NQSW referrals
Since 2001, we have received only 221 referrals for social workers that had been registered for less than a year and 314 referrals for those who had been registered for one year.
Since 2020, for those social workers registered for less than three years, only four fitness to practise cases from 197 received a sanction and nobody was removed from the Register. These referrals were largely from members of the public with the most common reasons for referral below.
The graph shows that 78 out of 197 referrals (39.6%) were for practice failings, 27 (13.7%) were for inappropriate behaviour at work, 26 (13.2%) for behaviour outside work and 20 (10.2%) for health issues. Of the other reasons for referral, nine cases (4.6%) were for regulatory issues, three (1.5%) were for dishonesty and two (1%) for management failings.
While the largest reason for referral was alleged practice failings, few of these were for any of the practice failings we specifically monitor, which include failing to prepare reports, not acting on allegations of abuse of children and failing to maintain records.
Many of the other alleged practice failing referrals relate to issues about professional decision making, assessments and other operational matters. These are matters we don’t investigate further, unless the social worker has deliberately misrepresented information and this has a detrimental impact.
So, there are no particular trend or patterns that we can identify in the fitness to practise concerns raised about NQSW.
How does being an NQSW affect a fitness to practise case?
While an NQSW’s experience will have some relevance to a case, our starting point is that the same professional standards apply as for other social workers.
NQSWs are fully qualified, in contrast, for example, to a trainee solicitor, who spends two years in practice working towards qualification. This means we don’t treat them any differently to other social workers when we consider what they should and should not do.
However, their relative inexperience may be considered a mitigating factor when we’re deciding whether their actions impair their fitness to practise.
What effects might the NQSW Supported Year have?
The NQSW Supported Year may result in some changes to the types of referrals we receive and how we go about our work.
- NQSW employers will have a more active role in how they support NQSWs and are more likely to be aware of practice issues at an early stage. However, the Supported Year’s developmental approach should allow these issues to be identified and addressed early on, preventing escalation to deficient professional practice.
- Where relevant, there may be questions of whether the NQSW received adequate support, in line with the NQSW Supported Year guidance and we may need to find out more about this to see if it impacts on our decision.
Background
The NQSW Supported Year became mandatory from 1 October 2024 and NQSW employers must meet the Definitions of employer support. The SSSC’s Code of Practice for Social Service Employers requires them to provide the required level of professional learning and development during the Supported Year.
The NQSW Supported Year aims to offer support and development opportunities for those starting out in their career through a more consistent approach to induction, professional supervision and protected learning time.
There will be development discussions at six weeks, mid-year, end of year and during the employer’s annual professional development review process. These will focus on mandatory requirements such as meeting continuous professional learning (CPL) and on the core elements of the role.
The NQSW Supported Year is a defined pathway in our CPL for registrants.
At the end of year review point, employers need to endorse the NQSW's progress and CPL before the NQSW submits these to the SSSC.
Find lots of information and resources on the NQSW Supported Year website.
