Social Worker -Family Safeguarding

Organisation: Leicestershire County Council

Work Location: Various locations across Leicestershire

Worker Category: Field Based Worker

Salary: Level 2 Social Worker – £38,734 - £45,982 per annum (pro-rata for part-time) (inclusive of market premia at £3,283)

Working Hours: 37 hours per week

Contract Type: Permanent

Closing Date: 8th February 2026

Interview Date(s): 5th March 2026

Come and be part of our Outstanding Family Safeguarding Service.

It’s an exciting time to be a part of Children and Family Services at Leicestershire County Council, our staff are at the heart of delivering excellent services to children and families across Leicestershire. Come and join us and make a difference in the lives of children and families in Leicestershire.

Our recent Ofsted inspection praised Leicestershire’s work to build “strong and long-lasting relationships” with children and families which lead to many families achieving “positive changes” in their lives. They highlighted an “ambitious and child-focused senior leadership that has successfully created a culture where the experiences and progress of children are at the heart of social work practice”.

You can read more about our Outstanding Ofsted rating here

Our Family Safeguarding Service specialises in delivering high-quality Child Protection Services to children and families across Leicestershire. In this role, as an experienced social worker, you will have a focus on overseeing children subject to child protection plans, alongside pre-proceedings and care proceedings, and therefore experience in this area is essential
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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.

PLEASE NOTE: Previous applicants need not re-apply as all prior submissions have been reviewed.

• Have a social work degree or equivalent, e.g., CQSW or DipSW (with a specialism in children’s services) with a number of years’ post qualifying experience. You must also be registered with Social Work England.
• You MUST hold a full, valid, UK driving licence (or be able to convert your current licence) and have access to a vehicle.
• Be confident and experienced in statutory child protection services, including the completion of Care Proceedings, possessing strong assessment skills demonstrating the ability to make sound decisions that offer support and that are impactful. This would need to be demonstrated through clear and evidenced examples.
• Knowledge of UK childcare legislation and Local Safeguarding Children Partnership procedures, particularly in relation to child protection and Care proceedings. Be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the theoretical underpinning of social work practice and models used.
• You must also understand, and have a commitment to, equality, diversity and inclusion.
• Be able to evidence your skills and knowledge of creative, innovative, and relationship-based social work, working in collaboration with families and professionals. Ideally, you will already be confident in the application of the Signs of Safety methodology.
• 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.

Please note that an Enhanced DBS check is required for this post. Please ensure your application includes a full career history and provides reasons for any gaps.

You must also have an understanding of, and commitment to, equality, diversity and inclusion.

In addition, we also expect you to share our commitment to our values and will ask you to evidence when you have demonstrated them as part of the selection process.

Reasonable adjustments will be considered for applicants with a disability.

In Leicestershire, we have a fantastic package to provide our workers. This includes the option as a full-time worker to do a 9-day working fortnight, hybrid working, celebrating diversity with a range of events throughout the year, recognition of our staff in annual Pride In Practice events, fantastic learning and training opportunities – enabling our staff to develop and