Social Worker / Senior Social Worker - Children in Care

We may be able to offer sponsorship for this role, in line with Home Office guidance and subject to pre-employment checks. Applicants must already hold a valid right to work in the UK that Gloucestershire County Council can transfer. If you are an Internal applicant and consider yourself to have a disability

• as per the Equality Act (2010), please declare this in an email to CSWrecruitment@gloucestershire.gov.uk, as this is NOT currently covered in the application due to a technical error.
By providing this information, you can choose to be considered for a guaranteed interview under our Disability Confident pledge if you meet all essential shortlisting criteria. It also enables the recruiting manager to arrange any reasonable adjustments you may need during the interview process.
• a disability is defined as: a physical or mental impairment, which has a substantial and long-term (more than 12 months) adverse effect on a person's ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.
  
  As a Social Worker within our Children in Care teams, you will be instrumental in delivering a first-class service to ensure the best outcomes for the children and young people of Gloucestershire. Through building positive relationships with colleagues within the service and partner agencies you will ensure we are able to provide support and protection for children and young people in need and at risk.
As well as your experience as a frontline social worker, there are some things we require of you to be successfully appointed to this post:
• Social Work England registration
• a recognised qualification in Social Work
• to have passed your Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE) if qualified after 2012
• a full driving licence and willingness to drive
• DBS clearance (Enhanced Adult's and Children's), We want to be an employer of choice, attracting and retaining excellent people to work for us, so that we can best serve all of Gloucestershire's diverse communities. Our promise to you is that we will provide an inclusive and supportive working environment that enables you to bring your whole self to work and realise your full potential.
It is a legal requirement, under the Immigration Act 2016, that anyone appointed to a 'customer facing role' must be able to demonstrate an ability to fulfil all spoken aspects of the role with confidence in fluent English. Hybrid working arrangements are available for the majority of our roles, giving teams the opportunity to work in a way that suits them, balancing service need and individual choice, with a mix of both remote and office working.


• between £39,152 - £47,181 per annum subject to experience (pro rata for part-time staff)
• £4,000 welcome payment
• £2,000 retention payment
• up to £8,000 relocation package
• flexible and agile working opportunities
• 25.5 days annual leave rising to 30.5 days after 5 years continuous service (pro rata for part-time staff)
• option to purchase 10 days of additional leave per year (pro rata for part-time staff)
• family friendly policies and benefits to help support you and your family
• supportive and positive working environment with regular, robust supervision
• Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)
• access to our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) that provides free, confidential, counselling and advice for employees, available 24 hours a day, online and by telephone
• an in-house Occupational Health service
• employee discount scheme
• links to employee networks such as Prism (LGBT+) and the Young Employees Network
• career development and qualification opportunities
• access to our Social Work Academy
• Cycle to Work scheme (eligibility criteria and t&cs apply)
• Green Car Salary Sacrifice Scheme (eligibility criteria and t&cs apply)
• Please note that all our welcome and retention payments are subject to terms and conditions as well as tax and national insurance deductions
• Please note that our relocation policy is subject to terms and conditions
Right child, right support, right time, every time In our recent inspection in June 2025, our Children's Services have been officially judged as 'Good' with 'Outstanding' elements. Ofsted also said 'Leaders have set out a clear vision for delivering success for children, by modelling values and creating a culture where the workforce, children and families feel valued and heard; risk is managed confidently with bottom lines clearly set out.' This marks an important step in our journey to improve outcomes for our children and young people, and we remain focused on our mission: to continue building on this success and ensure that every child and young person in our county has the opportunity to thrive. Gloucestershire offers a range of opportunities to develop your career, supported by a phenomenal Social Work Academy offer, a developing systemic practice methodology, an ambitious leadership team and an award-winning workforce. We are a local authority adopting, and training all colleagues in, systemic social work practice. If you would like to be part of an authority that takes a relational approach to working with families and focuses on what needs to change in the system around a child and family to enable children to thrive, then consider a role with GCC. About the team The Children in Care teams are made up of 5 Social Workers, and an Advanced Practitioner. The teams often have a newly qualified Social Worker, a Senior Social Worker and Experienced Social Workers, so you will always have support around you. Social Workers enjoy meeting up and sharing their expert knowledge about casework and we make the learning times an enjoyable occasion. The Gloucestershire Social Work Academy provide many training sessions to increase knowledge and understanding of the specialist work we do, such as Life Story Work for young people, to help them understand why they came into care. Also, we have team away days to consolidate our learning, and share our expertise throughout the team, as well as weekly team check ins, so that you never feel isolated as a practitioner.