Qualified Children's Social Worker - Child focused courts in Hereford

Location: Engaging directly with children and families in Worcester and Hereford with a contractual base in Birmingham.

Salary: £45,749 - £49,886 + £4,000 joining incentive.

A once-in-a-generation opportunity to practice social work differently. Family justice is changing, and Cafcass is at the heart of that change. With the national rollout of Child Focused Courts, we are leading a transformation in how children's voices are heard and how decisions are made in family proceedings. Child Focused Courts place children's safety, wellbeing and lived experience at the centre of decision-making from the very start of proceedings. This problem-solving, less adversarial approach allows decisions to be informed earlier by a clear understanding of children’s experiences, including through the preparation of Child Impact Reports.

Role at a glance:

• Undertake direct work with children and families involved in family court proceedings.
• Ensure children’s voices are heard clearly and influence judicial decision‑making.
• Collaborate closely with judges, legal professionals and partner agencies.
• Practise social work that is purposeful, evidence‑informed and values‑led.

Many practitioners involved in early Child Focused Court pilots describe this way of working as professionally rewarding, aligned with core social work values, and genuinely impactful for children.

What you will do:

• Conduct high‑quality assessments that focus on Children’s lived experience, safety and wellbeing.
• Engage directly with children, ensuring their views, wishes and feelings are understood and represented.
• Prepare clear, analytical reports for the family court, including contributions to Child Impact Reports.
• Apply robust risk assessment and mediation skills to support child‑focused decision‑making.
• Work effectively across private law proceedings, with a strong understanding of public law context.
• Manage your caseload independently while contributing to a supportive, learning‑focused team environment.

Qualifications:

• A recognised Social Work qualification.
• To be registered with Social Work England.
• An understanding of family court processes and private and/or public law.
• Strong analytical, organisational and communication skills.
• Resilience, professional curiosity and confidence in working independently.

The resources, equipment and flexibility needed to work effectively, connect with children and your colleagues.

Inclusion and belonging:

Cafcass is committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce that reflects the children and families we serve. We welcome applications from individuals from all backgrounds and value professional diversity, lived experience and different career pathways.

We are Cafcass - the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service - and we represent children in family court cases in England. Independently advising the family courts about what is safe for children and in their best interests, we speak up for over 130,000 children each year when the family court makes critical decisions about their futures, ensuring their needs, wishes and feelings are heard.

If our purpose resonates with you, and you share our ambitions for children - exceptional experiences, for every child, everywhere and every time - then if you join us, you will work alongside like‑minded people in a diverse, inclusive and supportive organisation.

Wellbeing:

The wellbeing of our colleagues is something we are truly passionate about, as demonstrated by everyone having four dedicated, additional days per year when they are encouraged to spend time focusing on their health and wellbeing. Colleagues can also have a health and wellbeing cash plan, for which Cafcass pays the basic premium, allowing them to claim back some costs of routine health expenses, including dental check‑ups, eye tests, physiotherapy sessions and more.

This is led by a dedicated in‑house team, the benefits of which include meaning support is targeted and specific to what colleagues need. Our team can also offer support and guidance when it comes to specific health conditions, such as neuro‑diverse conditions, cancer and the menopause. Our wellbeing offer is further strengthened by an external Employee Assistance Provider (EAP) which provides a free confidential support service 24 hours a day.

Diversity:

We represent children and families from diverse backgrounds and having a diverse workforce helps us to fulfil this responsibility authentically. It also helps us to grow, evolve and innovate, so we particularly welcome applications from individuals from diverse backgrounds as we strive to ensure our workforce reflects the diversity of the children and families we work with.

Our Diversity Networks provide a safe space for colleagues with shared aspects of identity and lived experience - supported by allies across the organisation. The networks help ensure we provide an inclusive working environment and a service which promotes the diversity and uniqueness of children and families from all backgrounds.

Why work for Cafcass?

At Cafcass, you will be supported to do your best work for children. We offer:

• Opportunities to contribute to nationally significant reform in family justice.
• Strong professional supervision and reflective practice.
• Access to learning from ongoing Child Focused Court pilots and national rollout activity.
• A competitive salary and Local Government pension.
• Generous annual leave and wellbeing support.

This list is just a selection of main benefits and we have a range of policies and processes that allow us to support our colleagues - and their families.