Knowledge, skills and behaviours

In September 2021 we launched our new education and training standards and began an ambitious programme of inspections of every social work course in England. Our inspection teams have travelled the length and breadth of the country meeting with the people who are preparing the next generation of social workers for practice.

We have met with hundreds of lecturers, practice educators, employers, people with lived experience of social work, plus the students and apprentices who have the values, dedication and passion to pursue a career in social work. We have had access to thousands of pages of evidence covering all aspects of course design and delivery, enabling us to understand the social work student journey from application to graduation.

Our inspections have given us unique insight into the design and delivery of all types of social work courses, from apprenticeships to fast-track routes, as well as traditional university based programmes. As we near the end of this 3 year programme of work, we are ready to apply our knowledge and understanding to ensure that our regulatory requirements and expectations of education providers remain clear and relevant.

To achieve this, we will review our education and training standards 2021 and accompanying guidance, and will consult on our proposals in Spring 2025. Part of our focus for this review will be to bring new guidance on ‘readiness for professional practice’ into regulation, which will provide further detail for education providers on the knowledge, skills and behaviours that social work students and apprentices will need to demonstrate that they meet the professional standards (see section below for more details).

We will also take this opportunity of the review to embed learning from our reapproval inspections, and feedback from education providers on the clarity and usability of our guidance. We will be mindful of the scope and scale of the changes that we make to the standards themselves, to help ensure that our requirements remain consistent, relevant and proportionate.

We expect that our changes will reflect things like the increase in hybrid working and hybrid learning, the need for courses to embed inclusive practice, as well as further guidance on the ethical and appropriate use of advances in technology within social work.

We will continue to work collaboratively with our Education and Training Advisory Forum and National Advisory Forum to help shape this programme of work. Any changes that we make to our standards and guidance will be subject to full public consultation, as well as final approval by the Secretary of State for Education.

The revised education and training standards and guidance will be published by the end of 2025 and we will write to education providers before any changes come into effect. We will provide a minimum of 12 months’ notice to education providers before implementing new standards or guidance.

As we have previously shared in our consultation on ‘readiness for professional practice’, we do not currently make explicit the specific knowledge, skills and behaviours that are required of courses to ready students to meet the professional standards.

As a result, we have seen differing interpretations of how to translate the professional standards into course content. This is potentially contributing to inconsistent outcomes for students and graduates in their readiness for professional practice.

We have been working collaboratively with our Education and Training Advisory Forum, which represents people and organisations with an interest in social work education, to finalise the knowledge, skills and behaviours. These will be brought into regulation through the review of our education and training standards and guidance.

We are publishing the knowledge, skills and behaviours now so stakeholders will feel better informed when we consult on changes to our education and training standards and guidance next year. We intend for these changes to bring the knowledge, skills and behaviours into regulation.

We want to be transparent about how our expectations for social work courses and social work students may change over the coming years. Through our review of the education and training standards and guidance, we will explore how our future expectations might impact the design and delivery of qualifying social work training. Our future expectations are likely to require that:

• education and training providers make use of the knowledge, skills and behaviours to inform course content, design and delivery
• social work students and apprentices can demonstrate the knowledge, skills and behaviours to evidence their ability to meet the professional standards by the end of their qualifying course
• education and training providers evidence where, when and how their course will equip students to develop and demonstrate the knowledge, skills and behaviours

Until our review of the education and training standards guidance is complete, the knowledge, skills and behaviours will not be part of our regulatory framework and we will not consider them as part of our course approval, approval or annual monitoring activity.

Social work students and apprentices are working towards joining the social work profession. Their course will put them in contact with people accessing social work services, people with lived and learned experience of social work, and members of the public who may be vulnerable.

Because of this, we expect education and training providers to ensure that social work applicants, students and apprentices can demonstrate a level of professional behaviour appropriate to their stage of learning and development.

We expect applicants, students and apprentices to understand that their behaviour at all times, both in the learning environment and outside of their studies, must demonstrate that they are capable of joining the social work profession and meeting the professional standards by the end of their qualifying course.

At the point of registration, a social worker will be able to:

• 1.1: Meet the professional standards, upholding the reputation of the profession and acting in accordance with the values and principles of the profession at all times.
• 1.2: Acknowledge the identities, beliefs, values and lifestyles of people, their families and their communities.
• 1.3: Practise in a manner that respects ethnic, religious and cultural diversity and values difference.
• 1.4: Demonstrate a commitment to learning about the different perspectives and lived experiences of other people.
• 1.5: Embed the principles of inclusive practice, which includes anti-discriminatory, anti-racist and anti-oppressive practice.
• 1.6: Demonstrate an ability to receive feedback from people and other professionals; reflect on and use this to develop practice.
• 1.7: Recognise that people have a right to complain or raise concerns, including about conduct or fitness to practise; proactively support people to exercise this right.
• 1.8: Demonstrate professional integrity and appropriate use of self when working with others; including the ability to recognise any potential or actual conflicts of interest.
• 1.9: Engage in critical reflection on social work practice and demonstrate a commitment to continuing professional development, as part of their professional identity.
• 1.10: Use professional supervision and support to improve their practice; and be accountable for their practice.
• 1.11: Recognise and communicate when and how health and wellbeing might impact on their practice, taking steps to seek support, to ensure safe and effective practice.
• 1.12: Identify and access tools, information and resources to maintain their wellbeing; understanding the importance of reflection and self-care.
• 1.13: Work with integrity in an open and transparent way; assert and justify actions within ethical and professional standards.
• 1.14: Demonstrate awareness of bias and prejudice and reflect on the potential impact of this on their decision making.

At the point of registration, a registered social worker will be able to:

• 2.1: Understand how to positively explore the cultural identities and beliefs of the people, families and communities that social workers work with.
• 2.2: Understand how identity and intersectionality can impact on the lives of people, families and communities.
• 2.3: Understand the social context in which people live and how multiple and intersecting oppressions and disadvantages impact people, families and communities.
• 2.4: Understand the impact of poverty and economic disadvantage, including the cumulative impact of intergenerational poverty on people, families and communities.
• 2.5: Understand the role of social work in promoting social justice and pursuing positive change in partnership with people who are at risk of harm.
• 2.6: Understand the importance of inclusive practice, including anti-oppressive, anti-racist and anti-discriminatory practice from both historical and contemporary perspectives.
• 2.7: Understand how to recognise the impact of individual, organisational and structural discrimination and oppression.
• 2.8: Understand that social work is an international and global profession, and how social work practice can vary based on national or regional contexts, including within the UK.

At the point of registration, a registered social worker will be able to:

• 3.1: Practice in an anti-discriminatory, anti-racist and anti-oppressive manner; applying principles of equality, diversity and inclusivity.
• 3.2: Reflect on own biases and prejudices to ensure that practice is anti-discriminatory, anti-racist and anti-oppressive.
• 3.3: Demonstrate appropriate use of power and professional authority whilst upholding people’s human and equality rights, advocating where appropriate.

At the point of registration, a registered social worker will be able to:

• 2.14: Understand the role of a social worker and a social worker's responsibility to empower, advocate, value, assist, safeguard and protect people.
• 2.15: Understand how to work in partnership with people while recognising them as experts in their own lives, and how to build professional relationships founded on respect, honesty and integrity.
• 2.16: Understand the need to value each person as an individual, recognising their strengths and abilities, and the support available within their networks and support systems.

At the point of registration, a registered social worker will be able to:

• 3.10: Demonstrate effective, professional and appropriate interpersonal skills, in verbal and written communication for a range of audiences.
• 3.11: Communicate the role of a social worker and the purpose of social work clearly, accurately and sensitively.
• 3.12: Communicate with and actively listen to others being respectful, inclusive, engaging, accessible, motivating and effective.
• 3.13: Demonstrate emotional intelligence, empathy and compassion as appropriate to all situations.
• 3.14: Support people to express their expectations, strengths and limitations and to understand and fully realise their rights, entitlements and responsibilities.
• 3.15: Demonstrate effective, ethical and appropriate use of digital tools, technologies, spaces and platforms.

At the point of registration, a registered social worker will be able to:

• 2.23: Understand how social workers use evidence to critically inform their practice, and the strengths and limitations of different forms of evidence.
• 2.24: Understand how social workers use theory to critically inform their practice and the interventions and models they use.
• 2.25: Understand the use of self in social work, and how social workers may work creatively to apply different skills and interventions.

At the point of registration, a registered social worker will be able to:

• 3.23: Critically use social work theories, models, methods, approaches, and research methodologies in practice.
• 3.24: Critically reflect upon and analyse their practice, seeking support where necessary.
• 3.25: Synthesise and analyse complex knowledge, evidence and information from multiple sources and apply this in practice.
• 3.26: Demonstrate an evidence informed approach when making decisions.
• 3.27: Write accurate, clear, objective, and up-to-date records and reports which document assessments, decisions and actions.