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Standards and Guidance

The Social Care Council’s Standards of Conduct and Practice form the core regulatory framework for the social work and social care workforce.

We regulate the workforce by maintaining a register and setting standards for the conduct, practice and training of social worker, social work students and social care workers to ensure that the quality of care provided to people who use services is of a high standard.

The Standards of Conduct and Practice describe the values, attitudes and behaviours expected of registrants in their day to day work and outline the knowledge and skills required for competent practice. They provide a baseline against which a registrant’s conduct and practice will be judged.

We have a statutory responsibility to set and review standards for employers of social workers and social care workers. Together with the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA) we ensure adherence to the standards for employers within social care.  


PDF copies of the Standards in various formats are available below:

Social Workers
Social Care Workers
Social Work Students

Our Rules for Social Workers
Our Rules for Social Care Workers

Employing a social worker: guidance for new employers

System alert – Public Facing Register

We are aware of a technical issue affecting a number of registrants who are unable to view their registration status on the Public Register Facing Register (the Register). Employers are also experiencing this when they are using the Register to look up the details of registrants. We are working to resolve this. Affected registrants should continue to work whilst their record on the Register is updated. If any further information is required by an individual registrant or employer, please email: registration@niscc.hscni.net.