How the SC-WRES is driving positive change for all

This Race Equality Week we spoke to organisations using the SC-WRES about how it’s driving positive change for all.

The Social Care Workforce Race Equality Standard (SC-WRES) is a continuous improvement programme supporting local authorities to address racial inequality in their organisations, and implement action plans for tangible change on systemic racism.

It involves social justice programming with equal importance on monthly Community of Practice and peer-to-peer learning, implementing solutions to achieve transformative change and the collection and analysis of workforce data against nine key indicators, designed to uncover the real story of equity, including factors such as pay band; continuous professional development, and staff turnover.

We spoke to leaders from three local authorities about their experiences with the SC-WRES and how it’s driving positive change.

Laura Eden, Corporate Director of Children and Young People, London Borough of Newham

Social work has always been my passion since I was a teenager due to its roots in social justice and addressing the racism and discrimination that exists in our society.

My current role involves leading all council services to children. As a leader I try to surround myself with people who are better leaders than me, think differently to me and are willing to reflect with me; diverse leadership teams and diversity of thought leads to better decision making.

We’re at the early stages of our SC-WRES journey. While our action plan is still developing, the process of gathering and submitting our data has already been powerful. It created space for us to pause and reflect, to look honestly at how our systems are experienced by staff, where our processes support people well, and where they need to improve.

Even at this early stage, SC-WRES has prompted important conversations about staff safety and wellbeing. For example, we’ve reflected on whether colleagues have clear and accessible ways to report incidents from members of the public, and how we can work with corporate services to better capture and understand this information.

Alongside this, we’ve been working closely with our race equality groups, talent teams and HR colleagues to build a clearer picture of our current workforce experience.

What matters most is that this doesn’t become a data exercise alone.

It’s sharpened our focus on the everyday practices that shape inclusion, how people experience performance development conversations, wellbeing support, training opportunities, and progression.

SC-WRES is driving positive change by helping us listen deeply to our workforce, reflect honestly on inequality, and work together to build stronger circles of support where staff feel safe, valued and able to thrive

Antoinette Ackuaku, Head of Organisational Development, Bracknell Forest Council

Over 15-plus years in the NHS and the last six years in local government, I’ve dedicated my career to helping organisations become fairer, more inclusive places to work. In my role as Head of Organisational Development, I’m proud to work alongside our social care leaders to build a culture where everyone feels valued and able to thrive. My work is driven by a genuine belief in fairness, inclusion, and continuous improvement.

This is Bracknell Forest’s first year taking part in SC-WRES. We’ve submitted our data, reviewing our early findings, and are now beginning to co‑design our first SC-WRES action plan. Our aim is to ensure it fully supports and strengthens our commitment to the UNISON Anti‑Racism Charter, as well as Bracknell Forest Council’s wider equality, diversity and inclusion priorities.

We’re already seeing stronger organisational awareness, richer and more honest conversations about racial equity, smarter use of data to drive action, and deeper collaboration across teams. Leadership, engagement and commitment by our Corporate Management Team (CMT) and our councillors have been crucial, and SC-WRES is helping us turn our anti-racism commitments into tangible, lasting workforce change.

SC-WRES aligns our values with action—inclusive, ambitious, always-learning—powering the anti-racist transformation our workforce and communities deserve.

Yvette Williams, Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Lead - Adult Social Care, London Borough of Bexley

My career in adult social care has been shaped by a long-standing personal and professional commitment to fairness, dignity, and improving experiences for both the workforce and the people we support.

I now serve as the Equality Diversity and Inclusion Lead for Adult Social Care at the London Borough of Bexley. In this role, I focus on SC-WRES and improving engagement with underserved communities by strengthening inclusive practice, driving cultural improvement, and embedding equity into the way we design, deliver, and evaluate our services.

My motivation for this work comes from witnessing first-hand how systemic barriers can limit opportunities for staff from ethnically diverse backgrounds. My involvement in the SC-WRES has been central to this journey.

Through the programme, I’ve worked closely with colleagues to use data and lived experience to identify where inequalities exist and to shape improvement actions that directly respond to what the evidence tells us.

The SC-WRES framework supports constructive dialogue, shared accountability, and measurable progress—enabling honest reflection and future-focused change.

We’re already beginning to see positive impact from this work. Colleagues from ethnically diverse backgrounds and allies are increasingly voicing their experiences with greater confidence, and managers are more comfortable leading conversations about race equality and inclusive practice.

In one sentence: The SC-WRES is driving positive change by providing a clear, evidence-based framework that empowers organisations to address inequalities, amplify workforce voice, and build a more inclusive and representative social care system.

Learn more about the SC-WRES.

Discover further support and information about race equality with our Race Equality Week webpage.

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