Social care services depend on the 84,000 people who work in the sector providing care in all our communities.
The provision of quality services relies on the workforce, and to understand how to better support the social care workforce we carry out an annual ‘Have your say’ survey.
We ask registered social care workers what they think about things such as their pay and conditions, their health and well-being, and what they like about working in care.
The anonymous survey is an important way for workers to make their voices heard and tell us what they really think.
It provides valuable information that we share with leaders in social care, employers and decision makers to help shape the support and services they offer.
In 2024, more than 5,000 workers took part in the survey. The results showed most people work in social care because they want to make a difference to people’s lives, and it highlighted their commitment and dedication to the people they support and their families.
Most workers told us they felt valued for the work they do by their colleagues, managers and the people they support, and their morale is good. This was fantastic to hear and it suggests social care is a good place to work.
But the survey also showed the well-being of our social care workers is worse than the UK average.
At the end of January, to coincide with the launch of this year’s survey, we celebrated our first well-being week.
More than 300 people working in social care, early years and childcare joined us for a series of online webinars and workshops to learn about well-being and share best practice.
The week was a resounding success, with 98 per cent of those who took part saying they learned something they can use in the workplace.
Last year’s ‘Have your say’ survey gave us valuable insight into what it’s like to work in care and we’re keen to hear from even more workers this year.
So, if you or someone you know works in care, we’d love to hear what you think.
The survey is open until 7 March. You can find out how to take part here.