Children's Senior Social Worker

SURREY COUNTY COUNCIL; England; On-site; GBP 52,000 - 57,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading local authority is seeking Senior Social Workers to join their Family Safeguarding Teams across East and West Surrey. The role offers a competitive salary between £52,884 and £56,175 per annum, including a market supplement of £5,000. Candidates should possess a Qualified Social Work degree, SWE Registration, and a valid UK driving license. The position involves working collaboratively with various professionals to deliver effective safeguarding practices for children and families. Extensive training and support are provided to enhance skills and experience.

Benefits

Financial package up to £6,000

Relocation package up to £8,000

28 days annual leave

Gym and lifestyle discounts

Paid volunteering days

Qualifications

• Qualified Social Work degree and SWE Registration.
• Valid driving license to operate in the UK.
• ASYE completed within two years of qualifying.
• At least three years of post-qualification experience in UK.
• Experience in child protection services.

Responsibilities

• Join Family Safeguarding Teams covering East and West Surrey.
• Work collaboratively with multi-agency professionals.
• Implement the Family Safeguarding Model.
• Build relationships with children and families.

Skills

Qualified Social Work degree

SWE Registration

Driving license

UK social work experience

Relationship-based social work

Motivational interviewing

Education

Completed ASYE

Three years post-qualified experience

Job description

Overview

We have opportunities for Senior Social Workers to join our Family Safeguarding Teams based across East Surrey covering the Reigate and Weybridge areas and West Surrey covering the Woking and Guildford areas.

Salary and Benefits

The salary range for Senior Social Workers is £52,884 - £56,175 per annum. This is inclusive of a market supplement of £5,000. We also offer a financial package of up to £6,000 payable in 3 instalments across your first 18 months in post.

• A competitive relocation package of up to £8,000
• We pay your Social Worker England Registration fee
• 28 days annual leave, rising to 30 days after 5 years' service (plus bank holidays)
• Access to our car lease scheme
• Option to buy up to 10 days of additional annual leave
• An extensive Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support health and wellbeing
• A generous local government salary related pension
• Lifestyle discounts including gym, travel, shopping and many more
• 2 paid volunteering days per year
• Up to 5 days of carer\'s leave per year
• Learning and development hub where you can access a wealth of resources
• Paternity, adoption and dependents leave
• Refer a friend payment of £1,000 as a thank you for finding the right Social Worker

About Surrey and Our Family Safeguarding Service

Our Surrey Children\'s Services are actively working towards becoming a high-performing local authority, evidenced by the fact we are now starting to realise the positive impacts of the Family Saf safeguarding practice model in action with reductions in the number of children subject to child protection plans. We are working hard to sustain and develop our progress and this is driven by the efforts of every member of our social care workforce from our business support and family support workers to our frontline practitioners through to leadership — all working together to create and sustain the right conditions for a positive culture and well-supported workforce equipped to deliver consistent and good quality social work practice for our children and families.

Our Progress

We are proud of our recent Good Ofsted judgement, which marks a significant milestone for Surrey. The report highlights that our social workers are "skilled at building relationships with children who are subject of children in need or child protection plans. Creative direct work helps them to build a rounded understanding of children\'s daily lives." "They also build positive relationships with parents, enabling honest and sometimes difficult conversations." Overall "Staff are well-trained and committed, feel highly valued and are proud to work in Surrey."

About our Family Safeguarding Service

Our Family Safeguarding service includes responsibility for our Family Safeguarding Model, Child In Need, as well as pre and court proceedings.

Within Family Safeguarding we use motivational interviewing, multi-agency approach under the Family Saf safeguarding model, where Social Workers, Family Support Workers, Domestic Abuse Practitioners, Recovery Workers, Mental Health Practitioners, and Psychologists collaborate closely to address family issues efficiently, reducing the need for referrals to other agencies.

Your Application and Qualifications

To help us achieve our ambitions for children and families we are looking for dedicated, and compassionate practitioners who are child focused and committed to relationship-based social work to join us. If you are considering your next professional opportunity and looking to develop your skills and experience within child protections services we\'d love to enable you to do that safely with us.

• Qualified Social Work degree and SWE Registration
• Car driver with a valid UK license
• ASYE completed, within two years of qualifying
• UK social work experience
• Three years post-qualified experience

Surrey has both urban and rural areas and Social 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.

Application Process

To apply you will need to upload your CV and answer the following questions:

• 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.
• What is your understanding of Surrey\'s Practice Model for family safeguarding? Can you describe the strengths and challenges of this model

Next Steps

If your application is shortlisted, you will be invited to a short virtual call to explore your answers to the application questions (lasting approx. 15-20 mins). If successful following this, 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, allowing you to confidently discuss your skills and experiences.

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.

Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) and Our Commitment

Surrey County Council is undergoing Local Government Reorganisation, moving from a two-tier system to two new unitary councils in April 2027. If you are employed by Surrey on 1st April 2027, your role will transfer with current terms and conditions to one of the new organisations, supporting local devolution and greater powers for our communities.

We are a disability confident employer which means if you have shared a disability on your application form and have evidenced you meet the minimum criteria, we guarantee you an interview.

Your skills and experience truly matter to us. From application to your first day, we\'re committed to supporting you with any adjustments you need, we value inclusion and warmly welcome you to join and help build a workplace where everyone belongs.