Our first annual report as the specialist regulator
An introduction to our annual report and accounts which sets out the successes and challenges of our first full year of operation.
Our first annual report as the specialist regulator
8/9/2021 9:00:00 AM
Welcome to our annual report and accounts for the period of 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021. Having become the new specialist regulator for social workers in England in December 2019, this report sets out the successes and challenges of our first full year of operation. We have been focused on delivering the first year of our 3-year corporate strategy, while laying the foundations for delivering radically different regulation for social work.
A year of unexpected challenges
Looking back on the last year, it is difficult to think of anything other than the impact of COVID-19 on all our lives. It has been an especially challenging year for everyone in social work, impacting the work we do and the way we do it. Despite this, there has been progress and success, and the past 12 months showcased the great resilience of all who work in health and social care. We are proud of everyone that has quickly adapted and continued to provide support to people when they need it the most.
As a new regulator, we have been focusing on further establishing ourselves and embedding our processes. We have built an experienced and talented workforce, put in place robust IT, governance, and management systems, and embedded our regulatory approach.
Listening and learning
Engagement and co-production remain at the heart of everything we do. We have continued our extensive dialogue and collaboration with the sector. We have initiated conversations with social workers and people with lived experience to listen to their views on our work to raise standards, enable change, and promote confidence in the sector. As part of this engagement, we held the first Social Work Week in March 2021. The week was our biggest conversation with the sector to date, marking a significant moment, both for Social Work England and for the sector.
Adapting in times of uncertainty
The fundamental purpose of everything we do is public protection. Despite the pressures faced by the sector, we were heartened by the way social workers engaged with our first renewal and continuing professional development (CPD) cycle. The insight we have gathered over the past year will allow us to continue improving these annual processes, ensuring they remain both robust and effective for maintaining public safety.
We have supported education and training providers, and their students, as they navigated significant disruption due to the pandemic. Courses moved online or were delayed, and students faced uncertainty around placements. We partnered with employers and leaders to provide new guidance, remaining flexible and responsive as the sector adapted to these challenges. Our priority, as ever, is ensuring that all social workers have received quality education and trained in environments that meet our standards.
This was the first full year of implementing our fitness to practise process. We faced significant challenges, with our teams working from home, a complex transition caseload, and new referrals coming to us at a rate of 35% higher than forecast. We have worked to overcome this and in doing so have restructured our teams and processes. We continue to learn and work in collaboration with key stakeholders in this area.
Throughout all this work, we recognise the importance of gathering data. We are in a unique position to capture information about the profession. Over the last year, we have engaged and carried out research and we are starting to build a rich picture of social work in England. We will ensure we share this learning, both with the sector and with all those who have an interest in social work, to reflect the identity of this complex, sometimes misunderstood, multifaceted profession.
Reflecting and looking back
As we look back on the last year, it is important to celebrate our achievements, as well as to look forward and think about our longer-term vision. We urge social workers to do the same, to feel proud of the essential role they have played in the pandemic response, and consider, with optimism and ambition, what the impact of effective social work looks like for the millions of people who need their support.
As set out in our business plan for 2021 to 2022, we will continue to work hard for public protection and for social workers against the backdrop of a complex and changing landscape