Children Looked After Senior Social Worker (reference: SCC/TP/287912/3188)

Surrey County Council; Reigate; Hybrid; GBP 46,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

Surrey County Council is seeking Senior Social Workers for the Children Looked After Team in Reigate. The role involves supporting children in care, conducting assessments, and ensuring their safety and well-being. The position offers a competitive salary, flexible working arrangements, and a commitment to professional development.

Benefits

28 days annual leave plus bank holidays

Employee Assistance Programme

Pension contribution

Lifestyle discounts

Paid volunteering days

Learning and development opportunities

Refer a friend payment

Qualifications

• Experience in children's social care.
• Ability to build relationships with children and families.
• Strong assessment and report writing skills.

Responsibilities

• Support children living with relatives, friends, or foster families.
• Conduct regular visits and assessments.
• Prepare reports and attend court when necessary.

Skills

Communication

Empathy

Assessment

Education

Registered with Social Work England

Job description

Details

• Reference: SCC/TP/287912/3188
• Positions: 3
• Salary: £46,399- £49,588 per annum plus an additional payment of up to £6,000 payable across your first 18 months in post
• Category: Qualified Social Work - Children's
• Contract type: Permanent
• Working hours: 36 hours per week
• Posted on: 19 May 2025
• Closing date: 9 June 2025
• Location: Reigate, Surrey, RH2 8EF

Description

We have opportunities for Senior Social Workers to join our Children Looked After Team based in Reigate.

When not working with our residents in the community, we are keen to support agile working with a combination of home and office working.We are keen to get the balance right of providing flexibility but ensuring you feel connected to your team and the service.

The salary range is £46,399 - £49,588 per annum. We also offer afinancial package of up to £6,000 which is payable in 3 instalments across your first 18 months in post.Information about qualifying criteria to receive this payment can be foundHERE , withfurther information available in the attached Total Reward Statement about other financial benefits available to you includingprofessional fees, pension contribution and much more.

Rewards and Benefits

• We pay your Social Worker England Registration fee
• 28days annual leave, rising to 30days after 5years' service (plus bank holidays)
• Option to buy up to 10 days of additional annual leave
• An extensive Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support health and wellbeing
• Up to 5 days of carer's leave per year
• Paternity, adoption and dependants leave
• A generous local government salary related pension
• Lifestyle discounts including gym, travel, shopping and many more
• 2 paid volunteering days per year
• Learning and development hub where you can access a wealth of resources
• Refer a friend payment of £1,000 as a thank you for finding the right Social Worker

We recognise that looking for your next Social Work position is a really important step in your career and we're here to make that transition a positive one. Our commitment to applicants is to remove barriers and to understand more about you, your motivation for working in children's social care and why you're proud to work for such a valuable profession.

Our Progress

We are proud of our recent Good Ofsted judgement, which marks a significant milestone for Surrey. The report highlights that "Children in care have trusting and positive relationships with their Social Workers. Social Workers use creative life-story work to help children understand the reasons why they are in care." And "Staff are well-trained and committed, feel highly valued and are proud to work in Surrey." You can read the full report HERE .

If you are considering your next professional opportunity and looking for an ambitious and highly motivated employer who is continuously striving for better services for children and young people, then our Surrey Children's Services would love to hear from you.

About working with Children Looked After

As a member in the Children Looked After Team, your aim and role will be to support children living with relatives, friends or foster families and perspective adopters or older children living in children's homes and semi-independent units. You will build sustainable relationships with them and plan for their permanence.You will be responsible for ensuring their safety and support them towards independence.

Through regular visits, assessments and reviewing their Care Plan, you will nurture and develop meaningful relationships with these children; understand and interpret their wishes; and champion and support them to reach their full potential. Occasionally,you will be required to prepare reports and attend court. You will be supported in this challenging role with regular supervision and consultations with our Mental Health Focussed Social Worker.You will also find support by working alongside other social workers, family support workers and partnership organisations such as: Health Services, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (New Leaf), Independent Reviewing officers and carers.You will also be supported in your career development by your management team and also by the Surrey Academy.

In Surrey, you will have a sense of belonging within your individual team but also the wider service areas and directorate. You will receive high quality supervision, as there is a firm commitment towards dedicating time that focusses on the work you do with children and families, to enable you to work creatively and holistically in providing support and protection to children whilst also paying attention to your wellbeing and career development. This creates a sense of purpose and fulfilment with a clear pathway to achieve your future aspirations.

Wherever you are in your career journey, Surrey is committed to supporting and nurturing you so that you can be the best version of yourself.

Our Surrey Children's Service Academy currently has over 60 courses available and offers a bespoke learning programme so you can be at the forefront of best practice. Modules such as motivational interviewing and our total respect course allow you to feel empowered in having essential conversations whilst still ensuring a child centred approach to your practice.

Our Inclusive Approach

To apply you will need to upload your CV and answer the following questions. (no more than 200 words per question):

Please tell us what has motivated you to apply for this role?

Please tell us about the key skills and experience you will be able to bring to this role.

Please tell us about an example that demonstrates how you have built long lasting relationships with children.

If your application is shortlisted, you will be invited to a short first round virtual interview to explore your answers to the above questions (lasting approx. 15- 20 min).

If your Teams call goes well, you will be invited for an in person interview, allowing you to meet the team, check out your potential office and get a feel for what your journey might look like.

We are committed to inclusive recruitment. That's why, if you're invited to a face-to-face interview, we'll share the themes of the questions with you in advance. This way, you can prepare and feel comfortable knowing what topics will be covered during the process, allowing you to focus and confidently discuss your valuable skills and experiences.

Fancy a chat?

Our friendly teams could talk your socks off when it comes to all things Social Work. We'd love to hear from you and find out more about what you're looking for so if you'd like to talk to us please just drop a quick message to [e-mail] and we'll get a call arranged.

We look forward to hearing from you!

The job advert closes at 23:59 on the 9th June 2025.

An enhanced DBS 'Disclosure and Barring Service' check for regulated activity (formerly known as CRB) and the Children's and Adults' Barred List checks will be required for this role.

You will need to be registered with Social Work England.

Surrey has both urban and rural areas and locality based social care workers will be expected to have a valid driving licence to drive in the UK, access to a vehicle and be willing to travel across a wide geographical area. Reasonable adjustments where needed will be made for successful applicants who have a disability or long term health condition to enable them to fulfil the requirements of the job.

Our Values

Our values are as important as our abilities and shape who we are as an organisation. Discover more about ourvalues .

Before submitting your application, we recommend you read the job description. Our Life at Surrey Handbook also provides insights of the culture at Surrey and how as a valued employee, you can help shape our Council.

Our Commitment

Surrey County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. A guaranteed interview will be offered to all disabled applications where:

• The candidate has evidenced the minimum criteria for the role through their application
• The candidate has chosen to share that they have a disability on the application form

Our application form and onboarding process will provide an opportunity to request any reasonable adjustments for the interview and/or the role.

We want to be an inclusive and diverse employer reflecting the community we serve and particularly welcome applications from all underrepresented groups. We look forward to receiving your application, please click on the apply online button below to submit.