Child Protection Inquiry Team – Social Worker
The Role
The Child Protection Inquiry Team is a specialist, short-term service responsible for undertaking statutory safeguarding work, including:
Completing Section 47 Child Protection enquiries
Undertaking Section 17 assessments, including 15-day assessments where appropriate
Responding to new safeguarding referrals through a duty rota every four weeks
Completing statutory visits and gathering information from children, families and partner agencies
Assessing risk, identifying safeguarding concerns and determining appropriate next steps
Working closely with schools, health professionals, police and other partner agencies
Producing high-quality assessments and reports within statutory timescales
Ensuring children and young people's voices, wishes and feelings remain central to decision-making
Transferring cases appropriately to longer-term teams once enquiries or assessments are completed
This is not a long-term case-holding service. Cases are transferred to the relevant teams once the short-term safeguarding work has been completed.
Caseload
Despite the fast-paced nature of the service, caseloads are intentionally kept low, with Social Workers typically holding around 3–4 children at any one time.
This allows practitioners to focus on completing thorough, timely and high-quality safeguarding enquiries and assessments.
What We’re Looking For
We are seeking Social Workers who have:
A recognised Social Work qualification
Current Social Work England registration
Recent experience within children's safeguarding, assessment or child protection services
Strong experience completing Section 47 enquiries
Good knowledge of Section 17 assessments
Experience undertaking statutory visits and assessing risk
Strong safeguarding and child protection knowledge
The ability to manage competing priorities and work to statutory timescales
Excellent communication, assessment and report-writing skills
The confidence to work independently while also contributing effectively to a team
Strong professional references
Ideally, access to a car, as the role involves statutory home visits across Birmingham
Working Arrangements
Location: Aston, Birmingham
Contract: Initial 3-month agency contract, with potential extension
Office: 2 days per week
Working: Hybrid and flexible working available
Parking: Free on-site parking
Start: ASAP
Caseload: Typically 3–4 children
Duty: One week in every four
What’s Offered
Structured induction to help you settle into the service
Supportive and experienced management team
Manageable caseloads
Hybrid and flexible working
Free on-site parking
Access to a wide range of free training and CPD opportunities
Support for ongoing Social Work England registration and professional development
Opportunity to gain further specialist child protection and safeguarding experience
Why Apply?
This is a great opportunity for an experienced Social Worker who enjoys frontline safeguarding work, wants to focus on high-quality assessments and enquiries, and values working within a supportive team with manageable caseloads.
If you are an experienced Children's Social Worker with strong Section 47 and safeguarding experience and are available to start ASAP, we'd love to hear from you
