About the job

Key information

• Flexible working available, using a hybrid model – working from home and your contracted work base
• 25 days annual leave, increasing to 28 after 5 years continuous service
• We are looking for people who are passionate and enthusiastic to support qualified Social Workers to provide a high quality service for all children and families supported by our service.
• Full time, 37 hours per week
• Fixed term contract until 06/01/2026

What will I be doing?

We’re working to improve the lives of children and families in Somerset – and you’ll be a key part of that. Your day-to-day work will involve:

Supporting Social Workers working with children and families, you will have the opportunity to support positive changes to children’s lives, and help to keep children at home, safely, within their families where possible. As a Social Work Assistant, you will not have statutory responsibility, but will work directly with children and families and complete tasks of gathering information, building relationships, supporting parents, so you will need to have good relationship based skills. You will also be responsible for inputting information onto an electronic record so require a good standard of written skills and ability to use technology.

We can offer you:

• Friendly and supportive teams to progress your career within Children’s Social Care
• Experience of working alongside Social Workers, and alternatively qualified Adult Focused Practitioners to support children and families.
• Strengths and relationship-based approach to underpin your work with children and families
• Regular high-quality systemic personal and group supervision with experienced Team Managers
• Flexible working within our teams, including consideration of part time working, 9 day fortnight and other flexible working approaches.

What kind of experience or qualifications do I need?

We offer ongoing support, training and guidance to help you be the best you can be.

Supporting Social Workers working with children and families, you will have the opportunity to support positive changes to children’s lives, and help to keep children at home, safely, within their families where possible.

As a Social Work Assistant, you will not have statutory responsibility but will work directly with children and families and complete tasks of gathering information, building relationships, supporting parents, so you will need to have good relationship based skills.

You will also be responsible for inputting information onto an electronic record so require a good standard of written skills and ability to use technology

You will need:

• NVQ Level 3 in Health and Social Care or relevant qualification/experience and the willingness to work towards NVQ level 4
• To be literate and numerate to GCSE level or equivalent.

We’re proud to be here for the people of Somerset. And that means everyone in Somerset. An important part of this is ensuring that we are as diverse and inclusive as the people and communities we serve.

We welcome applications from a diverse range of backgrounds and experiences to enrich our team. You can always contact the hiring manager for a chat if there’s anything you want to talk about before you apply.

What is in it for me?

We are proud to offer an environment that is supportive and rewarding, working as part of a team who are passionate about the work they do to improve the lives of people in Somerset.

We offer great training and development opportunities, with supportive management. As well as this, we have some fantastic employee benefits available:

• We promote a healthy work-life balance and offer flexible working arrangements wherever possible, including working from home.
• Generous annual leave allowance, with the opportunity to purchase additional leave
• Staff discounts in gyms.
• Employee Assistance for the times you may need some support and a variety of employee wellbeing services.
• Auto enrolment onto our generous Pension Scheme and optional pension enhancement through our
• Additional Voluntary Contribution scheme.
• A Flexible Benefits Scheme via salary sacrifice to obtain a cycle for work and health screenings.
• My Staff Shop offering discounts in shops, online shopping, restaurants, cinema tickets, insurance benefits and more.

DBS check

This post requires a criminal background check via the Disclosure procedure.

Supporting documents and information

For an informal chat about this role, please contact Carrie Grant on 07976 693481 or via email carrie.grant@somerset.gov.uk.

You will need to be living within easy distance to your office base and you will need to travel to carry out the requirements of this post so will need a driving licence, and access to a vehicle for work purposes. If necessary, adjustments can be considered in line with the Equality Act 2010.

When completing your application/CV please provide your full employment history and ensure that any gaps in employment are explained. Please start with your current or most recent employment.

If you have all the information you need, just hit the apply button – we can’t wait to hear from you.

Apply on the Somerset Council website

Apply now