Workforce intelligence > Publications > Topics > Social work > Social work education in England

Social work education in England

Data correct as at 2021/22

Next update due: Spring 2024

This page presents information on social work higher education in England, making use of data from HESA (Higher Education Statistics Agency) to describe and discuss the current trends in social work education. The findings are based on data as at 2021/22.

Downloading the visualisation and notes about the data

  • You can also download a PDF or PowerPoint version by clicking on the arrow found at the bottom right of the visualisation.
  • There are notes about the data when you hover over the ( i ) in the visualisation.
  • For information about how workforce estimates are created or rounding and suppression rules please visit our webpage on methodology.
  • If you require data that isn’t available in the visualisation or report below, please contact us.

 

Key findings

  • 5,580 students enrolled onto social work courses in 2021/22. The number of enrolments has decreased by 2% in the last academic year.
  • Postgraduate enrolments (making up 46% of enrolments) increased by 6% in 2021/22.
  • Undergraduate enrolments (making up 54% of enrolments) decreased by 8% in 2021/22.
  • In 2021/22 there were 4,430 leavers from social work courses. Of these leavers, 3,860 (87%) achieved a qualification. This is a decrease of 1 percentage point from the previous academic year.
  • The number of qualifying graduates has decreased by 18% from 4,700 in 2012/13 to 3,860 in 2021/22.

 

 

Related reports