Working Pattern: Full time
SMART Working: We aim to offer flexibility wherever possible. Many of our colleagues work from home one or more days a week and/or adjust their hours. We call this SMART working - giving you the freedom to shape your working pattern around your life, whilst still delivering great outcomes. Speak with the hiring manager about the range of flexible working options available for this role.
About the Role
What We Offer
Established ASYE Programme
A structured, well-respected ASYE year that gives you the time, guidance, and confidence to thrive in your new role.
A Relational Model of Practice Relational Trafford
We work restoratively and relationally with children, families, and each other. Our Relational Trafford approach ensures you’ll be practising within a culture that values trust, connection, collaboration, and strengthbased working
Capped Caseloads
So you can focus on quality practice and your professional development without feeling overwhelmed.
Supportive Managers & Expert Advanced Practitioners
Our experienced leaders and advanced practitioners are committed to coaching, guiding, and championing you throughout your journey.
Warm, Welcoming Teams
You’ll be joining colleagues who are approachable, collaborative, and genuinely supportivebecause we believe great social work happens when we work together.
Comprehensive Induction
From your first day, you’ll receive a thorough and friendly introduction to help you settle in, feel confident, and understand exactly where to turn for support.
About You
Join Us as a Newly Qualified Social Worker!
Start your career in a place where you’ll feel supported, valued, and inspired from day one.
We’re looking for passionate, committed Newly Qualified Social Workers to join our friendly and forwardthinking teams. If you’re ready to make a real differenceand want the space to grow into a confident, skilled practitionerwe’d love to hear from you.
Additional Information
This advert may close early if we receive a high number of applications, so please apply as soon as possible.
Our Vision
Here in Trafford Children’s Services our vision is that our teams are offering the right help at the right time, and that at all levels our interventions make life better for children and families. We are ambitious for our children and for our practitioners - and our core value is ‘would this be good enough for my child’?
We want to have practitioners and managers who are confident and brave in their practice and are supported by strong leaders at all levels. As a relatively small local authority, we pride ourselves on our friendly teams, manageable caseloads, creative approach and colleagues who support each other. We were pleased to see this recognised in the Ofsted report that followed our ILACS inspection in late 2022, which highlighted that “social workers in Trafford are overwhelmingly positive about both the local authority and the support they receive.”
In Trafford our approach is strengths-based, using relational and restorative practice. Our recent Ofsted report referred to our "relational model of social work practice, which is well regarded by the wider workforce, has been successfully implemented.”
We believe that a culture and environment in which our managers and social workers can thrive is an essential element of improving outcomes for children and families. Our 2023 Ofsted report recognised this, noting a “cultural shift (that) has been underpinned by a strong training offer to support social workers to develop the skills they need to provide a better service to children”.
You will work in partnership with children, young people and parents, some of whom can be difficult to engage due to their life experiences
You will ensure the delivery of a high quality and effective social work service to facilitate, empower and promote independence, strengths and assets of both individuals and local communities.
You will have a holistic approach to work, with a keen focus on reducing inequalities and supporting individuals to develop their resilience and improve outcomes
Our commitment to you
We know that when you come to work in Trafford, we have a responsibility to provide you with the right tools and support to flourish in your new role.
Induction
We have recently updated our induction programme for new colleagues joining us at all levels. During your first two weeks you will have protected time to get to know your team, our systems and other parts of the service.
Workload
We are absolutely committed to ensuring that your workload is manageable. This isn’t necessarily a specific caseload number, as we all know that numbers don’t necessarily reflect the complexity of the children and families you are working with. But we believe that manageable workloads are critical, and managers will support you and confirm priorities through discussion and supervision. We have performance management reporting of caseloads and therefore at all levels we are responsible for monitoring workloads across the service.
There will be times where there is a level of flexibility required to meet the needs of the service or for individual children you work with, particularly in times of crisis. We will ensure that you are able to take additional hours back quickly to give you balance between your work and home life.
Supervision
One of our practice-led improvements has been to refresh our supervision framework, which has been a really exciting piece of work. We commit to offering monthly formal supervision that is both reflective and supportive and provides you with clear advice, guidance and direction. We also offer peer supervision as part of our refreshed framework, with practitioners involved in deciding the topics of discussion.
Opportunities for progression
Several Trafford social workers have recently had the opportunity to undertake project secondments and DfE pilot work. We’re always on the lookout for new initiatives that will benefit our service and our practitioners, and we will support you to step up and develop your skills in new ways wherever possible.
It is always wonderful to see colleagues progress within the service and we are keen to support our social workers to reach their full career potential here at Trafford.
A note from Pamela Wharton, Director of Early Help and Social Care.
“Thank you for showing your interest in a role here in Trafford. I hope that you find the information we have provided helpful and that you feel that Trafford is somewhere you want to come and work.
“Trafford is a great place to work and we are striving to make it even better. We believe the service structure we now have in place is working well and is enabling children and families to get the right help at the right time. You will find more information directly from colleagues about working at Trafford on our website. We hope you will like what you see and hear - and will be inspired to join us.
“I look forward to receiving your application. I firmly believe together we can truly make a difference.”
Find Out More.
For the full details of this opportunity, please refer to the role profile linked below.
About us...
Trafford is a vibrant, inclusive borough at the heart of Greater Manchester. Home to 235,000 residents, four thriving town centres, over 11,000 businesses, and 60+ parks and green spaces. We’re a place where community and opportunity meet. With excellent transport links, a proud heritage as the birthplace of the NHS, world-class sporting venues and outstanding schools, Trafford is a fantastic place to live, work, and thrive.
Why Trafford?
We’re more than just a local authority; we’re a team of passionate people committed to making a real difference. We deliver essential services that matter, from education and social care to business support, licensing, libraries and leisure and much more. No matter what your role is with us, you will help us to create a borough where all our “residents, businesses and communities thrive.”
Our Culture...
Our values are at the heart of everything we do. They’re not just words on a wall, they shape how we work together, make decisions, and support each other every day.
They help us create a workplace where everyone feels valued, heard, and inspired to do their best. If you share these values and want your work to have real purpose and impact, Trafford is the perfect place to grow your career.
What you'll love about working with us...
Alongside a competitive salary, we offer a wide range of benefits designed to support your wellbeing, development and work-life balance:
* Generous Leave: Start with 26 days of annual leave (plus bank holidays), with options to carry over or buy extra days.
* Flexible Perks: Discounts on car leasing, cycle to work, home tech, plus family friendly policies and hybrid working
* Invest in your future: Join our generous Local Government Pension Scheme for peace of mind.
* Grow with us: We'll support your development at every stage! Through leadership programmes like our EPIC Manager, LEAP into leadership and senior leadership. Plus, you'll have access to specialist qualifications and personal coaching to unlock your full potential.
* Wellbeing First: Guided wellbeing walks and “Tea and Talk” sessions, and events like World Mental Health and National Fitness Day.
* Connect with us: Connect with colleagues through our staff forums or join our Let’s Talk events to network, share ideas, and hear about the exciting work happening across our council.
* Be Celebrated: For all your hard work, ideas and contributions through at our annual Time to Shine event, our cheers for peers’ scheme or through our EPIC Star Awards.
Guaranteed Assessment Scheme...
We have made a commitment to improve the employment opportunities for people with disabilities, care leavers, carers, and ex-military personnel by way of a Guaranteed Assessment Scheme. Our application form asks you to indicate if you meet any of the criteria within this scheme. To find out more and if you qualify please click here. If you apply under this scheme you will need to demonstrate that you meet the essential requirements of the job as set out in the ‘About You’ section of the role profile.
Greater Manchester Continuous Service...
We will recognise your previous service with other public sector organisations. This means that if you are joining us from a participating organisation, you can retain valuable service-related benefits such as annual leave entitlement. You can find out if this applies to you by visiting Greater Manchester Continuous Service Commitment | greater.jobs
Key Information...
* Pre-Employment Checks: If offered a role, as a minimum we’ll need to verify your right to work in the UK, receive two satisfactory references, and medical check. Some roles may also require a DBS check and/or police vetting, which will be noted on the role profile.
* Please note: We are not a licensed sponsor and will not be able to support with your work visa.
* Privacy Notice: We respect your privacy. For details on how we collect, process, and protect your data, please click here: Recruitment & Employment Privacy Notice .
Make an Impact. Apply Today....
If you are passionate about making a difference and want to be part of a team shaping a better Trafford for our residents, businesses and communities then we'd love to receive an application from you.
We want everyone to feel confident and supported throughout our recruitment process. If you need any help, adjustments or support at any stage, please get in touch with us at recruitment@trafford.gov.uk
After reviewing the role profile and submitting your application, successful candidates will be invited to a values-based interview to learn more about your skills and experience. This is your opportunity to show how you connect with our EPIC values and can contribute to our vision.