Children's Social Workers

Cafcass; Reading; Hybrid; GBP 32,000 - 42,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Wellbeing days

Wellbeing cash plan

Job summary

Cafcass is recruiting Children's Social Workers (Family Court Advisers) to safeguard and promote the welfare of children involved in private and public law family court proceedings across England. You will conduct high‑quality assessments, speak for children's views in court, and work with families, authorities and professionals to secure better outcomes.

We value wellbeing with four extra days per year, a wellbeing cash plan, and supportive supervision.

Qualifications

• Social Work qualification is essential and recognised in the UK.
• Right to work in the UK.
• Recent, relevant experience with children and families.

Responsibilities

• Complete high-quality assessments with children to understand their wishes.
• Apply risk assessment, analysis and mediation to prioritise child's safety.
• Collaborate with adults, local authorities and professionals to resolve complex cases.

Skills

Communication

Empathy

Team collaboration

Education

Social Work qualification

Job description

At Cafcass, we're recruiting Children's Social Workers who share our passion, commitment and ambition to facilitate positive outcomes for children involved in private and public law family court proceedings. Our Social Workers - professionally known as Family Court Advisers (FCAs) - play a vital role. You might work within Private Law team, where there is disagreement on the best arrangements for the welfare of the child(ren) involved), a Public Law team, where local authorities have raised serious welfare concerns, or a converged team covering both law types. Whatever the team you join, the underlying role is the same - to speak on behalf of children and young people to ensure their thoughts, wishes and feelings are not just understood but heard. As the only organisation that does this kind of work, FCAs can make recommendations leading to lasting change for children and families, which is why this it is responsibility we take seriously. And why we're committed to creating a safe, healthy and supportive environment for our colleagues to practice.

What you'll be doing

As a FCA at Cafcass, you will:

• Complete high-quality assessments, engaging directly with children to understand their experiences, wishes and feelings - and ensure these are clearly and powerfully represented to the family court.
• Apply your expertise in risk assessment, analysis and mediation, advocating for solutions that place the child's safety, wellbeing and long-term interests at the centre of decision‑making.
• Work with adults, local authorities, and a wide range of professionals to help resolve complex issues and influence better outcomes for children.

Shared learning is very important to us, and we bring our teams together regularly, both remotely and in‑person, for team meetings and group supervision, which creates space to connect with peers and managers, reflect on practice, and feel supported. You'll also have regular 1:1 time with your manager, especially during your induction, and again there will be a balance between doing this remotely and in‑person, so you have opportunities to form in‑person connections. If shortlisted, the hiring manager will be able to give you more insight into what a typical week or month might look like should you join us.

How we support you

As the largest employer of Children's Social Workers in England, we're uniquely placed to support your professional growth and wellbeing. At Cafcass, you'll benefit from:

• High-quality equipment and technology to help you work efficiently and engage with families effectively.
• Access to specialist resources, guidance and training to strengthen your practice.
• A strong commitment to wellbeing, reflective supervision and healthy work-life balance.
• An inclusive environment that values diversity, encourages learning and constantly strives to improve outcomes for children, families and colleagues alike.

You can find more about how we support our practitioners on our website, and we'll share more during the selection process.

Closing date: 8 October 2026

If you have any questions about the role or recruitment process, please contact [e-mail].

Before applying, we encourage you to read about our offer and pre‑employment checks. Any questions or concerns can be confidentially raised through your application. Successful applicants will complete several pre‑engagement checks, including a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. If any criminal offences are disclosed, we will conduct an individual assessment in line with the and the . We look forward to receiving your application!

Be Their Voice

We are Cafcass - the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service - and we represent children in family court cases in England. Independently advising the family courts about what is safe for children and in their best interests, we speak up for over 130,000 children every year when the family court makes critical decisions about their futures, ensuring their needs, wishes and feelings are heard.

Watch our video to find out we don't just listen to children's voices but we can be their voice. If our purpose resonates with you, and you share our ambitions for children - exceptional experiences, for every child, everywhere and every time - then if you join us, you will work alongside like-minded people in a diverse, inclusive and supportive organisation.

You will be trusted to work flexibly and independently using outstanding technology (e.g. touchscreen laptops, iPhone, all with first class support, including IT Trainers) with access to substantial resources (e.g. Cafcass Library has over 27,000 resources on social work, child protection and related topics). You will also have opportunities to develop, whatever team you join, wherever you are in the country and at whatever stage you are at in your career. Whether you join us in one of our social work roles that work directly with children and families or our corporate and business services teams who provide technology, support and expertise, you will have the chance to make a difference for children and families.

You can also find out more at .

Wellbeing

The wellbeing of our colleagues is something we are truly passionate about, as demonstrated by everyone having four dedicated, additional days per year when they are encouraged to spend time focusing on their health and wellbeing.

Colleagues can also have a health and wellbeing cash plan, for which Cafcass pays the basic premium (you can upgrade to include family members), which allows them to claim back some costs of routine health expenses, including dental check-ups, eye tests, physiotherapy sessions and more.

Overall, we foster a holistic approach to supporting our colleagues, benefitting physical, mental and financial health. This is led by a dedicated in-house team, the benefits of which include meaning support is targeted and specific to what colleagues need. Our team can also offer support and guidance when it comes to specific health conditions, such as neuro-diverse conditions, cancer and the menopause.

The wellbeing offer is further strengthened by an external Employee Assistance Provider (EAP) which provides a free confidential support service 24 hours a day. This means access to clinical and professional expertise which gives you a chance to talk about all kinds of work and personal issues. If this wasn't enough, we are especially proud that over 125 colleagues have completed training and receive ongoing support to act as Health and Wellbeing Champions. Furthermore, we have nearly 100 people that have trained to be Mental Health Allies.

Diversity

We represent children and families from diverse backgrounds and having a diverse workforce helps us to fulfil this responsibility authentically. It also helps us to grow, evolve and innovate, so we particularly welcome applications from individuals from diverse backgrounds as we strive to ensure our workforce reflects the diversity of the children and families we work with.

We are proud to be a disability confident leader, we invite you to join our team, we are committed to actively attract and recruit individuals with disabilities including "non-visible" disabilities and mental health conditions. Our inclusive and accessible recruitment process means we aim to accommodate reasonable adjustments as needed. This commitment highlights our dedication to employing, training, retaining, and developing the careers of our colleagues with disabilities.

Our Diversity Networks provide a safe space for colleagues with shared aspects of identity and lived experience - supported by allies across the organisation. The networks help ensure we provide an inclusive working environment and a service which promotes the diversity and uniqueness of children and families from all backgrounds.

For more information watch our video .

Our current networks include:

• Kaleidoscope Network Colleagues from Black Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds.
• Mental Health Network Colleagues who experience or have an interest in Mental Health issues.
• Pride Network Colleagues who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans - LGBT+.
• Neurodiversity Network Colleagues who are neurodivergent, or support someone who is.

We're looking for practitioners who are confident, curious, compassionate and committed to excellent social work practice.

To join us, you'll need:

• A Social Work qualification is essential.
• Have the Right to Work in the UK (we don't sponsor people to work in the UK).
• Registered with Social Work England (or likely to be able to register quickly if practising outside England).
• Recent, relevant experience of working directly with children and families.
• It's desirable you'll have experience in family court proceedings, or knowledge of Private and/or Public Law.
• For applicants with limited post-qualifying experience, relevant pre-qualifying experience supporting children and families may be beneficial.
• Strong organisational skills, professional resilience and the ability to work independently while effectively managing a varied caseload.

We know if you join us you want to be rewarded in a variety of ways, including time away from work to spend time with those important to you, manage your financial present and future, whilst also be trusted to manage your work/life balance.

This list is just a selection of main benefits and we have a range of policies and processes that allow us to support our colleagues - and their families - and we look forward to providing you with further information about these in due course.