The Department for Education has launched an independent review of Social Work England to examine whether the regulator is meeting its statutory duties on public protection, standards and public confidence. The Secretary of State for Education has appointed Dame Annie Hudson to lead the review, which begins in November 2025.
This is the first review of its kind and is required within this period under the Children and Social Work Act 2017. It will assess Social Work England’s performance since its establishment in 2019 and is scheduled to conclude by Spring 2026, with a final report to be followed by a government response.
The statutory objectives set in the 2017 Act require Social Work England to protect, promote and maintain the health, safety and wellbeing of the public; to promote and maintain public confidence in social workers in England; and to promote and maintain proper professional standards for social workers. The review will examine evidence of outcomes against each objective, not just activity levels.
Scope extends to the regulator’s governance and accountability arrangements and how it collaborates with bodies across social care and health. The Department for Education has also asked the review to assess the delivery of the Secretary of State’s powers on social work contained in the Act, with recommendations where changes would improve effectiveness or transparency.
Dame Annie Hudson brings extensive leadership experience from across children’s and adults’ services. She chaired the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel from December 2020 to June 2025, previously served as Director of Children’s Services in Bristol and as Strategic Director for Children’s Services in Lambeth, and is currently Deputy Chair of Oxfam GB and a former trustee of the Social Care Institute for Excellence.
An engagement programme will run through autumn and winter 2025 to gather views from social workers, employers, educators and people with lived experience of services and regulation. According to the Department for Education, this input will inform options ahead of the final report, with both the report and the government’s response to be published after the review concludes.
Since becoming the specialist regulator in 2019, Social Work England has been responsible for maintaining professional standards and assuring the quality of social work practice across England. The review will consider whether current systems are efficient, transparent and future‑proof, including how regulation supports safe, reliable services.
The Department for Education notes that the workforce is growing and vacancies are decreasing, though pressures persist in some areas. On 30 September 2024 there were 34,300 full‑time equivalent child and family social workers employed by local authorities in England, up 3.7 percent on 2023 and 20.5 percent on 2017, the highest since this data series began.
Ministers also point to recruitment routes including Step Up to Social Work and Approach Social Work. These postgraduate programmes enable participants to qualify with a Postgraduate Diploma in Social Work, register with Social Work England and practise professionally; together they train around 850 new social workers each year, with approximately 7,000 trained to date and participation from more than four‑fifths of local authorities.
Analysis: For practitioners and employers, the review signals two practical considerations. First, potential adjustments to standards, continuing professional development requirements, registration processes or fitness to practise procedures would affect workforce planning and compliance documentation. Second, any recommendations on governance or data could change reporting expectations for universities, local authorities and providers.
The call for evidence for the review is available on GOV.UK. The Department for Education encourages submissions from social workers, employers, educators and those with lived experience throughout autumn and winter 2025 so that the review team can test proposals before finalising recommendations in early 2026.