Professional Joining Incentive
We are offering a £4,000 “Professional Joining Incentive” if you successfully join one of our Essex teams. You can find out further information about this incentive and the associated terms and conditions by accessing the relevant vacancy document.
We’re Recruiting Children’s Social Workers
At Cafcass, we’re recruiting Children’s Social Workers who share our passion, commitment and ambition to facilitate positive outcomes for children involved in private and public law family court proceedings. Our Social Workers — professionally known as Family Court Advisers (FCAs) — play a vital role. You may work within the Private Law team, the Public Law team, or a converged team covering both law types. Whatever team you join, the underlying role is the same – to speak on behalf of children and young people to ensure their thoughts, wishes and feelings are not just understood but heard. As the only organisation that does this kind of work, FCAs can make recommendations leading to lasting change for children and families, which is why this responsibility we take seriously. We’re committed to creating a safe, healthy and supportive environment for our colleagues to practice.
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 don’t 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 Chelmsford, home, courts, schools and other appropriate, safe locations. 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. You’ll also have regular 1:1 time with your manager, especially during your induction, and again there will be a balance between doing this remotely and in‑person, so you have opportunities to form in‑person connections. If shortlisted, the hiring manager will be able to give you more insight into what a typical week or month might look like should you join us.
How We Support You
As the largest employer of Children’s Social Workers in England, we’re uniquely placed to support your professional growth and wellbeing.
At Cafcass, You’ll Benefit From
* 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.
Benefits
* 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 – 18.1% 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, we also accommodate flexible working requests (e.g. 9‑day fortnights).
* Exclusive discounts – generous discounts with a wide range of companies covering leisure, technology, travel, personal finance, fashion and supermarkets.
* 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.
Documents
To view the full job description, please refer to the vacancy documents.
Next Steps
Below we have set out an indicative timetable we are hoping to work towards, although dates are subject to change.
Closing Date
30 March 2026
Telephone Interviews
2nd April 2026
Final Interview
15th April 2026
Contact
If you have any questions about the role or recruitment process, please contact Narinder.kaur2@cafcass.gov.uk. Before applying, we encourage you to read about our offer and pre‑employment checks. Any questions or concerns can be confidentially raised through your application.
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.
We look forward to receiving your application!
We are Cafcass – the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service – and we represent children in family court cases in England. Independently advising the family courts about what is safe for children and in their best interests, we speak up for over 140,000 children every year when the family court makes critical decisions about their futures, ensuring their needs, wishes and feelings are heard. Watch our video to find out we don’t just listen to children’s voices but we can be their voice.
Why Join Us?
If our purpose resonates with you, and you share our ambitions for children, then if you join us, you will work alongside like‑minded people in a diverse, inclusive and supportive organisation.
Wellbeing
We are truly passionate about the wellbeing of our colleagues – we provide four designated additional days per year for health and wellbeing, a health and wellbeing cash plan, holistic support for physical, mental and financial health, and access to a dedicated Employee Assistance Provider (EAP) for free confidential support 24 hours a day.
Diversity
We represent children and families from diverse backgrounds and are committed to actively attract and recruit individuals with disabilities including “non‑visible” disabilities and mental health conditions. Our inclusive and accessible recruitment process accommodates reasonable adjustments as needed.
Our Current Networks
* Ability Matters – Colleagues with disabilities and long‑term health conditions.
* Carers Network – Colleagues with additional caring responsibilities for someone close to them who has a disability or long‑term health condition.
* Faith Network – Colleagues who are part of, or have an interest in, religious or spiritual faith communities.
* Kaleidoscope Network – Colleagues from Black Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds.
* Mental Health Network – Colleagues who experience, or have an interest in, Mental Health issues.
* Pride Network – Colleagues who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans – LGBT+.
* Neurodiversity Network – Colleagues who are neurodivergent, or support someone who is.
Together with Children and Families
‘Together’ is the name of our relationship‑based practice framework. It applies to the work of every individual in Cafcass, from Social Workers to Leaders and includes our Corporate and Business Support teams. It is at the heart of what we do and is made up of our values, how these values work in practice, the tools to use to incorporate these values in our work and the impact this will have on the children and families we serve.
Closing
We look forward to hearing from you and to the possibility of you joining our team.
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