UK6 - Step Up to Social Work Cohort 10 Contractor

The Department for Education (DfE) is responsible for children’s services including children’s social care in England.

Children’s Social Care (CSC) reform is a major priority for the government and backed by £2.5bn investment in this SR period. Government aims to transform children’s services to deliver better outcomes for children and families, as set out in the CSC National Framework. Social Work Workforce is a key enabler of reform: ensuring we have a sufficient and capable workforce to enable better outcomes and contribute to cross-government priorities on tackling Child Sexual Abuse, Domestic Abuse and Violence Against Women and Girls.

To ensure we have sufficient social workers for vulnerable children and their families, the DfE funds the Step Up to Social Work (SUSW) programme. SUSW is a specialist, fast track 14-month programme in child and family social work. The programme is a mixture of academic learning and work placements. Local Authorities form Regional Partnerships with a Higher Education Institution to deliver the academic element of the programme.

The department is awarding a contract for marketing and attraction, recruitment and supporting the application process, working with Regional Partnerships to ensure all 700 funded places are filled.

The remit of the contractor is to:

a. Design, manage and host a web portal enabling potential candidates to register an interest, access programme information and submit applications.

b. Work with the DfE and Regional Partnerships (RPs) to develop web content.

c. Programme marketing with a focus on attracting candidates from diverse backgrounds and targeting male applicants.

d. Provide a candidate helpline.

e. Conduct eligibility check on qualifications, non-UK equivalency qualifications and eligibility to live and work in the UK.

f. Develop an applicant tracking system.

g. Host a timed ‘written exercise’ on the recruitment platform.

h. Host a booking process for applicants to select a date/time for attendance at an assessment centre.

f. Provide personnel to support RPs during assessment centres.

g. Keep candidates engaged throughout the process.

h. Develop and manage a National Reserve List.

i. Manage candidate information and data analytics.

j. Produce an End of Year report detailing RP and candidate satisfaction data and recommend areas of the recruitment process that could be improved.