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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
Employers

Our Rules for Social Workers
Our Rules for Social Care Workers

Employing a social worker: guidance for new employers

Scheduled maintenance

Due to scheduled maintenance on our online services ‘My Portal’ – anyone who wishes to start, progress or submit an application for registration will not be able to. These services will resume Wednesday 16 October 2024. Thank you for your patience.