Qualified Children's Social Worker in Essex

We are offering a £4,000 ‘Professional Joining Incentive’ if you successfully join one of our Work To First Hearing teams covering Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk. At Cafcass, we’re recruiting Children’s Social Workers who share our passion, commitment and ambition to facilitate positive outcomes for children involved in private and public law family court proceedings.

Our Social Workers - professionally known as Family Court Advisers (FCAs) - play a vital role. Working in a Private Law team, where there is disagreement on the best arrangements for the welfare of the child(ren) involved, they speak on behalf of children and young people to ensure their thoughts, wishes and feelings are not just understood but heard. FCAs can make recommendations leading to lasting change for children and families, which is why this is a responsibility we take seriously. We’re committed to creating a safe, healthy and supportive environment for our colleagues to practice.

What you’ll be doing

As a FCA in our Work to First Hearing team, Private Law, you will play a key role in ensuring Cafcass only intervenes in the lives of those children who need a service. This role is fast-paced, draws on Child Protection expertise and requires analytical and effective risk assessment to identify key issues for the court and make safe recommendations in the best interests of the child. You will predominantly achieve this through effective telephone interviews with applicants and respondents and by assessing information received from other agencies. You will then collate this to allow you to succinctly and expertly communicate advice in the court through clear, evidence-based reports and representations, which will occasionally mean attending initial Court Hearings to ensure that children remain central to all decision making.

Who we’re looking for:

We’re looking for practitioners who are confident, curious, compassionate and committed to excellent social work practice. To join us, you’ll need:

• A Social Work qualification is essential.
• Have the Right to Work in the UK (we don’t sponsor people to work in the UK).
• Registered with Social Work England (or likely to be able to register quickly if practising outside England).
• Recent, relevant experience of working directly with children and families.
• It’s desirable you’ll have experience in family court proceedings, or knowledge of Private and/or Public Law.
• For applicants with limited post-qualifying experience, relevant pre-qualifying experience supporting children and families may be beneficial.
• Strong organisational skills, professional resilience and the ability to work independently while effectively managing a varied caseload.

You can view the full job description in the vacancy documents.

Where you’ll work

Our Social Workers work flexibly across multiple settings - including the offices in Chelmsford or Norwich, home, courts, schools and other appropriate, safe locations, and we ensure you have the technology to do this. Shared learning is very important to us, and we bring our teams together regularly, both remotely and in-person, for team meetings and group supervision, which creates space to connect with peers and managers, reflect on practice, and feel supported. You’ll also have regular 1:1 time with your manager, especially during your induction, and again there will be a balance between doing this remotely and in-person, so you have opportunities to form in-person connections.

If shortlisted, the hiring manager will be able to give you more insight into what a typical week or month might look like should you join us.

How we support you

As the largest employer of Children’s Social Workers in England, we’re uniquely placed to support your professional growth and wellbeing. At Cafcass, you’ll benefit from:

• High-quality equipment and technology to help you work efficiently and engage with families effectively.
• Access to specialist resources, guidance and training to strengthen your practice.
• A strong commitment to wellbeing, reflective supervision and healthy work-life balance.
• An inclusive environment that values diversity, encourages learning and constantly strives to improve outcomes for children, families and colleagues alike.

You can find more about how we support our practitioners on our website, and we’ll share more during the selection process. Successful applicants will complete several pre-engagement checks, including a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. If any criminal offences are disclosed, we will conduct an individual assessment in line with the DBS code of practice and the Cafcass DBS policy.