Social Worker (Children's)

Social Work in Cornwall 

Make a difference – Children’s Social Work in Cornwall

‘Cornwall’s ambitious, outward-facing senior leadership team promotes a strong culture of learning and development. It has made excellent use of learning from research, best practice and peer reviews.’

‘Social workers have a very good understanding of the children they work with; they visit them regularly and ensure that their needs are holistically well considered’

‘Staff development is delivered through an effective and well-targeted workforce development framework. Staff morale is high.’

                                                                        OFSTED 2019 – OUTSTANDING GRADING

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.

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.

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.

Cornwall is one of the best places in the country to live, work and bring up a family. It’s location and landscape offers 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.

Working in Cornwall’s Children and Families Services

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

Further information about our teams is available here.  Please let us know in your application if you are seeking full/part time roles and which teams you are most interested in.

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. 

Whilst the location/work-base for this role may have been specified our evolving ways of working means that the role may require you to also work remotely (e.g., from home/other locations). We will discuss this with you during the recruitment process. 

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. 

For an informal discussion please contact the Resourcing Team careers@cornwall.gov.uk who will arrange for you to speak to a relevant manager.

How To Apply 

Role Profile (Grade 3 Social Worker)

Role Profile (Grade 4 Experienced Social Worker)

Role Profile (Grade 4 Advanced Social Worker)

Your application will need to demonstrate how you meet the required criteria on the role profile marked ‘application form'. Please ensure you answer all the pre-screening questions in full, within the application form. Guidance on how to complete your application can be found here – The application process 

Please be advised that for this role we are accepting uploaded supporting statements and/or CVs to support your online application. 

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 3 times yearly.  You would need to apply for our NQSW adverts, more details available here.

About you

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.

What we can offer you

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.
• Sponsorship for eligible overseas social work applicants
• A competitive starting salary and the opportunity to increase your pay further as you progress

More information about our social work careers is available here.

About Us