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Department of Education set to enforce stricter regulations on social work agencies

Heard about the recent talks to implement agency social work restrictions in children’s services?


Here’s a quick recap of everything we know so far…


How likely is it that the restrictions will go ahead?


The Department of Education is planning to implement certain restrictions to agency social work in statutory children's services across the UK by April 2024.


The Association of Directors of Children's Services (ADCS) has urged the DfE to put these rules into action on numerous occasions, says workforce policy lead Rachael Wardell.


An update from the DfE is expected to be released this month, following its consultation on the proposed rules which took place earlier in the year.


However, the possibility of reducing locum workers in children’s services has sparked a major controversy, with many social workers arguing that this will only worsen existing staff shortages.


Community Care conducted a survey involving 759 respondents, to gain a better overview of their readers' responses.


When asked about the most likely outcome of the proposed rules on agency work in children's services, 81% said the move would result in more social workers leaving the sector altogether.


On the other hand, only 13% believed that more locum workers would take on permanent roles if the DfE were to go ahead and enforce the regulations.


These views were strongly reinforced in the comments section of this article from Community Care, which shared the news that agency worker pay might be reduced to ‘match’ permanent staff.


“It will only backfire,” commented Jenny. “As usual, they fail to address the reason for the poor retention of permanent staff. They would also need to address the issue of benefits agency staff do not receive, such as sick pay and holiday pay, which are compensated for by a higher rate of pay.”


Caroline said: “Agency staff are not to blame, it’s the systems that expect staff to have high caseloads, work long hours without pay, [the] lack of care or respect for workers and treating them like machines.”


Want that next step in your social work career? Discuss your options with us and what role we can offer you by calling us on 0203 8929 340 or email opportunities@socialpersonnel.com.



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