Qualified Children's Social Worker

Overview

At Cafcass, we’re recruiting Children’s Social Workers who share our passion, commitment and ambition to facilitate positive outcomes for children involved in private and public law family court proceedings. Our Social Workers — professionally known as Family Court Advisers (FCAs) — may work within Private Law, Public Law, or a converged team covering both law types. The underlying role is the same – to speak on behalf of children and young people to ensure their thoughts, wishes and feelings are not just understood but heard.

FCAs can make recommendations leading to lasting change for children and families, and Cafcass is committed to a safe, healthy and supportive environment for colleagues to practice.

What You’ll Be Doing

As a FCA at Cafcass, you will:

• Complete high‑quality assessments, engaging directly with children to understand their experiences, wishes and feelings — and ensure these are clearly and powerfully represented to the family court.
• Apply your expertise in risk assessment, analysis and mediation, advocating for solutions that place the child’s safety, wellbeing and long‑term interests at the centre of decision‑making.
• Work with adults, local authorities, and a wide range of professionals to help resolve complex issues and influence better outcomes for children.

We’re looking for practitioners who are confident, curious, compassionate and committed to excellent social work practice.

• A Social Work qualification is essential.
• Have the Right to Work in the UK (we don’t sponsor people to work in the UK).
• Registered with Social Work England (or likely to be able to register quickly if practising outside England).
• Recent, relevant experience of working directly with children and families.
• It’s desirable you’ll have experience in family court proceedings, or knowledge of Private and/or Public Law.
• For applicants with limited post‑qualifying experience, relevant pre‑qualifying experience supporting children and families may be beneficial.
• Strong organisational skills, professional resilience and the ability to work independently while effectively managing a varied caseload.

You can view the full job description in the vacancy documents
.

Our Social Workers work flexibly across multiple settings — including the office in Middlesbrough
, home, courts, schools and other appropriate, safe locations, and we ensure you have the technology to do this. Shared learning is important to us, and we bring our teams together regularly, both remotely and in-person, for team meetings and group supervision, which creates space to connect with peers and managers, reflect on practice, and feel supported. You’ll also have regular 1:1 time with your manager during induction and ongoing, balancing remote and in-person work to enable connections.

If shortlisted, the hiring manager will provide more insight into what a typical week or month might look like should you join us.

As the largest employer of Children’s Social Workers in England
, we’re uniquely placed to support your professional growth and wellbeing.

• High‑quality equipment and technology to help you work efficiently and engage with families effectively.
• Access to specialist resources, guidance and training to strengthen your practice.
• A strong commitment to wellbeing, reflective supervision and healthy work–life balance.
• An inclusive environment that values diversity, encourages learning and constantly strives to improve outcomes for children, families and colleagues alike.

You can find more about how we support our practitioners on our website, and we’ll share more during the selection process.

Below we have set out an indicative timetable we are hoping to work towards, although dates are subject to change. Closing Date: 9th March 2026. Telephone interviews: TBC. Final Interview: TBC.

If you have any questions about the role or recruitment process, please contact N or you can contact the hiring manager, Laura Dent, Service Manager at  Before applying, we encourage you to read about our offer and pre‑employment checks. Any questions or concerns can be…