Social Work England launches survey on social work motivations, perceptions and regulation

Social Work England is asking social workers in England to share their thoughts on regulation, the professional standards and perceptions of the social work profession.

The online survey, which was emailed directly to all social workers on the register today, is anonymous and should take approximately no longer than 5 minutes to complete. It closes at 5pm on Monday 15 June.

The results will add to Social Work England’s ongoing research and insight and inform its approach to regulation going forward. It builds on a previous survey in 2024, which was completed by over 2,000 social workers. The findings have informed several areas of work, such as:

• our outreach activity to support social workers’ understanding of fitness to practise processes
• initiatives such as Social Work Week, where we have drawn from the voices of social workers and people with lived and learned experience
• our influential Change the Script campaign, aimed at changing perspectives of social work in society

This year the survey includes questions on whether social workers intend to remain in the profession over the next 5 years, and what motivates them to do so.

Sarah Blackmore, executive director of professional practice and external engagement at Social Work England, said:

"We want to hear from as many social workers as possible. Your views directly shape our work, and we are committed to being open about what we hear and what we do as a result. A survey to all social workers enables us to test whether social workers are feeling more positive about how society views, or values, social work.”

Social workers can complete the survey using this link. The survey closes at 5pm on Monday 15 June.