Social Worker - Family Assessment Services
Locations: Sheffield (S11) & Matlock (DE4)
Salary: Up to £47,028.80 per annum
Hours: 40 hours per week, Monday to Friday
Contract: Permanent, Full-Time
The Role
Progressive Care are recruiting experienced Social Workers to join their specialist Family Assessment Residential Services covering Sheffield and Matlock.
These are not traditional Local Authority Social Work positions.
Social Workers work within Progressive's residential family assessment centres, supporting families who have been placed within the service to complete structured 12-week parenting assessments.
The role gives Social Workers the opportunity to work closely and intensively with families, observe parenting over a sustained period and produce clear, evidence-based assessments and recommendations.
Locations & Base
The South Yorkshire/Derbyshire team covers:
- Sheffield - S11
- Matlock - DE4
Your normal base would be the service closest to your home address, although Social Workers need to be comfortable travelling between services when required depending on where families are placed and operational needs.
What You'll Be Doing
The role includes:
- Completing 12-week parenting and family assessments
- Working directly with parents, children and families within a residential setting
- Assessing parenting capacity, strengths, risks and areas requiring support
- Undertaking direct work and observations with families
- Gathering and analysing evidence throughout the assessment period
- Producing clear, analytical Social Work reports
- Working closely with residential staff and the wider multidisciplinary team
- Liaising with Local Authority Social Workers and other professionals
- Contributing to meetings, reviews and professional discussions
- Making evidence-based recommendations regarding the needs and welfare of children
One of the attractions of the position is the opportunity to work with a much smaller and more manageable number of families than would normally be experienced within a busy Local Authority statutory team.
This allows considerably more time for direct work, assessment and report writing.
Travel & Mileage
Some travel between services is required.
Business mileage is reimbursed at 45p per mile, including relevant travel between Progressive services and their head office.
Social Workers also attend the organisation's Rotherham head office approximately once or twice per month for team/get-together days.
Interview Process
Formal interviews are held face-to-face at Progressive Care's Rotherham head office.
Because the residential services are safeguarding environments, interviews aren't normally held directly at the family assessment centres.
However, if somebody is genuinely interested but wants to understand the opportunity better before travelling to Rotherham, Progressive have previously confirmed that they can try to arrange a short telephone or Teams scoping call with the relevant manager first.
Who They're Looking For
This would particularly suit a qualified Social Worker who enjoys:
- Assessment work
- Child and family Social Work
- Court-focused or analytical report writing
- Safeguarding
- Direct work with parents and children
- Having the time to properly understand a family rather than managing a large statutory caseload
Candidates from backgrounds such as Children & Families, Child Protection, Assessment, CIN, LAC, Court/PLO or Family Assessment could potentially transfer particularly well.
You will need to be a qualified Social Worker with the appropriate professional registration and be comfortable travelling between services when required.
Why Consider It?
The big differences compared with many Local Authority Social Work roles are:
- Salary up to £47,028.80
- Monday-Friday working
- Residential 12-week family assessments
- Much smaller/manageable caseload
- More time for direct work and quality assessment
- Base normally determined by whichever service is closest to home
- 45p per mile business mileage
- Permanent position with an established specialist social care provider
Social Worker - Family Assessment - Sheffield or Matlock employer: Portman Recruitment
Join a nurturing and supportive environment at our well-established preschool in St Helens, where we prioritise employee growth and development. With a competitive salary of up to £30,000 per annum and a balanced working pattern that allows for hands-on engagement with children alongside management responsibilities, we foster a culture of collaboration and innovation. Our commitment to professional development ensures that you will have ample opportunities to advance your career while making a meaningful impact on the lives of young learners.
