Two Brighton schools will have permanent social workers based on site as part of a new pilot scheme. Advertisements were put out last week for social workers to operate at Fairlight Primary School and Moulsecoomb Primary School from September.

Brighton and Hove City Council says that the posts are part of a wider strategy to provide better early help for families and the roles are among the first of their kind in the country.

Staff will not provide a statutory social worker service but offer advice to schools in how they support children and families.

It is part of a pilot project for 18 months and the two east Brighton schools have been chosen after expressing an interest in the scheme.

The project is part-funded by the schools’ own budgets as well as through national grants ring-fenced for schools.

The council said it will be evaluating the success of the pilot with a view to bringing them into schools across the city.

Successful applicants for the full-time roles will be paid £30,000 and will be expected, according to the job advertisement, to “work with educational professionals to provide school based case management for children and families requiring specialist agencies or multiple services”.

Fairlight head teacher Damien Jordan said that social workers within schools were common around the world. He said the school saw itself as the centre of the local community and said that with the new social workers, the school will be able to offer support to families at the point of contact rather than having to refer them to other services.

He said: “I have been in Brighton for four years and for four years I have been saying about having social workers in schools.

“Schools are not just about reading and writing. We are looking to offer help to families in crisis or who are having difficulties.

“It’s about changing perspectives about social workers who we only ever hear about if something goes wrong or that they take children away.

“That’s not what they do. It’s about care and support for families.”

A Brighton and Hove City Council spokesman said: “These posts are part of a wider strategy to provide better early help for families.

“We will be evaluating the success of the pilot and will be sharing the learning with other schools across the city.”