Registration renewal and CPD data (16 November 2023)
Social workers must be on Social Work England’s register to practise legally. They must renew annually, which provides assurance that the people who practise as social workers in England continue to meet the professional standards and practise safely and effectively.
Social workers in England who want to continue practising must renew their registration by 30 November
11/23/2023 12:00:00 PM
Social workers in England have been applying to renew their registration since 1 September. Social workers must be on Social Work England’s register to practise legally. They must renew annually, so the public can be sure they continue to meet the professional standards and practise safely.
As part of the renewal process, social workers are reminded they must use their online account to complete all 3 actions of the registration renewal process. They need to:
- submit their registration renewal application form
- pay their registration fee
- record a minimum of 2 different pieces of continuing professional development (CPD). They must include a peer reflection with at least one of these pieces of CPD
They must complete all of the above by 11:59pm (UK time) on 30 November 2023.
About the social work register
Comparing 2023 and 2022
Please note that this data excludes social workers with an open voluntary removal case.
| Social workers by registration date | 16 November 2023 | 16 November 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| Social workers by registration date Registered before 1 September (required to complete the 3 actions to renew their registration) | 16 November 2023 101,217 | 16 November 2022 98,447 |
| Social workers by registration date Joined or restored to the register since 1 September (only required to pay registration fee) | 16 November 2023 2,419 | 16 November 2022 2,478 |
Registration renewal application form and CPD progress
The data below is only for social workers on the register before 1 September each year. They are required to complete 3 actions to renew their registration:
- submit an application form
- pay their registration fee
- meet the CPD requirements
Of those social workers required to complete the 3 actions above, at 16 November 2023, 45,875 (45.3%) had completed all 3, compared to 45,983 (46.7%) at 16 November 2022.
Social workers who join the register from 1 September do not need to submit a registration renewal application form or record CPD for this registration year. However, they do need to pay the registration fee by 30 November.
Of those social workers that are only required to pay the registration fee by 30 November 2023, at 16 November 2023, 1,886 (78.0%) have paid, compared to 2,002 (80.8%) at 16 November 2022.
Registration renewal application progress
Comparing 2023 and 2022
| Social workers' registration renewal application progress | 16 November 2023 | 16 November 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| Social workers' registration renewal application progress Submitted a completed renewal form | 16 November 2023 58,023 (57.3%) | 16 November 2022 59,195 (60.1%) |
| Social workers' registration renewal application progress Started renewal form, but not yet completed it | 16 November 2023 12,962 (12.8%) | 16 November 2022 12,187 (12.4%) |
| Social workers' registration renewal application progress Not yet started a renewal form | 16 November 2023 30,232 (29.9%) | 16 November 2022 27,065 (27.5%) |
Of those social workers that have submitted a completed renewal form, 12,133 (20.9%) have not yet met all CPD requirements, compared to 13,130 (22.2%) in 2022.
CPD progress
Comparing 2023 and 2022
| Social workers’ CPD progress | 16 November 2023 | 16 November 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| Social workers’ CPD progress Social workers who have met all CPD requirements | 16 November 2023 48,037 (47.5%) | 16 November 2022 47,977 (48.7%) |
| Social workers’ CPD progress Social workers who have started the CPD process but not yet met all CPD requirements | 16 November 2023 7,698 (7.6%) | 16 November 2022 7,965 (8.1%) |
| Social workers’ CPD progress Social workers who have yet to submit any valid CPD records | 16 November 2023 45,482 (44.9%) | 16 November 2022 42,505 (43.2%) |
Social Work England website availability
The Social Work England website and online account were available for 99.9% of the month up to and including 16 November 2023. This excludes planned outages for maintenance.
An update from Social Work England
Philip Hallam, Executive Director of Regulation said:
“Despite seeing an increase during September and October, it is concerning that the number of social workers who have completed the necessary steps to renew their registration as of 16 November 2023, is slightly below the levels of last year. Social workers have 3 months to apply to renew their registration and pay the registration fee. CPD should be actively recorded throughout the registration year. We have reminded social workers throughout the registration renewal period, as in previous years, of the importance of applying to renew their registration, and the consequences of failure to do so.
"This year we’ve taken significant steps to ensure our communications are tailored to individual circumstances, outlining the specific actions that need to be taken by specific social workers. Please do not ignore the emails that you receive from Social Work England. They show what actions you need to take to complete the registration renewal process.
"Social workers must apply to renew their registration before 30 November 2023, or risk being removed from the register. If they do not apply to renew, their registration will lapse. Social workers will be required to apply to restore their registration if they want to continue to practise. To restore they will need to provide additional information and pay an additional £135. It can take over 20 working days for us to review an application to restore, during which time social workers are not be permitted to practise or use the protected title of social worker.
"As the regulator, we do not make the decision to remove people from the register lightly. It is frustrating for all involved to remove people from the register because they have not completed all of the actions required or missed the deadline.
"The profession has an additional 2,770 social workers registered before 1 September 2023 compared to last year. We want to ensure that all those who wish to continue practising remain on the register. We urge all social workers to log in well ahead of the deadline to complete the registration renewal application process and to avoid a last minute rush.”
The next data update will be available 7 December 2023.