‘Almost 5,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) children’s social workers left their roles in the year to September 2021, a 16% increase on the year before and the highest number since comparable data collection began in 2016-17.
The churn drove turnover rates to 15.4%, up from from 13.5% the year before and the highest rate in at least five years.
The Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) expressed concern at the number of children’s social workers leaving council roles, saying that retaining enough staff had “long been a challenge” for local authorities.
“It is important for children to have a consistency of social worker in their lives where possible, but this is increasingly difficult with more social workers leaving the profession,” said Charlotte Ramsden, ADCS president.’
Read the full article.