Children's social worker vacancy rate by council, England
Official statistics
Vacant child and family social worker posts as a share of all posts, full-time equivalent, for each council with children's services in England as the Department for Education publishes them, with its regions and England, as at 30 September 2025 and 2024, from the Department for Education.
England
14.2%
2025
Latest check failed – showing figures verified against source 8 November 2026, 13:16 UTC- 2025
- 2024
Source: Department for Education. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
In order
Ranked by the hub 2025
Every place, the highest figure first. The number before each is the hub's own position in the list, not the publisher's: equal figures share one, marked =.
- 1Isles of Scilly100%
- 2Havering41.7%
- 3Harrow39.2%
- 4Hillingdon37.6%
- 5Tameside34.3%
- 6Trafford32.6%
- 7Herefordshire, County of32.4%
- 8Luton31.9%
- 9Swindon31.6%
- 10Sefton31.5%
- 11Halton31.2%
- 12Surrey30.7%
- 13Sutton29.5%
- 14Lambeth29.3%
- 15Merton28.8%
- 16Cumberland27.1%
- 17Medway26.5%
- 18Windsor and Maidenhead25.6%
- 19Hackney25.5%
- =20Buckinghamshire25.4%
- =20Bury25.4%
- 22Slough25.1%
- =23Central Bedfordshire25.0%
- =23Isle of Wight25.0%
- =23Islington25.0%
- 26Newham24.8%
- 27North Somerset24.6%
- 28Liverpool24.5%
- 29Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole23.7%
- 30Knowsley23.6%
- 31Thurrock22.9%
- 32Reading22.6%
- 33Stoke-on-Trent21.7%
- 34Cheshire East21.6%
- 35Bexley21.4%
- 36Lewisham20.9%
- 37Cornwall20.6%
- 38Devon20.0%
- =39Staffordshire19.9%
- =39Tower Hamlets19.9%
- 41Oxfordshire19.8%
- 42Redcar and Cleveland19.6%
- =43Croydon19.2%
- =43Ealing19.2%
- =45Milton Keynes18.9%
- =45Westmorland and Furness18.9%
- =47Barking and Dagenham18.8%
- =47Dorset18.8%
- 49Bedford18.7%
- 50South Gloucestershire18.0%
- 51Southwark17.9%
- =52Dudley17.7%
- =52Hounslow17.7%
- =52Oldham17.7%
- =52Peterborough17.7%
- 56Birmingham17.1%
- 57Bradford17.0%
- =58Bolton16.5%
- =58Wandsworth16.5%
- 60Wolverhampton16.3%
- =61Rochdale15.7%
- =61Waltham Forest15.7%
- 63Bracknell Forest15.6%
- 64East Riding of Yorkshire15.4%
- 65Southend-on-Sea15.1%
- =66Shropshire14.9%
- =66Somerset14.9%
- =68Middlesbrough14.8%
- =68Wiltshire14.8%
- 70St. Helens14.7%
- =71Doncaster14.5%
- =71Wirral14.5%
- =73Brent14.4%
- =73Kent14.4%
- 75Barnet14.0%
- =76Leicester13.8%
- =76Warrington13.8%
- 78Cambridgeshire13.7%
- 79Redbridge13.6%
- 80Wakefield13.5%
- =81Haringey12.6%
- =81Plymouth12.6%
- 83Worcestershire12.4%
- 84Greenwich12.1%
- =85Manchester11.7%
- =85West Berkshire11.7%
- =87Bromley11.1%
- =87Nottingham11.1%
- 89Solihull11.0%
- 90Gloucestershire10.8%
- 91Gateshead10.7%
- 92Camden10.6%
- 93Bath and North East Somerset10.5%
- 94North East Lincolnshire10.2%
- 95Nottinghamshire10.1%
- 96South Tyneside10.0%
- 97Derbyshire9.9%
- 98County Durham9.8%
- 99Newcastle upon Tyne9.7%
- 100North Tyneside9.6%
- 101Cheshire West and Chester9.5%
- 102Kirklees9.2%
- =103Blackpool9.1%
- =103Hampshire9.1%
- =103Suffolk9.1%
- 106Sandwell8.7%
- 107Rutland8.4%
- 108Walsall8.0%
- 109Portsmouth7.9%
- 110Blackburn with Darwen7.6%
- 111Stockton-on-Tees7.5%
- 112Coventry7.4%
- 113Hertfordshire7.2%
- 114Enfield7.1%
- 115Calderdale6.6%
- =116Leicestershire6.5%
- =116Wigan6.5%
- =118Barnsley5.9%
- =118Wokingham5.9%
- =120Lincolnshire5.7%
- =120Stockport5.7%
- 122North Lincolnshire5.4%
- 123Essex5.3%
- 124Salford5.2%
- 125Sunderland5.0%
- 126Torbay4.8%
- 127Warwickshire4.7%
- 128Darlington4.0%
- 129Southampton3.8%
- 130Sheffield3.4%
- 131Hammersmith and Fulham3.3%
- 132Northumberland3.2%
- =133Bristol, City of3.0%
- =133Lancashire3.0%
- 135Derby2.8%
- =136Kingston upon Hull, City of2.4%
- =136North Yorkshire2.4%
- =136York2.4%
- 139Telford and Wrekin2.3%
- =140Leeds2.1%
- =140West Sussex2.1%
- =142East Sussex1.9%
- =142Rotherham1.9%
- 144Hartlepool1.3%
- 145Norfolk1.1%
- =146Brighton and Hove0.0%
- =146City of London0.0%
No figure published for Barnsley, its area before 1 April 2025 (given under its new code, E08000038), Kensington and Chelsea (not available: “Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster were unable to provide data following a cyberattack in November 2025, which had a significant impact on their information management systems. Because of this, in data sets 1 to 3, figures for these local authorities are not available (indicated by ‘x’), and for data sets 1 to 4 at national and regional level, figures from the previous year were used as best estimates to replace this year’s missing data for these local authorities to calculate totals for England, London, and Inner London.” (the DfE's methodology)), Kingston upon Thames (reported jointly with Richmond upon Thames: “Kingston upon Thames and Richmond upon Thames submit a joint census for each year through Achieving for Children, a social enterprise company created by the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames and the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames to provide their children’s services. As a result of this arrangement their data cannot be broken down to an individual local authority level and is instead reported together against ‘Kingston upon Thames / Richmond upon Thames’.” (the DfE's methodology). The Department for Education gives one figure for the two councils together, which the hub does not divide), North Northamptonshire (reported jointly with West Northamptonshire: “In April 2021, Northamptonshire local authority was replaced with two new unitary authorities, North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. Since 2021, they have submitted a joint census return and data for both unitary authorities is reported against ‘North Northamptonshire / West Northamptonshire’ in this statistics publication.” (the DfE's methodology). The Department for Education gives one figure for the two councils together, which the hub does not divide), Richmond upon Thames (reported jointly with Kingston upon Thames: “Kingston upon Thames and Richmond upon Thames submit a joint census for each year through Achieving for Children, a social enterprise company created by the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames and the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames to provide their children’s services. As a result of this arrangement their data cannot be broken down to an individual local authority level and is instead reported together against ‘Kingston upon Thames / Richmond upon Thames’.” (the DfE's methodology). The Department for Education gives one figure for the two councils together, which the hub does not divide), Sheffield, its area before 1 April 2025 (given under its new code, E08000039), West Northamptonshire (reported jointly with North Northamptonshire: “In April 2021, Northamptonshire local authority was replaced with two new unitary authorities, North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. Since 2021, they have submitted a joint census return and data for both unitary authorities is reported against ‘North Northamptonshire / West Northamptonshire’ in this statistics publication.” (the DfE's methodology). The Department for Education gives one figure for the two councils together, which the hub does not divide), Westminster (not available: “Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster were unable to provide data following a cyberattack in November 2025, which had a significant impact on their information management systems. Because of this, in data sets 1 to 3, figures for these local authorities are not available (indicated by ‘x’), and for data sets 1 to 4 at national and regional level, figures from the previous year were used as best estimates to replace this year’s missing data for these local authorities to calculate totals for England, London, and Inner London.” (the DfE's methodology)).
Data table
161 rows
| Area | 2025 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Isles of Scilly E06000053 | 100% | 100% |
| Havering E09000016 | 41.7% | 41.9% |
| Harrow E09000015 | 39.2% | 34.8% |
| Hillingdon E09000017 | 37.6% | 32.3% |
| Tameside E08000008 | 34.3% | 50.9% |
| Trafford E08000009 | 32.6% | 31.7% |
| Herefordshire, County of E06000019 | 32.4% | 46.2% |
| Luton E06000032 | 31.9% | 29.0% |
| Swindon E06000030 | 31.6% | 28.1% |
| Sefton E08000014 | 31.5% | 19.0% |
| Halton E06000006 | 31.2% | 43.0% |
| Surrey E10000030 | 30.7% | 36.8% |
| Sutton E09000029 | 29.5% | 21.6% |
| Lambeth E09000022 | 29.3% | 43.6% |
| Merton E09000024 | 28.8% | 25.5% |
| Cumberland E06000063 | 27.1% | 24.4% |
| Medway E06000035 | 26.5% | 22.6% |
| Windsor and Maidenhead E06000040 | 25.6% | 31.4% |
| Hackney E09000012 | 25.5% | 34.2% |
| Buckinghamshire E06000060 | 25.4% | 30.4% |
| Bury E08000002 | 25.4% | 31.5% |
| Slough E06000039 | 25.1% | 18.2% |
| Isle of Wight E06000046 | 25.0% | 22.6% |
| Central Bedfordshire E06000056 | 25.0% | 25.1% |
| Islington E09000019 | 25.0% | 27.4% |
| Newham E09000025 | 24.8% | 24.1% |
| North Somerset E06000024 | 24.6% | 28.8% |
| Liverpool E08000012 | 24.5% | 21.8% |
| Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole E06000058 | 23.7% | 28.6% |
| Knowsley E08000011 | 23.6% | 21.9% |
| Thurrock E06000034 | 22.9% | 28.1% |
| Reading E06000038 | 22.6% | 16.3% |
| Stoke-on-Trent E06000021 | 21.7% | 23.6% |
| Cheshire East E06000049 | 21.6% | 20.6% |
| Bexley E09000004 | 21.4% | 17.1% |
| Lewisham E09000023 | 20.9% | 28.1% |
| Cornwall E06000052 | 20.6% | 19.5% |
| Devon E10000008 | 20.0% | 24.5% |
| Tower Hamlets E09000030 | 19.9% | 14.7% |
| Staffordshire E10000028 | 19.9% | 17.5% |
| Oxfordshire E10000025 | 19.8% | 18.0% |
| Redcar and Cleveland E06000003 | 19.6% | 19.3% |
| Croydon E09000008 | 19.2% | 32.4% |
| Ealing E09000009 | 19.2% | 27.2% |
| Milton Keynes E06000042 | 18.9% | 17.6% |
| Westmorland and Furness E06000064 | 18.9% | 19.1% |
| Dorset E06000059 | 18.8% | 19.9% |
| Barking and Dagenham E09000002 | 18.8% | 13.3% |
| Bedford E06000055 | 18.7% | 31.7% |
| South Gloucestershire E06000025 | 18.0% | 19.8% |
| Southwark E09000028 | 17.9% | 23.4% |
| Peterborough E06000031 | 17.7% | 37.7% |
| Oldham E08000004 | 17.7% | 38.7% |
| Dudley E08000027 | 17.7% | 16.0% |
| Hounslow E09000018 | 17.7% | 18.4% |
| Birmingham E08000025 | 17.1% | 26.6% |
| Bradford E08000032 | 17.0% | 35.3% |
| Bolton E08000001 | 16.5% | 21.4% |
| Wandsworth E09000032 | 16.5% | 18.6% |
| Wolverhampton E08000031 | 16.3% | 19.6% |
| Rochdale E08000005 | 15.7% | 12.7% |
| Waltham Forest E09000031 | 15.7% | 28.6% |
| Bracknell Forest E06000036 | 15.6% | 9.6% |
| East Riding of Yorkshire E06000011 | 15.4% | 12.0% |
| Southend-on-Sea E06000033 | 15.1% | 20.7% |
| Shropshire E06000051 | 14.9% | 15.5% |
| Somerset E06000066 | 14.9% | 16.7% |
| Middlesbrough E06000002 | 14.8% | 33.6% |
| Wiltshire E06000054 | 14.8% | 12.8% |
| St. Helens E08000013 | 14.7% | 15.4% |
| Wirral E08000015 | 14.5% | 17.3% |
| Doncaster E08000017 | 14.5% | 17.3% |
| Brent E09000005 | 14.4% | 21.7% |
| Kent E10000016 | 14.4% | 15.1% |
| Barnet E09000003 | 14.0% | 18.7% |
| Warrington E06000007 | 13.8% | 12.2% |
| Leicester E06000016 | 13.8% | 20.7% |
| Cambridgeshire E10000003 | 13.7% | 17.2% |
| Redbridge E09000026 | 13.6% | 18.7% |
| Wakefield E08000036 | 13.5% | 20.0% |
| Plymouth E06000026 | 12.6% | 24.9% |
| Haringey E09000014 | 12.6% | 20.8% |
| Worcestershire E10000034 | 12.4% | 14.2% |
| Greenwich E09000011 | 12.1% | 17.1% |
| West Berkshire E06000037 | 11.7% | 12.6% |
| Manchester E08000003 | 11.7% | 10.9% |
| Nottingham E06000018 | 11.1% | 17.6% |
| Bromley E09000006 | 11.1% | 18.8% |
| Solihull E08000029 | 11.0% | 30.9% |
| Gloucestershire E10000013 | 10.8% | 10.9% |
| Gateshead E08000037 | 10.7% | 8.3% |
| Camden E09000007 | 10.6% | 11.4% |
| Bath and North East Somerset E06000022 | 10.5% | 12.1% |
| North East Lincolnshire E06000012 | 10.2% | 36.3% |
| Nottinghamshire E10000024 | 10.1% | 15.4% |
| South Tyneside E08000023 | 10.0% | 13.7% |
| Derbyshire E10000007 | 9.9% | 13.9% |
| County Durham E06000047 | 9.8% | 13.2% |
| Newcastle upon Tyne E08000021 | 9.7% | 16.3% |
| North Tyneside E08000022 | 9.6% | 4.0% |
| Cheshire West and Chester E06000050 | 9.5% | 14.7% |
| Kirklees E08000034 | 9.2% | 8.9% |
| Blackpool E06000009 | 9.1% | 10.2% |
| Hampshire E10000014 | 9.1% | 8.2% |
| Suffolk E10000029 | 9.1% | 2.5% |
| Sandwell E08000028 | 8.7% | 14.1% |
| Rutland E06000017 | 8.4% | 15.9% |
| Walsall E08000030 | 8.0% | 8.3% |
| Portsmouth E06000044 | 7.9% | 18.0% |
| Blackburn with Darwen E06000008 | 7.6% | 5.1% |
| Stockton-on-Tees E06000004 | 7.5% | 9.8% |
| Coventry E08000026 | 7.4% | 12.3% |
| Hertfordshire E10000015 | 7.2% | 7.6% |
| Enfield E09000010 | 7.1% | 9.7% |
| Calderdale E08000033 | 6.6% | 4.8% |
| Wigan E08000010 | 6.5% | 12.7% |
| Leicestershire E10000018 | 6.5% | 9.4% |
| Wokingham E06000041 | 5.9% | 10.9% |
| Barnsley E08000038 | 5.9% | given under its old code, E08000016 |
| Stockport E08000007 | 5.7% | 6.9% |
| Lincolnshire E10000019 | 5.7% | 9.5% |
| North Lincolnshire E06000013 | 5.4% | 22.7% |
| Essex E10000012 | 5.3% | 4.9% |
| Salford E08000006 | 5.2% | 9.5% |
| Sunderland E08000024 | 5.0% | 4.2% |
| Torbay E06000027 | 4.8% | 13.1% |
| Warwickshire E10000031 | 4.7% | 2.4% |
| Darlington E06000005 | 4.0% | 1.1% |
| Southampton E06000045 | 3.8% | 6.2% |
| Sheffield E08000039 | 3.4% | given under its old code, E08000019 |
| Hammersmith and Fulham E09000013 | 3.3% | 4.9% |
| Northumberland E06000057 | 3.2% | 11.2% |
| Bristol, City of E06000023 | 3.0% | 15.3% |
| Lancashire E10000017 | 3.0% | 8.0% |
| Derby E06000015 | 2.8% | 1.8% |
| Kingston upon Hull, City of E06000010 | 2.4% | 3.5% |
| York E06000014 | 2.4% | 6.9% |
| North Yorkshire E06000065 | 2.4% | 3.7% |
| Telford and Wrekin E06000020 | 2.3% | 7.4% |
| Leeds E08000035 | 2.1% | 7.2% |
| West Sussex E10000032 | 2.1% | 5.2% |
| Rotherham E08000018 | 1.9% | 5.9% |
| East Sussex E10000011 | 1.9% | 1.3% |
| Hartlepool E06000001 | 1.3% | 2.0% |
| Norfolk E10000020 | 1.1% | 0.4% |
| Brighton and Hove E06000043 | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| City of London E09000001 | 0.0% | 8.3% |
| Barnsley E08000016 its area before 1 April 2025 | given under its new code, E08000038 | 8.4% |
| Sheffield E08000019 its area before 1 April 2025 | given under its new code, E08000039 | 3.5% |
| Kensington and Chelsea E09000020 | not available: “Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster were unable to provide data following a cyberattack in November 2025, which had a significant impact on their information management systems. Because of this, in data sets 1 to 3, figures for these local authorities are not available (indicated by ‘x’), and for data sets 1 to 4 at national and regional level, figures from the previous year were used as best estimates to replace this year’s missing data for these local authorities to calculate totals for England, London, and Inner London.” (the DfE's methodology) | 2.7% |
| Westminster E09000033 | not available: “Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster were unable to provide data following a cyberattack in November 2025, which had a significant impact on their information management systems. Because of this, in data sets 1 to 3, figures for these local authorities are not available (indicated by ‘x’), and for data sets 1 to 4 at national and regional level, figures from the previous year were used as best estimates to replace this year’s missing data for these local authorities to calculate totals for England, London, and Inner London.” (the DfE's methodology) | 0.7% |
| Kingston upon Thames E09000021 | reported jointly with Richmond upon Thames: “Kingston upon Thames and Richmond upon Thames submit a joint census for each year through Achieving for Children, a social enterprise company created by the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames and the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames to provide their children’s services. As a result of this arrangement their data cannot be broken down to an individual local authority level and is instead reported together against ‘Kingston upon Thames / Richmond upon Thames’.” (the DfE's methodology). The Department for Education gives one figure for the two councils together, which the hub does not divide | reported jointly with Richmond upon Thames: “Kingston upon Thames and Richmond upon Thames submit a joint census for each year through Achieving for Children, a social enterprise company created by the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames and the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames to provide their children’s services. As a result of this arrangement their data cannot be broken down to an individual local authority level and is instead reported together against ‘Kingston upon Thames / Richmond upon Thames’.” (the DfE's methodology). The Department for Education gives one figure for the two councils together, which the hub does not divide |
| North Northamptonshire E06000061 | reported jointly with West Northamptonshire: “In April 2021, Northamptonshire local authority was replaced with two new unitary authorities, North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. Since 2021, they have submitted a joint census return and data for both unitary authorities is reported against ‘North Northamptonshire / West Northamptonshire’ in this statistics publication.” (the DfE's methodology). The Department for Education gives one figure for the two councils together, which the hub does not divide | reported jointly with West Northamptonshire: “In April 2021, Northamptonshire local authority was replaced with two new unitary authorities, North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. Since 2021, they have submitted a joint census return and data for both unitary authorities is reported against ‘North Northamptonshire / West Northamptonshire’ in this statistics publication.” (the DfE's methodology). The Department for Education gives one figure for the two councils together, which the hub does not divide |
| Richmond upon Thames E09000027 | reported jointly with Kingston upon Thames: “Kingston upon Thames and Richmond upon Thames submit a joint census for each year through Achieving for Children, a social enterprise company created by the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames and the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames to provide their children’s services. As a result of this arrangement their data cannot be broken down to an individual local authority level and is instead reported together against ‘Kingston upon Thames / Richmond upon Thames’.” (the DfE's methodology). The Department for Education gives one figure for the two councils together, which the hub does not divide | reported jointly with Kingston upon Thames: “Kingston upon Thames and Richmond upon Thames submit a joint census for each year through Achieving for Children, a social enterprise company created by the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames and the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames to provide their children’s services. As a result of this arrangement their data cannot be broken down to an individual local authority level and is instead reported together against ‘Kingston upon Thames / Richmond upon Thames’.” (the DfE's methodology). The Department for Education gives one figure for the two councils together, which the hub does not divide |
| West Northamptonshire E06000062 | reported jointly with North Northamptonshire: “In April 2021, Northamptonshire local authority was replaced with two new unitary authorities, North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. Since 2021, they have submitted a joint census return and data for both unitary authorities is reported against ‘North Northamptonshire / West Northamptonshire’ in this statistics publication.” (the DfE's methodology). The Department for Education gives one figure for the two councils together, which the hub does not divide | reported jointly with North Northamptonshire: “In April 2021, Northamptonshire local authority was replaced with two new unitary authorities, North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. Since 2021, they have submitted a joint census return and data for both unitary authorities is reported against ‘North Northamptonshire / West Northamptonshire’ in this statistics publication.” (the DfE's methodology). The Department for Education gives one figure for the two councils together, which the hub does not divide |
| North East | 8.9% | 12.2% |
| North West | 15.7% | 18.4% |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 7.4% | 13.4% |
| East Midlands | 11.8% | 16.3% |
| West Midlands | 14.0% | 18.2% |
| East of England | 11.1% | 12.4% |
| London | 19.4% | 22.7% |
| South East | 15.1% | 16.0% |
| South West | 16.1% | 19.3% |
| England | 14.2% | 17.3% |
Map
2025 · 128 areas, each shaded by the fifth of the areas its figure falls in
- 0.0% to 7.1%
- 7.1% to 12.6%
- 12.6% to 17.7%
- 17.7% to 24.8%
- 24.8% to 100%
Boundaries: Council boundaries, May 2026, from the geography spine. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.
Source and licence
- Publisher
- Department for Education
- Check it yourself
- https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-s-social-work-workforce
- Licence
- Open Government Licence v3.0 – Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
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- 8 November 2026, 13:07 UTC
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- receipts.json, made by the hub and not fetched: its receipt for each file it fetchedSHA-256 5cdccf2510ad8cf048b84cd635eece725a1b691dbb3092cbd8604fe0ae23ec84 · 3,079 bytes
Verification
Latest check failed – showing figures verified against source 8 November 2026, 13:16 UTC Run at 10 November 2026, 11:32 UTC; the latest check failed, so these are the figures that matched the source in full at 8 November 2026, 13:16 UTC; they stand for up to 14 days while the failure is put right.
| Result | Check | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Pass | Provenance recorded | Department for Education; Open Government Licence v3.0; retrieved 2026-11-08T13:07:16Z; 7 raw file(s) |
| Pass | Raw files match recorded SHA-256 | 7 of 7 files intact |
| Pass | Re-parsing raw files reproduces figures | 322 of 322 figures and the headline reproduced; the meta's gap and missing and observations and release and contract_sha256 and register_rows_sha256 match |
| Pass | Figures are finite numbers | 322 figures, 0 invalid |
| Fail | Live source matches every figure | re-read failed: Stop: held at freshness: the next release is now 'provisional' on '2027-02-28T23:59:59.000+00:00' |
| Not run | Second official route | No independent second route to these figures is published; the live re-fetch is the check. |
| Pass | The DfE's stated rates hold | 2,934 rates, each against the formula the DfE's methodology states, read twice, as the contract expects (rate (stated): 2,871 equal, 50 not given; rate (stated, with exclusions): 11 equal, 2 not checkable); a rate not given or with a part not given is a cell the DfE marks, and the two not checkable leave out a council whose part the DfE marks |
| Pass | Councils, regions and England add up | 182 sums, the hub's own observations, read twice, as the contract expects (Inner and Outer to London: 14 equal; councils to England: 3 equal, 11 part not given; councils to region: 128 equal, 12 part not given; regions to England: 14 equal); a sum with a part not given holds a cell the DfE marks |
| Pass | Source page answers | https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-s-social-work-workforce – HTTP 200 |
Notes
- “Child and family social workers are social workers registered with Social Work England (SWE) working in a local authority in a children’s services department or, if working in an authority where the services are joined up, a social worker that works primarily on children and families work. Child and family social workers are employed and paid directly by the local authority.” (the DfE's methodology) “Agency workers are child and family social workers not directly paid by the local authority. These may be social workers who are paid by an agency rather than the local authority or who are self-employed.” (the DfE's methodology)
- “The vacancy rate is calculated as the number of FTE child and family social worker vacancies at 30 September divided by the sum of the number of FTE child and family social worker vacancies at 30 September and the number of FTE child and family social workers in post at 30 September.” (the DfE's methodology)
- “FTEs are calculated by aggregating the total number of hours that child and family social workers are contracted to work and dividing by the standard hours for their grade.” (the DfE's methodology)
- “Figures for full-time equivalents (FTEs), rates, percentages, caseload and working days have been rounded to one decimal place. Therefore component parts may not sum to totals if applicable.” (the DfE's data guidance).
- The Isles of Scilly had no child and family social workers of its own in post at 30 September 2025 or 2024 (none, full-time equivalent or by headcount), so by the rule above its vacancies were all its posts: the Department for Education gives its vacancy rate as 100% in both years.
- Two pairs of councils make one return: “Kingston upon Thames and Richmond upon Thames submit a joint census for each year through Achieving for Children, a social enterprise company created by the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames and the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames to provide their children’s services. As a result of this arrangement their data cannot be broken down to an individual local authority level and is instead reported together against ‘Kingston upon Thames / Richmond upon Thames’.” (the DfE's methodology) “In April 2021, Northamptonshire local authority was replaced with two new unitary authorities, North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. Since 2021, they have submitted a joint census return and data for both unitary authorities is reported against ‘North Northamptonshire / West Northamptonshire’ in this statistics publication.” (the DfE's methodology) Their joint figures are in the DfE's file and in its regional and national totals; the hub shows the four councils as reported jointly rather than divide the figure.
- “Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster were unable to provide data following a cyberattack in November 2025, which had a significant impact on their information management systems. Because of this, in data sets 1 to 3, figures for these local authorities are not available (indicated by ‘x’), and for data sets 1 to 4 at national and regional level, figures from the previous year were used as best estimates to replace this year’s missing data for these local authorities to calculate totals for England, London, and Inner London.” (the DfE's methodology) The hub shows those two councils' 2025 figures as not available; London's, Inner London's and England's 2025 figures are the DfE's, with those estimates in them.
- “In particular, comparisons with earlier years should be made with a degree of caution, as any changes may in part be as a result of improvements in data quality.” (the DfE's methodology)
- Barnsley and Sheffield are given under their new codes in 2025 and their codes from before 1 April 2025 in 2024, as the Department for Education gives them.
- The Department for Education publishes these as official statistics: “These statistics have been published as official statistics since the 2019 release, whereas previously they were classified as experimental statistics (now referred to as ‘Official Statistics in Development’).” (the DfE's methodology) Its data is released under the Open Government Licence v3.0, as its data guidance says.