Bracknell Forest's Children’s Social Care team are proud to have achieved an Outstanding in all areas grading in December 2025. Not only did we maintain our Outstanding judgement, but inspectors also recognised that “since the last inspection in 2022, Bracknell Forest has sustained and strengthened exceptional services for children and families".
Ofsted described practitioners as “effusive about working in Bracknell” who value our strong child‑focused ethos, relational practice model, manageable workloads and high‑quality training and supervision.
Staff shared with inspectors that they appreciate leaders’ visibility, approachability and unwavering commitment to children, all factors that underpin their decision to continue their careers in Bracknell Forest.
“Leaders have established a highly effective Social Work Academy that provides tailored support to practitioners at every stage of their career”. This commitment to development and learning has contributed to Bracknell Forest’s secure reputation as an ‘employer of choice’ for social workers.
About you…
As a Family Worker in Children’s Social Care, you bring experience of working directly with children, young people, and their families. You are confident in building positive, trusted relationships and in responding effectively to the individual needs of families, ensuring they receive the right support at the right time.
You are an effective communicator who is skilled at engaging families while working collaboratively with partner agencies. Alongside strong interpersonal skills, you have a solid foundational knowledge of safeguarding and understand how to work jointly with key professionals such as schools, health services, housing, and voluntary sector partners.
To be successful in this role, you demonstrate the ability to maintain accurate and timely case records, producing clear written and verbal information. You remain calm, organised, and focused in a fast‑paced environment, meeting required timescales and managing priorities with confidence.
You will be passionate about relational practice and committed in joining our embedded culture and ethos of bettering vulnerable children’s lives. You will be committed to understanding the lived experiences of children being a fierce advocate for children and providing the support required to better childhood experiences.
Experience of working with children with disabilities and complex needs is desirable, but not essential, we will support you to develop this specialist knowledge.
About the team and children’s social care
The Children’s Specialist Safeguarding Team (CSST) is a highly skilled team working with children who have disabilities and/or complex health needs.
We provide a wide range of services for children with additional needs and those who may be more vulnerable. This includes delivering the council’s statutory responsibilities for disabled children in need within the community, such as care packages, practical support and access to short breaks.
In December 2025, Ofsted concluded that “since the last inspection, leaders, managers and practitioners have not only sustained outstanding services but have raised the bar even higher.”
The team brings together an eclectic mix of expertise across different service areas, covering a broad spectrum of work with children with disabilities, Occupational Therapy, and Short Breaks (including Larchwood, our dedicated short break respite unit).
We are a small, welcoming and friendly local authority where you will have the opportunity to build strong, positive and supportive working relationships with colleagues and peers. You will not be just another face in a large system, you will be a valued member of the team, where you will feel connected, appreciated, heard, accepted, included and supported.
To learn more about what it is like to work with us, take a look at our workforce video
Key responsibilities…
* manage a caseload of children in need, undertaking purposeful home visits and direct work with children and parents.
* contribute to ongoing assessment, review and intervention plans for children and families.
* work alongside social workers to deliver solution-focused interventions, parenting support and programmes that strengthen safety, routines and relationships.
* arrange, supervise and record family time between children looked after and their families, including practical transport as required.
* maintain accurate, timely case records on MOSAIC, sharing information appropriately in line with safeguarding, GDPR and confidentiality requirements.
* participate in regular supervision, training and reflective group case discussions to develop practice and support the wider duty system.
Our benefits…
* 25 days annual leave increasing to 28 days after 3 years’ continuous service, with the opportunity to buy up to 10 and sell up to 5 days.
* Paid employee volunteering scheme.
* Local government pension scheme, with life insurance cover.
* Career development through internal and external training opportunities.
* Enhanced maternity, paternity, adoption and fostering leave.
* Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support your health and wellbeing.
* Inclusive and social working environment with a variety of staff networks and a sports and social club.
Find out more about all our benefits or see the candidate pack.
Our values
At Bracknell Forest Council our values define who we are and what is important to us. Our core values are inclusive, ambitious, and always learning. These values influence the way we work with each other and the way we serve our residents and engage with our communities. We make our values real by demonstrating them in how we behave every day. If you are excited about joining a diverse team that celebrates learning and strives for excellence, we would love to hear from you.
Reasonable adjustments
We are committed to ensuring an inclusive recruitment process for all applicants. If you require any reasonable adjustments to support your application or interview, please let us know by contacting recruitment@bracknell-forest.gov.uk. We will work with you to support you throughout the process. Find out more about reasonable adjustments.
Interview date
Interviews will be held on Friday 6th March.
Interviews will be conducted in person, providing candidates with the chance to personally meet the team and experience our work environment.
We will be reviewing applications regularly and may close the advert early if we identify suitable candidates. To avoid disappointment, we encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible.
Please note AI is prohibited during the interview, any candidate using AI will be withdrawn from consideration.