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2026 Annual Social Work Health Check
Dear colleagues,
The Annual Social Work Health Check provides an important opportunity for all Social Workers within Cornwall Children’s Services to share views on your role, your work, and your experience of working in Cornwall Children and Family Services over the last year.
The 2025 Health Check showed that we continue to maintain strong engagement, with higher levels of staff satisfaction than most local authorities. Supportive colleagues, supportive line managers, and access to learning and development were highlighted as particular strengths.
81% reported access to high-quality learning
87% felt their learning had improved their practice
68% rated their supervision as good or excellent, with most stating it supports their practice (68%) and strengthens resilience (58%)
Respondents also felt that leadership across the service is clear, valued, and responsive. 90% of social workers said they would recommend Cornwall to a friend.
Throughout 2025 we have progressed the Family Help reforms with our new Family Help teams, and your feedback continues to guide our development. In response to last year’s Health Check, we have made the following improvements:
Several teams have relocated while building and facilities improvements take place. We continue to work with Facilities Management to secure better working environments, including quiet and confidential spaces and accessible parking.
Our new multi-disciplinary Family Help Teams launched in January 2026. We believe these changes will improve children and families’ experiences and outcomes, and also further improve the working conditions, expertise, confidence, wellbeing and resilience of our amazing staff.
Clinical psychology support has been expanded as part of our Family Help teams to strengthen support for practitioners and families at an early point.
The development of our new ‘Parent Assess’ teams to support specialist parenting assessments have been very successful enabling us to complete more of these assessments in house more quickly and to a higher quality, and reduce use of Independent Social Worker assessments. There is a plan to expand this team further.
The learning and development offer for all staff has been improved, supported by a managers’ checklist, available on SharePoint.
Ongoing Mosaic improvements aim to reduce bureaucracy and streamline workflows.
A strengthened direct work toolkit has been introduced to support evidence-informed practice and our five practice priorities for 2026.
Learning sets on genograms, ecomaps and family mapping were rolled out to Family Help practitioners in early 2026, with wider rollout planned across the service.
Recruitment efforts have reduced vacancies, and numbers of apprentices and NQSWs have increased. Workforce stability has improved, and a targeted recruitment campaign for PSWs will launch shortly.
From January 2025, CPD options expanded to include a broader range of academic modules. The nomination process now runs twice yearly to support wider access.
This year’s survey remains consistent with previous years to support comparison. Individual responses will not be identifiable. Your feedback directly shapes our priorities and helps us continue to support you to do your job well.
The questionnaire closes on 28 March 2026.
Tracey Davey
Principal Child and Family Social Worker
2026 Annual Social Work Health Check
Dear colleagues,
The Annual Social Work Health Check provides an important opportunity for all Social Workers within Cornwall Children’s Services to share views on your role, your work, and your experience of working in Cornwall Children and Family Services over the last year.
The 2025 Health Check showed that we continue to maintain strong engagement, with higher levels of staff satisfaction than most local authorities. Supportive colleagues, supportive line managers, and access to learning and development were highlighted as particular strengths.
81% reported access to high-quality learning
87% felt their learning had improved their practice
68% rated their supervision as good or excellent, with most stating it supports their practice (68%) and strengthens resilience (58%)
Respondents also felt that leadership across the service is clear, valued, and responsive. 90% of social workers said they would recommend Cornwall to a friend.
Throughout 2025 we have progressed the Family Help reforms with our new Family Help teams, and your feedback continues to guide our development. In response to last year’s Health Check, we have made the following improvements:
Several teams have relocated while building and facilities improvements take place. We continue to work with Facilities Management to secure better working environments, including quiet and confidential spaces and accessible parking.
Our new multi-disciplinary Family Help Teams launched in January 2026. We believe these changes will improve children and families’ experiences and outcomes, and also further improve the working conditions, expertise, confidence, wellbeing and resilience of our amazing staff.
Clinical psychology support has been expanded as part of our Family Help teams to strengthen support for practitioners and families at an early point.
The development of our new ‘Parent Assess’ teams to support specialist parenting assessments have been very successful enabling us to complete more of these assessments in house more quickly and to a higher quality, and reduce use of Independent Social Worker assessments. There is a plan to expand this team further.
The learning and development offer for all staff has been improved, supported by a managers’ checklist, available on SharePoint.
Ongoing Mosaic improvements aim to reduce bureaucracy and streamline workflows.
A strengthened direct work toolkit has been introduced to support evidence-informed practice and our five practice priorities for 2026.
Learning sets on genograms, ecomaps and family mapping were rolled out to Family Help practitioners in early 2026, with wider rollout planned across the service.
Recruitment efforts have reduced vacancies, and numbers of apprentices and NQSWs have increased. Workforce stability has improved, and a targeted recruitment campaign for PSWs will launch shortly.
From January 2025, CPD options expanded to include a broader range of academic modules. The nomination process now runs twice yearly to support wider access.
This year’s survey remains consistent with previous years to support comparison. Individual responses will not be identifiable. Your feedback directly shapes our priorities and helps us continue to support you to do your job well.
