Over the past year, the Department for Education (DfE) has introduced sweeping changes to the way children’s social workers can work in agency roles.

From new experience requirements, to pay caps, to regional memorandums of understanding between local authorities, the landscape of locum work is shifting quickly.

Consistency matters – especially for children and families experiencing significant trauma or change.

I understand the motivation behind these changes. For years, local authorities have been fighting to stabilise their workforces, reduce reliance on short-term solutions, and bring down rising agency costs. Consistency matters – especially for children and families experiencing significant trauma or change. It’s hard to argue with the desire for a more settled, resilient workforce.

But as someone who speaks to social workers and employers every day, I also see the unintended consequences – particularly when it comes to the loss of choice for the very people the sector relies on.

Why so many social workers chose the locum route in the first place

Agency work wasn’t a loophole or an easy option. For many children’s social workers, it was a survival strategy.

• Locum roles offered:
• Flexibility in how and where they worked
• Greater control over their hours and work/life balance
• A chance to avoid unmanageable caseloads
• The ability to step back from organisational pressures, while still doing the work they love

In a sector where burnout is not a risk but a constant companion, these factors weren’t luxuries – they were safeguards.

The new rules, particularly the requirement for newly qualified workers to complete three years in a permanent role before ever taking a locum post, remove that safety valve. They assume a level of stability, support, and capacity in local authority teams that many workers simply haven’t experienced.

Good intentions, but difficult timing

The aim is clear: encourage permanence, discourage churn, and level out pay. But the timing is difficult.

Vacancy levels remain high. Caseloads are rising rather than falling. Many local authorities are struggling to retain experienced permanent staff, despite their best efforts.

Removing or limiting the agency option doesn’t resolve those issues – it risks magnifying them. Some social workers have told us they would prefer to leave children’s services altogether rather than be forced into a model that doesn’t reflect their needs or reality. Others are considering switching to adult services, where fewer restrictions currently apply.

Either way, the outcome is the same: fewer skilled practitioners available to support children and families who need them most.

A shrinking pool helps no one

It’s easy to frame this debate as “local authorities vs. agency workers”, but that misses the point.

The real issue is supply.

If experienced social workers step away from the profession – or never enter children’s services in the first place – the whole system feels the impact. Permanent teams carry heavier caseloads. Agency teams become harder to stand up at short notice. Workforce stability becomes more elusive, not less.

This isn’t about protecting the agency model. It’s about recognising that choice is part of what keeps good social workers in the profession, especially in high-pressure areas of practice.

Where do we go from here?

These rules are still new, and local authorities are implementing them in different ways. There’s room – perhaps even a necessity – for ongoing dialogue about how they’re working in practice.

My hope is that, as a sector, we can focus not just on restricting options, but on creating conditions that make social work careers rewarding and genuinely attractive.

This means ensuring that social workers can expect:

• manageable caseloads
• consistent supervision
• clear career pathways
• emotionally intelligent leadership
• wellbeing built into structures, not added on top

If those pieces are in place, the reliance on agency workers will naturally reduce – without the need to shut doors for those who rely on flexibility to stay in the job.

A final thought

Children’s social workers are highly skilled, deeply committed professionals. They deserve a system that values not only their labour, but also their autonomy. Removing choice may bring short-term order, but in the long term it risks pushing people away from a profession already under strain.

We all want the same thing: stable teams and better outcomes for children and families. The challenge now is to make sure the path towards that goal doesn’t unintentionally narrow the workforce we depend on.

Andrew Anastasiou is Managing Director of Pertemps Professional Recruitment (PPR).

PPR comprises six specialist brands, including Pertemps Social Care, which unite to deliver expert recruitment in the public sector, social care and education across the UK.