When recruiting social workers, local authorities have traditionally used written exercises alongside the formal interview to assess social work applicants, with the occasional addition of a role-play scenario. This approach is widely replicated across the country and is generally accepted as the minimum standard.

But we – like many other authorities – have sometimes found it difficult to find the higher calibre of candidate we would like to recruit. Increasingly, we have also struggled to recruit permanent, experienced social workers who often turn to specialist agencies to find locum work. This means the majority of social workers in the employment market are newly-qualified social workers seeking to secure entry-level posts.