Social Worker, Connecting Families Team

Durham County Council; North East; Hybrid; GBP 30,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

Join a dedicated team supporting families in Durham as a Social Worker. You will assist in the reunification of children with their families and ensure effective exit plans are in place. This supportive role is ideal for recent graduates looking to start their career in social work.

Benefits

27 days holiday, increasing to 32 days

Hybrid working options

Comprehensive training and development

Life Work balance initiatives

Qualifications

• Degree or equivalent qualification in social work.
• Successful completion of the ASYE.
• Current registration with Social Work England.

Responsibilities

• Support families to formulate exit plans for reunification.
• Complete discharge statements to support court applications.
• Engage with children to understand their views and ensure care.

Skills

Communication

Relationship-building

Assessment writing

Education

Degree in social work

Current Social Work England Registration

ASYE completion

Job description

Connecting families are a team within the Children in Care service in Durham. The team support families of children who are subject to a Section 31 Care Order. The team’s primary focus is on safely reconnecting children with their parents or birth family. Reunification involves more than simply returning a child to their parents, it requires support to make this successful. Our team work alongside Family Group Conferencing, Supporting Solutions, Connected Care and Early Help to strengthen support we offer to families, with the child at the heart of everything we do.

We are looking for a social worker who has completed their assessed and supported year in employment to join our Children in Care teams.

In this role you will work with children and young people aged 0 – 18 who are in our care, where it is viable for them to return home to their birth family.

If you have recently qualified and are looking to start your social work career in Durham we would still love to hear from you. Please contact one of our Social Work Academy practice leads Jane Farrell or Gladys Mante-Nyadu to discuss the opportunities available to you .You can contact Jane by e-mail at [e-mail], or by telephone on 07582665535, and Gladys by e-mail [e-mail], or by telephone on 03000 266172.

In March 2025, Durham Children's Service's was rated Outstanding by Ofsted. "Social workers told inspectors that Durham is a great place to work. Their words and actions convey a sense of belonging, and they view Durham as their employer of choice". They further added that "Senior and political leaders in Durham are ambitious, purposeful and influential. They are unrelenting in their pursuit of doing what is right for children and families, resulting in consistent improvements and the delivery of high-quality services for children and families".

WHAT IS INVOLVED?
We are a dedicated team in supporting families to overcome issues so that children can safely return home and statutory involvement can end, allowing children to live with their families. This role requires the Social Worker to work closely with families to formulate appropriate exit plans for children resulting in applications being made to court to discharge the Care Order and to formally end a family’s involvement with Children’s Services. The role requires the Social Worker to complete discharge statements to court, however, these statements evidence the good progress that families have made since the original care proceedings concluded and are positive statements to write.

We are looking for passionate workers, who are skilled in writing timely assessments of a high standard that will be filed to court and who demonstrate excellent communication skills and are driven by relationship-based practice which highlights the importance of fully involving families in the decisions that are made in relation to their children.

We are a small, nurturing team and we ensure Social Workers feel supported and valued by their management team and this in turn helps us achieve our goal to enable our children and young people to return home to their families.

Relationships with children and their families will be very important to you. You will spend quality time with children in our care, understanding their views and their life events. You will take a trauma informed approach, supporting the child to understand and recover from what has happened.

Your work will be informed by the Signs of Safety framework which will support you to take a strength-based approach and work towards the goals of the child and their family.

We encourage you to contact the Team Manager, Emma Atkinson via email at [e-mail] to arrange an informal discussion about the role.

HOW WILL I BE SUPPORTED?
We are passionate about social work in County Durham. We are committed to providing a culture where good practice can flourish. We ensure our social workers are highly supported and encourage flexible working to achieve a good work-life balance.

You will benefit from a range of training opportunities and professional development through personalised induction, professional supervision, and mentoring.

Take a closer look: https://www.durham.gov.uk/childrenssocialwork

WHAT WILL I NEED?

• Degree in social work or equivalent social work qualification, e.g. Post Graduate Diploma in Social Work (PDDipSW) Certificate of Qualification in Social Work (CQSW), Diploma in Social Work (DipSW), Certificate in Social Services (CSS)
• Current Social Work England Registration
• Successful completion of the Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE)

Please refer to the attached person specification for the full criteria.

If successful, you will be required to apply for a Disclosure and Barring Service Enhanced Disclosure.

REWARDS AND BENEFITS
We offer generous rewards and benefits that are designed to help you perform at your best:

• Competitive salaries and 27 days holiday per year rising to 32 days after five years continuous local government service.
• Option to purchase up to 10 additional days annual leave per year.
• Excellent work/life balance through schemes including job sharing, compressed hours and flexi-time (allowing up to 13 flexi days per year).
• Hybrid working (home and office working).
• Excellent contributory career average Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS). Plus, top up options - Salary Sacrifice Shared Cost AVC scheme and standard AVC scheme for members of the LGPS.
• Wellbeing Portal and access to an Employee Assist Scheme.
• Wide range of learning and development opportunities including professional qualifications, coaching and mentoring.
• Employee Benefits Portal and Lifestyle Savings Scheme (discounts across a host of major retailers).
• Discounted DCC gym membership.
• Staff networks run by staff for our staff, including Race Equality and Diversity, Disability, LGBT+, Armed Forces, Carers, Menopause.
• Trade Union membership.
• A range of other salary sacrifice schemes such as car leasing.

Rewards and benefits are subject to individual terms and conditions. Take a closer look: https://www.durham.gov.uk/article/26895/Rewards-and-benefits

HYBRID WORKING
Durham County Council currently operates a hybrid working policy where a model of 2 days in the workplace and 3 days at home/remote will apply. This model is pro-rated for part time roles and arrangements are at managers discretion, alternatively you can work all of your contracted hours within the workplace if you prefer.

EQUALITY, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION
We are a proud equal opportunities employer and recognise that a diverse, talented workforce brings new ideas and new perspectives, which will facilitate growth and improvements to services.

We are committed to ensuring that our employment policies and processes are fair and equitable to all. We welcome job applications from everyone, and successful candidates are considered only on their skills and ability to do the job.

As a Disability Confident Leader, we encourage applications from disabled people and provide support throughout the recruitment process.

Take a closer look: https://www.durham.gov.uk/article/26899/Equality-diversity-and-inclusion-in-our-workforce

INTERVIEWS
Interviews will be held on 23rd July 2025.

We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants that can show they meet all the essential criteria and have indicated they have a disability, are a looked after young person, care leaver or a veteran.

HOW TO APPLY
In line with the County Council's Recruitment and Selection Policy, please note that we are unable to accept CVs. Applications must be submitted on-line via the Northeast Jobs portal.

Please use the ‘Person Specification’ section of your application form to demonstrate that you have the essential and where possible, desirable experience, skills, and knowledge. Candidates who do not evidence that they meet the essential qualifications and experience listed on the person specification will not be short-listed.

If you have any support needs or require assistance when applying for this role, please contact our Recruitment Helpdesk on 03000 26 27 27 (option 2), or the Recruitment Team via email at [e-mail]

We collect personal information from you when you register with North East Jobs and make an application. Details on how we process your personal data is available in our Privacy Notice. https://www.durham.gov.uk/media/24645/Privacy-notice-human-resources/pdf/PrivacyNotice-HR.pdf

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