Social Worker - Children Looked After
| Posting date: | 08 June 2026 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £46,783 to £48,873 per year |
| Additional salary information: | £46,783 - £48,873 per year inclusive of London Weighting and Essential Car User Allowance and 4% Retention Payment paid annually after 1 year’s service |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 21 June 2026 |
| Location: | Bracknell, Berkshire |
| Remote working: | Hybrid - work remotely up to 2 days per week |
| Company: | Bracknell Forest Council |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | People/26/338988 |
Summary
Do you want to work in a council that places children’s needs, professional learning and social worker wellbeing at the centre of its practice? If so, we have a rewarding opportunity for a Social Worker in the Child Looked After (CLA) team, that sits within our Life Chances service, on a full time, permanent basis.
This role is based at our Time Square offices. There is the expectation that you will be able to travel regularly for this role as our children in care can live within placements outside of the Bracknell area. It would be expected that you can work flexibly and outside of core office hours when required on occasions. There will opportunities to work flexibly and remotely on occasions.
About you…
You are a Social Worker who is reliable, organised and who can work successfully both as an individual and as part of a multi-agency network to ensure we achieve the best for our care experienced children and young people.
You will be supported to carry out your duties and responsibilities through training and development opportunities with access to reflective supervision regularly and with a vast range of tools and expertise around you to build meaningful relationships and make lasting changes for families.
About the team…
Practitioners in our Children Looked After team have the time to get to know everyone they work with, receive excellent support from managers and colleagues across the department and expert guidance whenever they need it. The work we do is centered around making a difference to each individual child who is looked after, including as they approach and enter adulthood, via our Leaving Care service that sits within our wider team. Social Workers work determinedly with our most vulnerable children and young people to achieve permanence in safe and secure ‘forever homes’. Life journey work is an integral part of our service to ensure children understand their lived experiences and the decisions made for them as they grow.
Bracknell Forest Council Children’s Social Care were graded as Outstanding by Ofsted in January 2026.
Key responsibilities…
Case hold vulnerable care experienced children and provide effective assessment, case planning, interventions and family support to achieve better outcomes for them.
Complete and implement care plans for children looked after with progress being seen in a timely manner, so that permanency is achieved for them.
Work meaningfully with adolescents and effectively plan for their transition into adulthood with multi-agency colleagues to identify their care needs early, to enable successful transition into adult social care services where required and our Leaving Care service.
Work with other involved professionals and agencies to promote placement stability for children and young people.
Must have current registration with Social Work England and have experience of working within the legal frameworks that support our work.
Interview date
Interviews will be held on Thursday 2nd July 2026.
Interviews will be conducted in person, providing candidates with the chance to personally meet the team and experience our work environment.
We will be reviewing applications regularly and reserve the right to close the advert early if suitable candidates are identified. To avoid disappointment, you are advised to submit your application as soon as possible.
Please note AI is prohibited during the interview, any candidate using AI will be withdrawn from consideration.
Want to ask us a question?
For an informal discussion or to ask any questions about this role, please contact:
Gemma Hall, Team Manager on 01344 351262 or gemma.hall@bracknell-forest.gov.uk
or
Carrie-Anne Beach, Assistant Team Manager CLA on 01344 352497 or carrie-anne.beach@bracknell-forest.gov.uk
Bracknell Forest Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We expect everyone employed with us to share this commitment. All successful candidates for this role will be subject to a DBS (Disclosure & Barring Service) check as part of our pre-employment checks process.
Candidates should be able to demonstrate experience of working within the current Social Care System and Framework.
We can only accept applications from candidates currently residing in the UK.
Candidates currently residing in the UK who require sponsorship to work are encouraged to assess their eligibility for a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) based on the relevant criteria.
Please be aware that sponsorship availability varies and is subject to eligibility requirements and budget limitations. As a result, we cannot guarantee sponsorship for all roles and will evaluate sponsorship requests on a case-by-case basis.
No agencies please.
This role is based at our Time Square offices. There is the expectation that you will be able to travel regularly for this role as our children in care can live within placements outside of the Bracknell area. It would be expected that you can work flexibly and outside of core office hours when required on occasions. There will opportunities to work flexibly and remotely on occasions.
About you…
You are a Social Worker who is reliable, organised and who can work successfully both as an individual and as part of a multi-agency network to ensure we achieve the best for our care experienced children and young people.
You will be supported to carry out your duties and responsibilities through training and development opportunities with access to reflective supervision regularly and with a vast range of tools and expertise around you to build meaningful relationships and make lasting changes for families.
About the team…
Practitioners in our Children Looked After team have the time to get to know everyone they work with, receive excellent support from managers and colleagues across the department and expert guidance whenever they need it. The work we do is centered around making a difference to each individual child who is looked after, including as they approach and enter adulthood, via our Leaving Care service that sits within our wider team. Social Workers work determinedly with our most vulnerable children and young people to achieve permanence in safe and secure ‘forever homes’. Life journey work is an integral part of our service to ensure children understand their lived experiences and the decisions made for them as they grow.
Bracknell Forest Council Children’s Social Care were graded as Outstanding by Ofsted in January 2026.
Key responsibilities…
Case hold vulnerable care experienced children and provide effective assessment, case planning, interventions and family support to achieve better outcomes for them.
Complete and implement care plans for children looked after with progress being seen in a timely manner, so that permanency is achieved for them.
Work meaningfully with adolescents and effectively plan for their transition into adulthood with multi-agency colleagues to identify their care needs early, to enable successful transition into adult social care services where required and our Leaving Care service.
Work with other involved professionals and agencies to promote placement stability for children and young people.
Must have current registration with Social Work England and have experience of working within the legal frameworks that support our work.
Interview date
Interviews will be held on Thursday 2nd July 2026.
Interviews will be conducted in person, providing candidates with the chance to personally meet the team and experience our work environment.
We will be reviewing applications regularly and reserve the right to close the advert early if suitable candidates are identified. To avoid disappointment, you are advised to submit your application as soon as possible.
Please note AI is prohibited during the interview, any candidate using AI will be withdrawn from consideration.
Want to ask us a question?
For an informal discussion or to ask any questions about this role, please contact:
Gemma Hall, Team Manager on 01344 351262 or gemma.hall@bracknell-forest.gov.uk
or
Carrie-Anne Beach, Assistant Team Manager CLA on 01344 352497 or carrie-anne.beach@bracknell-forest.gov.uk
Bracknell Forest Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We expect everyone employed with us to share this commitment. All successful candidates for this role will be subject to a DBS (Disclosure & Barring Service) check as part of our pre-employment checks process.
Candidates should be able to demonstrate experience of working within the current Social Care System and Framework.
We can only accept applications from candidates currently residing in the UK.
Candidates currently residing in the UK who require sponsorship to work are encouraged to assess their eligibility for a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) based on the relevant criteria.
Please be aware that sponsorship availability varies and is subject to eligibility requirements and budget limitations. As a result, we cannot guarantee sponsorship for all roles and will evaluate sponsorship requests on a case-by-case basis.
No agencies please.
Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme
Disability Confident
About Disability Confident
A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident.