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Guidance

Children’s social work workforce census: technical specification

Specification on the scope and business rationale of the children’s social work workforce census for 2024 to 2025 and 2025 to 2026.

Updates to this page

From:
Department for Education
Published:
9 July 2021
Last updated:
9 January 2026
Show all updates

  1. Added 'Children's social work workforce census validation rules 2025 to 2026'.

  2. Added 'Children's social work workforce census 2025 to 2026 : business and technical specification'.

  3. Updated the validation rules. The version history describes the changes.

  4. Updated the validation rules. The version history describes the changes.

  5. Replaced 'Children's social work workforce census 2023 to 2024: business and technical specification' with the 2024 to 2025 version.

  6. Updated the validation rules. The version history describes the changes.

  7. Removed 2022 to 2023 documents and information.

  8. Added 'Children's social work workforce census 2023 to 2024: business and technical specification' and 'Children's social work workforce census validation rules' for 2024.

  9. Updated the validation rules. The version history describes the changes.

  10. Removed 2021 to 2022 documents and replaced with 'Children's social work workforce census 2022 to 2023: business and technical specification' and 'Children's social work workforce census validation rules' for 2023 in ODS and Excel formats.

  11. Removed 2020 to 2021 documents and replaced with 'Children's social work workforce census 2021 to 2022: business and technical specification' and 'Children's social work workforce census validation rules' for 2022 in ODS and Excel formats.

  12. Added 'Children's social work workforce census validation rules' for 2020 to 2021.

  13. First published.

Applies to England

Documents

Children's social work workforce census 2025 to 2026: business and technical specification

PDF, 486 KB, 23 pages

Children's social work workforce census validation rules 2025 to 2026

MS Excel Spreadsheet, 37.1 KB

Children's social work workforce census 2024 to 2025: business and technical specification

PDF, 279 KB, 24 pages

Children's social work workforce census validation rules 2024 to 2025

MS Excel Spreadsheet, 37.2 KB

Details

These documents give technical information about submitting data for the 2024 to 2025 and 2025 to 2026 children’s social work workforce census. They describe the data items for collection in the census.

These documents are for software suppliers and users of local authority management information systems.

You should also read the common basic data set (CBDS). This defines common data items used in management software and what we use in our data collections.

More guidance on submitting data for the children’s social work workforce census is available.

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