Social Worker - Children Service in North East

Join an Outstanding Children’s Service and Help Shape the Future of Family Help in Darlington. Are you a passionate and motivated Social Worker, whether newly qualified or experienced, who is committed to achieving the very best outcomes for children and families? If so, we would love to hear from you.

Darlington Children’s Services is proud to be rated ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted. We are ambitious about the future and excited about the next stage of our journey as we continue to develop and innovate our services for children and families.

What Ofsted said about us: "Inspectors found a resilient and committed workforce with strong morale and a shared commitment to improving children’s lives. Some staff told inspectors how much they love working in Darlington. Staff value the high level of support they receive, including creative development opportunities and initiatives such as the Experts in Practice programme, which has positively influenced practice and reflects leaders’ ambition for continuous professional growth."

We are looking for enthusiastic, energetic and forward-thinking individuals who want to be part of this exciting next chapter. You will play a key role in developing and embedding relational practice, strengthening local networks and community capacity, and helping us deliver innovative approaches that make a real difference to children and families.

This is a particularly exciting time to join Darlington. We are making strong progress in delivering the Families First reforms, providing opportunities to be involved in pioneering approaches and helping to shape the future of family help and support services.

We are committed to supporting our workforce and offer an agile working model across our services. This approach enables colleagues to achieve a healthy balance between home and office working while ensuring children and families continue to receive the highest quality support.

Come and be part of a service where relationships matter, innovation is encouraged, and together we can make a lasting difference to children’s lives.

The rewards for working at Darlington Borough Council go beyond the salary you will receive; we have numerous additional benefits such as:

• 32 days Annual Leave, plus Bank Holidays, with option to purchase additional Annual Leave (pro-rata for part time working)
• Access to the Local Government Pension Scheme with option to make Additional Voluntary Contributions
• Generous Maternity, Paternity and Adoption Leave schemes
• Staff equality forums
• Green Car Leasing Scheme
• Access to a wide range of training, learning and development
• Physiotherapy service
• Confidential counselling service
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Dolphin Centre Fit for Life Discounts
• Local and National retailer discounts
• Vivup employee benefit app and Lifestyle Savings
• Arriva Employee Travel Club

This post is eligible for the Social Worker Recruitment and Retention payment paid annually to Social Workers with a minimum of one year's post qualifying experience in a Social Worker role who have successfully completed their ASYE year (if applicable). The payment is currently £2,500 per annum (pro-rata for part time hours, reviewed annually).

If you would like an informal discussion about the role, please contact Suzanne Nelson Service Manager on 01325 405663.

You must ensure that anything submitted in your application is factually accurate. Plagiarism can include presenting the ideas and experience of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own. Whilst we accept candidates may use AI tools within job applications; submissions must be truthful and relevant to your own experience.

We are an equal opportunities' employer. We welcome applicants from all sections of the community. We aim to interview any applicant who declares a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job.