Senior Social Worker

Compassionate Care Group Ltd; Blackburn; Hybrid; GBP 48,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

Compassionate Children’s Care - Family Assessment Centre in Blackburn is seeking an experienced Senior Social Worker to undertake parenting and family assessments within a residential setting over a 12-week period, supporting decision-making for children’s welfare.

You will work with the Registered Manager and assessment team, contribute to court-directed assessments, produce evidence-based reports, and liaise with Local Authorities and other professionals to ensure safeguarding remains central.

Qualifications

• Hold a recognised Social Work qualification (Degree, DipSW, CQSW, or equivalent).
• Be fully registered with Social Work England.
• Have a minimum of 5 years post-qualification Social Work experience.
• Demonstrate excellent analytical, assessment, and report-writing skills.
• Strong understanding of safeguarding, child development, attachment, and child protection practice.
• Hold a full UK driving licence and have access to a vehicle.

Responsibilities

• Undertaking comprehensive parenting and family assessments.
• Observing, analysing, and evaluating parent-child interactions.
• Assessing parenting capacity and ability to meet children's needs.
• Working directly with families throughout the assessment process.
• Producing detailed, analytical, and evidence-based reports and recommendations.
• Liaising effectively with Local Authorities, Children's Guardians, Solicitors, and other professionals.
• Attending professional meetings and court proceedings where required.
• Promoting safeguarding and ensuring the welfare of children remains central to all assessment work.

Skills

Social Work qualification

Social Work England registration

5+ years experience

Report writing

Safeguarding knowledge

Court familiarity

Education

Social Work qualification (Degree/DipSW/CQSW)

Job description

Senior Social Worker

Compassionate Children's Care - Family Assessment Centre

Location: Blackburn, BB1 Hours: 37.5 hours per week Salary: £47,500 - £55,000 per annum

About Us

Compassionate Children's Care is recruiting an experienced and highly motivated Social Worker to join our new Family Assessment Centre in Blackburn.

Our purpose-built Family Assessment Centre has been developed to an exceptional standard and will provide a safe, nurturing, and professional environment for families undergoing residential assessments. This flagship service forms part of our well-established organisation, which operates successful Ofsted-regulated services and has built an excellent reputation for delivering positive outcomes for children and families.

This is an exciting opportunity to become part of a high-quality service from the outset and play a key role in assessing families and informing life-changing decisions for children.

The Role

As the in-house Social Worker, you will undertake comprehensive parenting and family assessments, typically completed over a 12-week period, within a residential assessment setting.

Working closely with the Registered Manager and wider assessment team, you will contribute to court-directed assessments, provide professional analysis, and produce high-quality, evidence-based reports to support decision-making and achieve the best possible outcomes for children.

Key responsibilities include:

• Undertaking comprehensive parenting and family assessments.
• Observing, analysing, and evaluating parent-child interactions.
• Assessing parenting capacity and ability to meet children's needs.
• Working directly with families throughout the assessment process.
• Supporting the Registered Manager with court-ordered assessments and report writing.
• Producing detailed, analytical, and evidence-based reports and recommendations.
• Liaising effectively with Local Authorities, Children's Guardians, Solicitors, and other professionals.
• Attending professional meetings and court proceedings where required.
• Promoting safeguarding and ensuring the welfare of children remains central to all assessment work.

Essential Criteria

Applicants must:

• Hold a recognised Social Work qualification (Degree, DipSW, CQSW, or equivalent).
• Be fully registered with Social Work England.
• Have a minimum of 5 years post-qualification Social Work experience.
• Have significant experience working with children and families.
• Have experience of completing assessments and producing high-quality reports.
• Demonstrate excellent analytical, assessment, and report-writing skills.
• Possess a strong understanding of safeguarding, child development, attachment, and child protection practice.
• Be able to confidently present evidence-based recommendations to partner agencies and the courts.
• Hold a full UK driving licence and have access to a vehicle.

Desirable Criteria

• Previous experience within a Family Assessment Centre.
• Experience of court work and court-directed assessments.
• Experience of parenting assessments and parenting capacity assessments.
• Experience working within residential family settings.