Social Worker – Children and Families Hub
Permanent, Full Time
£37,185 to £50,081 per annum
Location: Colchester
Working Style: Fixed-base worker
Closing Date: 29th March 2026
The Children and Families Hub is the single point of access for Children’s Social Care. Its primary purpose is to ensure that children and young people and their families receive early help, advice and support to assist in protecting them from significant harm, promoting their development and wellbeing. The Children and Families Hub does this by identifying the lowest appropriate level of support needed to bring about change, support good parenting and promote children’s emotional wellbeing. The Children and Families Hub plays a critical role in engaging parents and professionals in interventions that can bring about change in families and we aspire to deliver an outstanding service to children and families in Essex.
The role reports directly to a Senior Practitioner and will be a member of a large team of social workers and alternatively qualified staff. The role is focussed upon delivering excellent social work practice, with offering advice to professionals who have safeguarding concerns for children and undertaking triage to establish whether there is an ongoing role for children’s social care to assist parents in ensuring their child’s safety. The postholder is responsible for bringing to bear the highest possible standards in social work practice, ability and skills, working in accordance with defined legal frameworks, policy and procedures.
Skills and knowledge
- Diploma or degree in Social Work, CQSW, CSS or equivalent.
- Registration with the Social Work England as a registered Social Worker.
- Demonstrable capability of practice in accordance with current professional standards eg Professional Capability Framework (PCF), Knowledge & Skills Statement (KSS).
- Case recording.
- Demonstrate ability in the application of social work knowledge, using emotional intelligence, analytical skills and act with confidence in challenging social and family situations.
- A good working knowledge and ability to use information technology and related systems eg, Word, social work case recording systems.
- Required to work flexibly as required, including evenings and weekends if necessary. to be mobilised into fieldwork teams in emergency / contingency circumstances.
To read more about us please visit: Children & Families
Please take a look at our ‘No Magic’ Children & Families video
Why Essex?
As one of the largest and most dynamic UK local authorities, Essex offers a stimulating public service environment. Covering over 1,420 square miles and serving 1.8 million residents, we’re committed to transformational change and delivering better quality at lower cost. Recognised in the top three of the latest IMPOWER index for productivity, we ensure everyone matters in Everyone’s Essex . With flexible working options and a focus on innovation, whether you are looking to develop your career or contribute to the local community, Essex is the ideal place for you.
In February 2025 , Greater Essex was accepted onto the Government’s devolution priority programme, which will see local authorities in Essex work towards establishing a Mayoral Combined County Authority by May 2026. You can read more about devolution and local government reorganisation (LGR ) on our careers site.
Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We’re committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our Recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process. We’re also committed to interview all veterans and care leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying.
Once you’ve secured your role within Essex County Council you will receive many great employee benefits, including support for unpaid carers and flexible working arrangements to accommodate their needs.
At Essex County Council, we value integrity and ethical behaviour. We kindly ask that you embrace our code of conduct and the Nolan principles , including throughout the recruitment process. Your commitment to these standards helps us maintain a positive and respectful workplace for everyone.
As part of employment with Essex County Council (ECC) should your role require a DBS check you will be required to register with the DBS update service. The DBS update service ensures all registered DBS certificates are kept up to date and allows authorised parties to view the status of your certificate. This is an annual subscription, and you will be responsible for ensuring this is maintained. For further information on the DBS update service please go to https://www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service
Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.
If you would like to be kept up to date on other relevant opportunities, blogs, news, events and industry related news at Essex County Council, please join The Essex Talent Community
If you have queries on this role or require anything further, please email resourcing.team@essex.gov.uk
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