Dr Cindy Corliss, Dr Verity Bennett and David Westlake
The Social Workers in Schools pilot (SWIS) was a feasibility study, which took place in 2018-2020 in three local authorities in England. Social workers are not commonplace in UK schools, so this intervention was unusual. It embedded social workers within schools to assist educators in supporting students and helping them identify risks to children’s safety.
The study assessed the practicalities of implementing SWIS and gathered some indicative evidence about its effectiveness in working to reduce the need for children to come into contact with social services or be taken into care. It also evaluated the intervention in relation to the extent to which it was cost effective.
We found that overall, it was possible to implement social workers in schools and those who were involved in the pilot were positive about it. They were particularly positive about its potential to improve safeguarding and working relationships between schools and social services.
There were three key factors that impacted on how the SWIS intervention worked in practice. These were:
- How well social workers were integrated within the school
Social workers who were embedded fully in the school community and seen as part of the fabric of the school were more successful than those who did not.
- The types of activities social workers engaged in
Those who were able to adapt their role to meet the needs of the school and undertake early intervention activities as well as providing general advice and support to school staff and students were perceived to be more effective.
- Challenges in working across social services and the school itself
Social workers found that working in schools, which have a more structured timetable, to be a challenge, and educators found it difficult when social workers needed to spend time away from the school for a variety of reasons. When the two began to work together to understand the reasons for the differences in working, the gaps were able to be bridged more effectively.
The study of the SWIS intervention suggested that it can be beneficial to embed social workers more closely within educational settings.
Based on these findings, the Department for Education decided to extend it to further schools in 2020. A pragmatic randomised control trial (RCT) involving 21 local authorities was conducted.
This phase of research compared social care and educational outcomes between pupils who had SWIS at their school and those who did not, and whether the intervention was cost effective. How SWIS was implemented and perceived by school staff, social workers and pupils was also evaluated
No significant difference in outcomes was found between schools with and without SWIS. SWIS cost ~£100,000 per school across the trial period, and hence was not cost effective. SWIS was well received by school staff, pupils and social workers, showing how acceptability and benefits do not always support trial findings. It is possible that SWIS had wider benefits that were not measured by the trial – however, as it did not improve the intended target outcomes, SWIS was not recommended for further evaluation.
For more information on this study please see –Social workers in schools: A feasibility study of three local authorities
