The Open University conducted a year-long research project with local authorities and voluntary organisations under the heading of ‘promoting diversity in the social work through the degree apprenticeship’ . This research was funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England - now Office for Students (OfS). As part of this research project, the Open University worked closely with employers to maximise opportunities for the Social Work Degree Apprenticeship, to increase access to social work training for groups of people currently under-represented both in higher education and in the social work profession. The following link will give you access to the research report.

• How do employers promote a diverse and sustainable work force? A Higher Education Funding Council (HEFC) project in partnership with the Open University sheds some light.

Below are links to other sources of information about widening participation in higher education.

• Croisdale- Appleby, D. (2014) Re-visioning Social Work Education: An Independent Review, DoH, London

• The national minimum dataset for social care 2017

Percentage of UK domiciled young full-time first degree entrants from under-represented groups by Government Office region of domicile 2015/16

Schaub, J. (2015) Issues for Men’s Progression on English Honours and Postgraduate Degree Courses in Social Work. Social Work Education: The International Journal. 34 (3), 315-327.

Official statistics in relation to children’s social work workforce 2016

Information about the state of the adult social care sector and workforce in England

An article that looks at why more male students are dropping out the profession of social work

An article looking at gender division in social work