Qualified Children's Social Worker - Private Law

We are recruiting for the role of Qualified Children's Social Worker - Private Law team(s) covering the Essex, Norfolk & Suffolk area .

We trust and empower colleagues to work in a hybrid way, providing the resources, equipment, and support, so that individually and collectively, we can be the voice of children and young people when the family court makes critical decisions about their futures.

Whilst this role is part of a team based from our office either in Chelmsford or Norwich, our teams work flexibly and remotely, your proximity to the office doesn’t always have to be a critical consideration.

We are a diverse, inclusive organisation that is a safe space for colleagues with shared aspects of identity and lived experience, which helps ensure we provide a service which promotes the diversity and uniqueness of children and families from all backgrounds. We especially welcome applications from people from diverse backgrounds as we strive to ensure our workforce reflects the diversity of the children and families we work with.

We provide extensive wellbeing support for colleagues, as well as excellent benefits, all of which we hope encourages you to join us.

Let us tell you a bit more about the role…

Working in the Private Law team , Family Court Advisers are involved where families require the assistance of the court to agree on the best child arrangements for the child(ren) involved. Family Court Advisers are typically involved with children for a period of assessment for the court, undertaking direct work with children, gaining their views and wishes and representing these to the court via written reports and giving evidence and advocating for arrangements that are in their best interests. This will draw on robust risk assessment and mediation skills.

… And What We’re Looking For

Being a Family Court Adviser is very rewarding - but it’s not for everyone. You must be a Social Work England registered social worker who’s organised, resilient and able to work independently. Confident in your abilities, you’ll have demonstrable experience of working with children and families over a sustained period as a Social Worker, potentially supplemented from relevant experience from earlier in your career also.

You can find out more about the above - and much more - before you apply and we also recommend you read the job description.

Next steps / timelines

If and when you are ready to apply, our application process is straightforward and quick to complete. You don’t need to complete your application in a single visit, you can start it and come back and amend your responses / update your CV, just make sure you come back before the closing date to submit.

Below we have given you an indication of a timetable we are hoping to work towards, although dates are subject to change.

Closing Date

9th December 2025

Initial Interview

4th & 9th December 2025

Final Interview

16th & 17th December 2025

Vacancy Contact - [email protected]

In anticipation of your successful application, we encourage you to review our  offer and pre-employment checks process. You are welcome to raise any questions or concerns about these checks during your application, with the assurance that this information will remain confidential.

Successful applicants will undergo various pre-engagement checks, including a Disclosure and Barring Service check (DBS). In line with the  DBS code of practice and our policy, if a criminal offence is declared, an individual assessment will be conducted. For further details regarding this assessment, please refer to the  Cafcass DBS policy .

We look forward to receiving your application!