Social Worker - Children Service

Social Worker - Children Service

Job Summary

Contract Type:

• Permanent

Working Pattern:

• Full time

Advert Start Date:

• 09/09/2026

Advert End Date:

• 20/09/2026 23:59

Salary:

Band 9 £35, 412 - £38, 220 per annum (ASYE/pre-progression)/ Band 10 - £39, 152 - £41, 771 (SW main grade) Band 11 £42, 839 - £46, 142 (SW experienced)

Hours per week:

• 37

Job Category:

• Social Work - Children Service

Vacancy ID:

• 301614

Employment Location:

• Town Hall

Post Number:

• TBC

Number of posts:

• 2

Closing date:

• 20 Sep

Further Information

Join an Outstanding Children's Service and Help Shape the Future of Family Help in Darlington.

Are you a passionate and motivated Social Worker, whether newly qualified or experienced, who is committed to achieving the very best outcomes for children and families? If so, we would love to hear from you.

Darlington Children's Services is proud to be rated 'Outstanding' by Ofsted. We are ambitious about the future and excited about the next stage of our journey as we continue to develop and innovate our services for children and families.

What Ofsted said about us:

• Inspectors found a resilient and committed workforce with strong morale and a shared commitment to improving children's lives. Some staff told inspectors how much they love working in Darlington. Staff value the high level of support they receive, including creative development opportunities and initiatives such as the Experts in Practice programme, which has positively influenced practice and reflects leaders' ambition for continuous professional growth.

We are looking for enthusiastic, energetic and forward-thinking individuals who want to be part of this exciting next chapter. You will play a key role in developing and embedding relational practice, strengthening local networks and community capacity, and helping us deliver innovative approaches that make a real difference to children and families.

This is a particularly exciting time to join Darlington. We are making strong progress in delivering the Families First reforms, providing opportunities to be involved in pioneering approaches and helping to shape the future of family help and support services.

For detailed information about the role, please refer to the Role Profile and supporting documentation.

We are committed to supporting our workforce and offer an agile working model across our services. This approach enables colleagues to achieve a healthy balance between home and office working while ensuring children and families continue to receive the highest quality support.

Come and be part of a service where relationships matter, innovation is encouraged, and together we can make a lasting difference to children's lives.

The rewards for working at Darlington Borough Council go beyond the salary you will receive; we have numerous additional benefits such as:

• 32 days Annual Leave, plus Bank Holidays, with option to purchase additional Annual Leave (pro-rata for part time working)
• Access to the Local Government Pension Scheme with option to make Additional Voluntary Contributions
• Flexi-time scheme
• Flexible working
• Generous Maternity, Paternity and Adoption Leave schemes
• Staff equality forums
• Green Car Leasing Scheme
• Access to a wide range of training, learning and development
• Physiotherapy service
• Confidential counselling service
• Great wellbeing offer
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Dolphin Centre Fit for Life Discounts
• Local and National retailer discounts
• Vivup employee benefit app and Lifestyle Savings
• Arriva Employee Travel Club

For the full range of benefits we offer, please see our "Why work for us" internet page, which also includes our Total Reward Booklet and Employee Benefit Video.

We also encourage inquiries through informal discussions about the role with Suzanne Nelson, Service Manager, at .

General information for applicants: If you have any further questions regarding applying for this role or the questions and required fields within the application form, please contact the HR Support team on or HR@darlington.gov.uk.

If you are experiencing problems with the NE Jobs website, such as logging in, saving pages, on account queries please fill out the form within the link below.

https://www.northeastjobs.org.uk/contactus

All applicant email correspondence will come from donotreply@northeastjobs.org.uk and may be directed to your Junk folder depending on the settings of your email account. Please check both your email and Junk folder as all applicants will be notified whether they have been shortlisted.

You must ensure that anything submitted in your application is factually accurate. Plagiarism can include presenting the ideas and experience of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own. Whilst we accept candidates may use AI tools within job applications; submissions must be truthful and relevant to your own experience.

We are an equal opportunities' employer. We welcome applicants from all sections of the community. We aim to interview any applicant who declares a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job.

Supporting documents

• Social Worker Childrens Band 11 - JD & PS (6).doc (277.0 KB)
• Social Worker Childrens Band 9 -10 - JD & PS.doc (281.0 KB)

#s1-Gen

Are you a passionate and motivated Social Worker, whether newly qualified or experienced, who is committed to achieving the very best outcomes for children and families? If so, we would love to hear from you., This post is eligible for the Social Worker Recruitment and Retention payment paid annually to Social Workers with a minimum of one year's post qualifying experience in a Social Worker role who have successfully completed their ASYE year (if applicable). The payment is currently £2,500 per annum (pro-rata for part time hours, reviewed annually)

Darlington Children's Services is proud to be rated 'Outstanding' by Ofsted. We are ambitious about the future and excited about the next stage of our journey as we continue to develop and innovate our services for children and families. What Ofsted said about us: "Inspectors found a resilient and committed workforce with strong morale and a shared commitment to improving children's lives. Some staff told inspectors how much they love working in Darlington. Staff value the high level of support they receive, including creative development opportunities and initiatives such as the Experts in Practice programme, which has positively influenced practice and reflects leaders' ambition for continuous professional growth." We are looking for enthusiastic, energetic and forward-thinking individuals who want to be part of this exciting next chapter. You will play a key role in developing and embedding relational practice, strengthening local networks and community capacity, and helping us deliver innovative approaches that make a real difference to children and families. This is a particularly exciting time to join Darlington. We are making strong progress in delivering the Families First reforms, providing opportunities to be involved in pioneering approaches and helping to shape the future of family help and support services. For detailed information about the role, please refer to the Role Profile and supporting documentation. We are committed to supporting our workforce and offer an agile working model across our services. This approach enables colleagues to achieve a healthy balance between home and office working while ensuring children and families continue to receive the highest quality support. Come and be part of a service where relationships matter, innovation is encouraged, and together we can make a lasting difference to children's lives. The rewards for working at Darlington Borough Council go beyond the salary you will receive; we have numerous additional benefits such as

32 days Annual Leave, plus Bank Holidays, with option to purchase additional Annual Leave (pro-rata for part time working) Access to the Local Government Pension Scheme with option to make Additional Voluntary Contributions Flexi-time scheme Flexible working Generous Maternity, Paternity and Adoption Leave schemes Staff equality forums Green Car Leasing Scheme Access to a wide range of training, learning and development Physiotherapy service Confidential counselling service Great wellbeing offer Cycle to Work Scheme Dolphin Centre Fit for Life Discounts Local and National retailer discounts Vivup employee benefit app and Lifestyle Savings Arriva Employee Travel Club