Child and Family Worker - Children's Asylum Team

About Us

This is an exciting time for West Sussex Children We Care For Services following the service achieving a 'Good' judgment in our Ofsted inspection in March 2023, we are now embarking on the next phase of our journey to develop and sustain outstanding services for our children and families.

Our Children's Asylum Team has a passion for making a difference to children's lives and positive growth within their communities. We work with children from multiple cultural backgrounds and must recognise the trauma, challenges and loss these children have been through in order to support their ambitions for their future.

For further information about us and about working in Children's Social Care at West Sussex County Council, please visit Careers in children's social work in West Sussex.

The Opportunity

Salary: £29,540 to £32,061 per annum

Working Pattern: Full time - 37 hours per week

Contract: Fixed Term until 31st March 2027

Location: County Hall North, Horsham

Internal candidates wishing to apply for this role will be considered for a secondment position. Please can you therefore discuss and agree this with your manager before applying for this position.

We are seeking a dedicated Child and Family Worker to join our Children's Asylum Team based in Horsham.

You will develop and offer a creative range of services for children and their families to meet needs as identified e.g. undertaking direct work and purposeful interventions with children and young people including the delivery of support packages or specific programmes.

You will need to establish effective working relationships with colleagues within Children's Social Care, Foster Carers and other statutory and voluntary agencies, for example staff from health and education, in order to provide an integrated service.

Experience and Skills

Key Skills (used for shortlisting criteria):

• Good communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to organise and present information clearly, concisely, and accurately in ways that promote understanding, both verbally and in writing, including the ability to persuade and successfully convince others of the need to take a specific course of action and gain the trust of service users.
• Ability to analyse and interpret information in order to manage casework with children / young people and their families, assessing needs, setting objectives and reviewing progress.
• Ability to engage and intervene in partnership with children/young people, their families, and other external agencies in order to effect positive and lasting change. Ability to work in an empowering way, focusing on collective strengths and resources, e.g., using a solution focused approach, and responding flexibly to diverse groups and service users whilst maintaining confidentiality.
• Ability to prioritise and manage own workload, co-ordinating a range of tasks in a clear and logical way to meet agreed deadlines, whilst working towards clear goals. Able to reflect on own practice and learn from experience, taking responsibility for proactive professional development.
• Ability to maintain clear, accurate records of all work undertaken and produce case reports and correspondence for a variety of audiences including meetings, conferences, court panels and other agencies.
• Sound and accurate IT skills, including report writing, maintaining accurate records, ensuring confidentiality, and protecting information.

Qualifications, knowledge and experience:

• GCSE English and Maths, or equivalent qualification or experience operating at this level of literacy and numeracy.
• QCF Level 3 Diploma for the Children and Young People's Workforce (or equivalent), or demonstrable equivalent comparable experience.
• An understanding of systems, procedures and policies relevant to Children's Social Care e.g., child protection and safeguarding procedures, practice and policy. Desirable
• Knowledge and understanding of the development of children and young people, and age-appropriate behaviour.
• An understanding of a range of interventions that can be used with children, young people and families to achieve change.
• Sound and accurate IT knowledge e.g., Microsoft Office, in order to produce written reports.
• Experience of providing advice and guidance to others.
• Significant experience of using a range of direct work interventions in working with children, young people and their families.
• Experience of working with children/young people and their families in crisis or complex situations. Desirable
• Experience of using assessment planning and reviewing processes.
• Experience of working in a Social Care Environment. Desirable
• Experience of forming effective working relationships within a multiagency setting.
• Requirement to communicate in English with members of the public
• You will need to be able to travel independently around the county, including to areas that may not be easily accessible by public transport. Pool cars and pool bikes available.

Reward and Benefits

As an employer we recognise that it is our employees that are central to everything we do. We aim to create a supportive and dynamic working environment where employees can achieve their full potential, achieve a healthy work-life balance and are rewarded for the work they do.

For a full list of the benefits offered to you as a West Sussex County Council employee you can find them on our Rewards and Benefits page.

In addition to working within a great team and a brilliant opportunity you will receive:

Further Information

The reference number for this role is CAFHE06245.

For an informal conversation or for further information regarding the role, please contact Mel Bowley at . For issues or queries regarding your application please contact

To apply, please follow the links below to upload your CV and cover letter.

In your cover letter outline your motivation for applying and explain how you meet the key skills listed in full and the experience you can bring to the role, ensuring that any gaps in employment are covered in your CV. Please ensure you have saved the above details and job description attached to the main advert on our website as, once the job has closed, you may not have the opportunity to download again.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. This post is subject to an enhanced DBS check, 5 years referencing and a health check.

Equity, inclusion and accessibility is very important to West Sussex County Council. We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, as this helps us build a diverse and talented workforce, that reflects the communities we serve. We ensure our approach to recruitment is flexible and supportive to enable all applicants to be at their best and to ensure they have the best possible chance of success. If you require any reasonable adjustments to support your application please contact .

We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants that have a disability, are a veteran or are a care leaver. More information can be found on our application help page.