Leading national change
The Families First Partnership (FFP) Programme sets out a major national reform of family support and child protection in England, aiming to shift the support towards earlier, more joined up help for families.
Dorset was selected as a national Pathfinder local authority for the Families First for Children programme, placing us at the forefront of developing new ways of working with children, families, and communities. Now aligned with the national guidance: The Families First Partnership (FFP) Programme Guide, we are bringing together a blended model to support our families to receive the right support and intervention, at the right time.
Family Help Teams
We are bringing together Family Help and Child Protection teams to support families in telling their story, only once, focussing on building and sustaining relationships with practitioners supporting them. As a Social Worker within the Family Help teams, there are various ways in which you can support our children and families. As one integrated team, we support families from Targeted Early Help right through to care proceedings and adoption, promoting continuity and consistent relationships. We are looking for social workers with all levels of experience to join us in making a difference in our communities.
As part of the reforms, we are developing our multi-agency child protection teams. We are introducing Lead Child Protection Practitioners within the Multi‑Agency Child Protection Team (MACPT) as per the national guidance and you will work closely with these practitioners and the MACPT to support the needs of our children.
Our approach keeps families at the centre having redesigned child protection conferences to encourage genuine collaboration and reduce jargon. Our Lead Child Practitioners will also work directly with families, helping explain processes, build understanding, and maintain regular contact in readiness for Child Protection conferences.
You’ll have the support of our Safeguarding Families Together (SFT) teams. Our SFT teams are multidisciplinary professionals made up of domestic abuse workers, substance misuse workers, mental health workers, recovering workers and person that harms (perpetrator) practitioners working together across each locality. These teams were developed inhouse following a successful pilot and are now fully embedded into everyday practice.
A culture of development
We take professional development seriously. Our workforce development offer and career progression pathways are extensive and available to support all our practitioners reflecting the differences in everyone’s social work journey. We have an extensive training offer, including motivational interviewing, restorative practice and strengths based approaches. You’ll also have protected time for both individual and group supervision. We support practitioners to continue their development throughout their careers, supporting strong career progression individual to them.
We know social work can be demanding. That’s why we invest in your wellbeing with talking therapies, support from our Mental Health Champions, and practical workshops led by our Employee Wellbeing Team.
Locality based working based working‑based working
Our service is split into four localities: East Dorset & Purbeck, West Dorset & Dorchester, Chesil (Weymouth & Portland), and North Dorset. While each area has its own unique geography, you’ll be part of a wider integrated team including early help, SEND, education, youth work and inclusion colleagues.
Please state your preference in your supporting statement as to which locality, if you have one.
What you’ll be doing
As a social worker, you’ll work with families across the continuum of need and support children who require targeted early help, subject to Child in Need plans, Child Protection plans, pre-proceedings and court proceedings. Your responsibilities will include:‑proceedings and court proceedings. Your responsibilities will include:
- delivering statutory services in line with the Children Act 1989 and relevant legislation
- undertaking assessments of children’s needs and developing effective, timely plans
- promoting and safeguarding the welfare of children through direct work and support
- working in partnership with families to build resilience and reduce the need for ongoing intervention
- preparing high‑quality reports for court and other professional settings
- chairing multi‑agency meetings to review and progress plans
- keeping accurate and up‑to‑date records using our case management system
- undertaking specialist assessments once training has been completed
- Work closely with early years, schools, health, police and community organisations to deliver effective, community‑based support, strengthening partnerships and contributing to robust, child‑centred plans.
Join us in Dorset and be part of something genuinely different. This is your chance to work in an outstanding authority, shape the future of social work, and make a real difference to the lives of children and their families.
About you
We are looking for social workers with all levels of experience to join us make a difference in our communities and support our children across the continuum of need.
You need a Social Work qualification and registration with Social Work England.
A valid driver’s licence and access to a car is essential.
We have a comprehensive ASYE programme to support those who are newly qualified and embarking on their social work journey. Our workforce development offer and career progression pathways are extensive and available to support all our practitioners reflecting the differences in everyone’s social work journey.
For those who are not newly qualified, they must have completed their ASYE, and for our more experienced social workers, you’ll be able to demonstrate a high level of skill and knowledge in statutory social care services, with experience of delivering child protection plans and complex court proceedings in a variety of court settings.
We are pleased to be able to support applications from a limited number of candidates who require sponsorship, however, these candidates must have demonstratable experience working in a UK (English) Local Authority and demonstrate a high level of skill and knowledge in statutory social care services, with experience of delivering child protection plans.
We are also pleased to be able to support up to 3 candidates requiring sponsorship from their graduate visa, who are newly qualified, having obtained their social work qualification in England.