Looked After Children's Senior Social Worker

Surrey County Council; Old Woking; Hybrid; GBP 47,000 - 52,000; Full time

Job summary

A local authority in the UK is seeking a Senior Social Worker to join their Children Looked After Team in Woking. This role involves supporting children in foster care and assessing their safety for return to birth families. The position offers agile working, flexibility, and a salary range between £47,884 - £51,175 annually. Applicants must hold a Social Work degree and SWE registration, along with UK social work experience and a valid driving licence.

Benefits

Paid Social Worker England Registration fee

28 days annual leave plus bank holidays

Option to buy additional annual leave

Employee Assistance Programme

Generous local government pension

2 paid volunteering days per year

Access to bespoke learning programmes

Qualifications

• Qualified Social Work degree and registration with SWE is mandatory.
• UK social work experience is required.
• Candidates should possess a valid UK driving licence.

Responsibilities

• Support children living with relatives or foster families.
• Assess safety for children to return to birth families.
• Build sustainable relationships with children.

Skills

Qualified Social Work degree

SWE Registration

UK social work experience

Car driver with valid UK licence

Education

Social Work degree

Job description

We have a great opportunity for a Senior Social Worker to join our Children Looked After Team based in Woking, on a 12 month fixed term contract basis. 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 for Senior Social Workers is £47,884 - £51,175 per annum.

Our Offer to You

• We pay your Social Worker England Registration fee
• Access to bespoke learning programmes via our dedicated Children’s Services Academy to empower and enrich your practice
• 28 days annual leave, rising to 31 days after 5 years’ 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

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 of the Children Looked After Team, your and role will be to support children living with relatives, friends or foster families, prospective adopters or older children living in children’s homes and semi‑independent units, and to assess whether it is safe for our children to return to live with birth families. You will build sustainable relationships with them and plan for their permanence. You will be responsible for ensuring their safety and supporting 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 receive regular supervision and consultations with our Mental Health‑focused Social Worker, and you will also work alongside other social workers, family support workers, our stable management team and partnership organisations such as:

• Health Services
• Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (New Leaf)
• Independent Reviewing Officers
• Carers

In addition, you will benefit from career development support from your management team and the Surrey Academy. One Voice In Surrey gives you a sense of belonging within your individual team and the wider service areas and directorate. High‑quality supervision ensures you have the time to focus on the work you do with children and families, enabling you to work creatively and holistically to provide support, protection, wellbeing and career development.

Your Application, Our Inclusive Approach

In order to be considered for shortlisting, your application should clearly evidence the following skills and align with our behaviours:

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

Surrey has both urban and rural areas; social workers are expected to have a valid driving licence and be willing to travel across a wide geographical area. Reasonable adjustments will be made for successful applicants with a disability or long‑term health condition to enable them to fulfil the requirements of the job.

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