About Social Work Week

As the specialist regulator focused on enabling positive change in social work, Social Work England established Social Work Week to encourage a national conversation on this complex and diverse profession.

Since 2021, Social Work England’s annual programme of free online events has brought together thousands of people, including professionals and people with lived experience to learn, connect and influence the future of the social work profession.

Independently communities, employers and social workers have also embraced the week hosting activities and sharing stories across the country, and even internationally, to showcase how social work positively impacts on society.

Key themes

In 2025, Social Work England’s programme will be focused on the following themes:

• Data and insight: how do we ensure that social workers practice and its regulation is data driven? And how will this improve people's experience of the profession?
• Education and training: how do we support social workers throughout each step of their career journey? Why is continuous learning and supervision essential?
• Innovation: what can we learn from the adoption of digital technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) to improve professional practice? And where are the ethical tensions?
• Professional identity: is a greater sense of professional identity crucial for the future of social work? 
• Safe and effective practice: how does professional competence contribute to building public trust in the social work profession? What can we learn from fitness to practise?

Who is Social Work Week for?

Social Work Week is aimed at all those with an interest in social work in England, including (all of the following):

• social workers, including those practising and those looking to return to the profession  
• people with lived experience of social work   
• social work students   
• employers of social workers   
• social work educators   
• organisations with an interest in or influence on social work  
• government and policy officials
• stakeholder and partner organisations
• Social Work England employees

Our objectives

Through Social Work Week, we hope to:

• use this national moment to inform and educate the public on what social work is and why it is regulated
• co-produce the week with those with lived and learned experience, ensuring that the programme reflects the diversity of social work practice and the voices of people who have social work in their lives
• listen to the experiences of social workers and people with lived experience, so that we have a rich picture of professional practice to draw from, to further our work to embed our professional standards
• bring together leaders across one social work profession, sharing regional and national intelligence on the challenges, influencing discussions on collective solutions