At Cafcass, we’re recruiting Children’s Social Workers who share our passion, commitment and ambition to facilitate positive outcomes for children involved in public law family court proceedings. Our Social Workers — professionally known as Family Court Advisers (FCAs) — play a vital role in speaking on behalf of children and young people to ensure their thoughts, wishes and feelings are not just understood but heard.
What You’ll Be Doing
* Complete high‑quality assessments, engaging directly with children to understand their experiences, wishes and feelings — and ensure these are clearly and powerfully represented to the family court.
* Apply your expertise in risk assessment, analysis and mediation, advocating for solutions that place the child’s safety, wellbeing and long‑term interests at the centre of decision‑making.
* Work with adults, local authorities, and a wide range of professionals to help resolve complex issues and influence better outcomes for children.
Who We’re Looking For
We’re looking for practitioners who are confident, curious, compassionate and committed to excellent social work practice.
To Join Us, You’ll Need
* A Social Work qualification is essential.
* Have the Right to Work in the UK (we do not sponsor people to work in the UK).
* Registered with Social Work England (or likely to be able to register quickly if practising outside England).
* Recent, relevant experience of working directly with children and families.
* It’s desirable you’ll have experience in family court proceedings, or knowledge of Private and/or Public Law.
* For applicants with limited post‑qualifying experience, relevant pre‑qualifying experience supporting children and families may be beneficial.
* Strong organisational skills, professional resilience and the ability to work independently while effectively managing a varied caseload.
Where you’ll work
Our Social Workers work flexibly across multiple settings — including the office in Maidstone, Kent, home, courts, schools and other appropriate, safe locations, and we ensure you have the technology to do this. Shared learning is very important to us, and we bring our teams together regularly, both remotely and in person, for team meetings and group supervision.
Benefits
* High‑quality equipment and technology to help you work efficiently and engage with families effectively.
* Access to specialist resources, guidance and training to strengthen your practice.
* A strong commitment to wellbeing, reflective supervision and healthy work–life balance.
* An inclusive environment that values diversity, encourages learning and constantly strives to improve outcomes for children, families and colleagues alike.
* Generous holidays: 28 days holiday (including three for Christmas) rising to 33 days with five years continuous service, which could include your current employment. You can also sell any you do not need.
* Excellent pension: 13.7% employer contribution to Local Government Pension scheme, potentially building on your current pension.
* Flexible working: most colleagues work in a hybrid way, having the benefits of working both from the office and home, and we accommodate flexible working requests.
* Professional fees: Social work colleagues have their annual Social Work England membership fees reimbursed.
* Car leasing schemes: We offer a personal car leasing scheme which provides vehicles at competitive rates through a third party.
Additional Information
Successful applicants will complete several pre‑engagement checks, including a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. If any criminal offences are disclosed, we will conduct an individual assessment in line with the DBS code of practice and the Cafcass DBS policy.
For inquiries about the role or recruitment process, contact Michelle Berridge at Michelle.Berridge@cafcass.gov.uk.
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