Periods of adaptation
This guidance is for people who’ve applied to join the register and have been asked to undertake a period of adaptation.
Periods of adaptation
Last updated: 7 July 2026
This guidance is for people who’ve applied to join the register and have been asked to undertake a period of adaptation.
Periods of adaptation
What is a period of adaptation?
A period of adaptation is a tailored period of practice that you are required to undertake in a social work setting and/or academic training. When you apply to join the Social Work England register, our registration advisers (who are qualified and registered social workers in England) will assess your qualification. They will determine if your qualification meets our qualifying education and training standards.
If our registration advisers recommend a period of adaptation, they have identified significant shortfalls in your application. These shortfalls are the areas where your education, training or experience have not met our standards for registration. These shortfalls will be listed in the registration advisers report. You will be sent a copy of this report by your case officer.
As part of the registration adviser report, you may be asked to include further study as part of your period of adaptation. For example, taking a course module at a university in England.
A period of adaptation must be supervised by a registered social worker. Once you’ve completed your period of adaptation, your supervisor will need to complete the period of adaptation supervisor document. They will need to confirm to us, whether your practice met our standards. These are further details under the heading - The role of the supervisor.
Where can I undertake a period of adaption?
You can complete your period of adaptation at any organisation where the role requires a social work qualification if the registration advisers have (both of the following):
- determined that you have gained the required experience of statutory social work
- identified other shortfalls (such as the total number of placement days falling short of the required 200 days)
If the registration advisers identify a shortfall in your experience of statutory social work, you must complete your period of adaptation in a social work setting which allows you to undertake statutory social work as per Social Work England's definition:
- Statutory social work tasks are those required by law, and the statutory social work tasks should involve high-risk decision-making and legal interventions.
This may be a government body, local authority or an organisation which is delivering delegated statutory functions on behalf of a local authority.
You must complete your period of adaption under appropriate supervision by a registered social worker. This should be done in a country where social work practice is regulated (for example, England). Your placement should enable you to experience and understand the realities of high volume, high-risk work within a social work environment. Workplace supervision must be in place within the setting to support you to practise safely. Therefore, remote supervision will not be accepted for a period of adaptation.
It's your responsibility to (do all of the following):
- Find a registered social worker who is willing to supervise you in gaining the outstanding standards and complete the period of adaptation supervisor document.
- Find a suitable social work setting that will provide you with training and experience to meet the gaps identified in your registration adviser report.
- Organise and undertake activities that meet the identified shortfall in standards in your registration adviser report, under the supervision of a registered social worker.
We cannot organise or fund a placement. Not all employers will be able to support a period of adaptation. This might be because of a lack of resources or the training needs of other staff.
Once you have organised your placement, you must contact Social Work England to confirm the setting and details of the registered social worker. We can advise whether the setting is unlikely to provide you with the opportunity to undertake statutory social work tasks. We will review the organisation details to ensure this setting is suitable for the shortfall(s) identified by the registration advisers. Please note, we cannot advise if the registration advisers will accept the period of adaptation. This will be determined as part of the final assessment of the period of adaptation supervisor document.
Your supervisor must adhere to (all of the following):
- Be based at the same organisation for the duration of your period of adaptation.
- They must be registered with a social work regulatory body for the duration of your period of adaption.
- The supervisor needs to registered and have been registered for 3 continuous years from the date the period of adaption was completed.
- There must be no perceived conflict of interest between you and your supervisor.
- They must not be subject to any fitness to practise sanctions or interim orders.
How long does a period of adaption need to be?
The minimum number of placement days required will be stated in the registration advisers’ report. It is essential that you read the registration advisers report as it will inform you of the shortfalls in your qualification. If your supervisor feels you need more time to meet the identified shortfalls, they can extend the number of days. However, the minimum number of days stated in the report must be met.
If you have been informed that you are need to undertake a period of adaptation, you must notify us within 28 calendar days of the following:
- Name and address of the organisation where your placement will take place
- Name and registration details of your supervisor
You will have 12 months to complete your period of adaptation once we have confirmation that (both of the following):
- you are completing your period of adaption in a statutory social work setting,
- your supervisor meets our requirements,
Once you have completed your placement, your supervisor should complete the period of adaptation supervisor document. They should email the form to [email protected] with the subject title ‘period of adaptation complete’ including the application reference number.
Safe and effective practice
During your period of adaptation, you must make sure you follow any instructions given to you by your supervisor. You should always ask for help or advice from your supervisor if you (either of the following):
- do not understand an instruction
- do not feel able to carry out a task safely and effectively.
It’s important you act within the limits of your skills and experience and get help from others when necessary.
Can I do a test of competence instead of a period of adaption?
The registration advisers will make the decision as to whether a test of competence or period of adaptation is required to meet the shortfalls in your qualification. A test of competence (for example), would not be suitable if your shortfall of placement days is more than 50 days (a minimum of 200 days is required).
If you wish to take a test of competence, you should inform us in writing by emailing [email protected]. Once we received your request, our head of registration and advice will make the decision in conjunction with our registration advisers.
For more information see:
The Social Work England Registration Rules 2019, rule 25(5)(a)
Period of adaption is recommended after completing a test of competence
A period of adaptation will be the only option available to you if:
- you are unsuccessful after completing a test of competence
- our registration advisers recommend that you complete a period of adaptation
If you do not meet the requirements to join the Social Work England register after completing the period of adaptation, you will be notified.
If you are unable to complete a period of adaptation, you will not meet our requirements for registration, and your application will be closed. If you believe that you have gained the necessary standards at a future date, you can reapply and pay a further scrutiny fee.
If the registration advisers have determined that you must complete a period of adaptation after undertaking a test of competence, this decision is not appealable. For further information, please see our appeals guidance.
Guidance for employers and supervisors
This section of the guidance is for people who’ve been asked to supervise a period of adaptation (‘supervisors’) and employers.
As an employer, do I have to offer an adaptation placement?
As an employer, you are under no obligation to provide a period of adaptation. We recognise that workload and resource pressures may mean that you are not able to support a person seeking a period of adaptation.We cannot provide any funding.
However, offering a period of adaptation has several benefits. For example:
- The activity of supervising or providing support during a period of adaptation can be a useful opportunity for existing staff to gain and develop important teaching and mentoring skills.
- This can also contribute towards your employees’ continuing professional development (CPD).
- Once an applicant has completed their period of adaptation and achieved registration, they may be a good candidate for employment because of their familiarity with your processes.
Who can supervise a period of adaptation?
To supervise a period of adaptation, you must:
- Be based at the same organisation for the duration of the period of adaptation as the person completing the period of adaptation.
- Be registered with a social work regulatory body for the duration of the placement and have been registered for 3 continuous years from the date the period of adaptation was complete.
- Not have a perceived conflict of interest with the person undertaking the period of adaptation.
- Not be subject to any fitness to practise sanctions or interim orders.
As with any other aspect of professional practice, you must have sufficient knowledge, experience and training to take on this role. This might include experience of teaching, supervising or mentoring others, as well as experience of assessing performance. You will also need to have a good understanding of Social Work England’s professional standards.
The role of a supervisor
Supervisors have an important role to play in supporting and supervising applicants who are undertaking a period of adaptation. As a supervisor, your role will be to support the applicant and help them to meet our standards. This may be done through teaching, mentoring and overseeing their practice.
Before you begin your supervisory role, you’ll need to read a copy of the registration adviser report. It will outline the areas where the registration advisers found significant shortfalls in the applicant’s education, training and experience. It will help you structure their period of adaptation within the agreed statutory social work setting.
You should:
- Meet with the applicant before the period of adaptation begins to discuss the planned structure of their period of adaptation.
- Meet with the applicant before the period of adaptation begins to discuss the planned structure of their period of adaptation.
- Use your own professional experience and judgment to make decisions about whether the applicant has evidenced the shortfalls in standards that have been identified. This may take longer than the minimum number of placement days specified in the registration advisers’ assessment. However, the minimum number of days stated in the report must be met.
The applicant has 12 months to complete their period of adaptation. At the end of the period of adaptation, you’ll need to complete their period of adaptation supervisor document. You will need to email it to [email protected] with the subject title ‘period of adaptation complete’ including the application reference number.
The final decision as to whether the applicant is eligible for registration will be made by the head of registration and advice in conjunction with the registration advisers. They will consider all the information in your period of adaptation supervisor document when making their decision. We'll write to the applicant directly to let them know our final decision.
Safe and effective practice
As a registered professional, your main responsibility is to the people you support. When deciding which tasks you ask the applicant to perform, you must consider their ability to undertake them safely and effectively. This requires you to exercise your professional judgment and will also depend on the policies and protocols of your workplace. If you have any concerns about your role as a supervisor or about the way the applicant is working during their period of adaptation, you should tell a more senior manager or consider suspending the placement.
You can also contact us for further information.