Social Worker

Brackenberry; Liverpool; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A social services agency in Liverpool is seeking a qualified Social Worker for their Family Help team. The role involves providing intensive support and intervention to vulnerable children and families to prevent family crises. Candidates must hold a recognized social work qualification and be registered with Social Work England. Responsibilities include managing complex cases, conducting assessments, and maintaining detailed records. This position is crucial in helping families maintain stability and avoid statutory interventions. Immediate availability is preferred.

Qualifications

• Must hold a recognized Social Work qualification.
• Current and valid registration with Social Work England required.
• Post-qualifying experience in statutory children's social care is essential.

Responsibilities

• Provide direct, intensive, and outcome-focused social work intervention.
• Hold professional responsibility for complex cases at risk of significant harm.
• Undertake comprehensive social work assessments and lead Family Help plans.
• Maintain accurate case management records in line with statutory guidance.
• Engage in professional supervision and maintain Continuous Professional Development.

Skills

Experience in statutory children's social care

Direct intervention with families

Knowledge of Children Act 1989

Education

Recognised professional Social Work qualification

Job description

Rate of Pay

£28.02 - £38.00 per hour

Summary

The Social Worker in the Family Help team provides intensive, targeted, and therapeutic support to vulnerable children and young people and their families. The primary purpose of this role is to prevent family breakdown and the escalation of cases to statutory assessment teams (i.e., those on the cusp of, or meeting the threshold for, Level of Need 4 (LON4) / Children in Need (Section 17) intervention). The postholder will manage a complex caseload, offering a robust, wraparound service to families experiencing multiple challenges such as kinship care breakdown risk, neglect, domestic abuse, and parental mental health/substance misuse issues, with a clear focus on repairing relationships and maintaining family stability.

Responsibilities

• Provide direct, intensive, and outcome-focused social work intervention to children, young people, and their families, with the goal of stabilising kinship and family care arrangements.
• Hold professional responsibility for complex cases where children are identified as being at risk of significant harm (LON4 cusp). Implement and review robust safety plans to reduce risk and prevent the escalation of families into the statutory safeguarding system.
• Undertake comprehensive social work assessments and lead the development, implementation, and review of multi‑agency Family Help/Early Help plans (such as the Team Around the Family approach).
• Maintain meticulous, accurate, and timely records on the electronic case management system, ensuring a clear audit trail of professional judgment, analysis, and decision‑making, in line with statutory guidance, policy, and Social Work England standards.
• Engage in regular professional supervision and maintain Continuous Professional Development (CPD) to ensure practice is informed by the latest research, legislation, and best practice, particularly concerning therapeutic interventions and managing complex family dynamics.

Qualifications

• A recognised professional Social Work qualification (e.g., BA Hons in Social Work, MA/MSc in Social Work, or a recognised equivalent such as DipSW).
• Current and valid registration with Social Work England (SWE) is mandatory.

Essentials

• Demonstrable post‑qualifying experience of working within a statutory childrens social care setting (e.g., Assessment, Safeguarding, or Looked After Children teams).
• Direct experience in providing intervention and support to children and families within kinship or family care arrangements, and mitigating the risk of placement breakdown.
• Experience in delivering intensive, time‑limited, and direct work with families to achieve measurable change, focusing on relationship repair and building parental capacity.
• Expert knowledge of the relevant legal frameworks, including the Children Act 1989 and its application to children on the cusp of statutory intervention.

Please note

• You should be available to work immediately or at short notice.
• You should have right to work in U.K.
• This role requires an Enhanced DBS.

Disclaimer

Brackenberry Ltd is acting as an Employment Business in relation to this vacancy. We are committed to equality in the workplace and are an equal opportunity employer. Unless otherwise stated all of our roles are temporary, though opening assignments can be and often are, extended by clients on a longer term basis and can sometimes become permanent.

Important

We will interpret your application as being permission to submit your CV to this role (with the right to represent you) unless you advise us to the contrary. In case the role requires an enhanced DBS, your DBS must be either through us or be accompanied by a subscription to the DBS updating service.

#OR19200