Social Worker (Children's)

Make a difference – Children’s Social Work in Cornwall

“Senior leaders and politicians are relentless in their drive to continue to improve the lives of Cornwall’s children and families”

“Staff’s care, commitment and child focussed approach shine through when they talk about their work. This positive working environment helps to foster a culture in which an enthusiasm and commitment to do the best for children is found at all levels in the organisation.”

Ofsted, July 2024

The Service & Team

Social workers make a real difference to the lives of children in Cornwall. We believe that the children of Cornwall deserve the very best. We put their needs at the heart of everything we do and we are looking for people who share our determination to improve their lives and make a brighter future. If you believe in humane, relationship-based social work with children and families we offer the opportunity to develop your social work career in an innovative and ambitious children’s service in one of the most beautiful parts of the country.

Further information about our social work careers can be found on our website

The Role

We have opportunities for passionate, committed Social Workers across Cornwall in both full and part time roles. We have opportunities available within:

• Family Assessment Service Teams – Positions available across the County
• Child Protection – Positions available across the County
• Disabled Children & Therapy Service – Positions available across the County
• Multi Agency Referral Unit (MARU) - based in Truro
• Children In Care Team - Positions available across the County
• Gweres Teyluyow - Mid Cornwall
• Teylu (Pre Birth) - Mid Cornwall

This is a public/customer-facing role, where the statutory English language requirement for public sector workers applies.

This position will be subject to an enhanced criminal record disclosure check.

What You’ll Need To Succeed

You will be a social worker registered with Social Work England who will have:

• Previous experience working within a social care environment
• A proven track record of excellent practice that improves the lives of children
• High-level written and verbal communication skills to build effective professional relationships with families and other professionals
• Knowledge and understanding of the legislation, models and theories relevant to children’s social work, and the ability to evidence how you have applied your learning to your practice
• The skills to undertake assessments and to use evidence-based practice tools to devise, implement and review care plans

If your experience as a social worker is within another sector (such as Adult Social Care or the Voluntary sector), we provide additional support to transition into children and families social work through a supported induction period.

Please note: If you have qualified within the last 2 years, but not completed your Assessed and Supported Year of Employment (ASYE) we would welcome your application as a Newly Qualified Social Worker (NQSW) in order to access Cornwall’s ASYE programme which runs twice yearly. You would need to apply for our NQSW adverts which are advertised separately.

What You’ll Get In Return

We actively encourage and enable our practitioners to progress and reward them for their commitment and expertise. If you are committed to continuing professional development, can demonstrate learning in your practice and in improved outcomes for the children you help and protect, we will provide you with the career options and remuneration that match your expertise. We support our social workers to stay in front line practice as advanced practitioners or move to front line management, both of which attract the same pay.

As part of our commitment to outstanding practice, we have put in place a comprehensive core curriculum and career and qualification pathway for our social workers to develop their knowledge and skills to deliver the most effective social work intervention with children and families.

Cornwall is one of the best places in the country to live, work and bring up a family. It’s location and landscape offer unique opportunities for a healthier, happier way of life. We are committed to supporting the wellbeing of our staff and we recognise that resilient Social Workers need a good work/life balance as well as supportive leadership and support in the workplace.

In recognition of the vital contribution you make, we offer an attractive package of benefits including:

• Welcome bonus of £4000 for qualified Social Workers who are new to social work in Cornwall and have completed their ASYE
• £3000 Annual Market Supplement for Advanced Practitioners
• A generous relocation package
• An individualised induction to meet your specific needs and learning
• An excellent core curriculum to support your ongoing development with a high-quality programme of evidence-based learning and development to enhance skills and practice.
• An outstanding career and qualification pathway, recognised by Ofsted as a foundation of Cornwall’s good practice, which will support your progression.
• Support from our dedicated Practice Educators throughout your progression pathway
• Regular, high-quality case and reflective supervision
• Supportive management and leadership
• Support to access temporary accommodation if moving from outside of Cornwall
• Access to a Cornwall Council lease car
• 26 days paid annual leave per year (rising with length of service), plus bank holidays
• Flexible working opportunities, including part-time hours and homeworking
• A license to access Community Care Inform and Research in Practice.
• Payment of your Social Work England registration fees.
• A competitive starting salary and the opportunity to increase your pay further as you progress

Additional Information

Please note, we are unable to offer sponsorship for this role.

For an informal discussion about the roles please contact the Recruitment Team on [email protected] who will arrange for a recruiting manager to contact you.

About Us

Cornwall Council deliver services to more than half a million local people and over five million visitors a year. Working here - Cornwall Council

We are happy to talk about flexible working options such as part-time or compressed hours. More examples of our flexible working opportunities can be found here - flexible working options .

Fairness and inclusion are at the heart of our vision for Cornwall. In order to best serve our communities, we are striving to achieve a diverse workforce that is inclusive of all backgrounds, cultures and identities; e.g., race, disability, sex, gender, age, religion and sexual orientation. We are an equal opportunities and Disability Confident employer, and we will assess applicants on their merits.

Cornwall Council is committed to safeguarding and following safer recruitment principles to help make sure our staff and volunteers are suitable to work with children, young people and adults at risk. It’s a vital part of creating a safe and positive environment and making a commitment to keeping all service users safe from harm.