Standard 2 - Effective workforce planning systems

This standard is about using effective workforce planning systems to make sure that the right number of social workers, with the right level of skills and experience, are available to meet current and future service demands.

Someone giving a helping hand to another

Employers should have a strategy to promote, and take concrete steps to improve, diversity across all levels through the organisation.

Employers should be able to show that they have appropriate workforce planning systems in place in order to meet the needs of local communities now and in the future.

Effective workforce planning systems should both determine immediate staffing requirements and help to ensure that sufficient numbers of social workers are trained to meet future demand. These should be based on an understanding of the factors that influence need and demand, including the size and specific circumstances of the local population. Workforce planning procedures should be regularly monitored and reviewed.


Employers should

  1. undertake an assessment of current and future need and feed this data, where possible, into local, regional and national workforce planning
  2. ensure that workforce planning systems involve strategic partnerships with higher education institutions and other agencies
  3. ensure that social workers have the right knowledge and skills at practitioner, practice supervisor and practice leader levels, as required under the Post Qualifying Standards for Social Work in Adult Social Care and the post-qualifying standards knowledge and skills statements for child and family social workers
  4. build a clear practice methodology based on an up-to-date understanding of the required knowledge and skills base for social workers
  5. provide good quality practice placements and practice educators as well as other types of practice learning, and effective workplace assessment to help ensure that the right numbers of new social workers of the right calibre are trained
  6. engage the social work education sector in order to facilitate exchanges of personnel and expertise
  7. facilitate further learning and development across partner agencies.

Useful resources

Practice Educator Professional Standards Refresh

Social Work England placement guidance

Guide to integration

KSS