Qualified Social Worker - (Family Support and Safeguarding Teams) - Portsmouth in Hayling Island

We are pleased to offer exciting opportunities for qualified Social Workers to join our Children and Families Directorate, working within one of our Family Support & Safeguarding (FSS) Teams at Portsmouth City Council.

About the Service

Portsmouth City Council has been recognised by Ofsted as a “Good” Local Authority, with “Outstanding” ratings for our Family Safeguarding and Support Teams. As a Social Worker in our Family Support & Safeguarding Teams, you will support children in need, those requiring protection, and children in care. You may also work with families under the Public Law Outline (PLO) or within care proceedings. Throughout, you will be supported by experienced managers and colleagues.

We are committed to your professional development. You will receive training in Restorative Practice and Motivational Interviewing during your first year, and benefit from our Stronger Futures Academy and a comprehensive CPD pathway aligned with Social Work England standards.

The Role

As a Social Worker, you will help children and families achieve their full potential by:

• Delivering timely, high-quality assessments that lead to clear, targeted plans.
• Providing a responsive, child-centred service that reflects the wishes and feelings of children.
• Promoting service user participation and respecting diversity.
• Ensuring timely and permanent care arrangements that support children’s long-term outcomes.

If you are passionate about making a meaningful difference and committed to high standards of practice, this role could be the perfect fit.

The ideal candidate

We are looking for skilled and motivated professionals who are eager to grow and champion best practice in social work. You will have:

• A Diploma or Degree in Social Work and registration with Social Work England.
• Completion of your ASYE (Assessed and Supported Year in Employment).
• A solid understanding of relevant legislation, including the Children Acts 1989 and 2004.
• Strong analytical and communication skills, with the ability to engage effectively with children, families, and professionals.
• Resilience, integrity, and a commitment to achieving outstanding outcomes for children.
• A restorative and anti-oppressive approach to practice.
• A collaborative mindset and a commitment to inclusive, people-focused work.
• Proficiency in MS Word, Outlook, and case management systems.
• Empathy, diplomacy, and respect for service users.

Additional Requirements for Experienced Social Workers

• Expertise in managing complex cases and higher levels of risk.
• Significant post-qualifying experience in relevant settings.
• A commitment to ongoing professional development, including mentoring students and undertaking relevant training.

Please ensure that you read the full job profile attached for the details and expectations of this role, paying particular attention to the section 'Who is the person' as you will need to refer to this when completing your Personal statement.

Hybrid working arrangements: Attendance requirements to the designated workplace will be a minimum of 2 days required in the office to suit the requirements of this role.

What our staff say:

"I have learned excellent time management skills and how to prioritise my work so that I can meet firm deadlines along with the pressure this creates. I have developed my communication skills to enable me to establish and maintain good working relationships with parents to engage them in social work and support them to achieve the planned outcomes. Managing my own feelings and emotions around this intensive and often challenging work has been crucial in order for me to continue working at this high level. This role has been a huge learning curve and each day brings something new to learn. It is always interesting." (Julie, Main Grade Social Worker)

“What I like about working in Portsmouth is that we are close to senior leadership; they know who we are and are in touch with our cases. Direct line managers are great as we get so much support.” (Chloe, Higher Grade Social Worker)

Ofsted commentary:

"Skilled, joined-up work, delivered through the local authority’s preferred model of practice and involving workers for adults and children, is improving the experiences and progress of children. Portsmouth’s leaders are ambitious for their workforce to be trained and effective practitioners. The chosen model of practice has become strongly embedded in the work with children and families and workers have been trained and supported in this approach. The multidisciplinary model has improved outcomes for children and reduced harm, and feedback from families to inspectors was overwhelmingly positive. Portsmouth is a centre for learning and practitioners benefit from a comprehensive workforce development offer. Social workers talk positively about working in Portsmouth and inspectors consistently heard about their loyalty and commitment to the service."

Application process

We anonymise applications during application & shortlisting to ensure only relevant information is considered. As part of your application, we ask that you complete a personal statement, this statement is crucial and is where you must demonstrate how you meet the requirements of the job against each of the points described in the 'Who is the Person' points on the Job Profile using examples from your experience or transferable skills. This might be through qualifications or descriptive examples from your work / personal experience.

We are a disability confident employer and Armed Forces Covenant gold standard. More information can be found at Equality, diversity and inclusion - Careers portal. We are committed to offering an interview to all those candidates that qualify under one of our commitments and meet the minimum criteria, however for roles that receive a large number of applications, this is not always possible, and we will select the candidates that best meet the minimum criteria.

You will need to demonstrate that you have the Right to Work in the UK. No post will be offered without it.

Portsmouth City Council

What we can offer you:

Portsmouth City Council is a unique organisation, committed to making a difference, and is guided by core values that set who we are as people, what we stand for, and how we act. Read more about working at Portsmouth City Council and our benefits on our careers portal homepage: Careers Portal - Find jobs with Portsmouth City Council.

Portsmouth City Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, and young people, and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. DBS Disclosure at Enhanced level will be required prior to any offer of employment and this post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. Every post is subject to PCC and Portsmouth Safeguarding Children Partnership safer recruitment procedures.