News
Df E to reform LADO role to improve response to allegations against children's workers or volunteers
10+ hour, 3+ min ago (679+ words) The Department for Education (Df E) has proposed to reform the local authority designated officer (LADO) role to improve the response to allegations against people in a position of trust with children. It has proposed new guidance for the role that…...
2015 adult social work knowledge and skills statement needs revision, DHSC told
5+ hour, 2+ min ago (356+ words) A 2015 statement of the knowledge and skills required of adult social workers in England needs to be revised, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has been told. Both the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) and Skills for…...
How motivational interviewing can reduce self-doubt in social work
1+ day, 11+ hour ago (1160+ words) Recently, I received a message from someone I had worked with when I was a newly qualified social worker." Now an adult, they told me they were about to start a social work degree and that this decision was shaped…...
30% of council children's services rated outstanding as Ofsted ditches overall grade
1+ day, 7+ hour ago (301+ words) Three in ten local authority children's services were rated outstanding following the final inspections in which Ofsted awarded authorities an overall grade. The figure is a marked improvement on the situation five years ago, when just 13% were rated outstanding, and…...
Boost to social work student numbers in Scotland following three years of decline
5+ day, 4+ hour ago (250+ words) The number of registered social work students in Scotland has risen over the past year following three years of decline, official data has shown. As of March 2025, 1, 890 students were on the Scottish Social Services Council's (SSSC) register, down from 1, 943 in…...
Care system in state of emergency due to acute placement shortage, warn social work leaders in Scotland
2+ week, 7+ hour ago (489+ words) Scotland's care system is in a state of emergency due to an acute placement shortage that has, in some cases, led to social workers taking children home with them. That was the stark warning from the country's 32 chief social work…...
Df E drops plan to ditch fostering panels in wake of sector opposition
2+ week, 2+ day ago (803+ words) The government has dropped plans to scrap the use of fostering panels for carer approval and first reviews in the face of significant sector opposition. The Department for Education had put forward the idea on the grounds that there was…...
Children's home review risks being skewed by Df E's aim to shrink sector, providers warn
3+ week, 12+ hour ago (876+ words) A review of the children's home workforce risks being skewed by the government's aim of shrinking the sector, a provider body has warned The Children's Home Association has launched its own sector-led process to define the purpose of residential care…...
Social workers increasingly concerned about adequacy of social care funding, finds BASW
3+ week, 2+ day ago (936+ words) Social workers are increasingly concerned about the adequacy of social care funding, the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) has found. Almost three-quarters (74%) of respondents to its latest survey of the profession, carried out from December 2025 to January 2026, said a…...
Df E to fund national rollout of schemes supporting relationships for children in care and care leavers
3+ week, 2+ day ago (717+ words) The Department for Education (Df E) will fund a national rollout of schemes to support children in care and care leavers build and maintain relationships with important people in their lives. It will provide "8. 4m from October 2026 to March 2028 to roll out…...