Strengthening the workforce: retention in social work: Research in Practice strategic briefing

Social workers play a key role in the support and protection of vulnerable adults, children and families and the provision of effective, relationship-based social work relies on a workforce of skilled, confident, and committed professionals. However, the retention of social workers in England is a long-standing issue and low retention rates have been reported across all social care sectors for many years. This briefing has been developed for practice leaders and workforce development leads in organisations that employ social workers working with adults or children and families. It provides practical information and ideas about how organisations can retain social workers. Practice examples, challenge questions and links to useful resources are provided throughout.