Sixty per cent of social workers were yet to renew their registration two weeks out from the deadline, Social Work England has reported.
As of 14 November 2024, 41,945 (40.4%) of the almost 104,000 practitioners who must complete the three-part process – paying the fee, completing the application form and meeting continuing professional development (CPD) requirements – had done so.
This means completion rates have slipped behind 2023 levels, when 45.3% of relevant social workers had completed the process as of 16 November. Progress was broadly in line with last year at the end of October.
Social Work England urges practitioners to renew
The trend was noted by Social Work England, which urged social workers still to renew to do so immediately.
“We strongly encourage all social workers with incomplete actions to log in now to complete the registration renewal application process and to avoid a last minute rush,” said executive director of regulation Philip Hallam.
Philip Hallam, Social Work England’s executive director of regulation
Hallam reiterated the consequences of not renewing by the deadline of 30 November 2024.
“If they do not apply to renew, their registration will lapse, he said. “Social workers will be required to apply to restore their registration if they want to continue to practise.
“To restore they will need to provide additional information and pay an additional £135. It can take over 20 working days for us to review an application to restore, during which time social workers are not be permitted to practise or use the protected title of social worker.”
CPD requirements
Social Work England’s latest update showed that just over half of relevant registrants (53,331) had completed the application form, of whom 11,360 had not met the CPD requirements.
These involve submitting two different pieces, one of which must have been reflected upon with a peer.
The just over 2,000 practitioners who have registered since the start of the renewal period – 1 September 2024 – only need to pay the registration fee, which most social workers submit in two equal instalments of £45 on 1 October and 1 April.
As of 14 November 2024, 69% of these social workers had paid the fee, compared with 78% as of 16 November 2023.
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SW England, what do you think Social Workers are saying? It’s not a priority. Will you listen?
The payment of £90 is ridiculous. At a time of high cost of living. This coupled with crippling caseloads shows an out of touch with reality response.
The rigid format for recording CPD is a barrier I think. As is the registration fee – £90 is a lot in the current circumstances – and the fact this is taken at the point of application for renewal rather than on the date of renewal. I imagine a Iot of social workers are waiting for payday!
I dislike having to complete this process to be retain registration We are all managed , all have supervision and respect our profession.
Who reads all of these CPD’s no one …
How are all of the fees gathered in from 1000’s of social workers being used to support the profession?
I also do not like the hounding email reminders that I experience as a threat that add pressure to my daily work life.
We have to pay to clean up the mess left by government after government and continued mismanagement by local authorities… It’s shameful and in no way benefits the vulnerable people we care for and support
Why will someone devote his/her time to care for the vulnerable in society – then someone abuse their power to fabricate/, victimise, discriminate with false allegations with falsified documents – just to implicate a social worker who has worked hard as a Senior social worker/ an Advanced social worker for over 16 years without any blemish . This is really unfair and on top pay £90 for what. Until Social Work England take their time to investigate fitness to practise properly instead of penalising innocent workers who work hard to safeguard the vulnerable- no one will waste his/her £90 pounds for unfair treatment. It is very painful and disappointing on how Social Work England treat Social Workers in their so called”kangaroo” hearings / reviews.All social work England do is to force social workers to admit to false allegations -if social workers don’t comply with the conditions- then social work England become punitive and use the excuse of public interest. These people pretending to be the public are the very persons who make those false allegations to implicate social workers. These social workers would not allow themselves to be used as scapegoats. We all know the trend.
The transition from HCPC to Social Work England was a mess- I am of the view that a lot of innocent social workers were wrongly accused by HCPC and Social Work England did not review the cases properly. This had caused a lot of ongoing issues and false allegations whichHCPC stated that some cases did not meet the threshold for fitness to practise- however Social Work England glossed over the outcomes by HCPC and wrongly penalised some social workers with good references from their direct Managers. This whole thing of fitness to practise is unfair and one sided. Social Work England has failed innocent hard working social workers with no blemish by defaming their character and recording false allegations with falsified documents against their registration. The truth will prevail. Some Managers like Stuart A still practise freely whilst they have falsified documents with false allegations to implicate social workers. This is really unfair to the innocent.
Why can’t social work England get the money directly from employers, after all we work for them.
It’s important to have this process in place in order to be considered a registered professional. CPD is essential in that process – I get that. Otherwise we’re just out there untethered, practicing without a stable base. I’m proud to be a registered professional. What makes me mad though is what do SOCIAL WORK ENGLAND actually do for us? Where is my £90 going?
It’s time consuming, and time is something that all social workers are lacking. I would prefer To focus that time on my role. I have no issues with the payment but I do feel that the way the general social care council renewed registration was better, documenting all cpd.
Social workers have to fulfill their obligations
If nurses can do this what’s preventing Social workers
There has been a lot of gaps with children not been protected missed opportunities this is ongoing
This is about public confidence in the service
Also that we have competent and up to date practioners
Nurses foot, doctors for it, psychologist do it and do should social workers. Difference is other professions have a rigorous and transparent process with in built checks on the competence of those overseeing registration. SWE has no systems in place that give confidence that they are indeed scrutinising us properly and safeguarding the public. I would happily do more to demonstrate I was competent enough to be on the register. This is not one that enthusis me, motivated me nor give me the confidence that SWE are competent as a registration body. Hand on heart what bit of this process tells you that SWE are protecting the public through it?
SWE is not a friend of social workers, the organisation offer nothing except been oppressive to the profession. What do they provide for the £90 they take every year.
I am so frustrated with the system I have given up my registration. I will not registered again.
SWE, you received a complaint regarding my practice. It took you 12 months to inform me about the complaint and then your decision to carry out an investigation. Than a further 17 months to complete the investigation with a conclusion of no evidence to substantiate the complaint and no further action. You were charging me for my continued registration
Yeah and 50% of those think they have registered because SWE have taken their money but they have failed to click the final submit button. That caught HUNDREDS of people out last year and they had to pay again to be put back on the register. I can only think that this is deliberate revenue gathering on the part of SWE.
Sadly Social Worker’s have demanding pressures and caseloads and this is just an added pressure. I for one shouldn’t have to do this in my free time as I want to de-stress from work. Where does the £90 go as a qualified Social Worker for over 20 years I do not know what this fee or process actually does for me professionally or for my fellow colleagues. This is an unnecessary process. CPD… seriously I have supervision, training, support SW students and advise other staff. Not sure what this of for? Also taking the fee before actually re-registration date is also unacceptable. The fact that numbers who have not completed etc should be a red flag that there is a major issue with the process. BTW I have completed mine
SWE charge the fee to pay for paperwork and your registration it’s not to make profit £90 is low compare to what’s Doctors and Nurses pay GMC and NMC
Lower fees true but insignificant returns for it. I suggest a quick look at the websites of NMC and GMC to see what they actually do to promote their professions and what they provide registrants. Compare and weep at the contrast.
If social work leaders were truly independent rather than having a mutually self interested relationship with
a regulator which supposedly is upholding practice standards, professional development and safeguarding the public they would admit that SWE continues to be a failing organisation. It’s pitiful that year on year we get to the last few days of a process that creates ever more panicked and threatening response from SWE without a murmur from leaders. It’s pitiful that year on year SWE makes promises, never a committment mind, to improve its processes but fails always to achieve these. It’s pitiful that social work leaders never miss an opportunity to tell us how committed they are to our well being, to diversity, how fierce they are in opposing discrimination and how actively anti-racist they are. But when it comes to the crunch and they are faced with a Regulator which seems unable yo decide what fitness to practice is so drags out investigations while flailing and giving no regard to how destructive they are to social workers, which doesnt seem to have an agreed definition of racism let alone how undersrand how this manifests itself in social work, they are without comment. Social work management and leaders seem to exist in a cocoon of mutual admiration with SWE. Whether this is because they too are incompetent or are unable to criticise because of friendships that transcend professional responsibilities. I write this on a Sunday morning to clear my head of the resentment enveloping me while I try to justify why I should maintain my registration to people who won’t read what I write, probably won’t understand the nuances of what I write and to whom generating income seems now to become their sole purpose.
The annual CPD registration is a joke. What exactly does the fee go towards? What does SWE do with the money to support its members? How does completing the CPD process assure the public that SWs are safe to practice when the CPD records are not checked / verified and there are no safeguards in place with employers? The system is bonkers and the cpd requirement merely a performative exercise.
I would think by now there would be a more trauma-informed approach to caring for social workers emotional well-being, professional capabilities and support, to undertake work which has an impact and under extreme pressure. Put the money back to services to support welfare and training opportunities for practitioners which currently vary greatly across the uk. Supervision, allowing time for peer support and needs led training. Current registration requirements are not fit for purpose and don’t help the sector.
Just done a quick straw poll of my team and two others as to what stage those 19 social workers are at. Only 6 have completed and of those 2 are unsure if they have correctly navigated the system to completion. So we have 13 social workers of varying years of experience who are yet to complete it with some yet to start the process. One told me she had problems finding a peer reviewer still. All this with barely 5 days left to renew.
I will be leaving the profession. Its over for me !
Really sad. Social Work England, are you finally listening?
I have just been told I have been deregistered by social work England. I completed the CPD reqirement, and paid the fee. Apparently I missed a box on the declaration. I now have to re-register and pay £135. This feels disproportionate. I am at the end of my career, do I need this hassle and added cost? I am considering asking for my fee back and leaving it at that.
I completed 2 pieces of CPD the first one about 10 days ago which I started and thought i would save and come back to due to it being late at night, I also completed my personal information
I came back to do my second piece, hands up on the Friday but was completed by 7pm I also paid the 90£
I then realised on Monday I had no confirmation and when I went on my account only 1 piece had been submitted, human error or system error it was clearly not my intention after completing everything else and paying
I emailed SWE straight away, then called this morning and was told to wait for the email response, which I received today at 2:44pm saying that I had been taken off the register
Today I get called into an urgent meeting at 3pm to say my job was on the line
I got a call at 4pm to tell me to stop what I was doing and that my job had ended with immediate effect, to hand in my work stuff not go online or add anything more and that I wasn’t allowed to say goodbye to any of my families
I feel criminalised like I have done something awful and now I have to pay another 135 with no job just before Christmas
Merry Christmas SWE