Social Worker Aspiring Futures in Walsall

An exciting opportunity has arisen for the appointment of a social worker specialising in working with children and young people who are exploited to join our Aspiring Futures Team on a 12‑month fixed term basis.

Walsall Children’s Social Care have created a service for exploited young people, based on feedback from exploited young people, families, and professionals. The Aspiring Futures team consists of a Team Manager, Assistant Team Manager, Social Workers, Aspiring Futures Practitioners, and Exploitation Coordinators. Each young person will have one Aspiring Futures Practitioner or Street Team’s practitioner who will work in a relational, trauma‑informed way to reduce exploitation risks, alongside a social worker within Aspiring Futures or locality family help teams.

The model is based on rational practice and ensuring consistency of practitioners, enabling rapport to be built which helps gather vital information that contributes to keeping young people safe and supports mapping of all exploitation risks across Walsall. We actively attend and advocate for our young people in all statutory meetings and contribute to wider planning, having an in‑depth understanding of their push and pull factors, behaviours, and individual identities.

We work closely with partner agencies, including Police, Street Teams, the Youth Justice Service, Education, Health, the Violence Reduction Partnership, Mentoring Services, Detached Youth Work Services, and Voluntary Organisations. We undertake MACE (Multi‑Agency Child Exploitation) Meetings monthly for all high‑risk young people. Daily Exploitation Triage oversees all age exploitation and missing episodes, attended by partner agencies and chaired by the Team Manager or Assistant Team Manager on rotation.

The same support provided to high-risk exploited young people is also extended to medium-risk young people by Street Teams, while low-risk young people have their needs met through our internal Youth Worker offer.

As a social worker within the Aspiring Futures team, you will work with a reduced number of young people who are being exploited, allowing for more intensive engagement with the young person and their family. You will understand their needs and lived experiences related to exploitation and contextual safeguarding, considering wider vulnerabilities and protective factors.

Social workers within Aspiring Futures work with young people from the start of their journey with social care, focusing on those identified at medium or high risk of exploitation through our daily exploitation triage. Our Family assessments and Exploitation Risk Reduction assessments help identify and analyse the extra‑familial and contextual risks alongside familial risks and protective factors.

The assessment process enables practitioners to build an understanding of the young person and their family by gathering information about past events, current situations, and future needs to support change and ensure safety.

Participation and partnership working with young people and their families is key, ensuring time is taken to build positive relationships and involve them in safety planning and decision making. Young people and their families are supported to actively participate in their MACE meetings and Team Around the Family meetings alongside key partners.

As a social worker within Aspiring Futures, you will engage in group supervision with other involved practitioners, in addition to individual monthly supervision, and will also receive clinical supervision from a trained clinical psychologist.

About you

You will be Social Work Qualified with a minimum of 12 months post‑qualifying experience working within children’s services. You will be registered with Social Work England and possess enthusiasm, passion, and knowledge about reducing exploitation for young people. You will demonstrate professionalism, dynamism, and compassion, with an understanding of risk management, context weighting, and factors contributing to child exploitation.

You will have substantial experience assessing and supporting the needs of children considered in need, at risk of significant harm, and in care. You will understand your statutory responsibilities as outlined in the Children Act 1989 and Working Together to Safeguard Children. Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written, are essential, along with strong assessment, report writing, and analytical skills.

Above all, you will be driven to make positive changes for exploited young people in Walsall and invested in the development of the staff and service.

Why work for us

Our staff are our biggest resources, and we want to invest in them! We offer a range of benefits, including discounts for holidays, groceries, clothes, electronics, and gym memberships; financial benefits, expenses, flexible leave, and professional development. Our model of work is hybrid, with 2-3 days office-based work and the ability to work from home. We also offer a 9-day per fortnight working pattern, ensuring you feel respected, valued, and part of a connected team.

Important notes

Applicants appointed to posts requiring enhanced DBS clearance must declare any periods of time lived, studied, or worked abroad and provide an Overseas Criminal Records Certificate (OCRC) or Statement of Good Conduct (SOGC). Successful candidates must undergo a Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) check, which includes identity verification, national and immigration status, employment history, and criminal record verification (unspent convictions only).

This post is covered by the Government’s Code of Practice on the English Language Fluency Duty for public sector workers, requiring the post holder to communicate verbally with customers in accurate spoken English.

Closing date for applications: 14/06/2026. Interviews to take place between 24/06/2026 and 03/07/2026.