Black, male and 40-plus social workers remain disproportionately represented in fitness to practise (FtP) cases, Social Work England data has confirmed.

The regulator has released an update on analysis it conducted last year on how different groups of practitioners were represented in the FtP process, which was based on referrals received from its inception in December 2019 to March 2023.

That found that the three groups were not only overrepresented in concerns referred to the regulator but also in cases that were subsequently investigated and those referred to a hearing, when a panel determines whether the social worker’s fitness to practise is impaired.

The latest analysis extends the dataset by a year, meaning it now runs from December 2019 to March 2024. Unsurprisingly, the overrepresentation of black and male social workers and those aged over 40 remains, at multiple points of the FtP process.

Longstanding concerns about overrepresentation

There are longstanding concerns about overrepresentation in the fitness to practise system.

The then regulator, the General Social Care Council, identified disproportionate numbers of men, black practitioners, those aged 40-49 and disabled social workers in referrals that it received from 2004-11.

In July 2020, seven months after it took over the role, Social Work England reported that black and ethnic minority social workers were overrepresented in fitness to practise referrals it had received thus far.

At the time, it said investigating whether its processes were non-discriminatory was something that it was “absolutely committed to” working on but it needed to develop a system to do that.

Collecting diversity data on social work population

Its next step was encouraging social workers to submit data on their protected characteristics, under the Equality Act 2010, and demographic categories.

By 2023, it had this information for the vast majority of the registered population, which enabled it to carry out the analysis of fitness to practise data published last year.

Commenting on the 2023 data last year, Social Work England said: “We must take considerable care in drawing conclusions, because the apparent differences identified in this analysis do not necessarily indicate that differences in outcomes are caused by a social worker belonging to a group within a particular characteristic.”

In its latest analysis, Social Work England examined whether types of concern, regional differences or practitioners’ employment sector helped explain its findings. It found minimal differences depending on the social worker’s region and that the top three types of concern were the same for black, male and 40-plus social workers.

Children’s social workers appeared to be overrepresented in initial referrals compared with adults’ practitioners, but this did not explain the overrepresentation of black, male and 40-plus staff across the FtP process.

Further work to identify causes of disproportionality

Social Work England said it would now undertake a more detailed analysis of a sample of cases, including male and female and black and white practitioners, “to gain a deeper understanding of what causes overrepresentation, and understand potential actions to address this”.

It would combine this by repeating its broader analysis of fitness to practise and diversity data using “a more advanced method of statistical analysis” that would enable it to “consider multiple factors that may influence how a case progresses” through the FtP process.

The two pieces of work would help it design potential improvements to the FtP process and provide guidance to its decision makers. However, it cautioned that identifying and addressing the root causes of overrepresentation was “a challenging and complex area of work” that would take time.

The regulator’s executive director of professional practice and external engagement, Sarah Blackmore, said: “Equality, diversity and inclusion is integral to and embedded in all we do at Social Work England.

“We have always been committed to pursuing positive change in this area for both the profession and people who use social work services. We will continue our work to ensure that our processes and outcomes are fair, efficient, proportionate, and in the public interest.”

Do we need more men in social work?

That is the question that the first episode of season two of The Social Work Community Podcast seeks to answer.

According to Social Work England data, 83% of registered social workers were female as of November 2022.

But how much does this matter – to the children, families and adults supported by social workers and to the way social work teams and services work?

Community Care’s careers editor, Sharmeen Ziauddin, spoke to two of those male social workers – Curtis Powell and Jason Barnes – about their experience of the sector, why they choose the social work profession and what they, as men, bring to the table.

The Social Work Community Podcast explores the issues that matter to social work practitioners in their working lives.

Sharmeen and fellow host Kirsty Ayakwah, our senior careers editor, interview experienced and inspiring guests, including frontline social workers who speak from the heart about their jobs, the sector and society.

It was nominated in the podcast category at this year’s British Association of Social Workers (BASW) Social Work Journalism Awards, following its first season, which ran from October 2023 to April 2024.

Other subjects covered in season two include:

• Agency or permanent: what’s the right choice for you?
• Behind the scenes of Community Care – a 50^th anniversary special.

There will also be special episodes with some well-known faces.

Where to find the podcast

Although the podcast is available on major podcast platforms, Social Work Community members will get special early access to each episode.

So sign up to the Social Work Community to be among the first to catch each episode and to connect with fellow practitioners in a safe space.

The Social Work Community Podcast can also be found on:

• Spotify
• Apple Podcasts
• Spreaker

Click ‘follow’ or ‘subscribe’ on your podcast app so you know when a new episode is published.

You can also listen to the episode here:
Listen to “Do we need more male social workers?” on Spreaker.

Here is the transcript.

To whet your appetite for season two, check out episodes from the first season through the links below:

• What is the impact of negative media coverage on social workers?
• The pros and cons of being a young social worker
• Racism in social work
• Should social workers be on social media?
• The refugee who became social worker of the year

Meanwhile, don’t forget to sign up to the Social Work Community and do also follow us on Instagram.

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The failure rate for the children’s assessed and support year in employment (ASYE) has fallen but black and minority ethnic practitioners remain less likely than white counterparts to pass the year.

Skills for Care’s annual report on the children’s ASYE for 2023-24 also showed that women were consistently more likely to pass the year compared with men, continuing another trend.

And despite the ASYE framework recommending that 10% of newly qualified social workers’ time is protected for learning, the report found that NQSWs’ loyalty to their teams was such that they often took on a higher-than-recommended caseload.

However, most ASYE leads, assessors and social workers surveyed for the report said the supported year had had a positive impact on the practice confidence of NQSWs and on outcomes for people using services.

Record numbers on the children’s ASYE

The report showed that record numbers of social workers – 3,203 – were registered on the children’s ASYE in 2023-24, up 12.6% on the previous year.

This is likely to reflect, in part, the fact that 2023 was a graduation year for the biennial Step Up to Social Work course, meaning there was a greater supply of graduates trained to work in children’s services than in the previous year.

The vast majority of participants (94%) were working in local authorities, with London and the North West the most represented regions, with 17% each of the cohort.

Falling failure rate

From 2018-19 to 2021-22, the failure rate for the children’s ASYE fell from 1.57% to 0.46% of participants.

However, the report showed that previous disparities in failure rates based on race or ethnicity, sex/gender and whether the person had deferred persisted.

Among black and minority ethnic NQSWs, the failure rate fell from 2.71% in 2018-19 to 1% in 2021-22, but over the same period, the rate for white practitioners dropped from 1.11% to 0.28%, meaning they were three times as likely to pass.

And women were more than twice as likely to pass the year in 2021-22 than men (0.36% as against 1.17%), as was the case in 2018-19 (1.39% as against 3.13%).

Need for spaces for minority ethnic social workers

Skills for Care runs a dedicated group for ethnic minority social workers (GEMS), whose members have raised issues including dealing with racism from both people who receive support and colleagues, and the negative impact on them of having to adapt their speech, appearance and behaviour to the expectations of others.

The size of the group has grown over time and its members have confirmed the value of having a forum specifically for them, with some highlighting the need for this to continue post-ASYE.

“This indicates that there is still a gap between reality and the need for these NQSWs and social workers to be offered specific support that is geared to their needs in an environment in which they feel safe enough to express and explore their need for support which enables them to grow and develop as qualified social workers,” the report said.

Most NQSWs surveyed for the report agreed or strongly agreed that everyone in their organisation had an equal opportunity to develop (75%) and that leaders were approachable on issues of anti-racist practice (69%). However, because of small sample sizes, these were not broken down by the person’s ethnicity.

More NQSWs reporting additional needs but some fear disclosure

Skills for Care said more NQSWs were reporting additional support needs to their employers. In many cases, organisations were responding appropriately through their policies and procedures and there were good examples of employers supporting neurodivergent social workers, such as those with autism or ADHD.

However, the report added added: “Not all NQSWs feel as though they are having an equitable experience or feel comfortable enough to disclose additional needs to their employer for fear of jeopardising their employment opportunities or their ASYE.”

The workforce development body urged employers to put in place an equity, equality, diversity and inclusion (EEDI) framework for the ASYE, co-produced with graduate social workers, that “makes it clear from the outset what support is available to NQSWs and what the process is for gaining support”.

Workload concerns

The report added that workload was “another area where NQSWs are not receiving an equitable experience”.

Even where there were good organisational policies in place to manage workloads in line with the ASYE framework, NQSWs were often willing to take on a higher-than-recommended caseload due to loyalty to their teams, in the context of high rates of referral to children’s services.

“The strain of taking on additional and more complex cases before they are ready does not support NQSWs to develop deeper learning that will support them within their career and can lead to early burnout,” the report warned.

“It is therefore crucial that senior managers are aware of this issue and are proactively instrumental in protecting development time for NQSWs and ensuring caseloads are at the appropriate level.”

Leads, assessors and NQSWs supportive of ASYE

ASYE leads, assessors and NQSWs were generally positive about the year, in response to surveys carried out by Skills for Care, which also included responses from those working in adults’ services.

All leads agreed or strongly agreed that the ASYE improved the practice confidence of NQSWs, while 89% said that they believed it improved outcomes for people receiving services.

Among assessors, 89% agreed that the ASYE improved practice confidence and 82% that it improved outcomes.

While NQSWs surveyed were less positive as a whole, 81% agreed that the ASYE boosted practice confidence, with 73% saying that it improved outcomes.

‘There is more to do’ – directors

In response to the annual report, the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) said it was positive that there were record numbers of enrolments in the 2023-24 ASYE and the failure rate has fallen over time.

Nicola Curley, chair of the ADCS’s workforce policy committee, added: “At a time when need in our communities is growing, so too is our need for more people to choose social work as a career and to stay in the profession. Further work is needed to understand why some groups are more likely to be unsuccessful in completing the ASYE than their peers. This includes people from Black and global majority communities, males and those who have deferred their ASYE.

“The report highlights how equity, equality, diversity and inclusion (EEDI) is being strongly promoted by employers and that more newly qualified social workers are comfortable disclosing any additional support needs they have during their ASYE, which can only be a good thing. However, the report also acknowledges that there is more to do here and in other areas, such as ensuring that caseloads are manageable, individuals have appropriate protected time for development and feel able to raise any concerns they may have with their managers.

“As employers, we are committed to doing all we can to support our staff across all stages of the workforce, from newly qualified social workers on their ASYE through to senior leadership. We cannot make a difference to the children and families we work with without a well supported social work workforce.”

Early career framework question marks

The report comes with the previous government having initiated work to replace the children’s ASYE with a five-year early career framework, under its Stable Homes, Built on Love children’s social care reform programme.

Last year, the Department for Education (DfE) selected eight organisations as early adopters to help develop the ECF, before appealing for a second cohort of employers to come forward in March this year.

No announcement was made on the second cohort before the election and the new Labour government has been silent so far on which aspects of the Stable Homes, Built on Love reform programme it will and will not take forward.