Senior Social Worker - Court Team

Buckinghamshire Council; Aylesbury; On-site; GBP 42,000 - 56,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Market premium

Golden Hello

Flexible working

Health & wellbeing

Pension (LGPS)

Discounts

Free parking

Job summary

Buckinghamshire Council is seeking a Senior Social Worker for the Court Team. You will apply your experience from Child Protection or Court settings to gather evidence, write reports, and collaborate with multiple agencies to safeguard children.

You will work with children and families, ensuring the child’s voice is heard while giving oral evidence when required. The role offers opportunities for supervision, training, and career development within a supportive team.

Qualifications

• Qualified social worker registered with Social Work England.
• Experience in Child Protection or Court teams.
• Strong written skills and experience giving oral evidence in court.
• Ability to manage varied, complex cases and work with multiple teams.

Responsibilities

• Gather evidence and write clear court-ready reports for care proceedings.
• Provide oral evidence in court as required, standing up for the child’s voice.
• Work with children, families, schools and professionals to meet each child’s needs.
• Support and supervise colleagues, contributing to team improvement and learning.

Skills

Child protection experience

Court experience

Multi-agency working

Education

Social Work England registered

Job description

Overview

Senior Social Worker in our Court team. To make a great Social Worker in our Court Team, you’ll bring your experience and knowledge from working in a similar environment within a Child Protection or Court team. You will work closely with colleagues from various teams and build positive links between your team and other parts of the service to ensure effective multi-professional working.

Overview

Are you passionate about improving the lives of children and young people? Do you want to work for an employer who places major importance on high quality supervision, wellbeing and career development? At Buckinghamshire Council we have an opportunity for a high calibre, experienced Senior Social Worker in our Court team. To make a great Social Worker in our Court Team, you’ll bring your experience and knowledge from working in a similar environment within a Child Protection or Court team. You will work closely with colleagues from various teams and build positive links between your team and other parts of the service to ensure effective multi-professional working. As a children’s social worker at Buckinghamshire Council, you’ll have the incredible opportunity to shape futures and create lasting positive memories. Your role will be more than a job, it’ll be a chance to be a friend, mentor and advocate. You’ll work closely with children, families, schools, and other professionals to ensure that every child’s unique needs are met. Your empathy, patience and dedication will be the driving force behind meaningful change in their lives.

“I’ve worked at four local authorities, and this has been the most positive experience for me. My team is well-structured, supportive, and knowledgeable - I feel very lucky to be working with such great and professional colleagues.” – Terri, Social Worker – Court Team

In addition to the salary advertised you will receive a market premium of £2,750 per annum.

We also offer a Golden Hello payment of £2,125 after one years service (for external candidates only).

Take a look at our Childrens Social Care Candidate Pack to find out more.

About The Role

Our supportive Head of Service has an ambition for the Court Team to become a centre of excellence for all care proceedings work. For this to be achieved we are now looking for skilled and experienced practitioners who know what good looks like in terms of evidence gathering and writing. Strong written skills coupled with experience in taking the stand and giving oral evidence, successful candidates will join an already strong and improving team to tackle some of the challenges ahead. With a diverse population, work is often complex and varied also providing an excellent training ground for the right candidates wanting to take the next step. This challenging but rewarding role will see you working directly with children and young people ensuring that the voice of the child is always heard and listened to.

About You

Please see attached job description for more information. To make a great Social Worker in our Court Team, the ideal candidate will possess highly developed specialist knowledge of social work practice with children and families and be a qualified social worker registered with Social Work England. We offer manageable caseloads, agile working, and access to comprehensive training and reflective supervision. Most importantly you will share our dedication and passion to improve the lives of children and young people. In these busy, fast paced teams, you’ll get on best if you are flexible and able to work well under pressure. For a full list of responsibilities please see attached job description.

Other information

If you would like to find out more about this role, please contact Catherine Kingsman at [email protected]

Closing date

Midnight on Sunday 11th October 2026.

We reserve the right to close the vacancy once we have received sufficient applications, so please be advised to submit your application as early as possible.

Buckinghamshire Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults at risk. This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore applicants are required to declare:

• All unspent cautions and convictions cautions
• All adult cautions and spent convictions that are not protected (i.e. that are not filtered out) as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2020).

For further information on filtering please refer to Nacro guidance, the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) guidance or Ministry of Justice (MOJ) guidance (see, in particular, the section titled ‘Exceptions Order’).

Our values

We have a set of values, which our employees have chosen, that represent what we are – Proud, Ambitious, Collaborative and Trustworthy.

By joining Buckinghamshire Council, you can expect:

• a fair and inclusive culture
• the chance to really make a difference to those around you
• health and well-being initiatives including an Employee Assistance Programme, Mental Health First Aiders and mindfulness workshops
• a unified voice through our Employee Representative Group
• ongoing support, and the opportunity to develop and progress in your career with us
• opportunities to take part in fun activities such as fundraising and social events

At Buckinghamshire Council, we know that our biggest strength comes from the people that work for us, and that’s why we’re working hard to ensure we continue to be an accessible and inclusive organisation. From dedicated staff networks overseen by our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Steering Group, to proudly standing as a Disability Confident employer, it’s important to us that all our colleagues feel engaged, listened to, and valued. Our offer of flexible working empowers a productive and happy workforce and allows employees to combine work with other responsibilities and commitments. We believe our workforce should reflect the diverse communities we service in Buckinghamshire, and are looking for like-minded individuals to join us in promoting equality, fairness, and inclusion for everyone.

We recognise and reward you

Hard work and success deserves recognition. That’s why we pride ourselves on the benefits we give our people. We actively encourage a good work-life balance and promote flexible and agile working arrangements.

We provide discounts on various Cafés, restaurants and shops, a generous employer pension contribution in line with the Local Government Pension Scheme, discounts on gym memberships and more - https://jobs.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/working-buckinghamshire-council/

Social Workers are also entitled to a generous enhanced reward package, as follows:

• Competitive salary with a market increment
• A ‘Golden Hello’ lump sum payment upon successful completion of probation
• Annual leave up to 30 days per year, as well as other types of leave and the opportunity to buy further leave
• Up to 15 days per year training, learning and development offerFree parking across all of our office sites

If you are interested in relocating to Buckinghamshire and working with us, relocation packages are also available.