Launch of equality, diversity and inclusion action plan on Race Equality Week

Social Work England, the specialist regulator for social workers, has made a commitment to #ActionNotJustWords by launching its first Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan during Race Equality Week. The plan details progress since its Statement of Intent, which the organisation published last year to set out its ambitions for operating with equality, diversity and inclusion as part of its core business.

This year, Race Equality Week is focusing on #ActionNotWords to drive meaningful action that makes an impact. Social Work England has launched its plan to achieve real action and change in a sector which is uniquely placed to lead the way in achieving equality in all aspects of society.

The plan has been co-produced with people with lived and learned experience of social work, Social Work England employees and representatives from the sector. It shows how the regulator is moving beyond conversations to achieve real, tangible steps and change. It shows its commitment to carrying out its regulatory duties fairly, being an inclusive employer and putting equality, diversity and inclusion at the heart of its next corporate strategy.

Ahmina Akhtar, head of equality, diversity and inclusion at Social Work England, said,

“As the specialist regulator, we share common values with the social workers we regulate. We recognise the responsibility we have to promote national conversations about the role of social work in addressing inequality. Part of this involves embracing many national awareness initiatives, including LGBT+ History Month and Race Equality Week this month. Our new action plan sets out Social Work England’s commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion, which we’ll deliver for and with the sector and staff.

We’ve already built some active partnerships with organisations in the sector who are keen to embed a better understanding of these issues amongst employers, social workers and the communities they serve. However, it’s a massive task and we need to recognise that every step in the right direction is worthwhile and will gradually bring about the changes we need to see if we work collaboratively.”

Some of our achievements to date

• We launched diversity monitoring on social worker online accounts to build a clearer understanding of the social work register. This will enable us to analyse, understand and, if necessary, make changes to our processes and policies.
• We introduced our new education and training standards, including requirements around supporting students and embedding equality, diversity and inclusion in course design and delivery.
• We have expanded the membership of our National Advisory Forum to reflect the diversity of those most impacted by our work.
• We have appointed a dedicated lead for equality, diversity and inclusion to our senior leadership team.

Plans for the future

• We will develop learning outcomes that provide a framework for the knowledge, skills and experience expected of social workers qualifying from initial education and training, including a specific focus on equality, diversity and inclusion and anti-oppressive practice.
• We will review the ways in which we seek diversity data from social workers on our register to improve the response rate and feed into the renewal cycle in 2023.
• We will commission research to look at a selection of our fitness to practise cases to identify any themes in relation to protected characteristics of social workers among concerns raised by the public.
• We will actively engage children and young people as a group who are most impacted by our work as a regulator of social work.