Social Work in Cornwall

Make a difference – Children’s Social Work in Cornwall

“Senior leaders and politicians are relentless in their drive to continue to improve the lives of Cornwall’s children and families”

Staff’s care, commitment and child focussed approach shine through when they talk about their work. This positive working environment helps to foster a culture in which an enthusiasm and commitment to do the best for children is found at all levels in the organisation.”

Ofsted, July 2024 

The Service & Team:

Social workers make a real difference to the lives of children in Cornwall. We believe that the children of Cornwall deserve the very best. We put their needs at the heart of everything we do, and we are looking for people who share our determination to improve their lives and make a brighter future. If you believe in humane, relationship-based social work with children and families we offer the opportunity to develop your social work career in an innovative and ambitious children’s service in one of the most beautiful parts of the country.

As part of our commitment to outstanding practice, we have put in place a comprehensive core curriculum and career and qualification pathway for our social workers to develop their knowledge and skills to deliver the most effective social work intervention with children and families. If you are committed to continuing professional development, can demonstrate learning in your practice and in improved outcomes for the children you help and protect, we will provide you with the career options and remuneration that match your expertise. 

We actively encourage the best practitioners to remain in front line practice and reward them for their commitment and expertise. The Consultant Social Worker role is one of two Advanced Practitioner roles in Cornwall, aligned to the Professional Capabilities Framework, and the Knowledge and Skills Statement for Practice Supervisors.

The Role:

We have exciting opportunities for full time Consultant Social Workers available across the County.

Consultant Social Workers are experienced social workers who have developed to the level of practitioner excellence. They have developed a specialism in an area of child development, risk to children, or equivalent area of practice and share their knowledge and skills with colleagues through mentoring, coaching and informal supervision. As a leader in practice, they will act as a consultant and a resource for their specialist area across the service, as well as with partner agencies and at a national level if required. In your application and interview you will be asked to demonstrate your expert professional knowledge in an area of social work practice and your leadership skills.

This is a public/customer-facing role, where the statutory English language requirement for public sector workers applies.  

This position will be subject to an enhanced criminal record disclosure check.

Working Pattern:

We have multiple full time, 37 hours per week positions available. 

What you’ll need to succeed:

The Consultant Social Worker role requires significant experience of evidence based practice with children and families and significant expertise in evidence based practice. For these reasons, the salary scale for our Advanced Practitioners is the same as for our Team Managers.

Cornwall is one of the best places in the country to live, work and bring up a family. We are committed to supporting the wellbeing of our staff and we recognise that resilient Social Workers need a good work/life balance as well as supportive leadership and support in the workplace. Cornwall’s location and landscape offers unique opportunities for a healthier, happier way of life. 

Please note:  If you have qualified as a Social Worker within the last 2 years, but not completed your Assessed and Supported Year of Employment (ASYE) we would welcome your application as a Newly Qualified Social Worker (NQSW) in order to access Cornwall’s ASYE programme which runs twice yearly.  You would need to apply for our NQSW adverts which are advertised separately.  We are also able to consider experienced social workers who have taken a career break of between two and ten years, where their SWE registration has expired.  For this route, please contact PSWpracticeeducation@cornwall.gov.uk

What you’ll get in return:

Cornwall Council’s ambition is to be an employer of choice, a high performing Council and a learning organisation. We commit to providing a reward and benefits package to attract, motivate and reward our employees. We offer a range of flexible working options to our staff. This helps provide our employees with a greater work/life balance. Whilst still ensuring that service needs are met. Find out more about working and volunteering for us

In recognition of the vital contribution you make, we offer an attractive package of benefits including:

A competitive starting salary, equivalent to a Team Manager
A generous relocation package.
Welcome bonus of £4000 for qualified Social Workers who are new to social work in Cornwall and have completed their ASYE
An individualised induction to meet your specific needs and learning
An outstanding core curriculum to support your ongoing development with a high-quality programme of evidence-based learning and development to enhance skills and practice.
An outstanding career and qualification pathway, recognised by Ofsted, which will support your progression.
Support from our dedicated Practice Educators throughout your progression pathway
Regular, high-quality case and reflective supervision
Supportive management and leadership
Support to access temporary accommodation if moving from outside of Cornwall
Access to a Cornwall Council lease car
26 days paid annual leave per year (rising with length of service), plus bank holidays
Flexible working opportunities, including part-time hours and homeworking
A license to access Community Care Inform and Research in Practice.
Payment of your Social Work England registration fees.

Additional Information:

Cornwall Council is unable to offer visa sponsorship or transfer existing sponsorship for this role.

The full role profile is attached here 

We recommend saving a copy of this to refer to if you are invited to an interview.

For more information or an informal chat about the role please contact pswpracticeeducation@cornwall.gov.uk 

About Us
Cornwall Council deliver services to more than half a million local people and over five million visitors a year. Working here - Cornwall Council

We are happy to talk about flexible working options such as part-time or compressed hours. More examples of our flexible working opportunities can be found here - flexible working options.

Fairness and inclusion are at the heart of our vision for Cornwall. In order to best serve our communities, we are striving to achieve a diverse workforce that is inclusive of all backgrounds, cultures and identities; e.g., race, disability, sex, gender reassignment status, age, religion and sexual orientation. We are an equal opportunities and Disability Confident employer, and we will assess applicants on their merits.

Cornwall Council is committed to safeguarding and following safer recruitment principles to help make sure our staff and volunteers are suitable to work with children, young people and adults at risk. It’s a vital part of creating a safe and positive environment and making a commitment to keeping all service users safe from harm.