Consultant Social Worker

Consultant social workers are pivotal to Approach Social Work as they teach, manage and develop participants on their first year of the programme.

Salary: Various

Location: See below for open locations

Deadline: 31 March 2024

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Our culture of freedom and responsibility

Who we are

Frontline is England’s largest social work charity. Everything we do aims to make life better for children who need a social worker, to help keep them safe from harm and to give them every possible chance to fulfil their potential. We do this through developing excellent social work practice, leadership and innovation.

One of the ways we make this happen is by recruiting and teaching a new, diverse generation of social workers specialising in child protection to join Approach Social Work (formerly known as the Frontline programme). The programme is a three-year social work training programme for graduates and career changers.  

What is a consultant social worker?

The consultant social worker (CSW) role is pivotal to the participants’ first year on the programme. Each CSW is responsible for five participants who are undertaking their Postgraduate Diploma in Social Work. CSWs work with participants using a practice hub model approach – a systemic practice model for working with families, with cases managed through weekly hub meetings. These meetings provide a dynamic learning environment and a reflective space to think systemically about the cases in the hub.  

The role offers those who wish to remain in practice the opportunity to do so alongside the chance to take on supervisory and management responsibility for a small team.

How to apply:

1. Click the ‘Apply now’ button below to complete an application form. Search for the local authority you are applying for when selecting a vacancy.
2. Anonymous scoring: the panel, which includes a representative from Frontline and the local authority, will anonymously score the applications.
3. Attend an interview: if shortlisted, you will be asked to complete a role play and interview.

Want to learn more?

If you’d like to learn more about the role before applying, you should consider joining one of our consultant social worker briefings. These are online sessions taking place on Zoom hosted by our placement managers and a current or former consultant social worker. This is your opportunity to ask any questions you may have about the day-to-day life of a consultant social worker.

We have a variety of different dates and times to chose from. Please click below to see the full list of available times:

If you have any questions about the application process or the role, please contact partnerships@thefrontline.org.uk. You can also visit our FAQs page for more information.