We examine the size, structure and professional development of
children and youth workers workforce. Please also read our
expert guide to the social care workforce for an overall
examination of the social care workforce.
Children's workforce
There were nearly 170,000
people involved in working with children in England in 2006,
according to the
Children's Workforce Development Council.
In local authorities this included:
• 46,700 (full
time equivalent) in local authorities
• 5,500 agency staff, which cost about £110m and accounts for 13%
of the workforce.
• 5,000 education welfare officers, just under 2,000 children's
guardians and about a 1,000 Ofsted inspectors also work in the
sector.
The CWDC estimated that another 96,400 LA staff may also work with
children in head offices, generic or health settings and other
specialised groups.
Non-statutory sector included:
The non-statutory
(voluntary and private sector) children's workforce split into
25,000 staff in 1,300 residential homes and about 7,000 in
fostering and adoption practices. However the CWDC points out that
information about the private sector is patchy and is most likely
an underestimate.
There were also 37,000 foster families and about 2 million
volunteers.
Recruitment and
Retention
Since 2005, vacancy rates have fallen
although council reporting recruitment difficulties stayed the same
(about two-thirds). For example, field social workers vacancy rates
were 9.5% and turnover 9.6%, down from 11.8% and 11%
respectively.
Vacancy rates in residential homes were 5.6% in private sector and
7.9% in the voluntary sector.
Turnover was far higher in non-statutory sector than in councils.
Private sector turnover averaged 23% and 13% in voluntary sector,
with career development and personal reasons being the two main
reasons for leaving a job.
Pay
Between 2001-6, there was a big rise
in pay for residential care staff (34%), managers of residential
home managers (27%) and social workers (26%). Salaries now average
between £35,000 and £37,000 for home managers and team
leaders.
About 10 to 15% of posts had market supplements and a fifth of
social work jobs had been regraded in the previous year.
Staff in the private sector tended to earn between 7% and 12% more
than their voluntary sector colleagues, although the report did not
make a comparison with council staff.
There are also several important changes to the workforce occurring
including registration, development of posts such as lead
professional and piloting of roles to free up more time to spend
with children.
To track the effectiveness of these changes, the CWDC said that it
must develop more research into the children's workforce
particularly the private sector to ensure a better fit between the
workforce and the needs and outcomes of children.
Youth work
workforce
There were 9,918 (FTE) staff working in responding
services in 2006-7, according to research by the
National Youth Agency audit. This was a fall of by just over
300 on the previous period 2005-6. Another 7,480 worked in delivery
services (professional youth workers, and qualified and support
staff) again down by just over 3000 on the previous period.
Overall the NYA found that councils employed 3,169
professional qualified youth workers (FTE) – a fall of 3% in the
previous period.
The Community and Youth Workers Union (now part of
Unite)
research estimates
that there are another 17,000 support workers (of which half are
qualified) with about 1,500 students recruited to the sector each
year.
The CYWU says that nearly two-thirds of workers are
female, just under a third are from ethnic minorities, and 18%
disabled. About 65% of all youth workers are part-time although
there are fears that this may fall.
Staff development
Like other sections of the social care workforce, youth workers
are experiencing restructuring in training with the introduction of
integrated qualifications framework, youth work occupational
standards and the introduction in 2010 of a degree-level
profession.
CWYU research found that 39 councils had established an
integrated youth support service (IYSS) out of 107 that replied to
the survey. Another 43 councils were in the process of establishing
an IYSS.
The research, carried out by the Labour Research Department,
found various models of IYSS with integration with Connexions and
youth service being the most common but other arrangements
including integration with sexual health services, school support
services, youth offending teams and substance misuse teams.
•
LRD
Interim Summary Research
How the roles are changing
Newly qualified social worker
pilots
The Children's Workforce Development Council has
begun a consultation to shape the three-year pilot programme to
support newly qualified social workers (NQSWs) in children's
services.
It wants to develop outcome statements outlining what skills,
knowledge and experience NQSWs should be able to demonstrate by the
end of their first year of practice.
•
More on this story
Advanced social workers
The CWDC is also consulting
on plans for a
new advanced social worker status in children's services. It
has written to all children's services directors in England to ask
for their views, in particular what it would mean for practitioners
taking on the role and whether it should be related to a
qualification or status.
The advanced social worker status would complement the
newly-qualified social worker programme, which is being piloted in
September, in line with the Department for Children, Schools and
Families' aim of creating better career pathways for the
profession.
Registration
Children's social workers are
subject to the same registration and sanctions as adults'
workers.
Go to our
expert guide for social care workforce for more
Staff representation in councils and voluntary
sector
Unison is the largest public
sector union with over a million members and represents most social
workers in local authorities and in other sectors. The
British Union of Social Work Employees, a
small union mainly covering the non-statutory
sector, has now merged with the union
Community. The union Aspect has set
up a social care section.
There is also the Community and
Youth Workers Union which represents youth workers. It has now
merged with
Unite
The British Association of Social Workers is a
professional body, which supports, advises and campaigns for social
workers in the UK. Members often have dual membership with a
union.