Understanding what Social Care organisations do to bring more young people into care roles and keep them in the job
| ISRCTN | ISRCTN21467549 |
|---|---|
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN21467549 |
| Protocol serial number | REC reference number: 47782 |
| Sponsor | King's College London |
| Funder | National Institute for Health and Care Research |
- Submission date
- 15/01/2026
- Registration date
- 04/02/2026
- Last edited
- 03/02/2026
- Recruitment status
- Recruiting
- Overall study status
- Ongoing
- Condition category
- Other
Plain English summary of protocol
Background and study aims
Younger people have a lot to offer the adult social care sector, bringing fresh ideas and perspectives to improve care and support. However, social care struggles to attract and keep younger workers, who make up only a small proportion of the workforce. This study aims to understand what works well in recruiting and retaining younger people (aged under 30 years) in adult social care roles.
Who can participate?
1. Social care organisations that report data to the Adult Social Care Workforce Data Set (ASC-WDS) (Skills for Care)
2. Senior personnel with responsibility for recruitment and/or retention of staff in adult social care organisations in England
What does the study involve?
This study will work with Skills for Care to analyse national workforce data and identify organisations that are successful in attracting younger staff. Then the senior staff in these organisations will be interviewed to learn about the strategies they use. Next, the study will carry out in-depth case studies to explore how these approaches work in practice. Finally, these strategies will be refined and shared with a wider group of employers to ensure they are relevant and practical for the sector.
What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
By sharing what your organisation is doing, participants will help shape practical strategies to attract, recruit, and retain younger people in the social care workforce, strengthening the sector for the future. It is hoped that they will enjoy sharing their experiences and views.
Where is the study run from?
University of Leeds (UK)
When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
August 2025 to November 2026
Who is funding the study?
National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) (UK)
Who is the main contact?
Dr Kirsty Haunch, k.haunch@leeds.ac.uk
Contact information
Principal investigator, Scientific
School of Healthcare, Faculty of Medicine and Health
University of Leeds
Leeds
LS2 9JT
United Kingdom
 ORCID ID |
0000-0002-6908-0032 |
|---|---|
| k.spilsbury@leeds.ac.uk |
Public
School of Healthcare, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Leeds
Leeds
LS2 9JT
United Kingdom
| ORCID ID |
0000-0002-5013-1258 |
|---|---|
| k.haunch@leeds.ac.uk |
Study information
| Primary study design | Observational |
|---|---|
| Study design | Sequential, multi-method study combining secondary analyses of a national dataset, qualitative methods (interviews), in-depth case studies (interviews, documentary analysis) and stakeholder consultation workshops |
| Secondary study design | |
| Scientific title | Attracting, recruiting and retaining a yOunger Social CARe workforce |
| Study acronym | OSCAR |
| Study objectives | The overall aim of the study is to identify organisational factors and approaches with potential to support social care employers to attract, recruit and retain younger people (aged up to 30 years) as care workers and regulated professionals in adult social care. 1. Identify employers that ‘excel’ in attracting, recruiting and retaining younger people to work in adult social care. 2. Understand what these employers are doing well and generate hypotheses about why and how strategies work. 3. Develop approaches with potential to support employers to attract, recruit and retain younger people, exploring the real-world relevance of these approaches with a representative sample of adult social care employers, including those employers who are not recruiting a younger workforce. 4. Refine and disseminate approaches with potential to be effective for adult social care employers and provide the foundations for development and evaluation of a complex intervention in the future. |
| Ethics approval(s) |
Approved 23/06/2025, King's College London Research Ethics Office (King's College London, 3rd Floor, 5-11 Lavington Street, London, SE1 0NZ, United Kingdom; -; rec@kcl.ac.uk), ref: 47782 |
| Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied | Adult social care workforce |
| Intervention | We will work with Skills for Care to analyse national workforce data and identify organisations that are successful in attracting younger staff. We will then interview senior staff in these organisations to learn about the strategies they use. Next, we will carry out in-depth case studies to explore how these approaches work in practice. Finally, we will share and refine these strategies with a wider group of employers to ensure they are relevant and practical for the sector. Using Positive Deviance methodology, we will undertake qualitative interviews (WP1) and case studies (WP2) to explore the approaches and strategies used by Social Care organisations that successfully employ a younger (under 30) workforce. These will be analysed using thematic analysis. Findings from the interviews and case studies will be discussed in consultation groups with social care representatives to explore their applicability to the sector. Study outcomes will include evidence-based resources providing information on important contextual considerations alongside strategies and approaches to recruiting and retaining younger workers in social care. |
| Intervention type | Other |
| Primary outcome measure(s) |
|
| Key secondary outcome measure(s) | |
| Completion date | 30/11/2026 |
Eligibility
| Participant type(s) | Employee, Other |
|---|---|
| Age group | Adult |
| Sex | All |
| Target sample size at registration | 90 |
| Key inclusion criteria | 1. Organisations that report data to the ASC-WDS (Skills for Care) 2. Senior personnel with responsibility for recruitment and/or retention of staff in adult social care organisations in England |
| Key exclusion criteria | 1. Organisation does not submit data to ASC-WDS (Skills for Care) 2. Organisation is outside England 3. Staff employed to provide direct care only 4. Care recipients or their family and friends 5. Senior personnel employed by organisations that provide children’s social care 6. Health care professionals (e.g., medics, nurses, social workers) |
| Date of first enrolment | 18/08/2025 |
| Date of final enrolment | 30/11/2026 |
Locations
Countries of recruitment
- United Kingdom
- England
Study participating centre
Leeds
LS2 9JT
England
Results and Publications
| Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to share | Yes |
|---|---|
| IPD sharing plan summary | Other |
| IPD sharing plan | Individual participant data will not be shared publicly. Skills for Care will retain ASC WDS source data; only anonymised summary statistics will be shared with the research team. Qualitative data (interviews and consultations) will be stored securely on University of Leeds servers, pseudo-anonymised, with access restricted to named investigators. Audio recordings will be deleted after analysis; consent forms will be retained for 10 years. Data may be shared with the Sponsor (King’s College London) and Funder for audit under explicit consent. Final storage arrangements will comply with Sponsor requirements. |
Editorial Notes
16/01/2026: Study's existence confirmed by the King's College London Research Ethics Office.
