Qualified Children's Social Worker

Cafcass; Portsmouth; Hybrid; GBP 30,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

A children's advisory service in Portsmouth seeks a Qualified Children's Social Worker to work flexibly in a hybrid environment. The role involves engaging with children and families, conducting assessments, and representing children's needs in court. They prefer applicants with a registered Social Work England qualification and relevant experience. The organization offers an inclusive workplace with substantial support and benefits.

Benefits

28 days holiday

18.1% employer pension contribution

Flexible working options

Wellbeing support

Exclusive discounts

Qualifications

• Must be a Social Work England registered social worker.
• Demonstrable experience working with children and families.

Responsibilities

• Involve in cases with serious concerns about child welfare.
• Conduct relevant assessments to understand children's needs.
• Communicate effectively with the court through written reports.

Skills

Motivational Interviewing

Acute Care

Crisis Intervention

Behavioral Health

Child Welfare

Experience with Children

Social Work

Education

Social Work England registered

Job description

We are recruiting for the role of Qualified Childrens Social Worker in our team(s) covering the Hampshire area – Portsmouth or Bournemouth.

We trust and empower colleagues to work in a hybrid way, providing the resources, equipment and support so that individually and collectively we can be the voice of children and young people when the family court makes critical decisions about their futures.

Whilst this role is part of a team based from our office in Portsmouth or Bournemouth, our teams work flexibly and remotely; your proximity to the office does not always have to be a critical consideration.

We are a diverse, inclusive organisation that is a safe space for colleagues with shared aspects of identity and lived experience, which helps ensure we provide a service which promotes the diversity and uniqueness of children and families from all backgrounds. We especially welcome applications from people from diverse backgrounds as we strive to ensure our workforce reflects the diversity of the children and families we work with.

We provide extensive wellbeing support for colleagues as well as excellent benefits, all of which we hope encourages you to join us.

Let us tell you a bit more about the role

Our Public Law teams are involved with cases where the local authority has serious concerns about the safety or welfare of a child and the court requests Cafcass to become involved in the case. The Cafcass Social Worker – often referred to as Childrens Guardian – is typically involved with the child across an extended period, carrying out relevant assessments to understand their needs, wants and feelings and effectively communicating this to the court through written reports and evidencing.

And what we are looking for

Being a Family Court Adviser is very rewarding but it’s not for everyone. You must be a Social Work England registered social worker who is organised, resilient and able to work independently. Confident in your abilities, you will have demonstrable experience of working with children and families over a sustained period as a Social Worker, potentially supplemented by relevant experience from earlier in your career.

You can find out more about the above – and much more – before you apply and we also recommend you read the job description.

Next steps / timelines

If and when you are ready to apply our application process is straightforward and quick to complete. You don’t need to complete your application in a single visit; you can start it, come back and amend your responses / update your CV, just make sure you come back before the closing date to submit.

Below we have given you an indication of a timetable we are hoping to work towards, although dates are subject to change.

Closing date: 7th October

Initial interview: 14th October

Final Interview: 23rd October

We understand that starting a new role is a big decision and you may require further information before applying. You can find out more about the role in the Job Description and there is a wealth of information about Cafcass on our Cafcass Careers page.

If you wish to speak with a member of the team for more specific information you can either contact Kiera Manuel from our HR Resourcing team if your query is HR related or to do with the recruitment process or Rachel Hodgson () if your questions relate more to the role providing your contact information and best times / methods to get hold of you.

Whilst we will always try and respond as soon as possible we wouldn’t want you to miss the closing date before we are able to. If this is the case we recommend you apply and as part of your application you can ask questions and this may allow us to contact you and provide you with the required information that will help you decide if you still wish to be considered.

Finally, in anticipation of your application being successful you might want to read about the offer and pre-employment checks process. As part of your application you can highlight any concerns or questions about the pre-employment checks and we encourage all applicants to do so safe in the knowledge such information will not be shared with individuals involved in the selection process.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Please be advised successful applicants will be subject to a range of pre-engagement checks including a Disclosure and Barring Service check (DBS). In accordance with the DBS code of practice and our own policy, should an individual have a declared criminal offence an individual assessment will be completed. Further information on what the assessment covers can be found by viewing the Cafcass DBS policy.

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 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 whose benefits 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 menopause.

Our 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 here.

• Ability Matters
  • Colleagues with disabilities and long‑term health conditions.
• Carers Network
  • Colleagues with additional caring responsibilities for someone close to them who has a disability or long‑term health condition.
• Faith Network
  • Colleagues who are part of or have an interest in religious or spiritual faith communities.
• 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 transgender (LGBTI).
• Neurodiversity Network
  • Colleagues who are neurodivergent or support someone who is.

Together

Together with Children and Families (which we just call Together) is the name of our relationship‑based practice framework. It applies to the work of every individual in Cafcass from Social Workers to Leaders and includes our Corporate and Business Support teams.

It is at the heart of what we do and is made up of our values, how these values work in practice, the tools to use to incorporate these values in our work and the impact this will have on the children and families we serve.

This framework encourages us to be pro‑active and to look for the strengths in ourselves and others. It also enables us to build positive relationships with our colleagues, our partners and most importantly with the children and families with whom we work.

We look forward to telling you how you can help you learn more about Together should you join us.

Benefits

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

Therefore in addition to our unique holistic approach to supporting your health and wellbeing we also provide:

• Generous holidays
  • 28 days holiday (including three for Christmas) rising to 33 days with five years continuous service which could include your current employment. You can also sell any you do not need.
• Excellent pension
  • 18.1% employer contribution to Local Government Pension scheme potentially building on your current pension.
• Flexible working
  • Most colleagues work in a hybrid way, having the benefits of working both from the office and home; we also accommodate flexible working requests (e.g. 9-day fortnights).
• Exclusive discounts
  • Generous discounts with a wide range of companies covering leisure, technology, travel, personal finance, fashion and supermarkets.
• Professional fees
  • Social work colleagues have their annual Social Work England membership fees reimbursed.
• Car leasing schemes
  • We offer a personal car leasing scheme which provides vehicles at competitive rates through a third party.

Key Skills

• Motivational Interviewing
• Acute Care
• Crisis Intervention
• Behavioral Health
• Intake Experience
• Hospice Care
• Case Management
• Home Care
• Child Welfare
• Experience with Children
• Social Work
• Addiction Counseling

Employment Type: Unclear

Experience: years

Vacancy: 1