The Local Government Association (LGA) has launched the first ever national campaign to respect, recruit and retain child social workers with a drive to recruit 5,000 professionals who have recently left to tighten the safety net and reduce the chance of children dying from abuse or neglect.

Council leaders will highlight that, while there have been consistent improvements in recruitment and retention over the last few years, there are still problems that need to be addressed.

A new report, Respect and Protect, launched by the LGA shows that:

• One in ten child social worker post are vacant at any one time
• Of those councils who experience recruitment difficulties, 89% had trouble recruiting experienced children social workers
• Around 5,500 child social workers are agency staff.

A survey of councils carried out by the Local Government Association, Improvement and Development Agency and Local Government Employers, between July and September of 2008, found that:

• Two in three reported problems recruiting children’s social workers, almost double the number reporting problems recruiting adult social workers
• Four in ten reported problems in retaining children’s social workers compared to one in four reporting problems retaining adult social workers.

In the coming weeks, the LGA will set out a series of measures which it believes will help recruit the best, retain the brightest and increase respect for child social workers


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Chairman of the Local Government Association, Cllr Margaret Eaton, said:

“There are real difficulties for councils in recruiting and retaining high calibre child social worker staff. We must look to the future and recruit and retain staff so that they can protect the most vulnerable children in society. In the short term we must encourage up to 5,000 recently retired child social work professionals back to the front line to help keep children safe.

“Being a child social worker is one of the toughest jobs in Britain. Encouraging back those who have been at the frontline tirelessly working to save the lives of vulnerable children is key to helping plug the gaps and ensure that we, as a nation, can do everything we can to keep them safe.”

To find out more about a career in social work in a local council:

• Watch a film about life as a social worker
• Read our social worker career descriptions
• Look for current social work jobs on LGjobs.com