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Specialist Social Worker – Children’s Services (London Borough of Sutton)

Job Overview

We are recruiting an experienced **Specialist Social Worker (Qualified Social Worker – QSW)** to join the **London Borough of Sutton Children’s Services team**. This role is designed for highly skilled practitioners who can lead on complex safeguarding cases, support colleagues with specialist expertise, and contribute to raising practice standards across the service.

As a Specialist Social Worker, you will be responsible for some of the most challenging cases, provide expert guidance and mentoring, and ensure children and families receive safe, effective, and high-quality interventions.

Key Responsibilities

Lead on highly complex safeguarding and child protection cases.

Undertake in-depth statutory assessments to identify risks, strengths, and needs.

Develop, implement, and review robust care and protection plans.

Provide specialist knowledge, mentoring, and coaching to less experienced social workers.

Prepare and present high-quality, evidence-based reports for child protection conferences, statutory reviews, and court proceedings.

Work directly with children, young people, and families to achieve positive and sustainable outcomes.

Promote best practice through supporting reflective supervision, training, and peer learning.

Collaborate with schools, health professionals, police, and voluntary organisations to deliver effective multi-agency working.

Ensure accurate, timely, and compliant case recording in line with legislation and Sutton Council policies.

Contribute to audits, quality assurance, and service improvement initiatives.

About You

You are a confident, resilient, and knowledgeable social worker with significant experience in children’s services. You bring specialist expertise to safeguarding and practice development, and you are committed to supporting colleagues and ensuring children’s voices are central to decision-making.

Requirements

Qualified Social Worker (QSW) with registration to **Social Work England**.

Extensive post-qualification experience within Children’s Services.

Proven track record of managing highly complex safeguarding and child protection cases.

Specialist knowledge in areas such as court work, child protection, or looked-after children.

Experience in mentoring, coaching, or supporting colleagues.

Excellent understanding of child protection legislation, statutory frameworks, and best practice.

Strong assessment, analysis, and report-writing skills.

Contract & Salary

Employer: **London Borough of Sutton**

Service: Children’s Services

Role: Specialist Social Worker (Qualified Social Worker)

Contract type: Full-time, locum/temporary contract via Tripod Partners

Salary: Competitive, dependent on experience

How to Apply

If you are an experienced Qualified Social Worker ready to take on a Specialist role within the London Borough of Sutton’s Children’s Services, we would like to hear from you. Please **apply using the form on the page**.