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1. Main facts and figures
- there were 31,720 children and family social workers employed by local authorities in England as at 30 September 2018, and ethnicity was known for 83% of them
- 71.7% of children and family social workers were White British (out of those whose ethnicity was known)
- 11.1% were Black (including people from Black Caribbean, Black African and Other Black backgrounds)
- 4.9% came from the Other White ethnic group, the highest percentage for any specific ethnic group after White British
- for comparison, 78.5% of working age people in England identified as White British in the 2011 Census, 3.6% as Black, and 5.6% as Other White
- the percentage of children and family social workers from each ethnic group was similar to last year
2. Things you need to know
What the data measures
The data shows the number of social workers working in children and family services, and the percentage from each ethnic group.
It includes children and family social workers who are both:
- working in a local authority with children and families
- registered with the Health and Care Professional Council
The data is based on a snapshot taken on 30 September each year. It shows the total number of children and family social workers (full time and part time).
Numbers of social workers are rounded to the nearest 10. Percentages are rounded to 1 decimal place.
The ethnic groups used in the data
Data is shown for the 16 ethnic groups used in the 2001 Census.
The percentages are based on social workers whose ethnicity was known. This was 83% in 2018, and 82% in 2017.
Methodology
Read the detailed methodology document (PDF opens in a new window or tab) for the data on this page.
Comparisons with the working age population use 2011 Census data for England and Wales. They are not meant to be exact comparisons. This is because the data on social workers covers a different geographic area (England only). Read more about how we use Census data and some of the problems involved.
In the data file
See Download the data for figures for 2017 and 2018.
3. By ethnicity
| Ethnicity | % | Number |
|---|---|---|
| All | N/A* | 31,720 |
| Asian | 5.3 | 1,400 |
| Bangladeshi | 0.6 | 150 |
| Indian | 2.5 | 660 |
| Pakistani | 1.4 | 380 |
| Asian other | 0.8 | 210 |
| Black | 11.1 | 2,920 |
| Black African | 4.8 | 1,270 |
| Black Caribbean | 4.4 | 1,140 |
| Black other | 1.9 | 500 |
| Mixed | 3.3 | 880 |
| Mixed White/Asian | 0.6 | 150 |
| Mixed White/Black African | 0.5 | 140 |
| Mixed White/Black Caribbean | 1.3 | 340 |
| Mixed other | 0.9 | 250 |
| White | 79.0 | 20,770 |
| White British | 71.7 | 18,830 |
| White Irish | 2.5 | 650 |
| White other | 4.9 | 1,290 |
| Other including Chinese | 1.2 | 310 |
| Chinese | 0.1 | 40 |
| Any other | 1.1 | 280 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity’ (CSV)
Summary of Social workers for children and families By ethnicity Summary
This data shows that:
- there were 31,720 child and family social workers employed by local authorities in England as at 30 September 2018, and ethnicity was known for 83% of them
- 71.7% of child and family social workers were White British (where ethnicity was known)
- 11.1% were Black, with 4.8% from the Black African ethnic group, 4.4% Black Caribbean and 1.9% Other Black
- 4.9% were from the Other White group, the highest percentage for any specific ethnic group after White British
- 0.1% were from the Chinese ethnic group, the smallest percentage out of all specific ethnic groups
- for comparison, 78.5% of working age people in England identified as White British in the 2011 Census, 3.6% as Black, 5.6% as Other White, and 0.9% as Chinese
4. Data sources
Source
Children's social work workforce 2018
Type of data
Administrative data
Type of statistic
Experimental statistics
Publisher
Department for Education
Publication frequency
Yearly
Purpose of data source
The figures are used to monitor the diversity of the children’s social work workforce.