Summary
Consultation seeking views on proposed reforms to the Social Work
Bursary and Education Support Grant in England.
This consultation closes at
11:59pm on 7 April 2026
Consultation description
The Social Work Bursary (SWB) and Education Support Grant
(ESG) have supported
students training to become social workers since 2003. The
SWBprovides financial
support to help students with the additional costs of studying
social work. The ESG
contributes to the costs of arranging and providing practice
placements.
This consultation seeks views on options for reforming the
SWB and ESG to ensure they continue to
best support social work students. We are particularly interested
in hearing from current and future students, higher education
institutions and employers.
While the SWB has been
available for up to 4,000 students annually, applications have
declined in recent years. We want to understand how best to
balance the amount paid per student with the total number of
students supported. We are also seeking views on how ESG funding might better support
high-quality, practice-based learning for social work students.
The government wants to secure a future workforce of high-quality
social workers for adult and children's social care, the NHS and
the community and voluntary sectors who are representative of the
communities they serve. The outcome of this consultation will be
used to inform policy decisions for the SWB and ESG in future.
Documents
Proposed changes to the Social
Work Bursary and the Education Support Grant - consultation
document
Ways to respond
Respond online
