Advanced Children's Social Worker

We have an exciting opportunity for an experienced Advanced Social Worker to join our North Neighbourhood Service, covering Newcastle-under-Lyme and the Staffordshire Moorlands, on a full-time basis.

We are currently recruiting to two Advanced Social Worker posts:

• 1 x in our Family Help Team
• 1 x in our Child Protection and Court Team.

The Family Help Team works with children and families from the point of assessment, progressing plans through Child in Need processes and undertaking intervention and support to improve outcomes for children. Where risks escalate and child protection concerns are identified, cases are progressed to an Initial Child Protection Conference before transferring to the Child Protection and Court Team.

The Child Protection and Court Team works with children subject to Child Protection Plans, Public Law Outline (PLO) processes, and care proceedings, ensuring timely and effective intervention where statutory involvement is required.

In both roles, you will work closely with children and families to achieve positive and sustainable change, ensuring that children's needs remain paramount and that their voices, experiences and wishes are central to all assessment, planning and decision-making.

Our Social Workers make a significant difference to the lives of children and families across Staffordshire. We are proud of the impact they have and are equally committed to supporting them to thrive professionally.

In return, we offer agile and flexible working arrangements, high-quality learning and development opportunities, reflective supervision, and a supportive environment where professional growth is valued. By joining our team, you will become part of a service that is ambitious for children, committed to continuous improvement, and focused on achieving the very best outcomes for families.

You will work with children and families across Family Help and Child Protection and Court pathways, ensuring that children receive timely and effective support that promotes their safety, wellbeing and long-term outcomes.

You'll be:

• Undertaking high-quality assessments and developing child-centred plans that identify strengths, risks and protective factors.
• Working directly with children and families to achieve positive and sustainable change, ensuring that the voice, wishes and feelings of children remain central to all assessment, planning and decision-making.
• Managing complex cases involving Child in Need, Child Protection, Public Law Outline (PLO) and care proceedings, applying relevant legislation, statutory guidance and best practice.
• Completing meaningful direct work and regular visits with children and families to understand their lived experiences and monitor progress against plans.
• Leading and contributing to multi-agency meetings, including Child in Need Meetings, Core Groups, Child Protection Conferences, PLO meetings and court-related processes.
• Preparing high-quality reports, assessments and court statements, with confidence in presenting evidence and recommendations within both public and private law proceedings.
• Providing support, guidance and professional challenge where required to ensure that plans progress in a timely way and deliver positive outcomes for children.
• Working collaboratively with partner agencies to safeguard children, reduce risk and promote permanence and stability within family networks wherever it is safe to do so.

As an Advanced Social Worker, you will also be expected to demonstrate strong professional leadership, model excellent social work practice, and contribute to the ongoing development of colleagues and the wider service.

The minimum criteria that will be used to shortlist for this role will be:

• Experienced Qualified Social Worker having completed your ASYE year
• Registered with Social Work England
• Have a current UK driving licence and vehicle
• Have a firm understanding of public and private family law proceedings
• Be passionate about child centred practice

But above all, you’ll bring the desire to work with children and families to give them the right support, at the right time with the aim of keeping families together where it’s safe to do so.

For an informal chat about the role please contact Sarah Lovatt, Team Manager at: sarah.lovatt@staffordshire.gov.uk

Interviews will take place on Monday 9th November 2026.

For information, please note that there is currently an ongoing review within Children and Families to realign individual teams and the wider team’s ways of working. As a result, this role may be affected by the review. For further information, please speak to the hiring manager.

Our Recruitment Process: We anonymise applications during shortlisting to ensure only relevant information is considered. Please complete your application fully, especially the supporting statement, to highlight what you’ll bring to the role.

Please note: The minimum criteria in the ideal candidate section detailed above will be used if you are applying under one of our Interview Guarantee Schemes detailed below.

We are no ordinary county council:

Our Values:

The core of who we are as an organisation. Just like we all have personal values that shape our thoughts and behaviour, organisational values drive how we think and act collectively.

Our values were created and shaped by colleague feedback and national best practice and they sit at the heart of People Strategy:

We have a real sense of community spirit that brings our people together. This feeling of belonging means we are all connected to what we do and take pride in the difference we make every day for Staffordshire people. We are ambitious and our sights are set firmly on a better future.

We look forward and race ahead - that goes for your career too.

Our benefits:

We recognise that it is our employees that are central to everything we do. We aim to create a supportive working environment where employees can achieve their full potential and achieve a healthy work-life balance.

In addition to your salary, as a member of staff, you will have access to Our rewards and benefits - Careers at Staffordshire

Our recruitment process:

As an Authority we are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people/vulnerable adults and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

Staffordshire County Council is an equal opportunities organisation and Disability Confident employer. We encourage applications from all background and communities

As part of our commitment as a Disability Confident employer, a Gold Award Armed Forces employer and our commitment to supporting care leavers - we offer a guaranteed interview as long as your application meets the minimum criteria for the post.

As you’ll know safeguarding and promoting the welfare of our children and young people/vulnerable adults is important to us and that’s why this position is subject to a criminal record check from the Disclosure and Barring Service. If applicable you should disclose details of unspent and unfiltered spent reprimands, formal warnings, cautions and convictions in your application form.