Commission for research into themes within Fitness to Practise concerns raised by members of the public

Every day, social workers support millions of people to improve their chances in life. Social Work England is a specialist body taking a new approach to regulating social workers in their vital roles. We believe in the power of collaboration and share a common goal with those we regulate - to protect the public, enable positive change and ultimately improve people's lives.

Social Work England was established under The Children and Social Work Act 2017 to be a new single-profession regulator for social workers in England. We are a Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB), operating at arm's length from Government. We became the regulator on 2nd December 2019.

We are committed to learning about social work and to gathering data and intelligence about the profession and people's experiences. We want to make a unique contribution to the evolution of regulation, inform our work as the new specialist regulator and provide a detailed picture of social work in England. Research forms a key aspect of this goal. This research in particular will help us to make informed decisions about how we support people through our concerns process and manage our concerns effectively.

The objective of this research is to undertake a study into a selection of our fitness to practise cases to identify any themes relating to concerns raised by members of the public. A further objective is to highlight any data relating to equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI). Research was recently carried out on behalf of Social Work England, to conduct and study on perceptions of social work in England. It is expected that the successful applicant will use this opportunity to expand on the findings/outcomes of the previous research.

Potential Providers are invited to an online 'drop-in' session with Social Work England on Tuesday 20th July 2021 3-4pm.

Potential Providers wishing to attend the 'drop-in' session should email - commercial.team@socialworkengland.org.uk, no later than 5pm on Monday 19th July.

Potential Providers may have up to three (3) participants attend the drop-in session. When emailing to request a place at the drop-in session, Potential Providers must provide the names and email addresses of the individuals that wish to attend.

A link for a Microsoft Teams meeting will be provided on the morning of 20th July.