Social Worker - Connecting Families in North East

Connecting families is a team within the Children in Care service in Durham. The team supports families of children who are subject to a Section 31 Care Order. The team’s primary focus is on safely reconnecting children with their parents or birth family. Reunification involves more than simply returning a child to their parents – it requires support to make this successful. Our team works alongside Family Group Conferencing, Supporting Solutions, Connected Care and Early Help to strengthen the support we offer to families, with the child at the heart of everything we do.

We are looking for a social worker who has completed their assessed and supported year in employment to join our Children in Care teams. In this role you will work with children and young people aged 0–18 who are in our care and are viable for return home to their birth family. If you have recently qualified and are looking to start your social work career in Durham we would still love to hear from you.

In March 2025 Durham Children’s Service was rated Outstanding by Ofsted. 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. They further added that Senior and political leaders in Durham are ambitious, purposeful and influential. They are unrelenting in their pursuit of doing what is right for children and families, resulting in consistent improvements and the delivery of high‑quality services for children and families.

We are a dedicated team supporting families to overcome issues so that children can safely return home and statutory involvement can end. This role requires the social worker to work closely with families to formulate appropriate exit plans for children, resulting in applications to court to discharge the Care Order and to formally end a family’s involvement with Children’s Services. The social worker must complete discharge statements to court; these statements provide evidence of the good progress families have made since the original care proceedings concluded and are positive statements to write.

We are looking for passionate workers skilled in writing timely assessments of a high standard that will be filed to court, who demonstrate excellent communication skills, and who are driven by relationship‑based practice which highlights the importance of fully involving families in decisions that relate to their children. We are a small, nurturing team that ensures social workers feel supported and valued by their management team, which helps us achieve our goal of enabling children and young people to return home to their families. Relationships with children and their families will be very important to you. You will spend quality time with children in our care, understanding their views and life events. You will take a trauma‑informed approach, supporting the child to understand and recover from what has happened. Your work will be informed by the Signs of Safety framework which will support you to take a strength‑based approach and work towards the goals of the child and their family.

What Will I Need?

• Degree in social work or equivalent social work qualification, e.g. Post Graduate Diploma in Social Work (PDDipSW), Certificate of Qualification in Social Work (CQSW), Diploma in Social Work (DipSW), Certificate in Social Services (CSS)
• Current Social Work England Registration
• Successful completion of the Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE)

Social workers post‑ASYE in this post are eligible for a recruitment/retention allowance of £2,500 over 12 months (pro‑rated for part‑time workers). Payments are made in equal instalments across a 12‑month period alongside your pay. The allowance is subject to tax, National Insurance and pension contributions. 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.

Our Commitment to Safeguarding

Durham County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We expect all employees and volunteers to share this commitment. This role is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, inclusive of a check of the Children’s Barred List, will be sought. Applicants should be aware that the DBS check will disclose both spent and unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands and warnings, in line with current legislation.

Interviews

Interviews will be held on 17th June 2026 at Seaham Spectrum, SR7 7TT. 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. Rewards and benefits are subject to individual terms and conditions. We are passionate about social work in County Durham. We ensure our social workers are highly supported and encourage flexible working to achieve a good work‑life balance. You will benefit from a range of training opportunities and professional development through personalised induction, professional supervision and mentoring.

Hybrid Working

Durham County Council currently operates a hybrid working policy where a model of 2 days in the workplace and 3 days at home/remote will apply. This model is pro‑rated for part‑time roles and arrangements are at the manager’s discretion. Alternatively you can work all of your contracted hours within the workplace if you prefer.

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 and neurodivergent people and offer support throughout the recruitment process.

How to Apply

Please note that 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 (and, where possible, desirable) criteria. Applications that do not evidence the essential requirements will not be shortlisted. Please visit our website to understand our position on using AI to support your application and for guidance on completing your application. If you require assistance when applying for this role, please contact our Recruitment Helpdesk on 03000 26 27 27, or by email RecruitmentCYPS@durham.gov.uk. All correspondence relating to your application will be sent from donotreply@northeastjobs.org.uk. Kindly check your spam/junk folder regularly to ensure you don’t miss any updates.