Consultant Social Worker

Social Work in Cornwall

Make a difference Childrens Social Work in Cornwall

Senior leaders and politicians are relentless in their drive to continue to improve the lives of Cornwalls children and families

Staffs 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 childrens 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 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.

Find out more about our social work careers here - Work in Adults or Childrens Social Care - Cornwall Council.

Working Pattern:

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

What youll 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. Cornwalls 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 Cornwalls 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

Please read the role profile for the full details of this role attached below in this advert

What youll get in return:

Cornwall Councils 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

Application Process

Please attach a supporting statement to your application you can add your Education & Qualifications details manually using the application form timeline or you can upload your CV. Remember to demonstratewhy you are suitable against each of the points marked as Application on the Role Profile using examples from your experience or transferable skills. This might be through qualifications or descriptive examples from your work / personal experience which clearly illustrates what you did and the effect it had. Guidance on how to complete your application can be found here The application process.

Please note that applications cannot be edited after they have been submitted so please contactif you have any queries or require assistance with your application.

Existing employees must apply using their Cornwall Council email address through the Opportunity Marketplace on Oracle.