New support for workforce to improve learning opportunities.
New support for social work education will be available from
February, strengthening learning amongst the workforce and
benefitting local social work students.
The Scottish Government is investing up to £600,000 through the
Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) to support the sector in
addressing some of the reported challenges surrounding social
work education.
The investment aims to strengthen the design and delivery of
social work practice education – to ensure learning opportunities
match the specific needs of social work students and help
increase the number of high-quality learning opportunities across
Scotland.
Minister for Children, Young People and The Promise
Natalie Don-Innes said:
“The Scottish Government greatly values Scotland's social
workers, who do a tremendously valuable and essential job in
communities across the country. That is why we are investing in
the workforce, to enhance the experiences of the current and next
generation of social workers and to address some of the reported
challenges surrounding education.
“This investment demonstrates the value we place on improved
professional learning support structures, recognising that a
positive learning experience will both equip future social
workers to develop and also support recruitment and retention.”
The funded improvements will be tested via Local Learning
Partnerships (LLPs), a new model linking social work employers
and education providers. This will allow areas to test curricula
and make improvements based on the experiences and feedback.
SSSC Chief Executive Maree Allison said: “We're pleased to
support LLPs, strengthening the partnership working between
universities and employers, which is essential to social work
education.
“The financial investment in LLPs will help local areas explore
new ways of working, building on existing strengths, initially by
increasing the number and variety of practice learning
opportunities available to students and making them more local to
reduce the distance students need to travel.
“The partnerships will make sure that students, social workers in
practice, employers, people with lived experience and other
partners are involved in developing effective social work
training and learning which meets the needs of individuals and
their communities.'
There were 6,095 practising
social workers in June 2025, according to figures from the
SSSC.
The LLP model will be tested in three contexts – one in a remote
or island area; one in an existing learning partnership without
formal arrangements already in place; and one as an entirely new
learning partnership.
