We are looking for a number of practitioners with experience of working with children, young people and families who are ready to take their careers to the next level by training to become social workers.
These are temporary roles for 3 years while you complete a social work degree apprenticeship. You will earn a salary for the whole 3 year period and the costs of your degree will be fully funded by Durham County Councils apprenticeship levy.
Following successful completion of your social work degree and registration with Social Work England you are guaranteed a permanent social work role working with children and families in Durham. Our social workers currently start in post on Grade 9 (£35,412 pa) and are eligible for a £2,000 welcome payment. Ongoing post qualifying support and training opportunities are provided by our excellent Social Work Academy.
WHAT IS INVOLVED?
In this post you will work towards becoming a social worker by completing a degree in social work (an integrated degree apprenticeship). At least 1 day of your working week will be dedicated to study, but you will need to commit time to additional study and completing assignments.
You will primarily work within a hub with other social work trainees supported by a lead practitioner who is an experienced social worker (we have a number of hubs, based in localities within the county each supported by a lead practitioner). You will experience a variety of work with children and families, which will gradually increase in complexity as your skills and knowledge develop. You will complete a 10 day shadowing placement and 2 further placements (1 of 70 days and 1 of 100 days) in our social work teams.
You will be supported to implement Durhams practice model, which is a strengths-based and safety-focused approach to practice, grounded in partnership and collaboration with families.
We encourage you to come along to an online briefing where you will be able to find out more and ask questions about these roles and the degree programme.
The online briefing will take place via MS Teams on: Tuesday 30th June 2026, 5.15pm - 6.30pm
Please use this link to join the briefing session if you would like to attend:
Social Work Trainee Briefing
We encourage you to contact Claire Brown via email at
[email protected] to arrange an informal discussion about the role.
WHAT WILL I NEED?
- To have a real enthusiasm for social work with children and families as a career.
- A relevant professional qualification at level 3 or above e.g. nursing, mental health, education, criminal justice, youth work, therapeutic practice, counselling.
- GCSE grade C or above in English and maths, or a certified equivalent such as functional skills level 2.
- Recent experience of working with children and/or families.
- To meet the requirements of the Open University social worker degree apprenticeship programme. You can find out more here
Please refer to the attached Person Specification for the full criteria.
Please note: To be eligible for apprenticeship funding you must not have previously studied towards a Social Work qualification, or currently be studying towards a Social Work qualification.
We encourage applications from a diverse range of candidates and aim to have a workforce that represents the society that we serve, and are particularly keen to hear from care experienced people.
If successful, you will be required to apply for a Disclosure and Barring Service Enhanced Disclosure.
OUR COMMITMENT TO SAFEGUARDING
Durham County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We expect all employees and volunteers to share this commitment. This role is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore if successful in your application, an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check will be sought inclusive of a check of the Childrens Barred List and Adults Barred List, due to the position working in regulated activity.
Applicants should be aware that the DBS check will disclose both spent and unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands and warnings, in line with current legislation [include this line if includes barred list check - and will confirm whether an individual is barred from working with children, adults, or both.
INTERVIEWS
You will hear from us about whether you have been selected for interview during the week commencing 13th July 2026 and in person interviews are to be held in Spennymoor on 22nd and 23rd July 2026 .
Due to the involvement of a number of young people and practitioners and the activities arranged, we are not able to interview outside of these dates.
We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants that can show they meet all the essential criteria and have indicated they have a disability, are a looked after young person, care leaver or a veteran.
OUR OFFER TO YOU
We offer a competitive rewards package that includes attractive salaries, a generous annual leave entitlement of 27 days (rising to 32 after five years continuous local government service), membership of the excellent contributory career average Local Government Pension Scheme, and a range of flexible working arrangements including hybrid working (home and office) where applicable. Explore the full range of rewards and benefits on our website
Rewards and benefits are subject to individual terms and conditions.
EQUALITY, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION
We are a proud equal opportunities employer and believe a diverse workforce brings fresh ideas and drives service improvement. We welcome applications from everyone and make employment decisions based on skills and ability. As a Disability Confident Leader, we actively encourage applications from disabled and neurodivergent people and offer support throughout the recruitment process.
HOW TO APPLY
Please note, we do not accept CVs. All applications must be submitted online via the Northeast Jobs portal. Use the Person Specification section of the form to clearly demonstrate how you meet the essential (and where possible, desirable) criteria. Applications that do not evidence the essential requirements will not be shortlisted.
Please visit our website to understand our position on using AI to support your application and for guidance on completing your application.
If you require assistance when applying for this role, please contact our Recruitment Helpdesk on 03000 26 27 27, or via email
[email protected]
All correspondence relating to your application will be sent from
[email protected]. Kindly check your spam/junk folder regularly to ensure you dont miss any updates.
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