Qualified Children's Social Worker

Cafcass (Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service); West of England; Hybrid; GBP 41,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

Cafcass seeks dedicated Children’s Social Workers (Family Court Advisers) to engage with children and families across Exeter, Plymouth and surrounding counties. The role spans private and public law contexts, with flexibility to work across offices, courts, schools and community settings.

As FCA, you will complete assessments and advocate for children’s wishes, ensuring their voices are heard in family court decisions. A supportive environment and regular supervision are provided.

Qualifications

• Social Work qualification is essential.
• Right to Work in the UK is required.
• Registered with Social Work England or able to register quickly.
• Recent, relevant experience of working directly with children and families.
• Experience in family court proceedings desirable (Private/Public Law).

Responsibilities

• Complete high-quality assessments engaging directly with children to understand their experiences, wishes and feelings.
• Apply risk assessment, analysis and mediation to place the child’s safety and wellbeing at the center of decisions.
• Work with adults, local authorities and professionals to help resolve complex issues and influence better outcomes for children.

Skills

Social work

Communication

Organisational

Education

Social Work qualification

Job description

Location: Engaging directly with children and families in Exeter (covering Devon and Somerset) and Plymouth (covering Cornwall and Plymouth) with a contractual base in either our Exeter or Plymouth office.

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.

Who We’re Looking For

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.

You can view the full job description in the vacancy documents.

Where you’ll work

Our Social Workers work flexibly across multiple settings — including the office in Exeter or Plymouth, home, courts, schools and other appropriate, safe locations, and we ensure you have the technology to do this.

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.

Next steps

Below we have set out an indicative timetable we are hoping to work towards, although dates are subject to change.

Closing Date

15 November 2026

Telephone interviews:

18 and 19 November 2026

Final Interview

25 and 26 November 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 DBS code of practice and the Cafcass DBS policy.

Where you’ll work

In this role you will play a key role in supporting our teams and colleagues when they are in the office, like our Social Workers seeing children and families, or our teams being together for team meetings or supervision. Therefore, whilst you will benefit from working flexibly, including some remote working, you will also be required to be in the office on a regular basis.

If you join you expect to 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 both flexibility and opportunities to form connections.