Skip to main content
National Careers Service

beta How could we improve this service? Your feedback will help.

  1. Home
  2. Explore careers
  3. Social worker

Social worker

Alternative titles for this job include

Social workers help to protect vulnerable children and adults from harm or abuse, and support people to live independently.

Average salary (a year)

£32,000 Starter

to

£48,000 Experienced

Typical hours (a week)

37 to 45 a week

You could work

evenings / weekends / bank holidays on a rota

Meet Izzy

As a social worker, Izzy uses her people skills to communicate with both adults and children.

1 minute 40 second watch

View transcript

My name's Izzy. I'm a children and families social worker. I currently work in the children and care team with Nottingham City Council.

I think the, the big one as a social worker is those people skills. You, you know, you're working with people, on the daily and such a variety of people as well. So you've got to have those adaptive communication skills as well. You might be sort of one moment speaking with, like a senior professional maybe a service manager or something. And in the next moment you might be speaking with an 8 year old child.

Each day is so different, but some typical tasks that I would do, I sort of have those statutory duties, so the things that I'm required to do by law, which might be going out and visiting the children and young people on my caseloads, I might be in a meeting with sort of the network around that young person. So that could include their birth family, their carers.

A lot of meetings where we're sort of looking at how things are going and what we might be able to do to make things better for the young person. And then a lot of direct work as well with, with my young people. So that sort of therapeutic, direct work, which I always really enjoy. The young people that I support are, you know, they’re children in care. So they have experienced trauma and that direct work might be looking at sort of how we can build their self-esteem, might be looking at some attachment issues that they have, that sort of thing. So that's typical tasks I would say.

How to become

Explore the different ways to get into this role.

How to become

You can get into this job through:

  • a university course
  • an apprenticeship
  • a graduate training scheme

University

You could do a degree in social work approved by Social Work England.

You could also do a postgraduate degree in social work, if you have a degree in another subject. A postgraduate degree normally takes 2 years.

You might also be able to get a social work bursary.

Some universities offer a combined master's degree in nursing and social work (MNSW). You can check Social Work England to find information about approved courses.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree
  • a degree in any subject for a postgraduate course

More Information

Apprenticeship

You could apply to do a Social Worker Level 6 Degree Apprenticeship.

This takes around 3 years to complete and is a mix of work placements and academic study.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a degree apprenticeship

More Information

Volunteering

You'll need experience of working with vulnerable groups or children to apply for most courses or jobs.

To get skills and experience, you could:

Other Routes

Graduate training scheme

You could do an intensive, work-based training programme to gain a master's degree or postgraduate diploma in social work. To apply you'll need at least a 2:2 (second class) degree.

Current programmes to support children and families include:

More Information

Registration

Professional and industry bodies

You could join the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) for professional development opportunities and to build up your network of contacts in the profession.

Further information

Get more detailed advice on the ways to qualify as a social worker. This can be useful to compare which route might be best for you.

You can also find out more about working in social work from:

What it takes

Find out what skills you’ll use in this role.

What it takes

Skills and knowledge

You'll need:

  • a desire to help people
  • sensitivity and understanding
  • patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
  • to be flexible and open to change
  • the ability to work well with others
  • the ability to accept criticism and work well under pressure
  • active listening skills
  • counselling skills including active listening and a non-judgemental approach
  • to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently

Restrictions and Requirements

You'll need to:

You might need a driving license and your own transport. 

What you’ll do

Discover the day to day tasks you’ll do in this role.

What you'll do

Day-to-day tasks

As a social worker, your duties will depend on the age groups you work with. For example, you might:

  • meet individuals and families to review their needs and make support plans
  • give emotional and practical support to clients
  • build trust and confidence with young people to support their wellbeing
  • help clients develop and maintain independent living skills
  • keep clients safe and take action to protect them when necessary
  • work closely with communities, health professionals and other agencies
  • keep accurate records, write reports and review cases with your supervisors

Working environment

You could work in an office, in the community, at an adult care home, at a children's care home or in an NHS or private hospital.

Your working environment may be emotionally demanding.

Career path and progression

Look at progression in this role and similar opportunities.

Career path and progression

During your first year as a social worker, your employer is likely to offer you professional development, like the Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE).

This includes extra support such as:

  • regular supervision
  • a tailored caseload
  • training time to complete professional development tasks

With experience you could:

  • become a senior practitioner, mentoring new staff and dealing with complex cases
  • become a practice supervisor or service manager, supporting a team of social workers
  • specialise in a particular area, such as substance abuse, mental health or child protection
  • move into research, teaching, consultancy and policy development

Explore roles in child and family social work to find out more about career progression options.

Current opportunities

Find apprenticeships, courses and jobs available near you.

Current opportunities

Apprenticeships In England

We can't find any apprenticeship vacancies in England for a social worker right now.

The Find an apprenticeship service can help you with your search, send alerts when new apprenticeships become available and has advice on how to apply.

Courses In England

OCN L3 Access to HE: Social Work (ADACSWK)

  • Provider: LONDON SOUTH EAST COLLEGES
  • Start date: 15 September 2025
  • Location: London

L3 - Access to Higher Education Diploma: Social Work - Yr 1 of 1 (OCNLR) (FL3)

  • Provider: SOUTH THAMES COLLEGES GROUP
  • Start date: 09 September 2025
  • Location: Kingston on Thames
Find courses near you

Jobs In the United Kingdom

The Find a job service can help you with your search for jobs and send alerts when new jobs become available.

Search further careers

Related careers

Skills assessment

Take an assessment to learn more about your skills and the careers that might suit you.

Speak to an adviser

You can call 0800 100 900 or use webchat to speak to an adviser.

We're open:

  • 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday
  • 10am to 5pm Saturdays and bank holidays

We're closed on Sundays, Christmas Day and New Year's Day.

Is this page useful?

Yes No

Thank you for your feedback.

Thank you for your feedback. Click here if you'd like to let us know how we can improve the service.