Job Description
We have an opportunity for a Family Court Adviser in the Work After First Hearing service at Cafcass – are you interested? Or can you recommend someone for £250 if placed?
* Covering Private and Public Law
* Peterborough office, covering Peterborough and South Lincolnshire
* The role is to cover until end of March 2027
Areas covered: Peterborough and South Lincs
Please only apply for this role if you meet the requirements at the bottom of the email.
We are an approved supplier to Cafcass, achieving this status through a competitive process and retaining it by delivering quality, timely and compliant services. Being one of Cafcass’ preferred partners ensures we will always be given priority access to any Social Work vacancies they ask external agencies to support them with.
Work After First Hearing will involve the following:
* Working in the Private and/or Public Law teams, Children’s Social Workers (or as we will professionally call you - Family Court Advisers) are involved in a combination of cases where either the families require the assistance to agree on the best arrangements for the welfare and safety of the child(ren) involved or the local authority has serious concerns and requests the involvement of Cafcass in the case.
* Children’s Social Workers key responsibilities include:
* Conducting assessments and directly engaging with children to understand and represent their views and wishes to the court.
* Using expertise in robust risk assessment and mediation will be essential as you advocate for arrangements that prioritise the best interest of the children.
* Public Law - In public law a local authority has made an application to the court for authority to intervene in a child’s life as it is believed they are at risk of significant harm. FCAs are often referred to as ‘Children’s Guardians’ – they are the independent person who is there to promote the child’s welfare and ensure the arrangements made for the child are in their best interests.
* Private Law - If in a private law case after the first court hearing there is not an agreement about children or there are concerns about the welfare of children the court may ask us to write a Section 7 report to help the judge make a safe decision and the responsibility for doing this will transfer to the WAFH team.
* Face-to-face visits
* Lots of hybrid working
Requirements of the role:
* Social Work qualified
* Social Work England registered
* Significant post-qualified experience in children & families social care (not subject to DFE rules) - 2-3 years minimum in a children’s local authority social work post
* Experience in private or public law or both
* Court experience
* A high standard of assessment and case analysis
* Experience in providing oral evidence of a high standard to Court
* Ability to produce written work to a high standard
* Communicates effectively and demonstrates empathy with children & families within the family justice system
* Effective communication and joint working with a range of professionals and agencies.
Please apply online or contact me asap to discuss in more detail. We are offering £250 joining bonus for new starters with Reed.
Alternatively, we are offering £300 if you refer a friend or colleague and they are placed successfully into this or any other QSW role