These questions concern Children’s Services child protection social workers.

1. Do you sponsor social work students? If so, how many each year and subject to what conditions?
We do not sponsor social work students.

2. How many newly qualified SWs have you employed in the last 12 months broken down by sponsored and other newly qualified?
8 NQSW, 2 sponsored (UK based qualification).

3. What are the retention and promotion rates for both of these categories of social workers going back as far as you can?
Students only come to us for the duration of their placement 50 or 90 days. 90% retention of NQSW over the past 4 years.

4. Please provide any social worker recruitment and retention strategy/policy document that you have. This includes any local memorandum between regional employers.
We have no current recruitment and retention policy document for this.

5. Have you recruited on a strategic basis internationally-trained social workers over the last three years? If so, broken down by year how many and from which countries? Again broken down by year, what is the retention rate?
Not recruited on a strategic basis, we only consider applications as they come to us on a case-by-case basis.

6. Please provide details of the relocation package made available to internationally-trained SWs. Please be specific of obligations to repay if leaving employment prematurely? Broken down by year of those who have left what proportion have repaid or failed to repay relocation that was repayable? Please also provide details of the pastoral and professional induction programs made available to internationally-trained SWs.
Up to £8000, must stay at the authority for at least 3 years. If an employee leaves the Authority with less than 3 years’ service other than by death, redundancy or ill-health retirement then payments made under this scheme will be repaid on the following basis:
· less than two years completed service : 100%
· repayment will reduce by 1/12th per month during the third year of service

Will be subject to normal induction procedures.

7.Which Officer de facto takes lead responsibility for recruitment and retention of child protection Social Workers?
Adam Davis, Assistant Director (Social Care).

8. Is recruitment from outside of the UK on your LA’s agenda? If so, what numbers and source countries do you have in mind? How and where do you publicise such initiatives?
We consider applications from any qualified social worker on a case-by-case basis.

9. Please provide your most recently recorded data concerning the use of agency children’s social workers?
Average agency utilisation rate of 26.9% over 12-month period.

10. How much does it costs to support a trainee social worker through a social work Degree? If you have recruited internationally on a strategic level what has this cost? Please include separately items such as relocation, agency fees if applicable, support to bring family members to the UK?
We do not support trainee social workers through a social work degree. No strategic international recruitment.