Senior Support Worker Families Plus 5-18

Overview

How you’ll make a difference

Working alongside children and families as a Senior Support Worker, you will help them recognise the small steps of progress they make and how they’ve achieved that themselves. Your work will help families get to the point where they are able to do things by themselves, without the need for professional support.

What you will be doing

• Carrying out whole family assessments, you will provide advice and guidance to families, establishing plans where appropriate. You’ll ensure that our services are effective and supportive for families with children/young people predominately aged 5-18. 
• It will be your responsibility to review and monitor early help plans, responding to the changing of needs and renegotiating where appropriate in accordance with safeguarding procedures.
• It is expected that you will provide support and mentoring to support workers, including those who are new to the team and those who are need of some support in a specific area of practice. You  may be required to contribute to or lead on an area of specialism within the team or across the wider preventative services. 
• Regularly, you will liaise and work with contacts from different sectors, ensuring that communication is effective so knowledge and best practice is shared.

What we need from you

• It is essential you hold or be working towards a professional qualification e.g. degree, NVQ 4 or equivalent in family work, working with children or education.
• You will have a willingness and ability to communicate and engage with a wide range of people, on occasions this will require you to take time and be patient.
• Given the nature of the role, you must be empathetic and have a good sense of judgement, knowing when and how to support, empower, listen, challenge or even step back.
• Given the complexity of working with families and the level of emotions that can be displayed, you must be resilient despite knockbacks and frustrations.

What you need to know

• You will be required to travel widely within the authority so you must either have a current driving license and provide a car or have access to appropriate means of travel.
• Business insurance will need to be added to your current car insurance policy.
• Please note that due to the nature of this role it is a requirement of employment that an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check is obtained for this post.

 

Interviews will be held on 8th October 2025.

How a career at South Gloucestershire Council is different

• As part of our benefits package, you will receive generous annual leave (pro rata), employee wellbeing support and you will have access to a range of staff discounts, including eye tests, travel, shopping and leisure activities.  
• We recognise that our diverse team of skilled and dedicated people make us a great place to work. We welcome applications from everyone and ensure that individuals are selected, promoted and developed on the basis of their merits and abilities.    
• We value our staff as individuals, investing in their careers and we are recognised for the quality, breadth and depth of our training and development offer, which helps make the greatest long-term difference in work.  
• What is special here is the strength of the team ethos.  We are a relatively small local authority, so managers know staff well. They can plan their services to ensure teams have manageable caseloads and have effective supervision so feel supported to make decisions which are right for the children and young people they work with.  
• We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the safety and welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. Ensuring all our staff are given right skills, knowledge and support to recognise and respond effectively to potential abuse or neglect.  

 

Our teams at South Gloucestershire Council are making a real difference to the lives of people who live, work and learn here.    

• We’re building and shaping communities which people are proud of.
• We’re working with the most vulnerable in our community to help them achieve what they want in life.
• We’re investing in our schools to ensure every child and young person in South Gloucestershire achieves their full potential.    

 

We’ve achieved a great deal, but we need talented and dedicated people to ensure we continue to make a difference.   

We’re making a difference, be part of it! 

To view the full job description, please click this link: Senior Support Worker – Job Description