Newly Qualified Social Workers in Scotland: Experiences of practice during COVID-19:Experiences of practice during COVID-19

Executive summaryThis report presents findings from a national research study on newly qualified social workers’ (NQSW) experiences of practice during the COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland.It draws on findings from a review of the existing literature, 124 responses to a national online survey with NQSWs, and 12 follow up in-depth interviews. Data collection took place between November 2020 and February 2021 during which participants experienced a second national lockdown.There are now several studies that report on different aspects of social work under the COVID-19 pandemic. Very few attend to the experiences of NQSWs and none focus on NQSWs’ experiences in Scotland.At the time of writing, this is the largest and most comprehensive published research study into NQSWs’ experiences of practice during COVID-19