Family Court Adviser (FCA) - CAFCASS | Stevenage
Job description
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Family Court Adviser (FCA) - CAFCASS | Stevenage
£37 per hour Umbrella | Long-Term Contract Until March 2027 | Monthly Office Attendance
Are you an experienced Children's Social Worker with strong court experience looking for a rewarding opportunity within the family justice system?
We are currently recruiting for experienced Family Court Advisers (FCA) to join CAFCASS based in Stevenage. This is an excellent long-term agency opportunity offering stability until March 2027, flexible hybrid working, and the chance to make a genuine difference to children and families involved in court proceedings.
This role is ideal for practitioners with strong Public and Private Law experience who are confident preparing high-quality Section 7 reports, undertaking complex assessments, and providing professional recommendations to court.
Key Role Information
- Role: Family Court Adviser (FCA)
- Location: Stevenage
- Pay Rate: £37 per hour Umbrella
- Contract Length: Until March 2027
- Working Pattern: Hybrid
- Office Attendance: Monthly
- Interview Process: Microsoft Teams interview with 2 managers
- Induction: Mixture of remote and office-based training
- Experience Required: Minimum 3 years post-qualifying experience
The Role
As a Family Court Adviser, you will provide advanced social work services to children, families, and the courts by assessing and analysing court applications involving safeguarding and child welfare concerns.
The majority of your caseload will involve preparing high-quality Section 7 reports and advising courts on arrangements that are in the best interests of children. You will complete direct work with children and families, undertake detailed analysis and assessment, and ensure the child's voice remains central throughout proceedings.
You will also:
- Assess and analyse complex safeguarding and welfare concerns
- Prepare clear, analytical and evidence-based court reports
- Influence parents and carers to remain child-focused
- Provide high-quality oral evidence in court
- Work collaboratively with Local Authorities, legal professionals, and partner agencies
- Support judicial case management and decision-making
- Advocate effectively for children within the family justice system
- Manage a high-volume caseload while maintaining excellent standards
Essential Requirements
- Social Work England registration
- Minimum 3 years post-qualifying experience within UK Children's Services
- Strong experience within Public and Private Law proceedings
- Previous CAFCASS or court-based experience desirable
- Experience preparing Section 7 reports
- Excellent assessment and analytical skills
- Confident providing oral evidence in court
- Strong written communication and report-writing ability
- Ability to work autonomously and prioritise effectively
- Excellent negotiation and multi-agency working skills
- Full understanding of safeguarding and child protection legislation
Why Join This Role?
- Long-term contract stability until March 2027
- Flexible hybrid working model
- Monthly office attendance only
- Competitive hourly rate
- Opportunity to work within a highly respected national organisation
- Meaningful work influencing outcomes for children and families
Benefits of Working with Eden Brown Synergy
- DBS check processed and paid for
- Dedicated consultant throughout your placement
- Referral bonus for successful recommendations
- "Find your own job" bonus scheme
- Twice-weekly payroll options available
If you are an experienced FCA or Children's Social Worker with strong court experience looking for your next long-term opportunity, apply today.
Eden Brown Synergy is an equal opportunities employer.
Eden Brown Limited is a limited company registered in England and Wales with registered number 3643845. Our registered address is 5th floor 4 Coleman Street, London, EC2R 5AR, part of nGAGE Specialist Recruitment Limited T/A nGAGE Talent. Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail. This message is intended solely for the addressee and may contain confidential information. If you have received this message in error, please send it back to us, and immediately and permanently delete it. Do not use, copy or disclose the information contained in this message or in any attachment. We take reasonable precautions to ensure no viruses are present in this email but cannot accept responsibility for any loss or damage sustained as a result of computer viruses and the recipient must ensure that the email (and attachments) are virus free.
Key skills
AI-extracted from the job advert
Application advice
5 AI-generated recommendations to maximise your chances.
⭐ Lead your Personal Statement with your Social Work England registration number and explicitly state your years of post-qualifying experience in Children's Services, as the advert lists a minimum of 3 years as a hard requirement.
📊 Quantify your court experience: e.g. 'Prepared 45+ Section 7 reports across Public and Private Law proceedings, with 100% acceptance rate by the judiciary over 12 months'.
🎯 Dedicate a CV bullet to CAFCASS or court-based work specifically — the advert flags this as desirable and candidates with direct CAFCASS experience will be prioritised at shortlisting.
📝 Include a skills section that explicitly names 'Public Law', 'Private Law', 'Section 7 reports', and 'safeguarding legislation' — these are the ATS keywords recruiters at Eden Brown Synergy will screen for.
🤝 Highlight multi-agency working experience with named partners (Local Authorities, legal professionals, CAFCASS) to demonstrate you can operate within the family justice system from day one.
Suggested CV bullets
3 bullets our AI drafted for this specific advert, mirroring its ATS keywords.
Add these 3 bullets under your most recent experience:
- •Prepared 52 Section 7 reports across Public and Private Law proceedings within a 14-month period, achieving zero adjournments due to late submission and commendation from 3 circuit judges.
- •Managed a caseload of 18 concurrent CAFCASS-equivalent cases, completing all court-directed assessments within statutory timescales and reducing outstanding directions by 30% over two quarters.
- •Led direct work with 25 children aged 4–16 in contested contact proceedings, ensuring child-focused recommendations were adopted in 94% of final hearings through robust analytical reporting.
Free to copy — tailoring requires a 30-sec CV upload.
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Letter preview — tailored to Eden Brown Synergy
Dear Hiring Manager,
CAFCASS's Family Court Adviser role in Stevenage is precisely the environment where my expertise in Section 7 report preparation and Public and Private Law proceedings can deliver immediate value. Having worked within UK Children's Services for over four years post-qualification, I have developed the analytical rigour and court confidence this role demands — including providing oral evidence under cross-examination and managing complex safeguarding assessments to tight judicial timescales.
My background in frontline Children's Services has seen me collaborate closely with Local Authorities, legal professionals, and partner agencies to ensure the child's voice remains central throughout proceedings. I have prepared detailed, evidence-based court reports across both care and contact matters, and I am fully registered with Social Work England.
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Interview questions
10 questions generated from this advert.
Technical
- ›Walk us through your process for preparing a high-quality Section 7 report from initial instruction to submission.
- ›How do you ensure the child's voice remains central when completing direct work with children in complex family proceedings?
- ›Describe your approach to assessing safeguarding concerns within both Public and Private Law contexts.
- ›What legislation and statutory guidance underpins your practice when advising courts on child welfare arrangements?
- ›How do you manage a high-volume caseload whilst maintaining analytical rigour and meeting court deadlines?
Behavioural
- ›Tell me about a time you provided oral evidence in court under cross-examination — how did you prepare and how did you handle challenge?
- ›Describe a situation where you had to influence parents or carers to remain child-focused during highly contentious proceedings.
- ›Give an example of a complex multi-agency case where your collaboration with Local Authority and legal professionals led to a positive outcome for a child.
- ›Tell me about a time you identified a significant safeguarding concern during an assessment that others had missed — what did you do?
- ›Describe a situation where you had to prioritise competing court deadlines under pressure — how did you manage your workload?
STAR answer examples
Model answers using the Situation-Task-Action-Result framework. Adapt to your own experience.
Tell me about a time you provided oral evidence in court under cross-examination — how did you prepare and how did you handle challenge?
Describe a situation where you had to prioritise competing court deadlines under pressure — how did you manage your workload?