Social Work • Devon
Social Worker
Provide targeted, short-term social work support to children, families and statutory teams within clearly agreed commissioned assignments.
Job summary
Nurtura Connect is a social-work-led organisation with experience across statutory children's services, family support, safeguarding, assessment, supervision and community-based intervention.
Our work is trauma-informed and grounded in respect, dignity, professional curiosity and safe outcomes for children.
We are building a trusted bank of registered Social Workers who can offer flexible support to children and families during periods of pressure, vulnerability, crisis or change.
These opportunities may be relevant to qualified Social Workers looking for children's social work, children and families social work or children's services assignments where their experience matches the commissioned work.
Important role distinction
Targeted support without case responsibility.
Nurtura Social Workers may be commissioned to undertake specific social work services during periods of pressure as a short-term crisis response. The purpose is to complete agreed tasks that support statutory social work teams to refocus on core business.
Nurtura Social Workers do not hold case responsibility.
Work is delivered as targeted, short-term assistance within a clearly agreed scope.
About the role
Assignments may involve children and families experiencing harm, family crisis, placement instability, neglect, trauma, exploitation, domestic abuse, housing pressure or difficulty achieving and sustaining change.
The work requires professional curiosity, sound judgement, emotional resilience, lawful information sharing, respectful engagement and clear risk escalation.
What you'll be doing
- ✓Undertake purposeful social work visits, direct work, assessments and reviews with children, parents, carers and family networks.
- ✓Complete or contribute to child and family assessments, viability assessments, reunification assessments, parenting assessments, Form F or fostering-related work, or other agreed assessment activity where appropriately commissioned and within competence.
- ✓Provide child-centred analysis of strengths, risks, protective factors, parental capacity, home conditions, engagement, support networks and barriers to change.
- ✓Prepare visit notes, assessment records, chronologies, written summaries, reports and recommendations in the agreed format and timescale.
- ✓Support children and families through structured, time-limited intervention, direct work, safety planning and family network activity.
- ✓Undertake urgent welfare, child protection and out-of-county visits where commissioned and authorised by the responsible organisation.
- ✓Escalate safeguarding concerns, increased risk or urgent issues without delay.
- ✓Work within Nurtura's expectations, the commissioning organisation's procedures and the specific scope agreed for each assignment.
What we're looking for
- ✓Recognised social work qualification and current Social Work England registration.
- ✓At least three years' post-qualifying experience in children and families social work.
- ✓Experience of assessment, safeguarding, direct work, multi-agency practice and written recording.
- ✓Strong understanding of child development, safeguarding, neglect, trauma, domestic abuse, exploitation, parental vulnerability and risk assessment.
- ✓Ability to produce clear, balanced, evidence-informed and analytical written records and reports.
- ✓Professional curiosity, emotional resilience and confidence to escalate risk or professional disagreement appropriately.
- ✓Ability to travel to family homes and community settings and work flexibly where agreed.
Driving
A full UK driving licence is desirable. Applicants must be able to travel to family homes and community settings as required.
What we offer
Professional work with clear scope and support.
- ✓£38–£46 per hour depending on experience and the service request.
- ✓Flexible bank and assignment-based opportunities, subject to commissioned need and suitability.
- ✓Clear assignment information before work begins, including scope, expected outputs, reporting arrangements, timescales and known risks.
- ✓A social-work-led environment that values professional judgement, reflective practice and child-centred analysis.
- ✓Specialist training opportunities and supervision.
- ✓Opportunities to provide meaningful short-term support that helps statutory teams maintain safe, timely and compassionate responses to children and families.
Some assignments may be out of hours or out of county depending on commissioned need.
About Nurtura Connect
Nurtura Connect is a social-work-led organisation supporting children's services across the South West. We value professional judgement, reflective practice, safeguarding and child-centred analysis.
Apply
Apply for Social Worker opportunities in Devon.
Tell us about your statutory children's services experience, Social Work England registration, availability and the types of commissioned assignments you are interested in.
Start Application →