Social Worker - CWD

Job Description

Organisation: Leicestershire County Council

Work Location: : Various locations across the County 

Salary Level 1/Newly Qualified Social Worker (ASYE) - £37,642 (inclusive of market premia of £3,283) (Entry level of Grade 9 (£32,070) until full social work registration is granted. Increasing to the top level of Grade 9 with market premia (£37,642) once full social work registration is granted and for the duration of the ASYE program.

Working Hours: 37 hours per week

Contract Type: Permanent

Closing Date: 10th September 

Interview Date(s): 22nd September 2026

Have you been qualified as a Social Worker or are you due to qualify? Do you want to work with Leicestershire’s “Outstanding” Children and Family services? We are welcoming applicationsfrom candidates with the enthusiasm to learn and a passion for working with children and families.

Read more about our Outstanding Ofsted rating here and find out more from our staff here

About the Role

At Leicestershire County Council we are committed to doing our very best for vulnerable children and families; working to make a positive impact on their lives so they can achieve their potential and flourish. 

We are proud of Our Goals to Help Children and Families Plan 2026-2029 which sets out our key values, behaviours and ambitions. We have embedded the Signs of Safety approach throughout our services, and this approach mirrors our values of Aspiration, Being Curious and Collaboration. We are focussed on working with families and the networks of family, friends and professionals around children to work in collaboration to achieve shared goals.  We are proud to have developed an Empowered Futures Agenda to promote choice, inclusion and independence in planning for young adulthood.

As Children and Family Service we are committed to our vision of becoming a trauma informed responsive department where we believe we are “stronger together” our culture is one of partnership where we look for solutions and recognise the potential impact of trauma on the children and families we work with and on our staff. We will strive to create a safe, compassionate, healing environment demonstrated through relationships based on trust, respect, hope and empathy. We will achieve this through a spirit of curiosity, by purposeful practice, making a deliberate effort to know and understand people and by providing hope for growth and recovery. We are committed to supporting our staff to be the best workers that they can be. We will give you the support ad resources that you need to work in collaboration with children and families.  

We want all our staff to be inspired to go the extra mile. We are doing our best to create the sort of culture where practice excellence can flourish. We want to learn from what works, as much, if not more, than from when things go badly – we are ambitious to create a true ‘learning organisation. So… 

• Every year we run three annual conferences for staff to come together and reflect and learn. 
• Every month each team sets aside time for team learning. 
• You will receive consistent, regular and reflective supervision  
• You will receive group supervision support 
• Twice a year our senior leaders take a week out spending time with social workers observing practice and talking to young people and parents and carers about their experience of services 
• All Social Work England registered workers have three extra Continuous Professional Development days over the year. 
• Our training offer to social workers is refreshed each year and is highly valued by our staff 
• We provide course and training to support workforce career progression including Practice Educator Awards, Aspiring Managers Program, and Social Work Apprenticeship Program.  
• We have a team dedicated to supporting practice excellence who work alongside practitioners offering monthly training and learning, coaching and mentoring to build practitioner confidence, 1:1 or group reflective case discussions, and other support to staff and teams that can be requested. 
• Our Practice Development Group is well established for practitioners to collaborate on practice development. 
• We have a Critical Incident Response service for staff which provides independent therapeutic support within 48 hours if you experience a significant traumatic experience within work. 
• We have a well-respected Wellbeing Service who provide specific support to staff when needed, but also offers events throughout the year.  

For further information about our ASYE Program, including helpful videos and testimonials, please visit our website here.

We currently have vacancies across various service areas, which will be discussed with you at interview.

About You

To apply for this post, you must respond to and evidence the following 7 essential criteria within your personal statement. This should be no more than 1,000 words.

• Hold a Social Work degree or equivalent (e.g. CQSW, DipSW) specialising in children’s services within a number of years or expect to qualify within the next year. You must also be registered with Social Work England or expect registration upon qualifying.
• You must hold a full, valid, UK driving licence (or be able to convert your current licence) AND have access to a vehicle.
• Have experience of working with children and families, knowledge of childcare legislation and Local Safeguarding Children Partnership procedures, particularly in relation to child protection and child in need. Be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the theoretical underpinning of social work practice and models used.
• Have an awareness of the cultural, racial, linguistic, and religious backgrounds of children, young people, and families applying inclusion principles in practice across your work.
• Hold strong assessment skills, capable of analysing information to make sound decisions which offer support and are impactful and be able to demonstrate this via examples.
• Have excellent prioritisation and time management skills to ensure the successful delivery of competing and changing work demands and be able to demonstrate this via examples.
• Be proficient in IT, with sound knowledge of Microsoft Outlook, Word and database applications to ensure clear, accurate and age-appropriate communication with children, families, carers and external agencies/other service providers that support collaborative ways of working both orally and in writing.

We hope this sounds like you! 
 
Our salaries are competitive -£ 32,070 - £34,359 per annum for ASYE, (Level 2 Social Worker ) £38,734- £42,448 (Inclusive of Market premium £3,283)  (Level 3 Social Worker) £43,221 - £45,982  (Inclusive of Market premium £3,283)  per annum (pro rata for part time) (Pay award pending) 

But we know from our own staff that there are other reasons to come to Leicestershire. We hope