Routes into social work

Social work is a challenging and rewarding career.

Subscribe to our Newsletters
Subscribe to our Newsletter

Subscribe to our Leicestershire newsletters for the latest news, tips, and support.

Indicates required field
Select your Subscriptions

See our privacy section. You can unsubscribe at any time from within the emails you receive.

There are a number of ways to get into social work:

Graduate partnership with Frontline

As part of our commitment to achieve excellence in social work practice with children and families, and to assist those with a passion in this area, we have developed a strong partnership with Frontline. Frontline provides a unique program which recruits, trains, and supports graduates who would like to pursue a career within social work.

To do the graduate program, you’ll need to have a previous degree with a grade of 2.1 or above. The program consists of a Summer Institute where participants receive intensive training, and then a year-long placement within our Local Authority. After that placement, the participants become newly qualified social workers and are supported through our assessed and supported year in employment, alongside their master’s degree study.

You will receive a high level of support and input including training in systemic social work practice, parenting interventions and motivational interviewing skills. Your placement is supported and managed by an experienced consultant social worker who you will shadow, observe, learn, and develop from. You will also co-work cases together to support and develop your practice and the consultant social worker will assist and support you in your development.

During your year-long placement with us, you will be supported to develop links with other workers and teams, so that you can expand your knowledge of wider council process and services to give you a great grounding before your newly qualified year.

We value all of our Frontline participants and we hold regular Frontline Fellowship meetings, so that all past Frontline students can meet as a group to network, support each other, and continue to challenge ourselves around achieving best practice with children and families.

Find out more about Frontline and the application process.

 

Frontline was an eye-opening experience, creating a shift in my mindset about building relationships with children and families impacting positively in my personal and professional life.

The programme incorporates positive relationship-based practice, alongside building your confidence and resilience when working with children and families, to help them to create long lasting change. Doing so whilst working within the LCC gave me every opportunity to put to practice the skills from frontline and build up my own toolkit of social work skills, focusing on external and internal factors that play a huge part in families lives.

LCC provides an opportunity for social workers in their first years of training to feel part of a “work family”, and develop, share and learn new ways of practice, in an environment where you are given the encouragement and space to progress with hands on support.

Person:Priya, Frontline Graduate 2019
 

Apprenticeship

We support staff to progress into social work. In partnership with Warwick University, we run a social work apprenticeship degree scheme for employees of Children’s Social Care and the Family Help Service, who have been working for us for a minimum of 2 years.

The course is a 3-year program which is completed one day per week, alongside the employee’s current full-time post. At the end of the process and qualification, the employee will move into a social work post and will be supported thorough the assessed and supported year in employment.

 

The apprenticeship is a fantastic opportunity for anyone really, especially for people who may be in a similar position to myself - I have two children, a mortgage and financial responsibilities all of which would have prevented me from going to university to gain my degree in Social Work on a full time basis.

I looked so many times and there was just no way I could do it so the degree apprenticeship has broken down these barriers and allowed me an opportunity that I previously felt was completely unachievable due to my family commitments.

Person:Katie, Support and Assessment worker
 

Student placement

We build positive relationships with our local universities, which allows us to offer student placements, providing a wealth of experience to students. We have committed work-based supervisors and practice educators to support you. We also have a learning and development coordinator who will provide support in arranging all placements and a robust induction process.

Experiences gained on placement are important and can help support newly qualified social workers to seek employment. We also provide a service to support students with advice on applications, interviews and what to expect for the Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE) year.

 

I was terrified when I realised, I was coming to do my placement in a children setting, this was because all my experience had been in an adult setting. …My placement was a massive learning curve and a positive journey.

I was able to learn how my views and knowledge can impact on practice and using theories and model to understand patterns. I was able to work positively with children through direct work and keeping it relevant and exiting whether this is through their favourite sports or games.

Overall, I was over the moon that after all this work and 3 year journey in social work, I was able to go for a job interview in my place of work First Response Children’s Duty and be offered a full time job.

Person:Tendai
 
 

I did my placement with LCC and then went on to be successful for an ASYE posts and I was employed as a family intervention worker in the team until my social work registration came through a couple of months later. This was 7 years ago and I am still happy to be working for LCC.

Person:Sandy
 

Returning to social work scheme

We want to support qualified social workers who have had a career break and want to return to social work practice.

To achieve this, you're required to follow a process of restoration through Social Work England. If you have either:

  • not practised as a social worker or
  • it has been 2 or more years since you were registered

there's a process to follow in terms of updating your skills, knowledge and experience.

Please visit the Social Work England website for more details on the requirements for restoration, which can include self-directed study and supervised practice.

If successful at interview, you'll be offered a permanent role with us within one of our children’s services teams.

You will start as a social work assistant while you're supported to complete your process of restoration – and once completed, you will then become a social worker within the team and continue your career and journey with us. 

Step Up to Social Work Regional Partnership

We have joined the East Midlands Regional Partnership for the Step Up To Social Work program. This is a program managed between the Local Authorities and Manchester Metropolitan University and commenced in 2010.

The program enables candidates to become skilled social work practitioners, working with children and families in a Local Authority setting during placements, and is a full-time course. The integration of theory and practice is a key theme running throughout the programme and the Local Authorities ensure that teaching is relevant for contemporary social workers.

Being a fast-track programme, it proceeds at a swift pace in order to fit in the academic work and practice placements you are required to take to qualify within 14 months. Candidates may be eligible for a bursary during this course.