Social Work Scotland response to SSSC Standards for social work education – pre and post qualifying consultation
September 2025
Introduction
Social Work Scotland is the professional body for social work leaders, working closely with our partners to shape policy and practice, and improve the quality and experience of social services. We welcome this opportunity to provide a response to the Scottish Social Services Council Standards for Social Work Education pre- and post-qualifying consultation 2025.
This response draws on engagement with practitioners, educators, policy leads, and sector representatives, including insights from a workshop hosted by Social Work Scotland on 18 August 2025. Across all contributions, there was a strong, shared commitment to ensuring the revised standards reflect the profession’s core values and the realities of practice.
We believe the standards must be grounded in human rights, relationship-based practice, and the ethical involvement of people with lived experience. These are not optional extras, they are central to how social work is understood and delivered in Scotland. The standards should reflect the relational nature of the profession, recognising people as experts in their own lives and as active partners in practice and learning.
This consultation is a valuable opportunity to reaffirm the values that define social work in Scotland. The revised standards must reflect not only what social work stands for, but how it is practiced, ethically, relationally, and in line with the legal and structural responsibilities of the role
