Senior Social Worker (Family Safeguarding West Team) 03317

Newbury, England, United Kingdom

7/24/2025

Our Family Safeguarding teams are dedicated to improving the outcomes of Children and Families within West Berkshire. If you are passionate about supporting families to make sustained change and share our drive to keep more children safely at home with their families then this could be the role for you.

We have exciting opportunities for a Senior Social Worker to join our East and West Family Safeguarding Teams.

We are Ofsted rated ‘Good’ and aspire to work towards an ‘Outstanding’ rating with Ofsted stating that West Berkshire Council has “A strong, stable and child-focused leadership team that has continued to improve services for children and families in West Berkshire”.

Come and join us to be part of our journey of further improvement and dedication to the children of West Berkshire.

The role

• Utilising the Family Safeguarding Model you will work in collaboration with other specialist workers including Domestic Abuse Practitioners, Recovery Workers and Mental Health Practitioners to offer group based interventions to families.
• You will manage a complex caseload appropriate to experience, including assessments of children, families and parenting.
• As lead professional, you will contribute to the provision of good quality services which integrate government and local initiatives and guidance.
• You will take on a relevant lead area across the Service, including delivery of training or dissemination of current research and best practice, and will deputise for the Assistant Team Manager during any periods of absence.
• You will provide leadership and professional wisdom to colleagues and other professionals for work in situations of high complexity.
  
  

The ideal candidate would have the following skills and attributes

• You will have a minimum of three years’ social work experience post-ASYE (i.e. four years post qualification)
• You will have experience of conducting all aspects of Care Proceedings from Public Law Outline to Final Hearing.
• You will have the ability to mentor colleagues and develop assessment skills.
  
  

Our offer to you

West Berkshire Council Offer Excellent Employment Benefits Such As

• Flexible working wherever possible between the hours of 07.00-21.00
• Hybrid working wherever possible working 40% in the office
• Access to a wide range of training and development opportunities
• Generous Local Government pension scheme
• Family friendly policies
• A range of local discounts
• Wellbeing Programme including Employee Assistance Programme and employee benefits
• You will also be entitled to a generous annual leave entitlement starting at 29 days per annum (plus public holidays) Rising by an additional 5 days after 5 years’ service.
  
  

All roles are subject to an annual banding pay review until the top of the pay grade is reached (following successfully passing probation) All roles will be eligible for the annual national pay award.

Please note that the closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible to avoid disappointment.

If you interested in working with us and want to know more, we would love to hear from you. Do not hesitate to contact Sonia Harris, Service Manager on 01635 519785 for an informal chat about this role.

Join us at West Berkshire Council and make a positive impact in our community while advancing your career.

Explore everything that a career with West Berkshire Council has to offer here: Our Offer - Work With Us - West Berkshire Council

Equal Opportunities

The Council supports Equal Opportunity of employment, and positively encourages applications from people who fall within any of the nine protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010.

How To Apply

Please now complete a short online application form. You will then be able to upload your CV.

This role has been identified as public facing in accordance with Part 7 of the Immigration Act 2016; the requirement to fulfil all spoken aspects of the role with confidence in English applies.

West Berkshire Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all its staff and volunteers to share these values. We will ensure that all our recruitment and selection practices reflect this commitment. Successful candidates will be offered employment subject to Disclosure and Barring Service checks along with other relevant employment checks.

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