This is your moment. Shape the Future. Feel Supported. Belong in Newcastle.
Newcastle is more than a workplace - it’s a community. A vibrant, multicultural city where creativity, kindness, and resilience run deep. From the Quayside to Jesmond Dene, from Ouseburn’s indie cafés to our world class universities, this is a city that welcomes you and your ideas with open arms.
We are looking for 2 Senior Social Worker Practitioners within our Children in Care Team who believe every child and young adult deserves stability, respect, and the chance to flourish.
In this role you will provide strong, thoughtful leadership to colleagues while building trusting relationships with children in care. Your expertise will help create safe, supportive spaces where young people can heal, grow, and build brighter futures.
You will drive excellence in the support we provide to children in care. Bring energy, expertise, confidence, and a commitment to best practice to deliver meaningful, life‑changing interventions and make a real impact every day.
Take the lead on meaningful work with children and families, collaborating closely with partners to deliver high quality, integrated support. As part of our Families First approach, you will help drive working with families at the right time in a relational way that champions restorative practice, strengthening families and improving outcomes across the whole system.
We’re not just a local authority. We’re a city with ambition, heart, and a bold vision for children. At Children & Families Newcastle, we’re building a service rooted in relationships, restorative practice, and real impact.
We’ve been judged Good with Outstanding areas by Ofsted — and we’re not stopping there. We’re working towards becoming a UNICEF Child Friendly City and a Marmot City, tackling inequality and putting children at the centre of everything we do.
Families First is at the heart of our transformation in Newcastle. It’s a whole‑system shift designed to give children and families the right help at the right time and to make our practice more meaningful, relational, and effective.
Through earlier intervention and prevention, our new Family Help teams step in at the right time, when families need support, helping them work through challenges they face. We’re breaking down traditional silos by bringing local authority services together with police, health, and education partners to create a single, seamless system of support.
Families are placed firmly in the lead through Family‑Led Decision Making now embedded as standard practice, ensuring their voices shape the decisions that matter most. We’re strengthening support networks so more children can remain safely at home, including increased support for kinship carers. Instead of “stop/start” involvement, families will experience consistent, long‑term relationships with one Lead Practitioner walking alongside them throughout their journey. And when significant harm is present, our new multidisciplinary child‑protection teams provide expert, decisive intervention.
Our values are simple but powerful: Be safe. Be heard. Be innovative. Be supported.
We invest in our people because we want them to stay, progress, and build long‑term careers with us.
We know that great social work happens when people have balance, space, and trust. That’s why we offer:
Our teams are based in the heart of our communities and at Partnership House, a modern collaborative space designed to support meaningful relationships and team connection.
You’ll also benefit from:
A wide range of wellbeing, lifestyle, and financial support offers is part of creating a workplace where you feel appreciated, supported, and part of something bigger.
Newcastle City Council is committed to equality, diversity, and inclusion and to building services that reflect, value, and respond to our communities.
We welcome applicants from all backgrounds, and particularly from individuals whose identities or experiences are currently underrepresented in our workforce.
We recognise that this role involves sensitive and sometimes emotionally demanding work relating to racism and inequity. You will be supported through reflective spaces, supervision and team‑based support tailored to your needs.
Interested in a career with Newcastle City Council? If you are committed, and ready to take the next step in your career, this is your moment.
Apply online at www.northeastjobs.org.uk, select 'Apply Now' and complete our online application form. Ensure you review the supporting documents before completing the form. Any communication will be sent to the email address you have set up on your Northeast Jobs account, so check your inbox.
For an informal conversation about the role, please email jennifer.robinson@newcastle.gov.uk
We are committed to protecting and promoting the welfare of children, young people, and vulnerable adults and expect all staff to share this commitment. This post is working in regulated activity. If you are successful we will undertake additional recruitment checks including a check for criminal convictions, police information, and the barred list(s). It is a criminal offence for a barred individual to apply for a job in regulated activity.