Social Worker - Duty & Assessment

Directorate: Family Services
Contract Type: Permanent
Hours: 36
Salary: £53,463 - £58,710
Location: Colindale
Closing Date: Midnight 9th Aug 2026

About Barnet Council
Barnet is a borough with much to be proud of. Our excellent schools, vibrant town centres, vast green spaces and diverse communities all help make it a great place to live and work. As a council we want to build on these strengths as we move into the future. We are growing and developing as an organisation to meet the challenges facing our borough and we are committed to working with partner organisations and residents to make Barnet even better. As an organisation, our staff are committed to Our Values: Learning to Improve, Caring, Inclusive, Collaborative - which drive everything we do.

Important Information for Current Barnet Council Employees
Where possible, employees who have access to Oracle are encouraged to apply via the Opportunity Marketplace (Internal Career Site). This helps to ensure applications are correctly identified as internal and avoids potential delays during the recruitment process.

About the role
Social Workers required for our Duty & Assessment team.
'In addition to a comprehensive suite of employee benefits, this salary includes a Recruitment and Retention supplement of 25%.'
In Barnet we are looking for practitioners who are reflective, proactive, resilient and able to deliver purposeful social work to make a positive difference with our families and communities. Whether you are newly qualified worker or a seasoned practitioner we don't expect you to be able to support our children and families effectively without us supporting you. This is a place where you're given time and support to develop yourself and your practice because our approach is different. Putting children at the centre of all we do means growing and developing you is, also, at the centre of what we do. We ensure that you have access to excellent training opportunities and offer reflexive and meaningful individual and group supervision opportunities to develop your expertise and confidence.
Learning in Context is the workforce training and development approach which has been uniquely developed to meet the needs of the children's workforce. Our key learning from analysis of various training approaches has demonstrated that learning, skills and knowledge is increased when we provide:
Learning that is accessible, relatable and applicable
Learning that is well timed, tailored and targeted
Live and action learning opportunities through workshops, coaching, mentoring and group (and peer) supervision
Learning in Context means our focus goes beyond the traditional classroom and course-based training to a learning through experience, i.e., "know what" to "know how" supported by one-to-one development opportunities, live learning workshops, co-produced practice seminars and service days.
We are able to provide:
- Access to systemic training.
- Proactive Practice and Learning Managers who are able to support responsive and co-produced training sessions to meet topical and emerging themes in practice.
- An integrated child and family clinical service with a range of mental health professionals to support your work.
- Manageable caseloads within small teams.
- Work-life balance options may include flexitime, job-share, homeworking.

Please click here to download the Job description for this role. (Right-click and select "Open in new tab" so you can keep the job description open while completing your application)

About you
You will have:
- In depth knowledge and understanding of the legislative framework and polices in relation to safeguarding children
- Excellent written and oral communication skills, particularly in writing assessments and plans for young people
- Proven experience in demonstrating your impact on families in achieving positive outcomes for children and influence the professional networks that you work with.
- Innovative and positive engagement with children and families in their assessments and plans and a passion for delivery of high quality services and interventions to vulnerable children in partnership with a wide range of agencies.
Regrettably we cannot accept applications from those who do not hold recognised social work qualifications.
What we offer
- 31 days annual leave, plus public and bank holidays
- Access to the Local Government Pension Scheme, which provides a valuable guaranteed income in your retirement together with security for your dependents
- Work-life balance options may include hybrid working, flexitime, job share, home working, part-time
- A vast range of lifestyle discounts from major retailers, supermarkets, energy suppliers and more
- Broad range of payroll benefits including cycle to work, eye care vouchers, travel and gym membership
- Excellent training and development opportunities
- Employee well- being training programs including confidential employee assistance
How to apply
Read the job description and person specification before clicking 'Apply' to commence the online application form. If you would like any further information about the role before applying, please contact Charlotte Khan (Assistant Head of Service) on

System notice: Some dates shown on our online application system (such as "Apply Before") appear in US date format (MM/DD/YYYY) due to Oracle system settings.

Artificial intelligence (AI) can be a useful tool to support your application as a reasonable adjustment, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn, escalated to counter Fraud for further investigation and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.




Barnet Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people, and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Barnet operates stringent safer recruitment procedures, this may include AI Detection Screening, Biometric ID/Right to Work Checks, Qualification and Registration Checks, Up to 6 years of Employment Data and Insights to Accelerate Screening (Konfir), Up to 5 years of Employment History References, DBS (Disclosure & Barring Service) Checks, Credit Checks and Social Media, Sanctions and Occupational Health Screening.

To deliver Barnet Council's commitment to equality of opportunity in the provision of services, all staff are expected to promote equality in the workplace and in the services the Council delivers. As such we value diversity and welcome applications from all backgrounds.
Barnet Council embraces all forms of flexible working (including part-time, compressed hours, and hybrid working) and is committed to offering employees a healthy work-life balance. Candidates are encouraged to talk about relevant requirements and preferences at interview. We can't promise to give you exactly what you want, but we do promise not to judge you for asking.

Barnet Council is a Disability Confident Committed Employer. We welcome and encourage job applications of all abilities. If you require any reasonable adjustments in the application or interview, please contact the lead contact on this advert. We will make reasonable adjustments to make sure our disabled applicants and those with health conditions are supported throughout our recruitment process. We support the access to work scheme, further details are available at www.gov.uk/access-to-work/apply

All posts with the council are subject to a probationary period of six months, during which time you will be required to demonstrate to the council satisfaction your suitability for the position in which you will be employed.

Due to the high number of applications that are received for some posts we may close vacancies before the stated closing date if sufficient number of applications are received. Therefore, please apply as soon as possible.

Please ensure you regularly check the email account (including JUNK MAIL folders) that you use to submit your application, as any further communication regarding your application will be sent electronically. Should you not hear from us within four working weeks of the closing date for this post, then regretfully in this instance, you have not been shortlisted.