On 31 October 2024, statutory guidance for local authorities on the use of agency child and family social workers came into effect in England. It sets new rules for local authorities. Use the statutory guidance to make sure you understand the agency rules and are able to meet them.
Local authorities must send quarterly data to the Department for Education, setting out the employment details of agency child and family social workers. This must also include those engaged through project teams or other bundled service models.
Data collection
From 31 October 2024, agency rules for local authorities are in effect in England. The statutory guidance is for local authorities and relates to the use of agency child and family social workers. The statutory guidance includes new data collection requirements. Read more about the new data collection requirements.
Local authorities and managed service providers (MSPs) (or agencies, if you do not use an MSP) can use the data collection checklist to review the data they collect and share.
This will help you understand if you can collect all the data required for the data return or if you need to set up additional data collection plans to meet the statutory guidance requirements.
This will help you understand if you can collect all the data required for the data return or if you need to set up additional data collection plans to meet the statutory guidance requirements. For further information see the Agency child and family social workers: data and price caps operational guidance.
Work with local authorities in the regional improvement and innovation alliance (RIIA) in your region to agree and apply agency child and family social worker price caps. The price cap applies to all agency child and family social workers, including those engaged through project teams and packaged models.
The price cap should include:
- worker’s hourly pay rate
- employer national insurance contributions
- apprenticeship levy (if applicable)
The price cap should not include:
- administration fees
- any other fixed or variable fees
- payments to the worker or agency
Do not offer financial or non-financial bonuses that take the cost of the worker to the local authority over the price cap.
The Department for Education has issued detailed operational guidance on price caps
Local authorities should ensure that all contracts to supply agency child and family social workers through a project team or other packaged model include:
- advance local authority approval of each child and family social worker in the project team or packaged model
- a breakdown of costs for each child and family social worker and any other service provided, and a payment schedule
- the hourly pay rate for each child and family social worker in the project team must not be more than the regional price cap
- governance arrangements that allow the local authority to maintain oversight and control of social work practice delivered as part of the arrangement
Effective governance arrangements should allow the local authority to maintain complete oversight, control and management of social work practice.
This means that local authorities should retain overall control over:
- the practice model
- practice supervision
- line management
- quality assurance of practice
- decision-making in case management
The Children’s Social Care National Framework has more details about the expectations of local authority senior leaders, practice supervisors and practitioners to ensure the workforce is equipped and effective. These responsibilities also apply to agency workers engaged by the local authority.
The notice period for agency child and family social workers is 4 weeks. Local authorities may make an exception and reduce agency worker notice periods where permanent staff in the same or an equivalent role have a shorter contractual notice period.
The 4-week notice period is in place to reduce immediate departures of agency child and family social workers from assignments. This causes disruption for children and families and increases the workload of local authority child and family social workers. The notice period should improve workforce stability and support local authority workforce planning.
Review your current policies and procedures about notice periods to assess if changes are required.
Local authorities need to wait at least 3 months before engaging agency child and family social workers who recently left employment in a similar role in the local authority or region.
Employers can apply a longer cool-off period in their regional area or apply the cool-off period to a wider geographical area.
The cool-off period may not apply where a social worker:
- is moving to a permanent role
- has been made redundant
- is working as an agency social worker in a different region
- left a permanent role during their probationary period
The regional improvement and innovation alliance (RIIA) memorandum of understanding (MOU) should detail the regionally agreed cool-off period. Check that your MOU aligns with the agency rules.
Local authorities should not engage agency child and family social workers with less than 3 years post-qualifying experience (PQE).
Make sure this PQE took place within a local authority in England, working as a registered social worker in a child and family context. This is so that agency child and family social workers have the knowledge, skills and experience to provide the best service to children and families.
Use the agency rules standard reference template to:
- provide a detailed practice-based reference
- request two detailed practice-based references before offering an assignment
Read more about how to write and request references. The standard reference template can be downloaded for use by any social work employer to provide detailed practice references for social workers.
RIIA initiatives are supported by the Department for Education to help regions work together to improve outcomes for children. These alliances use a sector-led approach and work together to identify shared priorities which in turn inform regional development plans. This helps local authority leaders to understand and work on regional developmental priorities.
It’s important for local authorities to work together through the RIIA to meet the agency rules as a region.
This will increase and improve:
- recruitment
- retention
- wellbeing
- workforce management
Read more about collective governance in your RIIA
Next page: How to use the agency workforce tools and resources
The resources have been developed by
Research in Practice
in collaboration with
DfE.
Published: 30 October 2024
Last updated: 30 October 2024
Published: 30 October 2024
Last updated: 30 October 2024