Family Assessor (Qualified Social Worker)
| Posting date: | 27 February 2026 |
|---|---|
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 29 March 2026 |
| Location: | Southport, Merseyside |
| Remote working: | On-site only |
| Company: | Amber Family Ltd |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: |
Summary
Job title: Family Assessor
Location: Southport
Salary: Dependent on experience
Hours: Full time, 40 hours per week Monday - Friday, although flexible working hours can also be considered
Key Responsibilities:
Amber Family are looking for a qualified Social Worker to join our Ofsted-rated ‘good’ service as a Family Assessor within our group of Residential Family Centres based in Southport, Merseyside. You’ll have the opportunity to do social work differently, with low caseloads, working within a small team who are supportive of one another and strive to do the best we can to support the families in our care.
As a Family Assessor, you will be responsible for completing robust, fair and evidence-based parenting assessments of families who are typically in placement for 12-16 weeks. You will be responsible for reviewing evidence gathered throughout the assessment period through observations and direct work sessions, and collating a final assessment whereby recommendations will be made in respect of the child's future care planning.
You will need to work with the wider team to develop bespoke assessment plans for the families you work with and delegate work appropriately to the relevant individuals. Due to the nature of the service, you will have a small caseload (between 5 and 7 families at any one time) to enable you to get to know the families you work with and complete a thorough and in-depth assessment of parenting capacity. This means you’ll get to do real, hands-on social work and not just paperwork!
You will be responsible for liaising with Local Authority Social Workers to ensure that you have all the relevant documentation to inform a family’s assessment. You will need to be confident in communicating with a wide range of professionals whilst providing a high quality, friendly and approachable standard of service which meets the objectives of the organisation.
Working in a residential family centre offers social workers the opportunity to practice and develop skills in a supported and diverse setting; no two days are ever the same. At Amber Family we believe everyone should be given the chance to demonstrate their ability as a parent and we support this in a trauma informed environment with registered managers, key workers, support workers and restorative leads. We offer regular training and development opportunities to ensure staff are supported consistently.
Essentials:
• Qualified Social Worker with a minimum qualification period of 2/3 years
• An active Social Work England Registration (After first year of employment, membership cost will be reimbursed by employer)
• Experience of working in a Social Work capacity with children and families
• A commitment to ongoing professional development.
• Confidence to participate in meetings with a multi-agency team including Local Authority Social Workers, Independent Reviewing Officers and Children's Guardians
• Strong written skills due to the need to produce parenting assessments to be presented to the family court.
• Experience of writing Social Work assessments
• This post is a designated customer facing role under the fluency duty and requires a specified level of spoken English as per the person specification.
Desirable:
• Experience of working within care proceedings and attending court.
• Experience of court standard parenting or risk assessments
• Experience of working in, or in partnership with, Residential Family Centres
What we can offer:
• Competitive salary
• Assessment bonus paid per assessment that is published
• Flexible working i.e. working from home with prior agreement when writing assessments if preferred, day off in the week when working a weekend.
• Holiday allowance above statutory minimum
• A small, supportive team
• Monthly professional supervision with an experienced Social Worker
• Weekly case supervision meetings
• Ongoing professional development opportunities
Unfortunately, we are unable to offer sponsorship for this role.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
We embrace AI to enhance our operations and to innovate our services. However, we value human talent and are looking for passionate individuals to join our organisation. Applications that rely too heavily on AI may be rejected during shortlisting, however we understand that AI may be used as a reasonable adjustment so if using AI to support your application, please give a brief explanation why to help ensure fair selection process.
DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) clearance - this post is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (amended in 2013). Employment offers are conditional subject to satisfactory clearances. For roles where a criminal records check from the DBS is required, this includes satisfactory clearance of this check. The possession of a criminal record will not necessarily bar an individual from working with us. This will depend on the nature of the position and the circumstances and background of an individual’s offence/s. Information provided by you or the DBS will be dealt with in a confidential manner and in accordance with the DBS Code of Practice which can be viewed here. Amber Family ’s policy on the Employment of Ex-Offenders is available here.
Location: Southport
Salary: Dependent on experience
Hours: Full time, 40 hours per week Monday - Friday, although flexible working hours can also be considered
Key Responsibilities:
Amber Family are looking for a qualified Social Worker to join our Ofsted-rated ‘good’ service as a Family Assessor within our group of Residential Family Centres based in Southport, Merseyside. You’ll have the opportunity to do social work differently, with low caseloads, working within a small team who are supportive of one another and strive to do the best we can to support the families in our care.
As a Family Assessor, you will be responsible for completing robust, fair and evidence-based parenting assessments of families who are typically in placement for 12-16 weeks. You will be responsible for reviewing evidence gathered throughout the assessment period through observations and direct work sessions, and collating a final assessment whereby recommendations will be made in respect of the child's future care planning.
You will need to work with the wider team to develop bespoke assessment plans for the families you work with and delegate work appropriately to the relevant individuals. Due to the nature of the service, you will have a small caseload (between 5 and 7 families at any one time) to enable you to get to know the families you work with and complete a thorough and in-depth assessment of parenting capacity. This means you’ll get to do real, hands-on social work and not just paperwork!
You will be responsible for liaising with Local Authority Social Workers to ensure that you have all the relevant documentation to inform a family’s assessment. You will need to be confident in communicating with a wide range of professionals whilst providing a high quality, friendly and approachable standard of service which meets the objectives of the organisation.
Working in a residential family centre offers social workers the opportunity to practice and develop skills in a supported and diverse setting; no two days are ever the same. At Amber Family we believe everyone should be given the chance to demonstrate their ability as a parent and we support this in a trauma informed environment with registered managers, key workers, support workers and restorative leads. We offer regular training and development opportunities to ensure staff are supported consistently.
Essentials:
• Qualified Social Worker with a minimum qualification period of 2/3 years
• An active Social Work England Registration (After first year of employment, membership cost will be reimbursed by employer)
• Experience of working in a Social Work capacity with children and families
• A commitment to ongoing professional development.
• Confidence to participate in meetings with a multi-agency team including Local Authority Social Workers, Independent Reviewing Officers and Children's Guardians
• Strong written skills due to the need to produce parenting assessments to be presented to the family court.
• Experience of writing Social Work assessments
• This post is a designated customer facing role under the fluency duty and requires a specified level of spoken English as per the person specification.
Desirable:
• Experience of working within care proceedings and attending court.
• Experience of court standard parenting or risk assessments
• Experience of working in, or in partnership with, Residential Family Centres
What we can offer:
• Competitive salary
• Assessment bonus paid per assessment that is published
• Flexible working i.e. working from home with prior agreement when writing assessments if preferred, day off in the week when working a weekend.
• Holiday allowance above statutory minimum
• A small, supportive team
• Monthly professional supervision with an experienced Social Worker
• Weekly case supervision meetings
• Ongoing professional development opportunities
Unfortunately, we are unable to offer sponsorship for this role.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
We embrace AI to enhance our operations and to innovate our services. However, we value human talent and are looking for passionate individuals to join our organisation. Applications that rely too heavily on AI may be rejected during shortlisting, however we understand that AI may be used as a reasonable adjustment so if using AI to support your application, please give a brief explanation why to help ensure fair selection process.
DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) clearance - this post is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (amended in 2013). Employment offers are conditional subject to satisfactory clearances. For roles where a criminal records check from the DBS is required, this includes satisfactory clearance of this check. The possession of a criminal record will not necessarily bar an individual from working with us. This will depend on the nature of the position and the circumstances and background of an individual’s offence/s. Information provided by you or the DBS will be dealt with in a confidential manner and in accordance with the DBS Code of Practice which can be viewed here. Amber Family ’s policy on the Employment of Ex-Offenders is available here.