We are the regulator for the social work, social care and children and young people workforce in Scotland.

Our work means the people of Scotland can count on social work, social care and children and young people services being provided by a trusted, skilled, confident and valued workforce.

There are more than 208,000 people working in social services in Scotland. This includes social care workers, social workers, social work students and children and young people workers in a range of care services, in residential and day centres, community facilities and in people’s homes. We protect the public by registering this workforce, setting standards for their practice, conduct, training and education and by supporting their professional development. Where people fall below the standards of practice and conduct, we can investigate and take action.

We:

• publish the national codes of practice for people working in social work, social care and children and young people services and their employers
• register people working in social work, social care and children and young people services. and make sure they adhere to our codes of practice
• promote and regulate their learning and development
• lead workforce development and planning for this workforce in Scotland and provide national statistics.

Sector skills council

We carry out the functions of the sector skills council in Scotland working in partnership with employers to develop the workforce and invest in workforce planning.

Skills for Care and Development is the sector skills council for people providing social work, social care and children’s services in the UK. It is a partnership of four organisations:

• Social Care Wales
• Northern Ireland Social Care Council
• Skills for Care in England
• Scottish Social Services Council.

This includes developing National Occupational Standards (NOS) which underpin qualifications for registration and outline the skills, knowledge and understanding employers have told us are necessary for an effective workforce.

The SSSC Register was set up under the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001 to regulate social service workers and to promote their education and training.

View our strategies and plans

View our policies and procedures

View our reports

For information on how the SSSC is managed and our decision making visit our Governance and Council and committee pages.

External relations

We work with others (external relations) and you can find out more in our SSSC Publications, Consultations, News and events and newsletter.

We publish links to related websites that focus on specific areas of work and to external websites of relevant organisations on our website.