Senior Social Worker- Bronzefield Prison

We are committed to the development of our workforce. This position is only available to applicants who already work for Surrey County Council. We thank you for your interest in our roles and would encourage you to review our vacancies which are open to all.

This position is offered as a secondment or fixed term contract until 31st March 2027 and has a starting salary of £47,884 per annum, based on a 36 hour working week.

We have a great opportunity to join our Audit and Practice Standards team as a Prison Based Social Worker (Senior Social Worker) (PBSW).

This role is a front line operational social worker, based in Bronzefield Prison and you would be required to work from the prison every day. Bronzefield is a remand prison that serves the courts. It is a private prison. They have a range of resources and access to technology that allows the women to make referrals directly to the PBSW. The women can refer at any time to access support. The PBSW also receives referrals from other professionals within the prison if they feel that social work support is needed. There is a mother and baby unit at Bronzefield that will take mothers and a young child where assessed appropriate.

Our Offer to You

• 28 days’ holiday, rising 31 days after 5 years’ service
• Option to buy up to 10 days of additional annual leave
• A generous local government salary related pension
• Up to 5 days of carer’s leave and 2 paid volunteering days per year
• Paternity, adoption, and dependents leave
• An Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support health and wellbeing
• Learning and development hub where you can access a wealth of resources
• Wellbeing and lifestyle discounts including gym, travel, and shopping
• A chance to make a real difference to the lives of our residents

About The Role

The purpose of the role is to support mothers in custody who are separated from their children, helping to sustain family relationships and, where assessed as safe and appropriate, maintain contact. Prison‑Based Social Workers provide intensive, day‑to‑day support to mothers within the prison setting, working closely with a range of professionals across the prison estate.

The role involves supporting mothers to understand and navigate social work processes, including family proceedings, child protection plans and contact arrangements. Although the post does not involve direct case management of children, it requires close partnership working with children’s social care teams, offering specialist social work input from within the prison environment to support identified needs and safeguard children’s welfare.

Much of the role focuses on advocacy and reflective direct work with mothers, including helping them to understand professional concerns and identified risks, explore the impact of their offence on their children, and support appropriate contact where this can be safely achieved. The role also includes advising and supporting prison‑based professionals to understand family circumstances and contribute to wider safeguarding decisions.

You will be confident in appropriately challenging the practice and decision‑making of others, including senior professionals to ensure the voice of women and children remains central to the work of local authorities and prison settings. You will also promote the service through presentations and engagement activities, both online and face‑to‑face.

This is a time limited contract due to the funding by the Ministry of Justice. There is a potential for extension if the long-term goal is realised to expand the service offer for social workers to be allocated to every female prison in the UK (12 prisons). As part of this ambition there is scope to assist in how the PBSW’s can work together and develop the service, improving consistency and visibility.

Your Application

To be considered for shortlisting, your application will clearly evidence the following skills, experience and align with our behaviours:

• Advance safeguarding/risk assessment/analysis skills where a parent is in custody- able to produces defensible decisions and high-quality recording.
• Confident to work within a prison setting alongside the women in custody and prison staff.
• Able to influence and coordinates multi-agency working across prison, probation, health, and multiple local authorities to prevent drift and manage risk.
• Committed to inclusivity– reducing barriers to participation for women in custody; recognising stigma/inequality; keeping the child’s voice central.
• Collaborative – able to act as a bridge between prison and community systems; share information appropriately; and build trusted partnerships.
• Ambitious – able to drive timely outcomes for children (safety, permanence, stable contact where appropriate); and can maintain high professional standards.
• Dynamic – able to adapt to changing prison regimes; staying curious and solution focused working to improve how the system works for families affected by imprisonment.

Surrey has both urban and rural areas and locality based social care workers will be expected to have a valid driving licence to drive in the UK and 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.

Before submitting your application, we recommend you read the job description & Our Life at Surrey handbook to get an insight into working at Surrey.

The job advert closes at 23:59 on 12/06/2026 with interviews planned to follow – likely to be middle of June.

Contact Us

Please contact us for any questions relating to the role. Please contact Jackie Nicholls via email at Jackie.Nicholls@surreycc.gov.uk. This could be to discuss flexible working requests, transferable skills, or any barriers to employment.

An enhanced DBS ‘Disclosure and Barring Service’ check for regulated activity (formerly known as CRB) and the Children’s and Adults’ Barred List checks will be required for this role.

Local Government Organisation (LGR)

Surrey County Council is undergoing Local Government Reorganisation, moving from a two-tier system to new unitary councils in April 2027. Your role will transfer with current terms and conditions to one of these new councils, supporting local devolution and greater powers for our communities.

Join our dynamic team and shape the future of local government. Make a lasting impact with innovative solutions and improved services for our community. Help us build a brighter future for our residents! Please see more information here: Information for applicants on Local Government Reorganisation - Surrey County Council

Our Commitment

We are a disability confident employer which means if you have shared a disability on your application form and have evidenced you meet the minimum criteria, we guarantee you an interview.

Your skills and experience truly matter to us. From application to your first day, we are committed to supporting you with any adjustments you need, we value inclusion and warmly welcome you to join and help build a workplace where everyone belongs.