By Denise Turner

The proposed assisted dying legislation, which is currently being debated in Parliament, recommends social workers are appointed to multi-disciplinary panels, making decisions about assisted dying requests, following sign-off by two doctors.

This is an important potential change in the social work role. However, death and dying have always been firmly embedded within the profession, either directly, through people who are terminally ill or have experienced the death of a loved one, or indirectly, through intergenerational grief and loss. In public consciousness, social work is also, perhaps, most commonly associated with high-profile child deaths.

In addition, rapidly advancing technology has transformed many aspects of death and dying, whilst challenges such as knife crime also require an understanding of the contemporary landscape. Moreover, an increasingly diverse population requires social workers to understand multi-cultural bereavement practices.

No mandated learning on death and dying

However, despite the prevalence of death and bereavement within social work, the current education curriculum does not mandate any specific form of learning in this area.

A previous study (Turner and Price, 2021) found a paucity of research specifically concerned with understanding the bereavement experiences of students from diverse cultural backgrounds and that this may then be reflected in their practice experiences. It found there was an increased need for specific bereavement training and support within social work programmes, alongside skills and knowledge around cultural diversity and the part this plays in the bereavement process.

Work by other academics in the field has highlighted an over-reliance on five stages theories of Kubler-Ross, which were developed in the 1960s.

The limitations of current social work education may render practitioners ill-equipped to deal with contemporary aspects of death and dying, resulting in a potentially poorer service for people they work with, as well as risks to social workers’ own wellbeing.

A new network on death and dying

In the light of this, the Social Work Approaches to Death and Dying network (SWADD) was set up by a group of interested social work academics, with the aim of improving practice through investigating and updating the social work curriculum as it relates to death and bereavement.

The SWADD group piloted a small quantitative research study, which was sent to higher education institutions offering social work education in the UK. We are still collecting data from this survey, but existing responses have already highlighted the lack of consistency in the social work curriculum, with consequent implications for social work practice.

Contemporary issues such as the impact of technology on the field of death and dying, contested topics such as assisted dying and the need to understand cultural diversity are not reliably covered within the social work curriculum.

A lack of consistency in the curriculum

Additionally, where there is education on death and dying, this is often down to the interests of specific lecturers, so students are not consistently learning from those with lived experience in this area, or from experts in other disciplines with relevant knowledge.

For example, in the pilot research, findings showed that teaching on death and bereavement was variously embedded within a theories module, or as a dedicated skills day, with some universities focusing on children’s bereavement, and others more specifically on the mental health aspects of bereavement.

The variations in the teaching of this core life experience mean that students may be leaving social work education with wide discrepancies in their knowledge and skills, with consequent implications for their practice, where death and loss are so prevalent.

Find out more

The SWADD group will be presenting its initial work at Social Work England’s Social Work Week, on Friday 21 March as part of the research spotlight session, which runs from 3pm-4.30pm.

Findings so far are extremely limited so the SWADD group is hoping to recruit further social work educators interested in this area and also to encourage further participation in the survey, which can be found here.

If you are interested in joining the SWADD group, please contact Professor Denise Turner at d.turner4@herts.ac.uk or sign up for our SWADD session on 21 March – we look forward to seeing you there.

Professor Denise Turner works in the school of health and social work at the University of Hertfordshire

The number of people starting social work apprenticeship courses in England is continuing to grow, show government figures.

In 2023-24, 1,390 people started apprenticeship courses, up 31% on the 1,060 who did so in 2022-23 and almost double the 740 who started courses in 2021-22, according to the Department for Education data.

At the same time, the number of apprentices achieving their qualification trebled, from 200 in 2021-22 to 650 in 2023-24; 570 apprentices qualified in 2022-23.

Overall, 5,580 people started social work courses in England – through the diverse range of routes – in 2021-22, with 3,860 successfully qualifying in the same year, according to Skills for Care. Figures are not available for subsequent years.

Our My Brilliant Colleague series invites you to celebrate anyone who has inspired you in your career.

In this entry, Jane Mathew-Byrne celebrates Farrukh Akhtar, who was the head of the social work course where she used to work as a senior lecturer.

She describes Farrukh as a leader and mentor who understood “the emotional and professional toll of the pandemic” and was able to foster resilience and adaptability during a crucial time.

During the challenging lockdown period and beyond, the head of my BA social work course played a pivotal role in guiding and mentoring me as a senior lecturer.

She has also been a valuable sounding board in my role as the lead for placement allocation, always making time to discuss placement dilemmas.

Her support extended beyond professional advice, as she encouraged me to stretch my capabilities and discover new potential within myself. Her mentorship is marked by her ability to foster resilience and adaptability, which were crucial during the transition to remote teaching and learning.

She consistently challenged me to step out of my comfort zone, whether it was by adopting innovative teaching methods or pursuing professional development opportunities.

She introduced me to fresh perspectives on pedagogy and research, inspiring me to approach problems creatively. Her constructive feedback and encouragement helped me refine my skills in areas I may otherwise have overlooked.

What stands out most is her empathetic leadership. She understood the emotional and professional toll of the pandemic and provided unwavering support. Whether it was through virtual check-ins or sharing resources, she ensured I felt valued and motivated.

Her mentorship not only enhanced my confidence but also empowered me to mentor others effectively. Her guidance has and continues to be transformative, helping me grow both personally and professionally.

Her belief in my abilities inspired me to embrace challenges with optimism, leaving a lasting impact on my career trajectory.

How to nominate a colleague

You can nominate anyone who has inspired you in your career – whether current or former colleagues, managers, students, lecturers, mentors or prominent past or present sector figures whom you have admired from afar.

Nominate your colleague or social work inspiration by filling in our nominations form with a letter or a few paragraphs (100-250 words) explaining how and why the person has inspired you.

*Despite the need to provide your name and role, you or the nominee can be anonymous in the published entry.*

If you have any questions, email our community journalist, Anastasia Koutsounia, at anastasia.koutsounia@markallengroup.com.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.
The bursary for Step Up to Social Work trainees is to increase for the next cohort – in 2026 – after a decade-long freeze.

Those studying on the 14-month programme have been paid a tax-free bursary of £19,833 since 2014, with the Department for Education-funded scheme having also offered free tuition since its inception in 2010.

However, for the 2026 cohort, the bursary level will increase to £21,995, though will be paid over 15 months, as opposed to the current 14, the Department for Education (DfE) has revealed.

About Step Up

Step Up, which is is designed to train social workers to practise in children’s services, is delivered every two years by partnerships of local authorities and universities.

It is targeted at graduates who have studied subjects other than social work who have experience – paid or voluntary – of working with vulnerable children, young people or families, carers or vulnerable adults.

Step Up trainees spend 170 days on placement in a participating local authority, alongside their academic learning.

Widening access

Alongside the rise in the bursary, the DfE announced that some partnerships were due to relax entry requirements by not requiring participants to have a maths GCSE at grade 4/C or above.

In addition, some partnerships are planning to widen access to final-year undergraduate students who are predicted at least a 2:2 in their degree. Currently, applicants must have already secured a 2:2 to be eligible to join the programme.

Applications for the 2026 cohort will open on 17 February 2025, when the DfE will reveal which partnerships will be offering the amended admissions arrangements.

Diversity of routes into social work in England

The number of social work students registered in Scotland has fallen for a second consecutive year, with student poverty cited as a factor.

Student numbers fell by 2.7% in 2023-24, from 1,998 to 1,944, following a a 5.2% drop the year before, according to the Scottish Social Services Council’s (SSSC) annual snapshot of the registered workforce.

The SSSC said that higher education institutions (HEIs) had reported that poverty and cost of living pressures were factors in a drop in the numbers applying to social work courses.

Student-led campaign for improved financial support

The news follows a student-led campaign to improve financial support for those studying social work in Scotland, to prevent hardship and attrition from courses and provide equity of support with those studying to become health professionals.

The Scottish Government has addressed the campaign’s aims in part, extending student loan access to postgraduate social work students ineligible for a bursary from SSSC and increasing practice learning support from £350 to £750 per placement.

However, campaigners, who are backed by the Social Workers Union and Scottish Association of Social Work, have warned that this is insufficient.

They have called for annual bursaries of £7,500 for third- and fourth-year undergraduates, who may currently only obtain means-tested support worth £8,400 to £11,400 a year, mostly in the form of loans. By contrast, nursing, midwifery and paramedic students receive non-means tested bursaries of £10,000 in each of their first three years and £7,500 in their fourth year.

The Scottish Government has also announced plans for a social work apprenticeship – open to those with or without a degree – to provide a new route into the profession in Scotland.

Decrease in student numbers linked to poverty

A spokesperson for the SSSC said: ‘There has been a slight decrease in social work student numbers and HEIs have cited a reduction in applications in part due to student poverty and financial/ cost of living pressures.”

For SASW, national director Alison Bavidge: “The fall in numbers of social work students is in the context of almost existential crisis of funding for services, sky-high workloads and burnout.

“To address this we must support students with fair bursaries and good quality placements and also make social work a more attractive profession to enter and stay working in. We know how rewarding social work can be but the unsustainable and ever-increasing pressures being faced by those who join the profession are taking the joy out of our work.”

Apprenticeship scheme ‘must be rolled out quickly’

She backed for an apprenticeship, adding: “This will enable an earn-as-you-learn, workplace route into the profession, culminating in a social work degree and hopefully a post as a NQSW. This is very much welcomed and needs to be rolled out quickly.”

However, while welcoming improvements in support for postgraduate students, Bavidge said that “undergraduate students still lack support and there is still no parity with other public sector professions”.

Leadership body Social Work Scotland also expressed hope in the impact of the apprenticeship.

‘More routes into social work needed’

“We hope to see more new routes into social work to help mitigate the reported reduction in workforce numbers and welcome the recent Scottish Government announcement regarding the social work graduate apprenticeship programme,” a spokesperson said.

“Implemented well and resourced appropriately, this programme will help the profession grow whilst also promoting an inclusive and diverse workforce.”

The number of registered social workers in Scotland rose for the second consecutive year, increasing from 10,826 to 10,914 in 2023-24, according to the SSSC’s figures.

Social Work England has set out its expectations of graduates on joining the profession in England.

It has published 82 statements covering the knowledge, skills and behaviours the regulator believes that newly qualified social workers should possess at the point of registration to enable them to meet its professional standards. Social Work England consulted on the statements in 2022.

They will form part of ‘readiness for professional practice guidance’ that the regulator will issue to higher education institutions (HEI) to inform the content and curriculum of their social work courses.

Education standards review

However, the statements will not be used as part of Social Work England’s regulation of HEIs until it has issued new education and training standards, following a review of its current standards announced last month.

This will be informed by the regulator’s three-year programme of inspecting every course delivering social work in England, which began in 2021.

It will consult on proposed revised standards next spring, with a view to publishing a finalised version, alongside guidance on implementing them, by the end of 2025.

HEIs will then be given at least 12 months to prepare before Social Work England starts employing the new education and standards – along with the readiness for professional practice guidance – in its inspections, and decisions around approval, of courses.

Review will consider impact of hybrid working and technological advances

Social Work England’s executive director of professional practice and external engagement, Sarah Blackmore, said: “We are committed to ensuring that the standards by which we regulate education and training courses, and our guidance for providers, reflect the challenges and opportunities that the social work profession experiences in daily practice.

“The review of the standards is part of that commitment, enabling us to consider shifting dynamics, such as the increase in hybrid working and learning, the embedding of inclusive practice, and the ethical and appropriate use of advances in technology within social work.”

Campaigners have welcomed a boost to social work student support in Scotland but say more is needed to prevent burnout and provide equity with those studying to become health professionals.

From this month, eligible undergraduate and postgraduate students will receive a £750 grant from the Scottish Government for each of their two placements, up from £350 per placement in 2023-24.

The practice learning support grant, administered by regulator the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC), is designed to cover the costs of travel, subsistence and other practical requirements to support students while on placement.

Student-led campaign

Its introduction follows a student campaign – backed by the Social Workers Union (SWU) and Scottish Association of Social Work (SASW) – to increase levels of financial support, particularly for undergraduates on placement.

The campaign called for annual bursaries of £7,500 for third- and fourth-year undergraduates, not only to support them to complete their placements, but also to tackle inequalities in the support they received compared with healthcare students.

Currently, undergraduate students in Scotland spend nine months working full-time on placement in their third and fourth years but, during their course, can only access means-tested support worth £33,600 to £45,600 (from 2023-24), mostly in the form of repayable loans.

By contrast, nursing, midwifery and paramedic students receive non-means tested bursaries of £37,500 during their four-year courses.

Extra money ‘welcome but enough’

Leading campaigner, David Grimm, who recently completed his course, said the practice learning support grant would “help ease some of the pressure on students who are working and managing case work as part of their degrees”.

However, he added: “It does not provide enough to help students to live while studying and working in placements. Many end up burning out due to the pressure, dropping out of courses or building up unsustainable debt.”

Fellow campaigner Lucy Challoner said: “While we welcome the steps forward, we need to see a pathway towards equality with other public-sector degree courses.”

Union vows to continue campaign

For the SWU, general secretary John McGowan said: “We understand the financial pressures the Scottish Government is facing, but the students’ campaign is about two basic principles, that people should be fairly compensated for doing frontline work in the public sector and that students on social work courses should be treated like their peers on nursing and paramedic degrees and receive bursaries while on placements.

“Until these principles are met, we will continue to back the students in their campaign.”

The news follows a Scottish Government pledge to introduce an apprenticeship scheme to provide a new route into the profession.

Article amended

A social work apprenticeship is to be launched in Scotland, providing a new route into the profession in the country.

Cabinet secretary for justice and home affairs Angela Constance announced this week that the Scottish Government would work with national skills body Skills Development Scotland on developing the training scheme.

The graduate apprenticeship, which will be open to those with or without a first degree, will enable candidates to qualify as a social worker while working in a sector role, for example, as a social work assistant*.

Social work apprenticeships have existed in England since 2019 but are not available in the rest of the UK.

Current training routes

In Scotland, people can currently qualify as social workers through university undergraduate or postgraduate routes, and via three existing part-time, work-based learning courses.

Full-time undergraduates from Scotland have their fees covered, those on master’s courses receive a tuition fee contribution of £3,415 per year – less than the full cost – and students on part-time schemes are liable for fees but can access means-tested support.

However, future graduate apprentices will have their fees paid by the Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) while also earning a wage.

The announcement was welcomed by leadership body Social Work Scotland (SWS), whose director, Ben Farrugia, said: “We welcome the news of more routes into social work, especially those which promote a more inclusive, diverse workforce.

“Implemented well and resourced appropriately, such a scheme will help the social work profession better reflect all of Scotland’s communities.”

Urgent action needed on ‘existential crisis’ for profession

The Scottish Association of Social Work (SASW) said it welcomed “the addition of a graduate apprenticeship to the range of options to encourage more people to pursue social work as a career”.

“Urgent and impactful initiatives are required to address the existential crisis that is facing social work in Scotland, both in terms of recruitment and retention and the loss of generations of knowledge that have left many teams with their most experienced colleagues being two years post qualifying,” said a SASW spokesperson.

However, they said that the provision of multiple qualifying routes would only be effective alongside the provision of bursaries for students.

SASW and the Social Workers Union are campaigning for the introduction of bursaries for third- and fourth-year undergraduates while they carry out practice placements. 

As part of this, they have highlighted the superior level of funding received by nursing, midwifery and paramedic trainees, who receive non-means tested bursaries during their courses, not the means-tested support given to those on social work schemes.

*The article originally said – wrongly – that the qualification was at master’s level and only for graduates. We apologise for the error.

The government has scrapped the second round of the adult social work apprenticeship fund.

The £4m payment would have enabled English councils to recruit about 130 additional social work apprentices to work in adult social care during 2024-25.

However, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has cancelled it as part of wider cuts to adult social care training, designed to help the Labour administration fill a £22bn hole in the public finances it claims was bequeathed to it by its Conservative predecessor.

The move was criticised by the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) England.

BASW’s concern about apprenticeship funding cut

Michael Chapman, of BASW England’s adults’ group, said: “BASW is concerned about the government’s announcement to withdraw the funding allocated for social work apprenticeships.

“Apprenticeships have been supported by the social work sector and developed since 2018 to provide an opportunity for many people to qualify as social workers who otherwise would not have been able to afford to. Many training providers have developed apprenticeship degree schemes and the future of these will depend on the continuation of funding.

“The previous scheme provided funding on a short term basis and BASW has approached the Government to clarify whether a longer term funding scheme will be  developed to put the apprenticeship scheme on a secure footing alongside the traditional methods of entry to the profession.”

In their response to the decision, the chairs of the Adult Principal Social Worker Network said: “As PSW chairs we welcome any support from the government to support the training and retention of social workers working with adults.

“We would welcome the opportunity to talk to ministers and other stakeholders like Social Work England, BASW and Skills for Care about how we can work together to take a longer-term approach to recruiting and retaining social workers.”

One in ten social work posts vacant

The apprenticeship fund was set up at the start of this year by the then Tory government to boost social work capacity in councils’ adult social care services.

It was launched with the vacancy rate for council social workers running at 10.5%.

The DHSC invited authorities to bid for up to £30,000 per apprentice, providing an initial £8m in the 2023-24 financial year, which meant authorities could recruit about 265 additional practitioners.

Purpose of apprenticeship fund

The DHSC said councils could use the apprenticeship fund for:

• recruiting the additional apprentices (excluding marketing costs);
• practice educator recruitment and training;
• setting up, co-ordinating and managing the apprenticeship programme or the relationship with the training provider;
• setting up contrasting practice placements, for example, in children’s services;
• other non-training costs not currently covered by the apprenticeship levy (excluding any backfill-related costs), such as travel or management costs.

They were not permitted to use the money to meet salary costs for staff covering apprentices while they were on training or to fund learning delivered by the authority’s training provider, which must be covered by the apprenticeship levy.

Recruiting additional staff

To be eligible for the funding, councils had to commit to using it to recruit additional apprentices beyond their existing plans and to employing those selected until they complete their courses.

The DHSC has said it will seek evidence from councils that the funding has been used appropriately and that relevant staff have completed the first year of their programme.

Enhancing social care staff skills ‘of critical importance’

Explaining its decision to make cuts to adult social care training funding, a DHSC spokesperson said: “This government is being honest about the appalling economic circumstances we inherited, but we are determined to grip the crisis in social care and implement the longer-term reforms needed to create a sustainable national care service.”

Creating a national care service is Labour’s long-term aim for the sector, but it is yet to flesh out what this means in practice beyond establishing national standards to ensure consistency of care across the country.

The spokesperson added: “Enhancing skills for staff working in social care is of critical importance to this, and we want that care to be of outstanding quality – fair, personalised and accessible.”

It is not the job of pre-qualifying social work courses to train social workers in specialist areas of practice, academic leaders have said.

The Joint Universities Social Work Association (JUSWA) issued the statement in response to a BBC investigation that found that 37% of courses in England did not deliver specific training for students on coercive and controlling behaviour, in the context of domestic abuse.

Coercive and/or controlling behaviour, such as dictating what a person does or wears or preventing them from accessing their finances, is common in domestic abuse, and often a driver of serious violence by perpetrators (source: Home Office domestic abuse statutory guidance).

Lack of coercive control training ‘baffling’ – commissioner 

The BBC’s findings were described as “baffling” by sector watchdog the Domestic Abuse Commissioner for England and Wales, who called for such training to be made mandatory on pre-qualifying courses.

Nicole Jacobs told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme (28 August 2024) that social workers had told her that they were “not entering their roles with the kind of training they need to feel confident to support child and adult victims of domestic abuse because they are not getting it in their course work”.

She added: “Social work in England and Wales today is such that, from day one, you’re going to be really thrown into the deep end. It’s not as if you’re going to have some prolonged period of induction and training that gives you that kind of confidence.”

Jacobs added that social workers being unable to recognise the signs of coercive control could lead to victim-blaming, an experience shared by a domestic abuse survivor interviewed by the BBC.

In response to the story, JUSWA chair Professor Janet Melville-Wiseman said the BBC article “drew attention to some critically important concerns about how well coercive control is understood by those intervening with children and families that are affected by domestic violence”.

University remit ‘does not cover specialised practice’

However, she criticised its focus on pre-qualifying social work education.

“Initial education does not claim or have a remit to prepare newly qualified social workers to be “thrown into the deep end” of what should be regarded as highly specialised practice,” said Melville-Wiseman.

Courses’ role was to prepare students for all areas of social work practice as part of a generic approach, including by covering underpinning theories, the law and concepts such as discrimination and intersectionality, including in relation to domestic abuse, she added.

Following this, graduates would continue their learning and be protected from “high-risk work” during their assessed and supported year in employment (ASYE).

“For that reason, we believe that being fully trained in coercive control is specialist practice and should be primarily delivered as part of post-qualifying study. The issue is too important to think it can be adequately covered at pre-registration level.”

A spokesperson for the Domestic Abuse Commissioner clarified that she wanted to see coercive and controlling behaviour “to be a part of pre-qualifying training courses as well as post-qualifying training to maintain a high level of knowledge”, though stressed that the BBC story was focused on initial social work education.

What existing social work standards say

Social Work England’s education and training standards, which higher education institutions are required to meet, do not cover particular practice areas but state that courses should “enable students to develop the required behaviours, skills, knowledge and understanding to meet the professional standards”.

The professional standards themselves are also generic, for example, requiring practitioners registered with Social Work England to “demonstrate good subject knowledge on key aspects of social work practice and develop knowledge of current issues in society and social policies impacting on social work”.

By the end of their ASYE, practitioners in England are expected to meet the post-qualifying standards for child and family practitioners or the knowledge and skills statement for social workers in adult services, as relevant. Both require an understanding of the impact of domestic abuse on children and families or adults, but neither goes into further detail nor references coercive and controlling behaviour.

Forthcoming Social Work England guidance

Social Work England is due to shortly publish new guidance for education providers on the knowledge, skills and behaviours expected of students at the point of qualification to ensure they are practice ready.

Chief executive Colum Conway said the readiness for professional practice guidance would “make clear that social workers will need to be able to “understand signs of harm, exploitation, neglect, abuse, domestic abuse, and coercive or controlling behaviour, recognising their impact on people, families, and communities”.

He added that the guidance had been informed by feedback from the Domestic Abuse Commissioner.

In relation to the regulator’s education and training standards, Conway added: “Our current standards were set out in 2019, but we are committed to routinely reviewing them to ensure they are fit for purpose. We are undertaking a comprehensive review and public consultation on these standards in 2025, where issues such as the placement of coercive and controlling behaviour could be considered for more explicit reference.”

‘Increasing demands’ on social work course providers

In its response to the debate, the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) England raised concerns about the pressures on social work course providers relative to their resource levels.

“Social work education courses provide a theoretical foundation and placement-based experience for students in diverse settings, including a focus on statute, social policy, critical analysis, research, ethics, values and relationship based social work,” said national director for BASW England Maris Stratulis.

“There are increasing demand across the HEI sector to deliver more and more within a context of under resourcing and non-equitable social work education funding streams.”

This is likely a reference to the superior levels of public funding for students on fast-track courses Approach Social Work (run by Frontline), Step Up to Social Work and Think Ahead, compared with those on university courses.

“The regulator, government, employers, the HEI sector and other stakeholders have a responsibility to provide conducive education and progressive learning environments for students and qualified social workers – this does not happen without sustainable funding and investment,” Stratulis added.

For the Association of Directors of Children’s Services, workforce policy committee chair Nicola Curley said ongoing training and practice development was necessary to enable social workers to meet the needs of children and families and prevent harm.

“Sadly, all forms of domestic abuse are a significant feature of this work with children and families and ADCS will continue to collaborate with the Department for Education on its reform programmes to enhance the skills of our workforce in the best interests of the children and families we serve,” she added.