice is guided by the professional standards which set out the requirements expected by all social workers to meet.

Only a small proportion of social workers will ever be involved in fitness to practise proceedings. Social Work England only investigate concerns that are serious enough to raise concerns about a social worker's fitness to practise.

Stages for proceeding include:

Triage - initial risk assessment of information received to determine if it is necessary to open an investigation
Investigation - a more detailed enquiry into the concern raised.
Case Examination - case examiners decide whether there is a realistic prospect that impairment of fitness to practice will be found at a final hearing.
Pre-Hearing Case Management - if it's decided a hearing is required, the case will be referred to the adjudicators where further evidence is obtained to prepare the case for a hearing.
The Hearing - SWE presenter will present evidence relating to fitness to practice concerns and may call witnesses to provide evidence.

BASW, SWU & UNISON press for action to resolve fitness to practice delays

In May 2024, BASW England, The Social Workers Union (SWU) and UNISON wrote to Social Work England raising concerns about fitness to practice hearing delays and seeking an urgent resolution to the issue.

Read the full letter and statement here.

How soon is a social worker notified that a fitness to practice referral has been made?

This varies depending on the nature of the concern, and the outcome of the triage process. Please see the guidance (pages 9 to 14) which outlines the fitness to practice process.

Find more information and guidance for social workers under investigation.

What happens if I no longer practice as a social worker but a fitness to practice referral is made?

If you are still registered as a social worker, then the fitness to practice rules will still apply to you. If you are no longer on the register then our fitness to practice rules would not apply.

Are hearings open to the public? Are the press in attendance?

The hearing before the adjudicators will usually take place in public. This means that members of the public, including representatives from the media, have the right to attend and report on proceedings.

In exceptional circumstances, evidence at a hearing will need to be heard in private, for example, to protect the private lives of certain parties involved, particularly if there are health issues involved Even in circumstances where evidence is heard in private, any decisions the adjudicators make, and the reasons for them, still need to be given in public.

Download Fitness to Practise (FTP) Referrals & Proceedings

BASW Members have access to guidance and fact sheets developed by The Advice and Representation team. This guidance includes information on Fitness to Practise Proceedings and the does-and-dont's to assist you when responding to your regulator.

Download Completing a Fitness To Practise (FTP) Statement

BASW Members have access to guidance and fact sheets developed by The Advice and Representation team. This guidance includes a template for completing an FTP statement and information on next steps and where you can get additional advice/support.