Children's Social Worker - Allocation Hub in Reading

At Cafcass, we’re recruiting Children’s Social Workers professionally known as Family Court Advisers (FCAs) who share our passion, commitment and ambition to facilitate positive outcomes for children involved in private and public law family court proceedings. This role is within the Allocation Hub. The Allocation Hub maintains safe oversight of our work for children and families prior to allocating a Family Court Advisor (FCA), or when our report to court for children has been completed but there is no court hearing listed within 6 weeks. Whatever the team you join, the underlying role is the same – to speak on behalf of children and young people to ensure their thoughts, wishes and feelings are not just understood but heard. As the only organisation that does this kind of work, FCAs can make recommendations leading to lasting change for children and families, which is why this responsibility is taken seriously. We’re committed to creating a safe, healthy and supportive environment for our colleagues to practice.

What you’ll be doing

• Complete high-quality assessments, engaging directly with children to understand their experiences, wishes and feelings — and ensure these are clearly and powerfully represented to the family court.
• Manage tight deadlines and prioritise incoming cases, rapid case screening and allocation management.
• Apply your expertise in risk assessment, analysis and mediation, advocating for solutions that place the child’s safety, wellbeing and long-term interests at the centre of decision-making.
• Work with adults, local authorities, and a wide range of professionals to help resolve complex issues and influence better outcomes for children.

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.
• Strong organisational skills, professional resilience and the ability to work independently while effectively managing a varied caseload.

Where you’ll work

Our Social Workers work flexibly across multiple settings including the offices in either Bristol, Swindon, Reading or Oxford, home 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.

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.

Next steps

Below we have set out an indicative timetable we are hoping to work towards, although dates are subject to change.

• Closing date: 31st May 2026
• Telephone interviews: 2nd & 5th June 2026
• Final Interview: 9th & 12th June 2026

If you have any questions about the role or recruitment process, please contact kiera.manuel@cafcass.gov.uk. Before applying, we encourage you to read about our offer and pre-employment checks. Any questions or concerns can be confidentially raised through your application. Successful applicants will complete several pre-engagement checks, including a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.

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. Overall, we foster a holistic approach to supporting our colleagues, benefitting physical, mental and financial health.

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.

Together

‘Together with Children and Families’ (which we just call ‘Together’) is the name of our relationship-based practice framework. It applies to the work of every individual in Cafcass, from Social Workers to Leaders and includes our Corporate and Business Support teams. It is at the heart of what we do and is made up of our values, how these values work in practice, the tools to use to incorporate these values in our work and the impact this will have on the children and families we serve.

Benefits

We know if you join us you want to be rewarded in a variety of ways, including time away from work to spend time with those important to you, manage your financial present and future, whilst also being trusted to manage your work/life balance. Therefore, in addition to our unique, holistic approach to supporting your health and wellbeing we also provide:

• Generous holidays: 28 days holiday (including three for Christmas) rising to 33 days with five years continuous service.
• Excellent pension: 13.7% employer contribution to Local Government Pension scheme.
• Flexible working: Most colleagues work in a hybrid way, having the benefits of working both from the office and home.
• Exclusive discounts: Generous discounts with a wide range of companies covering leisure, technology, travel, personal finance, fashion and supermarkets.
• Professional fees: Social work colleagues have their annual Social Work England membership fees reimbursed.
• Car leasing schemes: We offer a personal car leasing scheme which provides vehicles at competitive rates through a third party.