Roles and career stages

Explore some of the roles and career stages in social work.

Practitioners

Newly qualified social workers are social workers in their first year of practice.

Child and family social workers provide assessments, interventions and support to ensure the wellbeing and safety of children and families.

Senior practitioners manage complex cases, provide quality assurance and support less experienced social workers.

Practice supervisors support social workers and practitioners to improve their practice and positively impact the lives of children and families.

Practice development managers assess the development needs of social work teams and then develop, lead and manage practice improvement projects.

Quality improvement managers lead quality assurance initiatives and implement new policies to improve outcomes for children and families.

Team managers manage a team of social workers and practitioners and support their professional and personal development.

Independent reviewing officers oversee and review care plans to ensure local authorities are acting in the best interests of children.

Principal social workers support social work teams, provide quality assurance and contribute to strategic leadership.

Service managers oversee the performance and quality of practice of multiple teams of social workers across a service area.

Heads of service oversee the daily operations of services, manage staff and work closely with other agencies to promote best practice in social work.

Assistant directors oversee the strategic development, management and delivery of services that support and protect children and families.

Directors of Children's Services lead, manage and take overall responsibility for the delivery of high-quality social care in their local authority.