Renew registration from next month to work legally in England

Social Work England, the regulator of over 100,000 social workers in England, has issued a reminder that social workers must now renew their registration once a year, with the renewals process starting in a fortnight’s time on 1 September.

Social workers must renew their registration using their dedicated Social Work England online account and pay their fees between 1 September 2020 and 30 November 2020. The process of renewing registration includes a requirement for social workers to have recorded at least one piece of learning or ‘continuing professional development’ (CPD) during the registration year since 2 December 2019. Full details can be found here.

Philip Hallam, executive director for registration, quality assurance and legal said:

“Social workers are key workers who play a vital role in public protection. Being registered with Social Work England reinforces that they are part of a professional, regulated workforce like doctors, nurses and dentists.

“Trust and confidence are fundamental to social work, and our role is to provide assurance to the public that social workers are properly qualified. Our professional standards set out what a social worker must know, understand and be able to do, and our fitness to practise process allows us to investigate concerns raised to us thoroughly and fairly.”

‘Social worker’ is a protected title, which means that it is illegal for a person to use the title unless they are registered with Social Work England. It is also illegal for a person to falsely use any name, title or description implying that they are registered. Anyone suspected of illegally practising as a social worker can be prosecuted by Social Work England. Any member of the public can view the register on Social Work England’s website to find out if their social worker is practising legally, has been properly trained and meets professional standards.

Social work became a regulated profession in 2001. Social Work England became the new regulator in December 2019 after legislation created a specialist regulator for social work. Its role is to:

• Set professional standards, including those for proficiency, conduct and ethics
• Set standards for, and approve, education and training courses
• Maintain a register of over 100,000 social workers in England
• Investigate concerns raised about social workers through its fitness to practise process
• Ensure and assess continuing professional development (CPD)
• Approve post-qualifying courses