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Social Work England has issued an update on the first month of this year’s registration renewal round.
It showed that, as of 30 September, 8% of relevant practitioners had completed two of the three tasks required of them to retain their right to practise: filling in the renewal reform and submitting two pieces of continuing professional development (CPD), one of which must have been reflected upon with a peer.
This is a similar rate of progress to that seen in 2024.
The third requirement is to pay the renewal fee, which is generally taken from social workers in two direct debits, on 1 October and 1 April.
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Record numbers of registered social workers
The update also revealed that record numbers of practitioners were on Social Work England’s register at the start of the renewal period: 106,223, compared with 104,342 at the same time in 2024.
All of these social workers must complete all three tasks to retain their registration, with those who have registered since 1 September 2025 only having to pay the fee.
The regulator has increased its renewal charge by 33% this year, from £90 to £120, a move that was opposed by the vast majority of respondents to the consultation on the policy, as well as by organisations representing social workers.
No apparent impact on registration rates from renewal fee hike
A recent Community Care survey found that one in seven practitioners said they would forfeit their right to practise by not paying the renewal fee, in protest at the increase.
However, so far the change does not appear to have had an impact on practitioners’ propensity to renew their registration.
The data showed that 15,339 practitioners (14.4% of those registered before 1 September this year) had completed their renewal form, of whom 8,749 (8.2% of the total) had also met the CPD requirements, by 30 September 2025. Overall, 11,605 (10.9%) had met the CPD requirements as of the end of last month
Social workers urged to ‘avoid the last-minute rush’
Philip Hallam, Social Work England’s executive director of regulation
Commenting on the progress made to date, the regulator’s executive director of regulation, Philip Hallam, said: “We’re encouraged to see that the profession has continued to grow, with over 106,000 social workers in England who need to apply to renew their registration.
“At the end of September, the number of applications submitted, and CPD recorded, is on par with the same point last year.”
He added: “We encourage all social workers to complete their application to renew in plenty of time, to avoid the last-minute rush and allow sufficient time for focus and reflection.”