Make a difference, work in children's social care.
Whether you're an experienced children's social care worker, at the beginning of your career, or planning a career change there's a perfect opportunity waiting for you to become part of our team.
How to become a social worker
Social work is a rewarding career where you can make a real difference to the lives of children, young adults, and their families in Northumberland.
Our approach is to support people, by listening carefully and building relationships with families facing challenging times. You will also need good observational skills, analytical thinking and sound judgement to make the right decisions to ensure the children under your care are safe, secure, and cared for.
Why choose Northumberland
Living in Northumberland is great value for money, offering affordable housing, good schools and great transport links to major cities.
Our economy boasts a growing, internationally recognised offshore and renewable energy hub, a rich tapestry of independent businesses, world-class attractions, visitor destinations, and a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Our communities are vibrant and welcoming with distinctive characteristics, culture and heritage, and together we are working towards a cleaner, greener, sustainable environment.
Whether you enjoy surfing at the coast, eating at top-rated restaurants or experiencing vibrant nightlife, we believe there’s no better place to live and work.
Discover why Northumberland is a great place to live and work.
Our team's stories
Hear from our children’s social workers as they share their experiences and tell you about their social work journey.
Moving to Northumberland for workThinking of moving to Northumberland for work?
Moving to Northumberland for work
Thinking of moving to Northumberland for work? From stunning coastlines to work/life balance, hear from members of our social work team who have made the move.
Men in social workHear from our social work team on the importance of male role models in children's lives.
Men in social work
There’s a common misconception that social work is “women’s work”. Hear from our social work team on the importance of male role models in children’s lives.
Our approach
We are dedicated to supporting families in Northumberland to help them lead happy and healthy lives. Our commitment is to provide every child with equal opportunities, to enjoy a stable and happy home, access quality education and thrive.
Our focus is on delivering excellent services that are child-centred, collaborative, responsive, value-driven, and reflective. We work ‘with’ families not ‘to’ and are strong believers in empowering families to find their own solutions.
Child-centred approach
We follow the Signs of Safety model, with a rigorous focus on child safety and wellbeing. The model helps make sure that the children, parents and family are at the centre of the assessment and any decision making.
By prioritising the child’s perspective and interests, we ensure the services we provide are not only effective but also resonate with the child’s lived experience and aspirations.
Collaborative co-production and participation
Through a shared decision-making process, we involve children, family networks, and local communities in the shaping of our services. Our commitment goes beyond consultations; we actively co-produce solutions, ensuring the services we offer are deeply rooted in the experiences, aspirations, and realities of those we serve.
We are one of only 14 local authorities who are part of a pioneering family help (formally early help) offer. Collaborating with partners such as our highly praised Family Hubs enables us to give the right support at the right time.
Reflective practice: Growing through insight
In a rapidly evolving field such as children’s social care, the ability to adapt, learn, and grow is paramount. As well as putting a significant emphasis on reflective practice we’ve eliminated silo working and continually adapt training logs based on staff feedback. Our teams are encouraged to take a step back, analyse their approaches, learn from challenges and celebrate successes.
Accessible and supportive leadership and management
Our leaders are not just figureheads but active participants, we have an open-door policy offering guidance and support in a timely manner. Whether it’s through practice days where we sit with staff to offer advice on cases, reverse mentoring or by working with them to identify their strengths, our leadership team embodies positive role modelling.
From staff feedback we know our approach fosters a culture of trust, open dialogue, and collaboration, ensuring that our practitioners feel valued, supported, and empowered.
Choose Northumberland County Council
Choosing to practice social work in Northumberland will give you opportunity to develop, grow, and thrive. Here are some of the reasons our colleagues chose Northumberland County Council:
Manageable caseloads
As well as workload weighting for cases that consider complexity, our numbers are below the national average. Our system is designed to ensure that each social worker has a workload that allows them to give their best to each young person and their family. Experienced managers are always on hand, offering support and guidance, enabling staff to navigate their roles with confidence.
Learning and Development
Our robust learning and development programmes are designed to ensure that our teams have access to the latest knowledge, skills and strategy to do their jobs.
Focus is given on current themes for training, such as – trauma informed practice, county lines, mental health (for staff and those they support) and contextual safeguarding.
From workshops to training sessions, we provide a range of opportunities wherever you are on your career journey. This commitment to continuous professional development keeps our teams able to provide the best possible care.
ASYE Academy in Blyth
Our Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE) Academy helps newly qualified staff transition smoothly into professional practice through mentorship, training, and hands-on experience.
Our academy managers are alumni and advanced practitioners who have previously been frontline staff. Through the academy you can build strong personal connections with your peers who will support you throughout your career.
We’re leading the way regionally and have been recognised by Skills for Care as a case study for excellent work. Our strong reputation covering everything from the admin and social support team, and personal interaction from managers, to our protected caseloads and retention rates.
Our Team
Our teams are a blend of new and established practitioners. This mix of fresh perspectives and seasoned expertise ensures a comprehensive understanding of the community’s needs. It also fosters a culture of mentorship and mutual support among colleagues, which positively impacts the lives of those we serve.
Manageable caseloads
As well as workload weighting for cases that consider complexity, our numbers are below the national average. Our system is designed to ensure that each social worker has a workload that allows them to give their best to each young person and their family. Experienced managers are always on hand, offering support and guidance, enabling staff to navigate their roles with confidence.
Learning and Development
Our robust learning and development programmes are designed to ensure that our teams have access to the latest knowledge, skills and strategy to do their jobs.
Focus is given on current themes for training, such as – trauma informed practice, county lines, mental health (for staff and those they support) and contextual safeguarding.
From workshops to training sessions, we provide a range of opportunities wherever you are on your career journey. This commitment to continuous professional development keeps our teams able to provide the best possible care.
ASYE Academy in Blyth
Our Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE) Academy helps newly qualified staff transition smoothly into professional practice through mentorship, training, and hands-on experience.
Our academy managers are alumni and advanced practitioners who have previously been frontline staff. Through the academy you can build strong personal connections with your peers who will support you throughout your career.
We’re leading the way regionally and have been recognised by Skills for Care as a case study for excellent work. Our strong reputation covering everything from the admin and social support team, and personal interaction from managers, to our protected caseloads and retention rates.
Our Team
Our teams are a blend of new and established practitioners. This mix of fresh perspectives and seasoned expertise ensures a comprehensive understanding of the community’s needs. It also fosters a culture of mentorship and mutual support among colleagues, which positively impacts the lives of those we serve.
Rewards and benefits
Salary
We ensure fair pay for all staff, with examples of automatic pay progression to the top of the salary band, and an annual pay award.
26 days annual leave
Enjoy a generous annual leave entitlement of 26 days, in addition to public and bank holidays. As you gain more service with us, your annual leave allowance will increase to 31 days after 5 years continuous service.
Discounts
Access local government discount schemes through our not-for-profit partner CSSC that offer savings at various local businesses and national brands. Our staff can also take advantage of our salary sacrifice scheme to purchase vehicles, bikes, electrical goods and more.
Family Leave
We go beyond the minimum statutory requirements to provide additional family leave. Our managers understand the importance of work-life balance and will actively support you with your family commitments.
Company pension scheme
We will automatically enrol you into the Local Government Pension Scheme, allowing you to save while you are working. It is one of the best occupational pension schemes in the UK, click here to find out more about our pension scheme.
Travel benefits
Enjoy free parking at council-owned car parks and buildings with a parking disk, ensuring convenience and accessibility. We also offer car leasing and access to the cycle to work scheme for council staff, providing flexible transportation options.
Flexible working
- Our flexible working policy allows employees to vary their working hours each day to reflect their personal circumstances. Employees can build up a debit or credit of hours, consolidate extra hours worked into a day or half-day off, or work shorter days to suit personal circumstances, if it still fits in with the needs of the service.
Staff networks
We are proud of the network groups that our staff can join. They are run by staff, for staff, providing opportunities for peer networking, mutual support and staff development: Armed Forces, Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Carers, Enable Disability, Pride (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer, Intersex, Asexual+), Menopause, Mental Wellbeing and Racial Equality.
The top 3 questions we're asked
Find out our answers to some frequently asked Children’s Social Care questions.
Will I need my own car?
Yes, you will need your own car and a clean driving licence. Northumberland County Council will reimburse you for your milage and we also have electric charging points around the county.
How much travelling will I have to do?
Northumberland may seem like a large county, but you will have a dedicated geographical locale you will be assigned to work in.
What mental health support is available to staff?
We can’t perform at our best without investing time into taking care of our bodies and mind. At Northumberland County Council, we know that our staff are our biggest and best asset. That’s why it’s so important that you know where to go for support.
Our dedicated health and wellbeing team offer support with financial wellbeing, mental and physical health, have a range of courses and support materials on our Learning Together platform and they can connect you to supported services and helplines. As well as organising fun things such as sing-alongs, desk yoga and park runs.