Social Worker Fostering

Durham County Council; Seaham; Hybrid; GBP 28,000 - 35,000; Full time

Job summary

A local government authority in Seaham is looking for an experienced social worker to join their Connected Carers team. The role involves assessing new carers, supervising existing ones, and ensuring they have the necessary support and training. Candidates should have a qualification in social work and experience with children and families. A competitive rewards package is offered, including hybrid working opportunities.

Benefits

Attractive salary

Generous annual leave

Local Government Pension Scheme

Flexible working arrangements

Qualifications

• Experience working with children, young people, and families required.
• Experience in analysis and assessment.
• Ability to build positive relationships.

Responsibilities

• Assess new Connected Carers and provide advice.
• Supervise existing Connected Carers.
• Discuss training opportunities with Carers.

Skills

Communication

Assessment & Analysis

Building Relationships

Education

Social Worker Qualification

Job description

Overview

Are you an experienced social worker passionate about supporting children to remain within their family networks?

We are looking for a social worker for our growing Connected Carers team. This might be the right role for you!

What is involved?

You will assess new Connected Carers, and offer advice and supervision to existing Connected Carers, as well as discuss potential training opportunities, ensuring they have the support they need to care for the children who live with them.

What guides our practice?

Our practice is driven by our belief that Connected Carers play a unique role in enabling children to remain with people they know and trust if they cannot, for whatever reason, live with their parents. We are supported in our work by our how we practice in Durham guide and the Kinship Care Statutory Guidance. Our practice model helps us to slow down our thinking so that robust evidence-based assessment and analysis guides our practice, and Liquid Logic supports our work.

You will be joining us at a fantastic time. Inspectors have just judged our Children’s Services as outstanding and 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. You can read the full report here. Take a closer look at social work in County Durham on our website.

We encourage you to contact one of our Team Managers - Angela Wright or Clare Bromham to arrange an informal discussion about the role. Angela can be contacted by e-mail at [e-mail] and Clare can be contacted by e-mail at [e-mail].

What will I need?

To apply for this role you will:

• Be an social worker with experience of work with children, young people and families.
• Have experience of analysis, assessment and building respectful partnerships.
• Be a wonderful communicator with experience of building positive relationships with children, young people and families.

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.

Interviews

Interviews are expected to be held week commencing 3 November 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.

Our offer to you

We offer a competitive rewards package that includes attractive salaries, a generous annual leave entitlement of 27 days (rising to 32 after five years’ continuous local government service), membership of the excellent contributory career average Local Government Pension Scheme, and a range of flexible working arrangements including hybrid working (home and office) where applicable. Explore the full range of rewards and benefits on our website. Rewards and benefits are subject to individual terms and conditions.

Removal and Lodgings

Removal, lodging and separation expenses may be available to the successful candidate if at the time of application for appointment their place of residence is outside the administrative area of County Durham and more than 30 miles in a straight line from their new administrative centre, along with several other criteria for eligibility.

Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion

We are a proud equal opportunities employer and believe a diverse workforce brings fresh ideas and drives service improvement. We welcome applications from everyone and make employment decisions based on skills and ability. As a Disability Confident Leader, we actively encourage applications from disabled people and offer support throughout the recruitment process.

How to apply

Please note, we do not accept CVs. All applications must be submitted online via the Northeast Jobs portal. Use the Person Specification section of the form to clearly demonstrate how you meet the essential criteria. Applications that do not evidence the essential requirements will not be shortlisted. For guidance on completing your application, visit our website.

If you require assistance when applying for this role, please contact our Recruitment Helpdesk on 03000 26 27 27, or via email [e-mail].

All correspondence relating to your application will be sent from [e-mail]. Kindly check your spam/junk folder regularly to ensure you don’t miss any updates.

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