About the Role
Salary: Pro rata £18,761 to £20,363 (FTE equivalent £29,540 to £32,061) per annum
Contract: Fixed Term Contract until 31/03/2027
Working Pattern: Part time (23.5 hours per week)
Location: Your current work base is Arun Civic Centre, Littlehampton. The use of Arun Civic Centre is currently initially expected to be in place for three years to April 2029. The substantive hub for your service is Worthing and therefore, there is the potential for services to relocate to Worthing in the future.
Interviews: Friday 4th September 2026
Internal candidates wishing to apply for this role will be considered for a secondment position. Please can you therefore discuss and agree this with your manager before applying for this position.
- Do you have experience of working with children and families?
- Do you have good communication and interpersonal skills?
- Do you have sound and accurate IT skills?
REACH stands for ‘Reconnecting a child to a family and community life’.
We are looking for a part time Child and Family worker to join our small team which sits within the fostering service. REACH supports children who are ready to move from residential to a fostering home. REACH work with existing networks for the child by supporting identification of children for step down, matching with a fostering family, transition planning and providing wraparound and follow on support once the child has moved.
As well as our ‘step-down’ offer, REACH also provides a ‘Prevention’ offer supporting existing fostering arrangements to prevent a child needing costly residential provision or crisis moves working closely with the child’s network and carers to increase stability.
As a Child and Family worker your role will involve direct work with children and young people, foster carers, residential staff and include working closely with other professionals and attending network meetings.
You will work across various settings across the county such as a residential home and fostering household and at times that work best for the child. Ability to drive and work flexible hours is essential for this role which includes regular evenings meeting with children after school hours and occasional weekend work.
Direct work skills and experience of working with children and young people in a trauma informed way to build positive and trusting relationships will be key to this role. Direct work may be in form of taking children out to activities, providing play sessions, supporting children with social development and helping young people build confidence and independence skills.
You will work with a small team consisting of Team Manager, Advanced Social workers, Clinical Psychologist and Child and Family Workers. Adopting a trauma informed and PACE approach in line with the therapeutic pathway and team ethos.
The Opportunity
The role will require you to undertake assessment work and interventions with children and their families who may have complex needs. In your role, you will contribute to assessment and planning processes for the children in the team’s care. You will also manage a caseload with supervision.
This role will require you to carry out direct work with families in a variety of settings and you will need to interpret complex information to assist the families in your care. Accurate record keeping and the ability to produce written correspondence is essential.
About You
Some of the key skills you will need include:
- Good communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to organise and present information clearly, concisely, and accurately.
- Ability to analyse and interpret information in order to manage casework with children / young people and their families, assessing needs, setting objectives and reviewing progress.
- Ability to engage and provide interventions for children, families, and young people through a trauma lens adopting therapeutic approaches in line with PACE
- Ability to maintain clear, accurate records of all work undertaken and produce case reports and correspondence for a variety of audiences including meetings, conferences, court panels and other agencies.
- GCSE English and Maths, or equivalent qualification or experience operating at this level of literacy and numeracy.
- QCF Level 3 Diploma for the Children and Young People’s Workforce (or equivalent), or demonstrable equivalent comparable experience.
For full list of keys skills and qualifications please refer to the job description attached.
Rewards and Benefits
As an employer we recognise that it is our employees that are central to everything we do. We aim to create a supportive and dynamic working environment where you can achieve your full potential, achieve a healthy work-life balance and are rewarded for the work you do.
In addition to working within a great team and a brilliant opportunity you will receive:
For a full list of the benefits offered to you as a West Sussex County Council employee you can find them on our Rewards and Benefits page.
About Us
Here at West Sussex County Council, we are ambitious for our children and our workforce. We have made great improvements in our service for the children and families in West Sussex over 5 years. You will join us as at a key time on our continuous improvement journey; the service you would be joining has a stable workforce with manageable caseloads and a fully permanent management team. We are proud of the work we do and we are proud to be a supportive and inclusive employer.
That’s why we need professionals, like you, who really want to be part of the positive change that is happening for children. Be part of an ambitious ongoing improvement plan and make a significant difference to children and families in West Sussex. There has never been a more rewarding time to join.
For further information about us and about working in Children’s Social Care at West Sussex County Council, please visit Careers in children's social work in West Sussex.
Further Information
The reference number for this role is CAFHE06474.
For an informal conversation or for further information regarding the role, please contact Heid Luck (Team Manager) on [email protected] and for issues or queries regarding your application please contact [email protected].
To apply, please follow the links below to upload your CV and complete our application form. In your application form please outline your motivations for applying and explain how you meet the key skills listed in full and the experience you can bring to the role (please refer to the key skills) ensuring that any gaps in employment are covered in your CV. Please ensure you have saved the job description attached to the main advert on our website as, once the job has closed, you may not have the opportunity to download again.
We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. This post is subject to an enhanced DBS check, 5 years referencing and a health check.
Equity, inclusion and accessibility is very important to West Sussex County Council. We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, as this helps us build a diverse and talented workforce, that reflects the communities we serve. We ensure our approach to recruitment is flexible and supportive to enable all applicants to be at their best and to ensure they have the best possible chance of success. If you require any reasonable adjustments to support your application, please contact [email protected].
We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants that have a disability, are a veteran or are a care leaver. More information can be found on our application help page.
