National Workload Action Group meeting summary - 18 November
The National Workload Action Group (NWAG) aims to identify recommendations for reducing social worker workload in the UK.
The National Workload Action Group (NWAG) is developing resources for reducing social worker workload.
NWAG meetings bring together local authority representatives and key stakeholders in the social work sector. The group aims to develop resources and provide suggestions to the Department for Education (DfE) about addressing unnecessary workload drivers.
In the NWAG meeting on 18 November members explored the following:
Updates from the Department for Education
In October, DfE published new tools and resources on the Support for social workers website. The resources aim to guide local authorities on how to engage with the employer standards and implement the rules for agency child and family social workers.
Additionally, DfE published a policy paper, setting out the next steps for children's social care reform.
Summary of NWAG workstrands
The Research in Practice team shared an overview of the recent scoping undertaken by Associates across the priority areas selected by NWAG to inform the development of new resources. The resources will be finalised by the end of March 2025.
For each of the five priority areas, the resources in development were outlined:
A framework to help professionals navigate tools available and ideas to support ethical implementation.
A framework to support workforce planning and highlight promising practice and approaches.
Output to articulate the value of dedicated business/admin support in enabling social workers manage workload to support a business case.
Recommendation to DfE on the case for/against supervision standards. This includes using the STAR method for monitoring and understanding supervision quality.
Developing tools to support social workers to think about their own digital lives and understand the digital lives of children and young people.
Providing case study examples of hybrid working practices and a self-assessment tool.
Reflection and Discussion
Members discussed the proposed hybrid working and digital practice outputs. They identified digital poverty and exclusion as significant challenges impacting social worker workload. Members were invited to share ideas and further recommendations to include in the final report to DfE.
Dez Holmes, Director of Research in Practice and Strategic Director of Practice and Programmes at the National Children's Bureau, encouraged members to share recommendations that would contribute to system change.
What next?
NWAG members will be invited to review and comment on the draft resources. The final NWAG meeting will take place on 20 January. The Minister for Children, Families and Wellbeing has been invited to attend.
The National Working Action Group comprises representatives from across the children’s social care sector. Members bring diverse perspectives, and as such participation in this group does not mean that all members endorse all decisions and actions taken.