Children's Senior Social Worker Family Safeguarding

SURREY COUNTY COUNCIL; Reigate; On-site; GBP 51,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

SURREY COUNTY COUNCIL is seeking Senior Social Workers for their Family Safeguarding Teams across East and West Surrey. This role involves working collaboratively with a dynamic team to enhance family relationships and ensure the welfare of children in need. A robust support structure and professional development opportunities are provided. Competitive salary and a comprehensive benefits package available.

Benefits

Relocation package of up to GBP8,000

Payment of Social Worker Registration fee

28 days annual leave plus bank holidays

Car lease scheme

Buy up to 10 additional annual leave days

Employee Assistance Programme

Local government pension scheme

Lifestyle discounts

2 paid volunteering days per year

5 days carer's leave per year

Qualifications

• Experience in social work with a focus on family safeguarding.
• Ability to engage in motivational interviewing and work collaboratively.
• Strong understanding of child protection plans and services.

Responsibilities

• Join Family Safeguarding Teams to support families and children.
• Collaborate with multi-agency professionals to address family issues.
• Conduct assessments and create plans for children and families.

Skills

Motivational interviewing

Team collaboration

Child protection knowledge

Family safeguarding expertise

Education

Social Work England Registration

Job description

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.

The salary range for Senior Social Workers is GBP51,399 - GBP54,588 per annum. This is inclusive of a newly created market supplement of GBP5,000.

We also offer a financial package of up to GBP6,000 which is payable in 3 instalments across your first 18 months in post.

Our other rewards and benefits include:

• A competitive relocation package of up to GBP8,000
• 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 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

About Surrey

Our Surrey Children's Services are working towards becoming a high-performing local authority, evidenced by the fact we are now starting to realise the positive impacts of the Family Safeguarding practice model in action with reductions in the number of children subject to child protection plans. We work hard to develop our progress and this is driven by the efforts of every member of our social care workforce working together to create the right conditions for a positive culture and well-supported workforce.

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

Within Family Safeguarding we use motivational interviewing, multi-agency approach under the Family 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.

We strive to provide a supportive and dynamic work environment for our employees, that fosters growth, maintains work-life balance, and rewards efforts. We guarantee 5 days of CPD and have access to excellent research and development tools such as Community Care Inform, Care Knowledge and Research In Practice.

Why choose Surrey?

It's our staff that truly make the difference day in day out and we'd like to share with you some of their insights as to why they choose to be part of Surrey Children's social care workforce.

Our staff highlighted that you can expect

• Positive team relationships - You'll be part of a team that thrives on positive working relationships, where collaboration with supportive colleagues in your team, across the organisation and with key partners will enable and enrich your practice
• Flexibility and work-life balance - We are committed to agile working and trust you to adapt your schedule to suit your needs, balancing this against the need to visit your children and families
• Opportunities and professional development - You can benefit from a structured environment that encourages growth and development. You'll have access to ongoing training opportunities, including our coaching and mentoring scheme, a well-structured progression pathway, learning opportunities and reflective and task focused supervision
• A sense of belonging - You'll be part of our welcoming social work family where you'll be able to draw on the knowledge of established team members to support your understanding of the local area and available resources, working for a team where your individual expertise are valued and where you can have fun together
• A focus on wellbeing - We take your well being seriously and recognise the need for reflective supervision where wellbeing is front and centre of the conversation

Our Inclusive Approach

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 first round virtual interview to explore your answers to the above questions. 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.

The job advert closes at 23:59 on the 21.07.2025.

You will need to be registered with Social Work England.

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.