Job Description

How you'll make a difference:

Our social workers make a real difference. Every day, they work with families to help children and young people who have had a difficult start in life to achieve their ambitions. You'll be listening to young people, putting them at the heart of everything we do and work in partnership with families to equip them with the skills they need to ensure young people live in happy, healthy and safe homes.


We're pleased to say that we provide an Ofsted rated 'Good' service, our Ofsted report can be viewed here. Join us to collectively maintain and build on this for the ongoing betterment of the children and young people of South Gloucestershire.


What you will be doing:

You would be working within an established team of experienced social workers who undertake statutory social work in the areas of Child Protection (CP), Children in Need (CiN) and the initial stages of Looked After Children (LAC), as well as working within the Public Law Outline and Care Proceedings.

We have a strong culture of giving staff the time, freedom and support to explore new and better ways of doing things, so we're looking for individuals keen to use their creativity to deliver high quality, child-centred practices, which ensure the best outcomes for children and families. You will provide information, advice and support to children, young people, their families and carers to enable children to enjoy and achieve social inclusion. You are responsible for fulfilling a duty to safeguard vulnerable children and young people and to assess need, develop plans and provide services where appropriate. You will then review these plans regularly to ensure that outcomes are being achieved. It will be key for you to ensure vulnerable children and young people are protected and supported to achieve positive outcomes through the provision of well planned, integrated and coordinated services.

What we need from you:
We require you to be a qualified Social Worker with relevant registration to practice with Social Work England (SWE) or pending your formal qualification award and registration. You will have already successfully completed your ASYE (where qualifying since 2012) and have substantial post qualifying experience in a children's services role, unless you are seeking a newly qualified position. Given the elements of this role, you will be used to solving problems, be confident about making important decisions and are passionate about working with children, young people and families to meet their goals and aspirations. If seeking an Advanced Social Worker position, you will be able to demonstrate specialist knowledge of the relevant services including latest service developments, legislation, regulations and codes of practice. Those seeking a Senior Social Worker position will in addition to the above, have experience of supervision or mentoring of social workers or support staff and substantial first-hand experience in a relevant children's social care team.

What you need to know:
This role is based in the Central Locality Hub in the Westgate Centre, Yate. Although this post is advertised as a full-time position, we encourage and welcome applications from experienced social workers who may be seeking part time, job share or flexible working arrangements. Please note that due to the nature of this role, it is a requirement of employment that an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check is obtained. You will be expected to travel throughout the authority and surrounding area so you must have a full, valid driving licence with regular access to a vehicle insured for business use or have an alternative suitable means of travel.

We are planning for interviews to be held week commencing 12th January 2026.

How a career at South Gloucestershire Council is different:
As part of our benefits package, you will receive

generous annual leave

(pro rata), employee

wellbeing support

and you will have access to a range of

staff discounts

, including eye tests, travel, shopping and leisure activities. We recognise that our

diverse team

of skilled and dedicated people make us a great place to work. We welcome applications from everyone and ensure that individuals are selected, promoted and developed on the basis of their merits and abilities. We invest in the careers of our people, and we are recognised for the quality, breadth and depth of our

training and development

offer, which helps our people make the greatest long-term difference in their work. What's special here is the strength of the

team ethos

. We are a relatively small local authority, so managers know staff well. They can plan their services to ensure teams have

manageable caseloads

and have effective supervision so

feel supported

to make decisions which are right for the children and young people they work with. We are

committed to safeguarding

and promoting the safety and welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. Ensuring all our staff are given right skills, knowledge and support to recognise and respond effectively to potential abuse or neglect.


"Staff are overwhelmingly positive about working for South Gloucestershire Council. Staff report feeling heard and responded to by senior leaders. Reduced workloads, increased stability of managers and more business support have strengthened their ability to respond to and improve the quality of practice for children. A wealth of concentrated training, including the Programme for Change initiative, has developed skill sets and expertise of staff. Staff benefit from a clear pathway of career progression, including a bespoke managers development programme." [Ofsted Report published July 2024]

A career at South Gloucestershire is an opportunity for you to progress when you are ready.


Any post can become any social worker grade, be it at initial recruitment or through internal progression, our grades and salaries are:

Advanced Social Worker 40,777 - 44,075 Senior Social Worker 45,091 - 48,226


We have a fluid career progression programme and structure; what does this mean for you?

You no longer need to wait for a vacancy to gain promotion. Apply for progression assessment when you are ready, no restrictions on application windows. Earn a higher income for your recognised experience. Gain promotion without needing to change teams, managers or employer - fast track your potential. Senior roles leading to both managerial or practice specialist careers. Gain experience in other teams with secondment opportunities encouraged.


These posts attract a gross lump sum

3,000 'recruitment payment'

pro rata offered to enable Social Workers who have already successfully completed their ASYE to join our permanent workforce. This is payable upon successful completion of your probationary period (after approximately 3-6 months) and is subject to eligibility criteria.


These posts are currently eligible for a market factor

3,000 'retention payment'

pro rata, payable in November annually to those with two years' service with the council in Children's Social Care In an eligible post, inclusive of any ASYE period.


Our teams at South Gloucestershire Council are making a real difference to the lives of people who live, work and learn here.

We're building and shaping communities which people are proud of. We're providing essential services across our communities to ensure they are safe and well maintained.


We've achieved a great deal, but we need talented and dedicated people to ensure we continue to make a difference.

We're making a difference, be part of it!

To view the full job description, please click this link: Children's Social Worker -