The quality of social care is often an issue that gets in the headlines. The LGA has just launched a guide to help councillors with questions to ask regarding their authority’s track record on recruiting and retraining social workers. A link can be found here.
Questions that opposition groups in particular may find helpful to ask include:
- In what ways do you work with higher education institutions in your area to ensure a good quality supply of newly qualified social workers (NQSWs)?
- Do social work leaders encourage continuous professional development and proper reflective learning through practice?
- Do you regularly engage with your social work teams to understand their concerns?
- Are you actively managing ‘talent and leadership’ and if so how?
- What steps, if any, do you take to encourage staff who have left full-time roles to come back into the workforce?
- Do you use exit interviews to understand why social workers leave?