Looked After Children's Senior Social Worker, SURREY COUNTY COUNCIL
We have a great opportunity for a Senior Social Worker to join our Children Looked After Team based in Woking, on a 12 month fixed term contract basis.
When not working with our residents in the community, we are keen to support agile working with a combination of home and office working, ensuring you feel connected to your team and the service while having the flexibility you need.
The salary range for Senior Social Workers is £47,884 - £51,175 per annum.
Our Offer to You
* We pay your Social Work England registration fee
* Access to bespoke learning programmes via our dedicated Children's Services Academy to empower and enrich your practice
* 28 days annual leave, rising to 31 days after 5 years’ service (plus bank holidays)
* Option to buy up to 10 days of additional annual leave
* An extensive Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support health and wellbeing
* Up to 5 days of carer’s leave per year
* Paternity, adoption and dependants leave
* A generous local government salary‑related pension
* Lifestyle discounts including gym, travel, shopping and many more
* 2 paid volunteering days per year
* Learning and development hub where you can access a wealth of resources
* Refer a friend payment of £1,000 as a thank you for finding the right Social Worker
Our Progress
We are proud of our recent Good Ofsted judgement, which marks a significant milestone for Surrey. The report highlights that "Children in care have trusting and positive relationships with their Social Workers. Social Workers use creative life‑story work to help children understand the reasons why they are in care." And "Staff are well‑trained and committed, feel highly valued and are proud to work in Surrey." You can read the full report here.
About Working With Children Looked After
As a member of the Children Looked After Team, your aim is to support children living with relatives, friends or foster families and prospective adopters, or older children living in children’s homes and semi‑independent units, as well as assessing whether it is safe for our children to return to live with birth families. You will build sustainable relationships with them, plan for their permanence, ensure their safety and support them towards independence. Through regular visits, assessments and reviewing their Care Plan, you will nurture and develop meaningful relationships with these children; understand and interpret their wishes; and champion and support them to reach their full potential. Occasionally, you will be required to prepare reports and attend court. You will receive regular supervision and consultations with our Mental Health Focussed Social Worker, as well as support from other social workers, family support workers, the stable management team, and partnership organisations such as Health Services, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (New Leaf), Independent Reviewing officers and carers.
One Voice
In Surrey, you will have a sense of belonging within your individual team and the wider service areas and directorate. You will receive high‑quality supervision, with a firm commitment towards dedicating time that focuses on the work you do with children and families, enabling you to work creatively and holistically in providing support and protection to children while also paying attention to your wellbeing and career development.
Your Application, Our Inclusive Approach
In order to be considered for shortlisting, your application will clearly evidence the following skills and align with our behaviours:
* Qualified Social Work degree and SWE registration
* ASYE completed within two years of qualifying
* UK social work experience
* Car driver with a valid UK licence
Surrey has both urban and rural areas and Social Workers will be expected to have a valid driving licence to drive in the UK, access to a vehicle and be willing to travel across a wide geographical area. Reasonable adjustments where needed will be made for successful applicants who have a disability or long‑term health condition to enable them to fulfil the requirements of the job.
To apply you will need to upload your CV and answer 3 application questions (no more than 200 words per question):
* What has motivated you to apply for this role?
* What are the key skills and experience you will be able to bring to this role?
* Give an example that demonstrates how you have built long‑lasting relationships with children.
Before submitting your application, we recommend you read the job description and Our Life at Surrey handbook to gain an insight into working at Surrey.
If your application is shortlisted, you will be invited to a short virtual call to explore your answers to the application questions (lasting approx. 15–20 mins). If successful following this, you will be invited for an in‑person interview, allowing you to meet the team, check out your potential office and get a feel for what your journey might look like.
We are committed to inclusive recruitment. If you are invited to a face‑to‑face interview, we’ll share the themes of the questions with you in advance.
The job advert closes at 23:59 on 01.01.2026.
Contact Us
We are happy to answer any questions you may have about this role. Please drop us a quick message and we’ll arrange a call.
An enhanced DBS Disclosure and Barring Service check (formerly CRB) and the Children’s and Adults’ Barred List checks will be required for this role.
#J-18808-Ljbffr