Agency social worker data collection

This article is to support customers with questions regarding the agency social worker data collection.

How do I know what the rules are? Where can I find the statutory guidance on agency use?

Local authorities must:

• provide the Department for Education with quarterly data on the use and cost of agency child and family social workers, including where supplied via a project team or other packaged model

Local authorities should:

• work within their region to agree and implement agency child and family social worker price caps that all local authorities within the region should comply with
• ensure all contracts to supply agency child and family social workers via a project team or other packaged model comply with the following requirements:
• prior identification and local authority approval of all constituent child and family social workers
• disaggregation of costs related to the provision of each child and family social worker and any other service provided
• governance arrangements that allow the local authority to maintain complete oversight, control, and management of social work practice delivered via the project team or other packaged model
• ensure all agency assignments have a four-week notice period or align the length of assignment notice periods with that of the local authority’s contractual notice period for substantive staff in the same or an equivalent job role where that is less than four weeks
• not engage agency child and family social workers for a minimum period of three months after the worker has left a substantive role in their children’s services department or that of a local authority within the same region
• not engage agency child and family social workers with less than three years post qualifying experience (PQE) in direct employment of an English local authority practising in a child and family context while registered as a social worker with a UK regulator
• ensure that they:
• provide a detailed practice-based reference using the agency rules standard reference template for all agency child and family social workers on assignment irrespective of length of assignment
• require at least two detailed practice-based references for all agency child and family social workers before offering an assignment (the agency rules standard reference template should be used for references dated on or after this guidance has taken effect)

For more detail on the agency rules please refer to the statutory guidance. You can access the statutory guidance here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/child-and-family-social-workers-agency-rules

I’m not sure how to find/complete the template. Where can I find the operational guidance on the agency data collection?

The operational guidance was updated at the end of March to include lots more information on how to complete the templates, submit your return and how you can view your local authority data dashboards.

There are two data templates which completed and submitted:

• an assignments data template requesting individual level data per agency child and family social worker assignment
• a general data template requesting local authority level data

You can find the data templates and operational guidance at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/agency-child-and-family-social-workers-data-return-and-price-caps

Specific questions about the content of returns

Do I need to submit a return if I didn’t use any agency social workers during the reporting period?

Yes, you will still need to log in and register a nil return to confirm you had no agency workers during the reporting period. You do not need to submit any templates as you have no data to return.

Do I need to submit data on adherence to MoU price caps?

No. You do not need to complete the price cap tab on the general template or submit any other data relating to existing MoU price caps. We will start collecting price cap data following the submission of regional price caps to the DfE, due by 1 August. The first return that will require price cap data is for reporting period October 2025 – December 2025 with the collection window of 1 January 2026 to 28 February 2026.

Do I need to give details of expenses?

No. You only need to confirm if expenses have been paid to the worker, and whether or not they were expenses for accommodation. We do not need a value or further details.

What do I put in the template for an end date if the assignment is ongoing?

Please leave ‘end date’ blank, you do not need to complete this column if the assignment is ongoing.

What do I enter for ‘total number of contracted hours for LA workers’?

This section is asking about directly employed social workers not agency workers. This should be the sum of all contracted hours for all employed child and family social workers up to team manager or equivalent, including Independent Reviewing Officers and Conference Chairs, during the reporting period.

I’ve made a mistake on my return what do I need to do?

If you have made a mistake on your return you can resubmit your return with the correct data. You will only need to resubmit the CSV files that have errors e.g. if the error is in assignment data you will not need to resubmit your general template. However, it is important that you resubmit all data for that section of the return not just the corrected data e.g. you will need to resubmit all assignment data not just the corrected row.

Once you have logged in you will need to select 'replacement data' for the specified quarter rather than ‘new data’. You can submit replacement data multiple times if needed. However, please wait for confirmation each time and view your data in the LA dashboard before attempting to resubmit again.

Specific questions about viewing the dashboards

When can I view the regional and national data?

You will receive email notification when this data is available to view in your dashboard.

Regional and national data will be available to view in the ‘benchmarking’ dashboards once the data return window has closed. We expect the data to be available to view early June.

Why can’t I see my data in the LA dashboard?

You will receive an email from the DfE with confirmation your data is available to view in the LA dashboard.

The expectation is that this confirmation may take up to four working days at peak points during the first quarter return period.

Our aim is that for subsequent quarters you will be able to move from submitting your data to viewing it in your LA dashboard instantaneously.

If it has been more than 4 working days since you submitted your return and you have not received the email confirming your dashboard is ready, please contact the department using the customer help portal.